{"id":96831,"date":"2025-08-20T12:53:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T12:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/96831\/"},"modified":"2025-08-20T12:53:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T12:53:10","slug":"driving-womens-health-and-economic-empowerment-through-nigerias-care-economy-by-nigeria-health-watch-aug-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/96831\/","title":{"rendered":"Driving Women\u2019s Health and Economic Empowerment Through Nigeria\u2019s Care Economy | by Nigeria Health Watch | Aug, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Nigeria<\/a>Press enter or click to view image in full size\"\"Image credit: Nigeria Health Watch<\/p>\n

Safiya Shuaibu Isa and Favour Ani (Lead writers)<\/p>\n

The true measure of a society\u2019s development lies in the strength of its foundational systems, at the heart of which is care work. This essential labour sustains both social well-being and economic productivity,<\/a> yet it remains one of the most overused, undervalued, and least recognised sectors globally.<\/p>\n

While care work sustains households, fuels economic activity, and enables human development, it is often treated as invisible<\/a>, absent from health policies, marginal in economic planning, and disproportionately shouldered by women and girls.<\/p>\n

For generations, women have carried the bulk of this work out of love, responsibility, and cultural expectation, often at the cost of their own ambitions, physical health, and mental well-being. The time has come to make care visible, valued, and supported as a driver of inclusive growth.<\/p>\n

Press enter or click to view image in full size\"\"Image credit: Nigeria Health Watch<\/p>\n

Defining care work and the care economy<\/p>\n

Care work<\/a> encompasses paid and unpaid activities that meet people\u2019s physical, emotional, educational, and social needs. It includes direct care, such as feeding a baby, nursing the sick, or teaching and indirect care such as cooking, cleaning, or managing household logistics. Paid care roles include nurses, teachers, social workers, and domestic workers. Unpaid care<\/a>, most often performed by family members, remains essential but is rarely counted in economic statistics.<\/p>\n

The care economy refers to the entire system of paid and unpaid care work. It has immense economic and social value. Every day, millions of people provide the care that keeps households running and economies alive. If the value of unpaid care were included in GDP, it would account for nearly 9% of the global economy, about US$ 11 trillion.<\/a> Investment in this sector has multiplier effects. In 2024, the World Economic Forum estimates<\/a> that US$ 1.3 trillion in professional care services could unlock US$ 3.1 trillion in GDP growth and create over 10 million new jobs.<\/p>\n

Press enter or click to view image in full size\"\"Image credit: Nigeria Health Watch<\/p>\n

These numbers are not abstract, they reflect classrooms being staffed, hospital wards reopened, and families able to balance work with life because care is supported, not strained.<\/p>\n

Care work and women\u2019s health<\/p>\n

Globally, women perform 76% of unpaid care work<\/a>, amounting to over 11 billion hours daily. In Nigeria, the vast majority of women work in the informal sector, with only 6.9% in formal<\/a> employment. This reflects time poverty<\/a> caused by unpaid caregiving, which limits their participation in the labour market, reduces lifetime earnings, and perpetuates gender inequality.<\/p>\n

Globally, women spend on average, three times<\/a> more hours than men on unpaid domestic and care work. This imbalance comes at a steep personal cost, the physical and emotional demands of continuous care are linked to elevated cortisol levels<\/a>, slower physical recovery, and greater risk of depression, anxiety, and emotional distress. The repetitive and physically taxing nature of these tasks contributes to chronic exhaustion and, over time, undermines both the productivity and long-term well-being of women.<\/p>\n

Affordable childcare, home health aides, and eldercare facilities reduce physical strain and help prevent chronic conditions such as musculoskeletal disorders, back pain, and stress-related illnesses. Excessive unpaid care is linked to elevated stress hormones, depression, and anxiety. Conversely, in Nordic countries<\/a>, where public childcare and eldercare systems are robust, women report higher life satisfaction and lower rates of care-related burnout than the global average.<\/p>\n

Formalising paid care work<\/a> with fair wages, health insurance, maternity benefits, and regulated hours, not only improves working conditions but also strengthens women\u2019s access to healthcare and social protection.<\/p>\n

The economic case for investment<\/p>\n

Neglecting the care economy carries significant economic costs. In Nigeria, only 6.9%<\/a> of women are engaged in the formal sector, while 82.1% are engaged in informal work. This heavy burden of unpaid and informal care limits women\u2019s access to economic opportunities, drives time poverty, and restricts their participation in both the formal workforce and decision-making processes.<\/p>\n

Press enter or click to view image in full size\"\"Image credit: Nigeria Health Watch<\/p>\n

It is also estimated that gender gaps in education and labour force participation within the country contributes to a 1.2% to 1.5%<\/a> annual loss in GDP. Moreover, maternal mortality<\/a> alone in Africa reduces per capita GDP by US$0.36 per death per year, revealing how neglecting women\u2019s health and care responsibilities has both human and economic costs.<\/p>\n

Nigeria\u2019s Women\u2019s Economic Empowerment (WEE)<\/a> Policy, launched in 2023, provides a strategic framework to transform care work from an invisible burden into a recognised economic sector. It seeks to reduce unpaid care burdens through affordable childcare, eldercare, and health services; embed care infrastructure into financial inclusion, digital access, and gender-responsive governance; formalise care work with stable jobs, social protection, and fair pay; increase female labour force participation from 55% to 65%.<\/p>\n

When fully implemented, the policy could unlock women\u2019s potential at scale, improve health outcomes, boost productivity, and foster sustainable development.<\/p>\n

Reflections<\/p>\n

Care work is not charity. It is the backbone of our economy and the foundation of human well-being. Recognising, reducing, and redistributing care responsibilities is central to improving women\u2019s health, driving economic growth, and achieving gender equality.<\/p>\n

To effectively harness the potential of the care economy, Nigeria must undertake several critical actions<\/a>. First, it is essential to redistribute care responsibilities between women and men through public awareness campaigns and educational initiatives. Next, professionalising care work by providing training, certification, and enforcing fair labour standards is vital for elevating the profession.<\/p>\n

Investing in care infrastructure will create jobs, enhance health outcomes, and reduce inequality. Moreover, integrating care into economic planning through gender-responsive budgeting and policy enforcement can drive significant change.<\/p>\n

Lastly, challenging harmful gender norms<\/a> and expanding women\u2019s access to education, property rights, and leadership roles will be crucial for achieving a more equitable society. By addressing these interconnected issues, Nigeria can move towards a more balanced and fair distribution of care responsibilities, ultimately benefiting the entire population.<\/p>\n

With the right investments and policies, Nigeria can turn the care economy from a silent burden into a visible engine of national development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Press enter or click to view image in full sizeImage credit: Nigeria Health Watch Safiya Shuaibu Isa and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":96832,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[97,252,253],"class_list":["post-96831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96831"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96831\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}