Ministry Appoints Onyemelukwe As Chair Of Gender In Health Tech Committee

To strengthen gender-responsive healthcare programming and policy development in Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has inaugurated the National Gender in Health Technical Committee (GiHTC).

It appointed renowned public health expert and gender advocate, Prof. Cheluchi Onyemelukwe, as chairman and Prof Adaeze Oreh, as co-chair.

The minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, said the ministry remains committed to strengthening institutional mechanisms that promote gender equity across the health sector.

According to him, the committee is expected to serve as the national coordination platform for gender in health programming and provide strategic leadership for the review and implementation of policies that address gender disparities in health outcomes.

“It is to identify priority gender and health issues to guide the review of the National Gender and Health Policy; strengthen stakeholder coordination, accountability and alignment for gender-responsive health interventions and develop priority actions, timelines and thematic task teams to support policy review and implementation,” he said.

The directors of the Department of Health Planning, Research and Statistics, and the Family Health Department of the ministry, Dr John Ovuoraye, and Dr Ahmed Mohammed Ozi, respectively, inaugurated the committee on behalf of the minister.

They described the chair as a distinguished authority whose contributions to health and gender issues have earned national and international recognition.

Ovuoraye said, “We are fortunate to have two powerful women in our country. Their achievements speak for themselves. They are authorities in their chosen fields, passionate about advancing gender and health issues, with extensive publications and contributions that have earned recognition both within and outside Nigeria.”

In her acceptance speech, Prof. Onyemelukwe expressed appreciation for the confidence reposed in her and pledged to provide leadership that will strengthen the integration of gender considerations across all areas of healthcare delivery and in achieving universal health coverage.

“It is a privilege to be called upon to take on this important assignment,” she said. “Gender issues permeate every single area of the work that we do in the health sector. Whether we are discussing non-communicable diseases such as cancer, maternal mortality, universal health coverage, mental health or other public health concerns, gender makes its presence known in different ways,” she said.

Onyemelukwe stressed the importance of using evidence and gender analysis to inform healthcare interventions, drawing attention to emerging issues such as suicide prevention and its intersections with gender.

She noted that as chair of the National Task Force on the Decriminalisation of Attempted Suicide, one of the things the Task Force has observed is that boys and men are disproportionately represented in that space.

“These are the kinds of issues that require a gender lens so that evidence can effectively inform decision-making across the health sector,” she stated.

She expressed enthusiasm about working with the co-chair Prof. Adaeze Oreh, describing the former Rivers State commissioner for Health as an accomplished health leader with whom she has collaborated on several initiatives.