Women in Global Health Nigeria (WGHN) recently celebrated the graduation of 24 women from the inaugural cohort of its EmPOWER Health Fellowship. This significant milestone marks the conclusion of a six-month leadership programme meticulously designed to amplify women’s voices in health policy, advocacy, and crucial decision-making processes across Nigeria. The fellows, chosen from a competitive pool of hundreds of applicants nationwide, gathered for a gala night and ceremony that underscored their commitment to transforming the nation’s health landscape.

The EmPOWER Health Fellowship directly addresses the persistent disparity where women, despite constituting a vast majority of the healthcare workforce, remain significantly underrepresented in leadership roles. WGHN established the initiative to cultivate a robust pipeline of visible and confident women leaders, equipping them with the necessary skills to navigate and influence the global health arena. The programme’s core objective is to challenge existing structures that often sideline women’s perspectives, fostering an environment where their expertise is fully leveraged.

During her keynote address, Amina Dorayi, Senior Country Director for Pathfinder International Nigeria, delivered a powerful message, urging the graduates to embody visibility, collaboration, and unwavering principles as they advance their careers. Ms. Dorayi underscored that authentic leadership stems from purpose rather than mere position, asserting that power resides in one’s mindset, thoughts, and values, not solely in a title. She emphasised the imperative of fostering collaboration over competition, envisioning the fellowship as a lasting “community, family, and sisterhood” that extends far beyond the programme’s duration, warning that true leadership, while potentially costly, must never compromise integrity.

Peju Adeniran, co-founder and chapter lead of Women in Global Health Nigeria, highlighted the fellowship’s foundational goal: to disrupt a system notorious for marginalising women’s voices. In her welcome address, Ms. Adeniran commended the fellows for their courage in embracing discomfort and choosing active participation over passive acceptance of the status quo. She articulated that while silence might offer comfort, meaningful change demands bravery, a quality abundantly demonstrated by the cohort. Ms. Adeniran also celebrated the profound sense of community forged among women from diverse backgrounds and geographical regions across Nigeria, identifying it as one of the programme’s most significant and enduring achievements.

The tangible impact of the fellowship resonated through the testimonials of its graduates. Akanbi Bolanle, a veterinarian and dedicated One Health advocate, shared how the programme equipped her to bridge critical gaps between animal health, human health, and women’s overall wellbeing. Ms. Bolanle recounted how the fellowship fostered unprecedented collaboration with professionals spanning diverse fields, including medicine, journalism, and microbiology, all united in advancing women’s health and leadership. She specifically noted her work with women handling animals daily, empowering them with knowledge on disease prevention and animal care, thereby enhancing their health, income, and mental wellbeing.

Another graduate, Bilkis Lawal, a journalist, detailed how the EmPOWER Health Fellowship significantly bolstered her capacity to advocate for maternal and child health, particularly through innovative digital and community-focused storytelling approaches. Ms. Lawal spoke of harnessing the power of inclusive networks, mentorship, and digital advocacy to drive genuine change within communities. She highlighted a successful family planning community engagement initiative she led during the fellowship, which reached approximately 200 individuals and resulted in 169 adopting family planning methods. Importantly, Ms. Lawal also made a compelling case for greater male inclusion in gender-focused interventions, recognising that cultural and religious norms often dictate women’s access to opportunities, and male understanding is crucial for support.

Bukola Shaba, the Project Officer for Women in Global Health Nigeria, provided further insight into the EmPOWER Health Fellowship’s design and execution. She revealed that WGHN received over 600 applications for the inaugural cohort, ultimately selecting 24 fellows representing Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, spanning various age groups and professional backgrounds. The rigorous programme delivered training across four pivotal focus areas: advocacy, leadership and personal branding, research, and digital and social media engagement. Ms. Shaba reiterated the stark statistic that women provide approximately 70 percent of global healthcare yet are conspicuously absent from leadership positions, affirming the fellowship’s direct aim to rectify this imbalance.

While the graduation marked the official conclusion of the structured programme, Ms. Shaba assured that mentorship and institutional support for the fellows would continue into the new year, emphasising that graduation signifies not an end, but a new phase in their journey as integral members of Women in Global Health Nigeria. The organisation also expresses a strong ambition to secure additional funding, crucial for expanding the fellowship and enabling future cohorts to benefit from this transformative leadership development. This strategic vision aims to continuously strengthen women’s leadership in Nigeria’s health sector, ensuring sustained impact and broader reach.

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Keywords: Women in Global Health Nigeria, EmPOWER Health Fellowship, Health leadership Nigeria, Women's empowerment health, Global health advocacy, Nigerian healthcare system, Leadership development women, Health policy decision-making