By Omolara Akintoye
Pix. Caption: Commissioner of Health, Rivers State, Dr Adaeze Chidinma Oreh, The Executive Director of the Centre for Integrated Health Programs (CIHP), Dr. Bolanle Oyeledun, Executive Director Ecrafti, Mr. Valentine Onyeka, Dr Kakanfo Kunle, Prof. Adesegun Fatusi, Deinma Otelimabia, Dr. Folakemi Animashaun, Dr Chris Obanubi MD, and other distinguished health leaders at the Centre for Integrated Health Programs (CIHP) 5th Scientific Roundtable Compendium Report Launch held recently
When the Centre for Integrated Health Programs (CIHP) hosted its 5th Scientific Round Table (SRT) on “Reimagining Health Systems,” the conversation moved far beyond academic papers. It was here that Ecrafti, an innovative advocacy and strategic communications organization, demonstrated a sophisticated approach to development—the “Framing for A Cause” strategy—using art to strategically influence the future of Nigeria’s health sector.
As a key partner essential for translating complex health policy into accessible and actionable public narratives, this strategic value was cemented when Ecrafti’s founder, Valentine Onyeka Ogunaka, gained a co-authorship role on the influential Scientific Roundtable Compendium alongside CIHP leadership.
The Scientific Roundtable Compendium is just the latest example of Ecrafti’s critical role in health advocacy, using creative expression to structure the entire reform debate. This creative application also extends to publications focused on crucial challenges, including improving vaccination uptake in low-resource settings, where effective messaging is essential to overcoming misinformation and hesitancy, and promoting community health through advocacy materials related to mobile clinics to ensure health services reach underserved populations.
The most powerful tool for this strategic framing was the choreography of change, “The System’s Pulse,” performed by a dance group from the Ecrafti hub. This performance was not just visual interpretation; it served as a mental model designed to guide stakeholders, including distinguished guests like Dr. Adaeze Oreh, Honourable Commissioner for Health, Rivers State, toward a shared vision of success.
This “Framing for A Cause” strategy ensured the conversation shifted from a statistical debate to an ethical one. Miss Zainab Eleojo, an emerging artist from Ecrafti’s Impact Speaks programs, performed her poetry piece, “To keep this heart beating.” By articulating the human cost of fragile health systems, she bypassed intellectual barriers to move listeners towards a moral imperative for immediate political will to address the health crises.
The success of the CIHP-Ecrafti partnership powerfully highlighted that collaborative innovation and locally-owned roadmaps are critical. Art is not merely entertainment but an indispensable policy tool for building resilient health systems in Nigeria and beyond.
