Are African women inspiring inclusion?

As the world commemorates International Women's Day, the call for increased investment in women-driven initiatives to promote inclusion has gained momentum. Tinuola Akinbolagbe, the CEO of the Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria, recently joined CNBC Africa to discuss the significance of investing in women to accelerate progress towards gender equality. Akinbolagbe emphasized the importance of recognizing the valuable contributions women make in various aspects of society and highlighted the need to remove barriers that hinder women's economic participation. She underscored the role of women as primary caregivers in the healthcare sector and advocated for improved access to primary healthcare services and health education to address gender disparities in health outcomes. Akinbolagbe also expressed concerns about Nigeria's progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal targets related to gender equality and universal healthcare by 2030. She emphasized the importance of policy interventions and proactive measures to drive women's empowerment and inclusion across different sectors. Akinbolagbe called for incentivizing organizations to promote gender diversity in leadership positions and highlighted the positive impact of having women in key roles within businesses and government. Moving forward, she emphasized the need for sustained efforts to monitor progress in women empowerment and gender inclusion to ensure that International Women's Day celebrations translate into tangible advancements for women's rights and equality.