Chief Dr. Mrs. Moji Makanjuola, MFR, FNIPR, has received the Lifetime Achievement in Broadcasting, Health and Gender Award at the 10th Anniversary Edition of the Africa Women Conference (AWC) in Accra, Ghana.
Organised under the theme “A Decade of Impact: From Commitments to Action—Advancing Justice, Economic Power, and Leadership for African Women and Girls,” the continental summit recognized the Nigerian broadcasting pioneer for using communication and journalism as instruments for social transformation and life-saving advocacy across Africa.
Makanjuola’s media career spans over three decades, beginning as the first television announcer in Kwara State before spending roughly 35 years at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). At NTA, she pioneered the network’s specialized Health and Gender Desk, establishing structured coverage for maternal, child, and public health issues that had long been neglected by mainstream reporting.
Her dedication to health journalism was profoundly shaped by the tragic loss of her mother following a road traffic accident, where undetected internal bleeding highlighted critical deficits in Nigeria’s emergency medical response. Rather than internalizing the grief, she committed her career to interrogating healthcare deficiencies, holding public institutions accountable, and communicating critical health science to everyday citizens.
A key turning point in her advocacy occurred during the early 2000s polio vaccination controversy in northern Nigeria. Makanjuola joined an international fact-finding mission across South Africa, Indonesia, and India to study vaccine manufacturing and safety. The scientific findings she brought back directly influenced key policymakers, including then-Governor Umaru Musa Yar’Adua of Katsina State, who subsequently mandated ward-level child immunizations.
Beyond her 35-year tenure in broadcast television and her past leadership as National President of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Makanjuola founded the International Society of Media in Public Health (ISMPH). Through ISMPH, she has partnered with international development partners—such as the World Health Organization (WHO), USAID, and UN agencies—to train generations of journalists on reproductive, maternal, and adolescent nutrition reporting, turning health communication into a cornerstone of civic accountability.
