NYSC, Women Affairs Ministry Join Forces to Boost Maternal, Child Healthcare
Oru Leonard
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs have launched a strategic partnership aimed at expanding access to free healthcare services for women and children in rural communities across Nigeria, while also promoting skills acquisition and economic empowerment.
The collaboration was announced during a courtesy visit by the Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, to the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.
General Nafiu said the NYSC possesses a vast network of healthcare professionals serving in communities nationwide, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, physiotherapists, optometrists, dermatologists, and medical laboratory scientists. He explained that these professionals have continued to provide free medical outreach through the Scheme’s Health Initiative for Rural Dwellers (HIRD), introduced in 2014.
He noted that the recent donation of two mobile medical clinics to the NYSC by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, would significantly strengthen the initiative by taking healthcare services directly to underserved communities.
According to him, the mobile clinics will complement the Ministry of Women Affairs’ health programmes through regular medical outreach, free screenings, and treatment services, ultimately contributing to efforts to reduce maternal and child mortality across the country.
Beyond healthcare, the NYSC Director-General proposed closer collaboration in skills acquisition and entrepreneurship development. He suggested leveraging the ministry’s vocational training centres to enhance the NYSC Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme.
He explained that corps members equipped with vocational skills would, in turn, train women in their host communities, helping to improve livelihoods, promote financial independence, and strengthen local economies.
General Nafiu also reaffirmed the NYSC’s commitment to supporting the ministry’s programmes through cultural displays and public sensitisation campaigns during annual celebrations such as International Women’s Day and Children’s Day.
Responding, the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, described the visit as historic, noting that collaboration between the two institutions was both timely and necessary given their shared mandate to improve the wellbeing of Nigerians.
She expressed the ministry’s readiness to work with the NYSC across all the proposed areas and stressed that stronger inter-agency cooperation is essential for achieving sustainable national development.
To ensure effective implementation, the minister proposed the appointment of focal persons from both organisations to develop a framework that would drive the partnership.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim also commended General Nafiu’s leadership, describing him as a “quiet achiever” whose stewardship has strengthened the NYSC.
She further hailed the NYSC as one of Nigeria’s most enduring national institutions, noting that its contributions have positively impacted millions of citizens through national service, community development, and youth empowerment.
