The Dean, Commissioners of Women Affairs in Nigeria, Dr Ini Adiakpan, has called for a broader partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to address the challenges of gender-based violence in the country .
Adiakpan, leading other Commissioners of Women Affairs from the 36 States of the Federation, spoke Thursday evening at a high-level dialogue on advancing programmes for women and girls in Nigeria, which was held at the United Nations House, Abuja.
Dr Adiakpan, who is the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Akwa Ibom state, said as government officials in charge of women and girls, they have the mandate to initiate, plan and implement development programmes on women, children, persons with disabilities, the aged and the vulnerable persons.
She said, “By so doing, we mainstream issues concerning women and the girl child in all we do in our various Ministries”, and stressed the need for the UNDP to help in fast tracking development issues affecting women and girls in Nigeria through the various agencies of the United Nations.
The Women Affairs Commissioners specially urged the UNDP to intervene in the areas of funding, supporting women empowerment programmes, promoting gender equality, capacity building, social welfare programmes, and helping in research/assessment of women development issues.
“We need UNDP partnership and intervention in the stated areas. For instance, when we talk about nutrition, we talk about a lot of malnourished children and we need programmes to support children, promote healthy growth and development of pregnant women.
“We have a very serious issue of street children, it is alarming and very disturbing. If there is no intervention, these out of school children, who are loitering on the streets will grow into people of questionable characters, which in turn will lead to criminilaties; banditry, kidnapping etc.
“If we don’t start the intervention now, we will lose our children to criminalities and other social vices that are inimical to the overall wellbeing, socio-economic growth and development of the country”, the Dean, Commissioners of Women Affairs added.
In her remarks, the UNDP Resident Representative, Ms Elsie Attafuah, commended the Commissioners for the long standing relationship between their various Ministries and the UN agencies.
Attafuah said the UNDP has been “supporting the government and people of Nigeria in addressing development challenges, through strengthening and building institutions that promote inclusive sustainable development and democratic governance”.
She therefore urged the Commissioners to treat the issue of advancing programmes for women and girls development in Nigeria with utmost urgency and importance adding that, “We are in a world that is facing numerous crisis, wars, impact of climate change etc, yet we have a world that has great opportunities and possibilities, with innovative young men and women.
“We need to encourage and partner with women with fire in the belly to make things work and to take the cause of gender based development issues serious”, Ms Attafuah said, noting that the African continent and Nigeria, in particular, have everything it takes to prosper but yet wallow in abject poverty, and that is why, according to her, emphasis must be on Why?
However, the UNDP Country Representative assured the Women Affairs Commissioners that through the various UN agencies, the six major gender issues highlighted will be addressed squarely.
Earlier, Onyinye Ndubuisi, from the UNDP, said the meeting was aimed at fostering partnership between the UNDP and the various Ministries of Women Affairs in the country and to cross fertilize ideas on women and girls development issues.
