By Sam Tyav, Makurdi
Benue State Government has assured both local and international organizations of its preparedness to support initiatives capable of adding value to the efforts of the present administration at empowering vulnerable women and girls.
Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Mrs Theresa Ikwue, while delivering a speech at a closeout ceremony to mark the end of a one-year programme aimed at empowering vulnerable Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) and Female Sex Workers (FSWs) on human rights, healthcare, and awareness creation on GBV, assured that government would not hesitate to support such initiatives.
This was part of activities organized by a group, Concerned Women International Development Initiative (CWIDI) in collaboration with the French Embassy Fund (FEF-OSC) to commemorate this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) held at Hallydays Hotel, Makurdi, the state capital.
Represented by Head of Reproductive Health in the Ministry, Mrs Doofan Ibya, the Commissioner described CWIDI’s activities as aligning with the Ministry’s mandate and expressed government’s determination to partner organisations willing to support the Governor Hyacinth Alia administration to actualize its objectives.
Ikwue assured the group of collaboration to enable government extend the project to other Local Government Areas (LGAs) to empower more vulnerable girls and women on their rights as well as the opportunity to educate women on GBV issues and how to acquire skills to reduce poverty among women.
CWIDI’s Director of Programmes, Mrs Bridget Okeke, in her remarks, said the NGO in collaboration with the FEF-OSC, decided to embark on the project having identified stigma, limited awareness on legal rights, access to healthcare, weak reporting pathways and economic vulnerability as major challenges facing the AGYW, particularly female sex workers.
She said to break the cycle, different categories of vulnerable women including female sex workers, were educated on the VAPP law, access to healthcare, awareness creation on GBV, adding that the organization carried out community engagements such as capacity building workshops to empower stakeholders to become advocates in their communities to help reduce GBV.
According to her, during the period, about 42 young girls were trained in vocational skills such as tailoring, nail fixing, making of pastries, etc with another 340 young girls trained through a step-down programme.
Start-up kits worth N18 million were provided to the girls engaged on vocational skills with the aim to reduce poverty –the major reason for women’s vulnerability in the state.
She expressed delight that those the organization had trained were doing well, with a particular beneficiary using proceeds from her business to train herself in a Polytechnic.
During panel discussion, stakeholders called on the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare to activate Section 40 of the VAPP law and involve government in project sustainability.
The stakeholders equally suggested that government reduce the VAPP law into local languages for rural people to know what the VAPP and other similar laws are all about, advocating for inter-agency collaboration and awareness creation using the media to disseminate information to rural communities.
Beneficiaries including Sylvia Tortya and Agatha Iorzua, among others, expressed appreciation to CWIDI and their partners for empowering them.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Members of the organisation and government officials during the event.
