Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund (NSSF) under the leadership of its GM/CEO, Dr. Fejiro Chinye-Nwoko hosted a virtual media parley to unveil its third WeNaija campaign to reskill and retool Nigerian youthful population to promote community participation.

The parley attended by journalists and news editors across Nigeria deepened the media’s understanding of the Fund’s strategic initiatives including the WeNaija campaign programme that provides an innovative platform for youth participation in advocacy for a strengthened healthcare system in Nigeria.

The Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund (NSSF) with the support of Global Citizen is launching ‘WeNaija Awareness to Action Campaign’.

Chinye-Nwoko said “the campaign is geared towards mobilising, inspiring, empowering and up-skilling Nigeria’s vibrant, creative, and tech-savvy youth population. The campaign will allow the youth to be a part of something inspirational with widespread impact.”

On what informed the annual youth engagement campaign, the CEO stated that as an organisation dedicated to improving health outcomes, NSSF recognised that an estimated 74.9 million are between the ages of 18 and 35, as reported by the Population pyramid 2023.

She said “We believe that the “WeNaija” Campaign is an innovative way to get more youths between the ages of 18 to 35 involved in asking the right questions to improve their communities and hold leaders accountable. We aim to strengthen leadership and governance of the health sector by supporting the youth to advocate on important health issues that affect them and their communities such as HPV infection and vaccine availability.”

“We aim to raise awareness about the HPV vaccine and its importance in preventing cervical cancer 2023 WeNaija campaign will ask youths to create video content that will raise awareness and uptake of the HPV vaccine. The WeNaija campaign recognizes that social media is not just a tool for awareness but also a platform for civic engagement and creative expression.”

“By actively participating in the discussions, sharing their thoughts, and creating content, youths become stakeholders in the conversation about healthcare and immunization” she added.

Dr. Chinye-Nwoko remained hopeful that the issue of vaccine hesitancy in Nigeria would soon be overcome: “We hope that more Nigerians will understand the benefits of vaccination and importantly take their girls ages 9-14 to get the HPV vaccine once the national campaign commences.

“We also hope to build a vibrant community of advocates for healthcare improvement through active participation and social media conversations. To be part of the WeNaija campaign, visit the NSSF website at www.nssf.ng/hpvvcontest for details.”