Tinubu creates first women’s health office, unveils RenewHer Agenda
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reiterated his determination to advance women’s health, underscoring this commitment with the creation, for the first time in Nigeria’s history, of a dedicated Office on
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reiterated his determination to advance women’s health, underscoring this commitment with the creation, for the first time in Nigeria’s history, of a dedicated Office on Women’s Health, a move that signals renewed federal resolve to make women’s health a core national development priority.
This was disclosed in Abuja on Tuesday at a multi-stakeholder meeting convened by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Women’s Health, Dr Adanna Steinacker, who acknowledged President Tinubu for establishing the new office, describing it as a landmark step in institutionalising women’s health within Nigeria’s governance framework.
The meeting, convened under the authority of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, brought together women’s groups, civil society organizations, health professionals, youth-led organizations, media practitioners, and government officials for a listening and alignment forum on women’s health challenges across the country.
The forum, according to Steinacker, is a part of a broader strategy to ensure health remains central to national development planning, while recalling that on September 11, 2025, the President formally launched the Office of the Senior Special Assistant on Women’s Health alongside its core mandate, known as RenewHer, an acronym for Health, Equity and Reform.
The initiative, she said, is designed to serve as a policy alignment and coordination platform for all issues relating to women’s health, working closely with the Federal Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Women Affairs.
According to her, RenewHer is built on three key pillars of digital media and an advocacy hub aimed at closing widespread knowledge gaps around women’s and girls’ health.
She said the decision to prioritise digital platforms was informed by low health literacy, limited awareness of available government services, and poor health-seeking behaviour, noting that evidence-based information dissemination is critical in the digital age.
The second pillar, according to her, focuses on geopolitically anchored flagship campaigns, under which burden areas will be identified in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, priority health issues mapped, and targeted interventions deployed to address them.
The third pillar, she said, centres on coalition-building through symposia, summits, and strategic partnerships to foster collaboration and dismantle silos in the women’s health space, adding that the Federal Ministry of Health is determined to drive a unified, multi-sectoral approach to women’s health delivery nationwide.
Steinacker described the meeting as the first of its kind under the new office, explaining that it was intentionally designed as a listening and alignment session rather than a policy announcement forum.
“This engagement is about listening,” she said, noting that effective solutions must be shaped by the lived experiences and frontline insights of those directly affected.
The forum was also presented as part of a broader Women’s Health Transformation Initiative, conceived as a national coordinating platform to align policy, advocacy, innovation, and service delivery around measurable outcomes for women and girls across Nigeria, the Presidential aide noted.
Discussions at the meeting were structured around four thematic lenses, with participants sharing experiences that highlighted recurring challenges, including maternal health gaps, mental health concerns, and access to services across the life course.
She said the engagement marked the beginning of a sustained consultative process, expressing confidence that stakeholders would jointly co-create practical solutions as the initiative evolves.
Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, the Federal Capital Territory Administration Mandate Secretary for Health Services and Environment Secretariat, pledged the readiness of her office to assist in any form that will advance the cause of the women.
The participants commended the administration for creating a dedicated office on women’s health, but urged that longstanding systemic issues within the health sector be addressed alongside policy reforms.
They raised concerns about the conduct of some health workers, including doctors and nurses, noting that patients are often subjected to unprofessional and dismissive behaviour, which they said makes accessing care stressful and discouraging.
Another participant drew attention to gaps in the implementation of the Disability Act, warning that persons with disabilities are frequently not accorded courteous or appropriate treatment in health facilities. She noted that several facilities required by law were absent in public hospitals.
Citing the challenges faced by hearing-impaired patients, the participant said no public health facility currently provides sign-language interpreters to support communication between medical personnel and deaf patients.
“This makes it difficult for patients with such conditions to receive proper care and leaves them at the discretion of health workers,” she said, urging the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Women’s Health to intervene.
Public health advocate and veteran journalist, Chief Moji Makanjuola, called on the presidential aide to prioritise health workers’ attitudes, preventive healthcare, self-help initiatives, women’s hygiene, and health education.
Participants also urged the government to expand the scope of the National Health Insurance Authority to cover a wider range of women’s health challenges, in order to reduce the burden of out-of-pocket medical expenses.