Nigeria Ochuole Barka
I believe that everyone has the right to a safe and healthy life, and I want to do my part to make that happen.
Captioned to the right: Ochuole supports local community members to progress vaccination uptakes for Yellow Fever in Kaduna State.
As a young girl in Zaria, Nigeria, Ochuole found her passion for education. Today, her journey into humanitarian work has come full circle.
Her mission? To dismantle the barriers that deny girls their rightful place in the classroom and reshape the narratives that hold them back.
With emergency response experience and an MA in International Affairs, Ochuole wears many hats as an SBCC State Facilitator at CTG. She supports health facilities and tackles crucial issues in nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), healthcare, education, child protection and immunisation.
A firm believer in taking action, Ochuole works on the ground with stakeholders, local media, and communities to help amplify local voices and drive progress.
Impactful Encounter
During her outreach, Ochuole encountered a 14-year-old mother bottle-feeding her newborn with goat milk. This led to a collaborative effort with the young mother’s family to explore safe and nutritious infant feeding practices.
Her intervention sparked a community-wide shift, emphasising the importance of breastfeeding and routine infant immunisation.
As a facilitator, my experience has been beautiful because I work directly with the community to bring about positive behaviour change. I get to hear real life stories, which guides my communication strategies to address the challenges I come across.
Battling Vaccine Hesitancy: A Daily Challenge
Overcoming vaccine hesitancy is not an easy journey, especially in the face of cultural, religious and logistical barriers across Nigeria.
Inspired by Abraham Lincoln‘s famous statement “government of the people, by the people, for the people”, Ochuole hopes to see a Nigeria that will be free from corruption and poor governance. Her team tackles these challenges head-on by engaging communities, dispelling health misinformation and building trust through tailored messages.
