Dr. Sandra Nkechi Uzodimma, Founder, Mom of Boys Nigeria
THE TOP10 MAGAZINE MOTHERHOOD SUPPORT AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT ICON OF THE YEAR
As a mother herself, Dr. Sandra Nkechi Uzodimma had first-hand experience of the challenges that women face during pregnancy and postpartum, especially postpartum depression. This made her recognize the need for more support and resources for women during this critical time. Armed with this experience, knowledge and her expertise in strategic communications, public relations and stakeholder management, she decided to intervene with two practical steps – she wrote a book and founded a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) – to intervene in maternal health care and well-being in Nigeria.
Today, Dr. Uzodimma is one of Nigeria’s leading lights in the design and implementation of initiatives that provide education, advocacy, and support for maternal health and postpartum depression. The programmes focus on ensuring that every mother has access to quality maternal healthcare and support services, regardless of their socioeconomic status. Her book, Postpartum and Beyond, for instance, provides a vivid first-hand account and expert advice on the struggles and difficulties mothers face through their maternal health and how best to mitigate it. The NGO, Mom of Boys Nigeria, is a maternal health initiative for mothers, dedicated to supporting, loving, and catering to mothers. It helps mothers navigate the complexities of motherhood while reinforcing positive parenting. Through its maternal health initiatives, the foundation curates programmes aimed at alleviating the burdens associated with motherhood and ensuring maternal health.
Mom of Boys prioritizes the healthcare and well-being of all mothers, striving to provide compassionate, empathetic, culturally sensitive, and holistic care. Part of its vision includes offering support to new mothers where needed, aiding the government in creating a healthcare framework that prioritizes maternal health, and lending a supportive voice to address maternal health issues.
The organization’s goal is to build a community of mothers to provide physical, mental, and emotional support. It also seeks to educate and enlighten expectant mothers on the realities of motherhood and offer guidance on positive parenting.
Mom of Boys focuses on providing education, advocacy, and support for maternal health and postpartum depression. It’s Maternal Health Outreach Programme is dedicated to educating and empowering the future generation about the critical importance of maternal health. The programme emphasizes that healthy mothers lead to healthier families and, by extension, a healthier community. Mom of Boys has continually focused on sensitizing and engaging mothers and the community about maternal health in Nigeria. It provides education and basic support for women in different communities.
As part of its outreach efforts, the organization visited Government Secondary School, Dutse, to sensitize, empower, and educate young girls about the significance of maternal health care. The organization used the visit to share its vision and belief that all girls and women deserve better to improve maternal health outcomes.
Mom of Boys teaches mothers the importance of community development: why they must partake, and the benefits of building a safe and effective community to support mothers during their maternal health journey.
The organization also distributed maternal health kits for Mothers in Collaboration with Vowe Foundation and Geranuel PCOS Foundation at Gwarimpa General Hospital, Abuja where it sensitized and engaged mothers on the importance of maternal health and provided maternal health kits to nursing mothers to aid their transition to postpartum.
The organization was part of the commissioning of the first round of the 2023 Maternal Newborn Child Health Week (MNCHW) and the implementation of the Community Health Influencers and Promoters Services (CHIPS) programme in Imo State on May 22, 2023. The initiative, supported by the Federal Government, the Imo State Government, UNICEF, Vitamin Angels, Ugo’s Touch of Life Foundation (U-TOLF), and other partners, aims to ensure that every child, pregnant, and breastfeeding mother receives adequate care.
The CHIPS initiative was developed to enhance the ability of village workers (VHW) and provide health services at residents’ doorsteps in the state, with continuous progress being made to improve mother-and-child health care.
The Mom of Boys founder is a communications strategist with a wealth of experience in public relations and stakeholder management. She has worked with various organizations in both the public and private sectors, where she has developed and executed successful communication strategies to achieve organizational goals. She is an active member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, with an active masters degree in view from the Ahmadu bello University as well as a Honorary doctorate degree in philosophy of humanities from Prowess University in Delaware United States.
Dr. Sandra Nkechi Uzodimma is being honoured as the Top10 Magazine’s Motherhood Support and Women Empowerment Icon of the Year 2024 in recognition of her passion, dedication and impact on promoting mothers’ well-being in Nigeria.
