Pathfinder International Unveils Women-Led Action Plan to Advance Health and Climate Outcomes in Nigeria
Pathfinder International, a global health and development organisation with more than 65 years of experience across Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East, has launched a new Action Plan for Nigeria focused on improving health and climate outcomes by placing women’s leadership at the centre of the country’s development agenda.
The Action Plan is an initiative of Women&Co, Pathfinder’s newly established women-led innovation platform designed to enable women to co-design and lead sustainable solutions that strengthen national development and community resilience. Women&Co emerges as a first mover in a development sector undergoing significant transformation following a year marked by volatility in international development funding.
Through this Action Plan, Women&Co is incubating new solutions and business models that position women as leaders of innovation and change in Nigeria.
At the Nigeria launch, leading women experts, innovators, and visionaries from across sectors came together to chart a pathway for Nigerian women leaders, entrepreneurs, and change-makers to gain the capital, influence, and power needed to drive health and climate resilience by 2040. The shared goals include improving maternal health and life expectancy, transforming Nigeria’s healthcare system, and enabling Nigerians to afford healthier choices.
The Plan also targets strengthened community resilience and climate adaptation, increased access to clean energy, and the growth of women-led, climate-smart enterprises.
Key priorities outlined in the Action Plan include expanding women-focused innovation funding to support the growth of social enterprises within a vibrant innovation ecosystem; deploying state-level financing and county-level technical expertise to build rapidly adaptive systems such as resilient infrastructure, climate and health data forecasting, and health systems planning.
Other goals include achieving at least 35 percent women’s leadership across the health sector through costed policies and sustained investment in the community health workforce; the passage and implementation of the Reserved Seats Bill, which would secure 111 federal and 108 state legislative seats for women to advance gender parity in governance; the development of modernised community hubs equipped with technology and tools to empower women to lead climate and agricultural resilience; and the recognition and rewarding of caregiving as a core component of the care economy, including integrating childcare into public spaces and enterprises as essential infrastructure.
The Action Plan is intended to guide long-term development by outlining the policies, systems, and investments Nigerian leaders believe are critical to sustained national progress. Participants and supporters of the initiative include leaders from climate agencies, health systems, media, and business, such as Rukayyat Muhammed of the National Council on Climate Change, Ijeoma Thomas-Odia of The Guardian Woman, and Shuhdah Ahmed from the Office of the Vice President.
Speaking at the launch, Dr. Tabinda Sarosh, President and CEO of Pathfinder International, said the shifting global development landscape presents an opportunity to move away from donor-driven agendas towards country-led innovation.
“More than 25 percent of the world’s maternal deaths happen to Nigerian women. Nigeria is the sixth least prepared country for climate change, and ranks 181 out of 193 on the Gender Equality Index. The people carrying these consequences deserve to be the ones shaping what happens next,” she said.
Dr Sarosh added that women, who make up half of the world’s population, must be at the forefront of development efforts if countries are to achieve meaningful and lasting progress.
Also speaking, Adanna Steinacker, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Women’s Health, noted that the Women&Co initiative aligns strongly with Nigeria’s national priorities on women’s health, equity, and leadership.
“The mission of Women&Co resonates deeply with our agenda. By building a community where women lead solutions across health, climate change, entrepreneurship, and governance, Women&Co reflects the kind of collaboration and creativity Nigeria needs to renew systems and unlock new possibilities,” she said.
The Nigeria launch follows the global unveiling of Women&Co at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025. Since October, the platform has been building women-led communities and co-design initiatives in Nigeria, Pakistan, and Egypt, and has already launched a women-led social enterprise in Kenya.
