The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu has disclosed that about 4.7 million girls have been successfully immunized against cervical cancer since October 2023 through a coordinated partnership between by her Office and Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
The First Lady who was represented by the Honorable Minister of Women Affairs, Barr Uju Kennedy Ohanenye today at the formal launch of Women’s Optimal Health Framework at Kampala in Uganda, stated that the nationwide immunization exercise was made possible through the introduction of the Human Papiloma Vaccine into the national routine vaccine schedule designed to stem cases of cervical cancer among women.
In its continued drive towards improved health care for women and children, Senator Tinubu also said that “Nigeria has initiated a transformative process to revitalize 17,600 Primary Health Care Centres nationwide, bringing health care closer to women and their children and delivering gender sensitive and specific care”
While commending the First Lady of Uganda and Minister for Education and Sports, Honorable Janet Museveni for her leadership strides and commendable vision for spearheading the optimal health initiative for women, the Nigerian First Lady described the scheme as a comprehensive research-based resource which is a significant milestone in the drive to prioritize the health and wellbeing of women across the life span, from conception stage to the end of life.
As part of measures to tackle the challenges of maternal mortality and morbidity, she added that the Federal Government secured grant from an international donor agency to train midwives and frontline health workers as well as strengthen collaborations in the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV/AIDS.
Realizing that advancing improvements in women’s health demands a multi-sectoral approach, the First Lady also disclosed that “ in 2023, I established a Renewed Hope Initiative to bring about improvements in health, agriculture, education, economic empowerment and social investment targeting women and the vulnerable groups to bridge the gaps in addition to the commencement of Renewed Hope Initiative Women Agricultural Program (RHI-WASP) which targets over 3,000 women across the country “Every Home A Garden” competition for women and “Young Farmers’ Club” for public schools to encourage the culture of farming and good nutrition among women and young populace.
She therefore charged all women to perceive the optimal health framework as a clarion call and a testament to a collective commitment and shared priority towards ensuring the wellbeing of women across the globe and will further reinvigorate the general push to address the issue of gender parity.
Responding, the Ugandan First Lady commended Senator Oluremi Tinubu for standing as a beacon of hope not only for Nigerian women but across the African Sub-region and expressed optimism that the optimal women health framework will provide a gateway towards strengthening partnerships for uplifting the health and general wellbeing of women in Africa.
Ohaeri Osondu Joseph, Fnipr, Fcai
Special Assistant, Media
