Nigeria At 65: RenewHER initiative ‘A fresh start for women’s health’ -Tinubu’s SSA
By: Goodluck E. Adubazi, Abuja.
As Nigeria celebrates 65 years of independence, the Federal Government has placed women’s health firmly at the centre of its renewal agenda with the unveiling of RenewHER, a Presidential initiative designed to restore confidence, dignity, and opportunity for women and girls nationwide. At 65, Nigeria is not only celebrating a milestone but signalling a new direction, one where women’s health is no longer an afterthought, but a pillar of national progress.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Women’s Health, Dr. Adanna Steinacker, in a statement, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for giving unprecedented priority to women and girls in his reform agenda.
She described RenewHER as a Presidential Women’s Health Transformation Initiative, designed to deliver coordinated, tech-enabled, and financially sustainable solutions to challenges ranging from maternal mortality to menstrual equity, digital health education, and preventive care.
“With the President’s full backing, RenewHER places women and girls at the centre of policy and implementation. It reflects the belief that when women thrive, nations thrive,” Steinacker said.
The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has taken deliberate steps to strengthen women’s health outcomes by upgrading maternal health facilities, expanding access to primary care, and introducing reforms that ease financial barriers for women seeking essential services.
Efforts have also been directed at preventive health, including improved access to reproductive care, family planning, and cervical cancer screening, alongside campaigns to combat stigma and exclusion in health access.
The launch of RenewHER, brought these reforms into sharper focus. The initiative was formally introduced as the Presidential Women’s Health Transformation Initiative, a platform aimed at coordinating Nigeria’s women’s health agenda at national scale.
With the President’s full backing, RenewHER was presented not as a standalone project but as a new health architecture that aligns policy, technology, and community in a single direction.
At its core, RenewHER seeks to renew the dignity of Nigerian women, ensuring they have access to quality, stigma-free health care wherever they live. It places technology at the heart of delivery, with digital tools for telehealth and real-time monitoring, while embedding financial sustainability through a mix of public financing, grants, and micro-incentives. Equally important is its community-centred approach, which positions women, girls, and grassroots actors as central to design and implementation.
Marking the 65th anniversary of Nigeria’s independence, she noted that Nigeria’s progress must be measured not only in political freedom but also in personal freedoms, such as a woman’s access to safe maternal care, a girl’s right to accurate, stigma-free health information, and a society where no one is left behind because of gender.
Looking ahead, the programme is set to launch a series of national campaigns on maternal and child health, sexual and reproductive health, adolescent wellbeing, menstrual equity, nutrition, and preventive care. Pilot states will host integrated service packages to allow women access to multiple interventions in one visit, while mobile units will extend services to rural and underserved communities.
