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Nigeria’s HelpMum Wins $50,000 from Waislitz Global Citizen Award
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigerian health tech startup, HelpMum, has been announced as one of and the only African and among the four global winners for the 2021 Waislitz Global Citizen Award.
HelpMum was selected as the winner for the Waislitz Global Citizen COVID–19 Response award and would receive $50,000 as part of winning the award.
The Waislitz award is an annual cash reward (if up to a total of $250,000) presented by the Melbourne-based Waislitz Foundation with support from Mesoblast to individuals who are considered to be global changemakers.
The institution believes that the cash prize will enable the recipients to further implement their advocacy efforts especially to end extreme poverty.
This year, the 2021 Waislitz Global Citizen Awards applicants were evaluated in five areas: global citizenship, proof of concept, disruption, scalability, and adaptability.
According to the platform, hundreds of applications were received from participants from across the world but had to select four whose projects stood out as especially creative and important in the fight to defeat poverty.
The four winners include Bina Shrestha who founded Build Up Nepal, an organization that helps rural families build homes with environmentally friendly materials and offers entrepreneurial opportunities to people.
Other winners include Tania Rosas’ Fundación el Origen (Origin Learning Fund), Jimmy Pham’s Know One Teach One (KOTO) and HelpMum, founded by Dr Abiodun Adereni.
HelpMum provides an e-learning platform to train community birth attendants in their indigenous languages. It also provides a vaccination tracking system where expectant mothers in targeted remote areas are registered to encourage immunisation for their babies.
The startup works to ensure safe and hygienic delivery among pregnant women in rural and underserved communities through the distribution of affordable birth kits including cleansed gloves, antiseptic soaps, sterilised delivery mats and maternity pads.
HelpMum has so far worked with over 20,000 pregnant women and nursing mothers as well as more than 500 healthcare workers. In the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the startup donated 10,000 face masks to pregnant women, nursing mothers as well as traditional birth attendants in rural health centres.
This is not the first time that the start will be recognised as it received a $250,000 grant in 2018 as one of the Google Impact Challenge winners. It later won a $5,000 grant from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Speaking on the award, Dr Abiodun said, “Winning this award will help us at HeloMum scale our solutions —especially those we developed during COVID, help accelerate the impact we’ve had so far, and save more lives in remote communities. We are extremely grateful for this support from Global Citizen, Waislitz Foundation, and Mesoblast.”
General
NURTW Crisis: Police Arraign Baruwa After ‘Coup’ Against MC Oluomo
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The attempt by Mr Tajudeen Baruwa to forcefully overthrow Mr Musiliu Akinsanya, otherwise known as MC Oluomo, as the chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) has landed him in trouble.
The factional chairman of the group was arrested by the police in Abuja on Monday after he led other members to the headquarters of NURTW to dislodge his opponent.
Mr Baruwa claimed that he won a case against MC Oluomo at the court, empowering him to take over the leadership of the union.
The action triggered pandemonium at the secretariat of the organisation yesterday, prompting officials of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to pick him up.
The police have arraigned him alongside the factional General Secretary, Mr Sulaiman Musa, and five others in connection with the incident.
They were charged at Magistrate Court 1, Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, by the police for disrupting public peace, though normalcy has since been restored to the area.
General
Empowering Women Goes Beyond Celebrating IWD, Others—Interswitch HR
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Group Chief Human Resource Officer of Interswitch, Mr Franklin Ali, has highlighted the importance of creating deliberate opportunities that support women’s professional growth.
Speaking at a virtual session organised by the company to commemorate International Women’s Day (IWD) 2026 under the theme Give to Gain, he noted that, “At Interswitch, we believe empowering women goes beyond celebrating milestones like International Women’s Day. It requires creating meaningful platforms where women can learn, share experiences, and gain the visibility needed to grow as leaders. Through initiatives like Give to Gain, we encourage our women to recognise the value they bring and confidently amplify their impact within the organisation and beyond.”
At the event, which also featured the Deputy Chief Executive of Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited, Ms Bunmi Dayo-Olagunju, the leading African technology company reaffirmed its commitment to empowering women across its workforce and fostering an inclusive workplace culture.
In her presentation, which focused on Give to Gain – Give Value, Gain Visibility, Ms Dayo-Olagunju emphasised the importance of intentional value creation and visibility in shaping professional growth for women in the workplace.
Drawing from her experience in the financial services sector, she also shared perspectives on how women can intentionally position themselves for greater impact, build influence within their organisations, and translate consistent value delivery into meaningful professional growth.
It was gathered that Interswitch distributed customised care packages to female employees across its offices. The gesture served as a token of appreciation for the resilience, dedication, and excellence demonstrated daily by women across the organisation.
Beyond the session and care packages, Interswitch continues to support women across its workforce through a range of internal policies to promote well-being and work-life balance. These include access to top-notch creche facilities, a robust maternity leave policy, and an exclusive spousal allowance initiative, all of which reinforce the company’s broader commitment to creating a supportive environment where women can thrive both professionally and personally.
This year’s International Women’s Day initiative reflects Interswitch’s recognition of the vital role women play in shaping the company’s continued growth and success. Across technology, operations, product development, finance, and leadership, women within the organisation continue to drive innovation and strengthen service delivery.
General
Eight Die as Terrorists Blow up Niger Bridge
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A bridge connecting the Luma-Babana-Agwara communities in Niger State was destroyed by terrorists on Monday. The incident claimed the lives of eight people.
The bridge is a vital route used by residents travelling to the Babanna border market, which operates every Monday.
According to reports, the hoodlums used an improvised explosive device (IED) to bring down the facility located along Luma Road in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State.
The Chairman of Borgu Local Government, Mr Mohammed Nasir Abdullahi, who confirmed the attack, noted that authorities were working to verify the full extent of the damage.
“There was actually an attack by the bandits, and we are trying to verify the magnitude. A bridge was actually damaged. Already, we have sent people to the area to verify things for us,” Vanguard quoted him as saying.
It also quoted a source as saying, “In the early hours today, bandits stormed Borgu local government area of the state and bombed the Lunma-Babana bridge. Apart from bombing the bridge, the bandits also detonated bombs between Rafingiwa and Babana, and another at Woro and Kaiama, forcing residents to flee the area.”
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