A new report into gender equity in Nigeria’s health sector has highlighted key disparities in leadership positions. ‘A Balanced Prescription: Leadership & Innovation in Nigeria’s Health Sector’, was previewed at a recent roundtable event in Lagos, attended by senior-level professionals working in and around the field.
Published by a non-profit organisation, African Women in Board (AWB), ‘A Balanced Prescription’ calls for a fundamental restructuring to support women as leaders in the health sector, depicting these changes not only as advancements for social good but as a pragmatic imperative for strategic steps forward in overall national health.
The launch event, organized by AWB in collaboration with eHealth Africa, Avon HMO, Capital Club, BellaNaija and The Macallan, saw healthcare leaders, policymakers, and other key stakeholders discuss the report’s key findings and recommendations, charting a course of actionable strategies to advance women’s leadership and the sector at large.
At the event, BellaNaija’s own Chief of Staff & Head of Strategy, Mary Edoro, acknowledged the wide-reaching effects of media framing and distinguished between women’s economic empowerment and true power.
Let’s move beyond ‘empowering women,’ which often implies permission, to placing women in actual positions of power, said Mary, emphasizing the need for greater representation in decision-making roles, including elected office.
Dr. Olayemi Dawodu, Managing Director of Cerba Lancet Nigeria
Audrey Odogu, Senior Manager at eHealth Africa
Bridging the Leadership Gap
A key theme emerging from the discussion was the need for structured mentorship and leadership development initiatives tailored to women in healthcare.
Training through executive programmes and university integration is fundamental because these are the feeders into the leadership pipeline, said Dr. Olayemi Dawodu, Managing Director of Cerba Lancet Nigeria.
She emphasized the importance of creating opportunities for emerging leaders to engage with professionals early in their careers.
Participants also highlighted the need to engage the Ministry of Education to ensure that future female healthcare professionals receive the support they need to navigate leadership pathways.
Many highlighted the importance of data;
Gender equity is rooted in data. Without it, we cannot make informed decisions, said Audrey Odogu, Senior Manager at eHealth Africa.
Artificial intelligence (AI) was another focal point, with stakeholders stressing the need to ensure AI systems are trained on diverse datasets that accurately reflect African women’s healthcare experiences. Without this, they warned, AI could reinforce existing biases rather than help bridge the gap.
Nnenna Onyewuchi, Executive Director of Strategy and Innovation at Yellow Brick Road
Odunola Olabintan, Founder of The Health City
Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson, CEO of Healthtracka
Framing reality with the media
Beyond policies and structural reforms, the discussion turned to the role of the media in shaping perceptions of women in healthcare. Nnenna Onyewuchi, Executive Director of Strategy and Innovation at Yellow Brick Road, said;
The world is what it is today because of advertising. We must be deliberate about how we use media to drive meaningful change.
The societal stigma surrounding women’s health was another pressing issue.
There is a culture of shame surrounding women’s health, and if there is ever a time to break it, it is now, said Odunola Olabintan, Founder of The Health City.
Participants agreed that changing public narratives was just as critical as policy shifts, calling for deeper collaboration with media organizations to challenge stereotypes and promote positive representation of women in healthcare leadership.
The roundtable concluded with a strong consensus that advancing gender equity requires more than just dialogue—it demands concrete action from both the public and private sectors. While there is still much work to be done, the discussions reflected a shared resolve to drive meaningful change.
Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson, CEO of Healthtracka, said
Women are said to be living longer than men, but we are living in poorer health. Women’s health remains underfunded, under-researched, and underestimated, citing a recent McKinsey report that identified a $1 trillion opportunity in closing the women’s health gap.
The next step, as several stakeholders noted, is ensuring that the momentum from this discussion translates into policies and practices that break down systemic barriers, allowing women to lead and thrive in Nigeria’s health sector.
The full report will be officially launched at the third annual Remarkable African Women’s Leadership Conference (RAW), part of the Africa Soft Power Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, from May 21st-25th, 2025. RAW will further analyze women’s leadership across various industries, extending the discussion beyond healthcare.
BellaNaija is a Media Partner for African Women in Board
