Healthy Women, Wealthy Nations: Unlocking a Prosperous Africa
When discussing how we can secure Africa’s future, there is often a disconnect between present action and future outcomes. We assume that inaction today will somehow still yield the results we desire. The truth is, if we truly want to reshape our continent in an ever-changing world, we must focus on what matters most. Health, wealth, and leadership are not only interconnected, but empowering women across all three is essential to Africa’s prosperity. Achieving this requires a shift in mindset, followed by a transformation in action.
Like any enduring structure, a strong foundation is essential — and Africa’s foundation is its people.
Why focus on women?
Because they represent 50% of Africa’s population, yet they are consistently marginalised. No sustainable progress can be made if half of the continent is left behind. Health is the foundation upon which both wealth and leadership are built. Women’s health and livelihoods are disproportionately affected by climate change and maternal mortality rates across Africa remain alarmingly high. To secure Africa’s future, we must invest in human capital development, ensuring that healthcare is proactive, not reactive. After all, a healthy population is the cornerstone of a strong and prosperous nation. We cannot allow current and future generations of women to become complacent in neglecting their health — whether due to stress, poor nutrition, or unsustainable lifestyles. Yet for many women across Africa, this neglect is not a choice — ensuring there is food on the table and earning a livelihood must come first. But no woman should ever have to choose between her health and her survival.
We are seeing profound shifts in wealth acquisition among women especially in agriculture, informal economies, and entrepreneurship. But just a shift is not enough to close the gap, which is why we must invest in strengthening the infrastructures that are enabling these shifts. Giving women access to financial literacy tools and providing skills training with new technology and software are just a few key steps to ensure that African women are able to adapt to the changing global landscape. Countries like Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya are revolutionizing the fintech space with innovation that is boosting productivity for men and women across sectors. Ensuring that barriers like low digital literacy levels are addressed is the only way for innovation to yield sustainable growth.
Health and wealth empower women to step into leadership roles. This is essential to enabling equitable societies. Women have made huge strides in both leadership and business spheres. We have more women informing policy decisions, taking up governmental roles, and thriving in various entrepreneurial sectors, but this is only the beginning. Having more women in leadership roles, and positions of power leads to increased innovation and greater social progress. The reality is that the narrative about women is shifting and must continue to do so. Women bring unique perspectives and experiences to the table that would otherwise be lacking. On top of this, women leaders enhance fairness and overall productivity within their organisations. On a smaller scale, many women serving as community leaders are just as important to mobilize change at the grassroots level, ensuring that all members of society are reached. It's clear that the path to success is lined with women; healthy women make wealthy nations.
By Chidera Moghalu
