Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu: Empowering Women’s Health – Breaking Barriers and Driving Change
Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu, UICC President-Elect of 2024-2026, posted on LinkedIn:
“As we continue to focus on women’s health in the month of March, I visited a rural community in Northern Nigeria, to sensitize women about breast and cervical cancer. Our rural women face many barriers that undermines their health, financial independence and mental well-being. As a women’s health champion, I use every opportunity I get to empower, enlighten and emancipate them.
Ramadan is a time when a lot of giving takes place. So, we tend to give nutritious food packs, as well as useful education. – Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu.
A useful way I have found to breed confidence and a sense of safety, is by creating women only environments. Research shows that women feel more at ease and supported in such spaces; where they can share experiences and challenges freely, with those who understand their unique perspectives.
Women-only healthcare spaces can encourage more open discussions about sensitive topics like menstrual health, reproductive health, and mental well-being. Aside from cancer and health education, I use our outreaches to encourage young girls to pursue careers in healthcare, STEM, and other traditionally male-dominated fields.
Some barriers we spoke about include-Period poverty, preferential educational funding for male children, and lack of facilities designed with a gender lens. For instance, the positioning of toilets in public spaces often fails to consider their safety and privacy, making it difficult for them, as well as their daughters in school, to use such facilities comfortably.
Addressing these issues requires a deliberate and inclusive approach to policy-making and infrastructure development. I also encourage philanthropists, to consider providing gender friendly WASH facilities in our schools and communities.
The Global Alliance for Women’s Health has built a strong community of Champions reshaping women’s health narratives. We try to amplify female voices, safeguard bodily autonomy, uplift adolescent girls, mainstream women’s health, and leverage our political capital for inclusive solutions. World Economic Forum (WEF) champions are uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between health as a human right and health as a driver of societal progress.
I am extremely proud to be a (WEF) champion.”
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