By Muhammad Amaan
The United Nations Women has called for more empowerment of women to avoid extreme poverty.
The Country Representative for Nigeria, Betrice Eyong disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja while delivering her speech during a summit organised by the Association of Women Living with HIV in Nigeria (ASWHAN).
The theme of the event is: ‘Promoting Inclusive Economic Growth and Development; A catalyst for Reducing Vulnerability and Poverty among Marginalized Groups.
According to her, if we don’t invest in Women, we will have about 360 million who will go into extreme poverty globally.
“One thing I want to inform you here is that in rural areas of Nigeria 15 per cent of the households are led by women while in the urban areas 19 per cent are led by women.
“When we calculate it there about 40 million individuals in those homes and when you look at these women you will appreciate the reason why we all gathered here to talk about investment in Women,” she said.
She expressed the UN’s commitment to ensure that no one would be left behind in terms of social and economic inclusion, especially the women folk who are mostly vulnerable.
“We are working assiduously to ensure that our living no one behind principles is reflected in what we are doing.
“This is because we look at women’s economic empowerment, women’s political participation, gender-based violence and gender responsive, planning and budgeting,” she said.
On her part, the National Coordinator, ASWHAN, Esther Hindi, advocated the need for government to support efforts toward gender equality and economic empowerment of women living with HIV/AIDS.
The event was organised in commemoration of International Women’s Day to canvass support for Economic Empowerment of Women and Other Vulnerable Groups in the country.
