TOS Foundation Africa and the Nigeria Governors’ Spouses’ Forum (NGSF) have entered a formal partnership to expand women’s economic empowerment programmes, strengthen primary healthcare delivery, and improve child survival outcomes across Nigeria’s 36 states.
The announcement was made in a statement issued by the Foundation’s media office on Monday. The collaboration is designed to align state-led social interventions with a national framework that connects women’s livelihoods to household resilience and infant survival, especially in underserved communities.
Under the agreement, both organisations will jointly implement and scale the Foundation’s Women and Girls Empowerment (WAGE) and Capacity Building Incubator (CBI) framework. The focus areas include strengthening Primary Health Centres (PHCs), expanding sustainable livelihood opportunities for women, and supporting measurable and scalable state-led models for implementation.
The WAGE and CBI framework was first introduced in 2020 by TOS Foundation Africa, then known as The Osasu Show Foundation. The launch came at a time when national attention was directed toward addressing gender inequities. The initiative was unveiled at a press conference attended by government officials, civil society leaders and development partners, including the then Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, and Amnesty International Nigeria’s Country Director, Osai Ojigho. The programme was backed by a ₦2.5 billion catalytic fund.
According to the Foundation, “the framework was designed as a practical, systems-strengthening vehicle to move resources closer to communities, reinforce existing institutions, and equip women not only to participate in economic life, but to do so with dignity, stability, and agency, recognising the direct link between women’s livelihoods, household resilience, and child survival outcomes.”
The partnership with the Governors’ spouses marks a new phase for the initiative, focusing on scaling and sustainability. The Forum, led by its Chairperson, Olufolake AbdulRazaq, plays a strategic role within Nigeria’s governance structure, combining proximity to state-level decision-making with strong community engagement among women, families and vulnerable groups.
By integrating TOS Foundation Africa’s programme design, technical expertise, and monitoring framework with the Forum’s influence and reach, the collaboration seeks to promote state ownership and align with national development priorities. The partnership will prioritise improving PHCs to enhance infant survival rates, expanding women’s economic empowerment pathways to strengthen household resilience, and supporting locally driven state interventions.
Speaking on the development, Osasu Igbinedion, Founder of TOS Foundation Africa, emphasised the importance of connecting women’s livelihoods with child survival efforts. “Improving child survival and women’s livelihoods requires more than isolated programmes. It requires systems that recognise how closely a mother’s economic stability is tied to a child’s chance at survival,” she said.
“When women have the tools to earn, to access quality care, and to make informed choices, families become healthier and communities grow stronger. This partnership is about delivering that impact in ways that are practical, locally led and sustainable.”
Mrs Igbinedion further explained that collaborating with the governors’ spouses’ forum would help strengthen existing state systems and ensure national priorities lead to real community-level improvements.
The initiative is expected to accelerate the nationwide expansion of the WAGE and CBI framework. It also reinforces TOS Foundation Africa’s mission of promoting inclusive governance, gender equity and sustainable development, while addressing the persistent gaps in women’s livelihoods and child health outcomes.
The NGSF, which brings together the spouses of state governors, supports social development programmes focusing on women, children and families. The Forum leverages its connection to subnational leadership and grassroots networks to influence positive change.
TOS Foundation Africa is a pan-African nonprofit organisation focused on inclusive governance, gender equity, youth empowerment and locally led development through advocacy, research and programme delivery.
