By Muhammad Amaan
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Momentum Country and Global Leadership and other USAID-funded projects have urged Gender-Based Violence stakeholders to take proactive meausres to end Violence Against Women and Girls in Sokoto state.
The call was made by the Sokoto State Team Lead of USAID-MCGL Project, Dr Bello Maimaje, at a town hall on sensitisation against VAWG on Sunday in Sokoto.
According to him, members of community groups, civil society organisations and religious bodies were targets of the discussions.
Maimaje explained that the efforts were meant to fine-tune modalities to sustain achievements recorded so far, as well as commitments in the fight against GBV.
He noted that the meeting was part of the 16 Days Activism against GBV, where challenges and success stories are meant to be exchanged among participants.
According to him, participants must establish links to strengthen GBV activities and relationships with relevant agencies.
Maimaje said MCGL conducted a series of activities to support the fight that strengthened community groups’ capacity on GBV, adding that no fewer than 380 healthcare workers were trained as first-line contacts of GBV cases.
Other activities, he noted included postpartum family planning, guidance and counselling sessions, and group sensitisation known as ‘Mabuta Abun Koyi,’ which targeted the promotion of harmonious decision-making in relationships among couples.
“Other group sessions were ‘Sasa’ for community leaders engagement aimed at checkmating gender imbalance, ‘Choices Voices’ for Adolescents cares on identifying GBV issues and reports as well as Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights on pregnancy decisions and children upbringing,” he added.
The Director, Sokoto State Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, Hajiya Habiba Ahmad, said that the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative Project made an impact in the struggle against GBV in Sokoto State and that the achievements should be sustained.
She said Response Teams played vital roles in reducing violence against women and girls in rural and urban areas in their efforts to prevent and report cases from the communities.
Habiba Ahmad pointed out that the established One-Stop GBV referral treatment centre named Nana Khadija Centre, handling treatment and other services for SGBV survivors, is located in the Sokoto metropolis and needs to be maintained.
She revealed that her efforts ensured the enactment of the Child Protection and Violence Against Persons Prohibition laws, which became good instruments in the struggle to stamp out GBV.
The 16 Days of Activism, an annual international campaign that runs from November 25, is part of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and runs until December 10, which is Human Rights Day.
The global initiative is aimed at the elimination of Gender-Based Violence by raising awareness about the devastating impact of violence on women and children and the social fabric of society.
