Gender inclusion: We must move from rhetoric to delivery, says Gates Foundation

The Gates Foundation has asked Nigerian leaders to accelerate action on gender equality goals by moving from policy launches to tangible delivery for women and girls.

Ekenem Isichei, deputy director of programme advocacy & communications at the Gates Foundation, made the call during his keynote address at the 2025 Gender and Inclusion Summit organised by the Policy Innovation Centre in Abuja.

The summit with the theme: “New Voices and New Approaches for Accelerating Inclusive Society” brought together government, private sector and civil society to discuss gender inclusion and its impact on economic growth and development.

In his address, Isichei said inclusive growth cannot be achieved unless women are intentionally prioritised in national and state policies while warning that progress made in women’s health and empowerment could stall without stronger institutional delivery and budgetary commitment.

“Our goal is to leverage our knowledge and capital to enable the government to best serve its people to execute on budget commitments for key health innovations, to streamline donor delivery coordination mechanisms, to plan and operationalise national development plans on the state level, and much more,” he said.

Isichei noted that the conversation becomes important at a time when bilateral aid to Nigeria fell by 40 percent as programmes that intentionally support women’s health or empowerment remained targeted, adding that funding for maternal and child health dropped by 67 percent.

“We gather at a time when resources and momentum towards gender equality goals are waning. Since we gathered last year, bilateral official development assistance, that is aid from a donor country to Nigeria, has dropped 40 percent, and programmes that intentionally support women’s health or empowerment were especially targeted,” he said.

“Funding towards maternal and child health in Nigeria dropped by 67 percent. That means that for every three women in your community, two of them will not have access to critical women’s health commodities that they had last year.

“When 70 percent of Nigeria’s poorest are women, we cannot ignore the unique experiences of women in climbing out of poverty. At the Foundation, we have seen the hard evidence that proves that investing in women’s health and women’s economic empowerment has a lasting impact across generations. It leads to healthier families, stronger economies, and a more just world.”

He called on national and subnational governments to invest in skills systems and staying power to implement programmes effectively and not just to launch.

“This means institutionalising gender desks, strengthening planning and budget units, and equipping local PHC managers and gender officers with the tools and data to lead with impact,” he said.

He also called for dedicated public resources for women saying gender-responsive budgeting “cannot remain annual budget exercise”, calling for clear expenditure targets for women-led MSME, which must be protected, disbursed and monitored.

The Gates Foundation recently pledged $2.5 billion through 2030 for research and development in women’s health, calling on government, the private sector, and civil society to co-invest.

Though civil society groups were praised for pushing inclusion into the national conversations and matching urgency with operational clarity, Isichei urged private sector leaders to see inclusion as smart economics rather than charity.

Meanwhile, Olufolake Abdulrazaq, the chairperson of Nigeria Governors’ Spouses’ Forum, reiterated the forum’s commitment to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment, pledging stronger interventions to dismantle systemic barriers.

Abdulrazaq said that various state-level reforms are already underway, adding that Kwara state has signed a 35 percent gender inclusion bill into law, while 10 states now grant six months of maternity leave to working mothers.

Several states, including Imo, Ogun, and Ekiti, have female deputy governors, with Kwara reporting 50 percent female representation in its cabinet. Such measures, she said, signal progress toward reshaping governance and leadership representation in Nigeria.

In another remark, the second deputy governor, central bank of Ghana, Matilda Sante-Asiedu said true progress extend beyond economic growth, as it is rooted in inclusion and representation for all.

“Gender equity is not a moral responsibility but strategic for building society that are inclusive, resilient and prosperous. Changing the narrative of inclusion requires transformational thinking and unconventional approach to doing things,” she said.

She urged all leaders and policymakers to embrace bold ideas and establish institutions that truly reflect the diversity of the African continent.

Meanwhile, Osasuyi Dirisu, the executive director of the Policy Innovation Centre, said the aim of the summit is to bring every cluster of discussion on gender under the same platform for inclusive discussion and participation, while noting that the impact of the summit has grown over the years.

She said the centre is poised to further deepen the positive impact of the summit in the next 10 years.