By Deborah Onyofufeke, Abuja
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Women, the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and other stakeholders came together to discuss ways in which the Plight of women and girls in the country can be advanced and improved.
The Minister of the Federal Ministry of women Affairs, Barr. Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, appealed to stakeholders to include empowerment in their training programmes for women and girls.
She lamented that most of the women and girls who have undergone skills acquisition trainings in the past are still unable to fend for themselves because these trainings don’t come with empowerment tools.
Uju said this in Abuja at a high level Multi-Sectoral meeting on women and girls programming in Nigeria with the United Nations Development Program, UNDP, in partnership with UNwomen.
The Minister explained that acquiring a skill is not enough when the trainees are unable to put it to use.
She said “let your trainings come with empowerment, we need help. Anybody initiating training should accompany it with empowerment”.
She also said “Today’s meeting represents a crucial juncture in our ongoing efforts to advance the rights and opportunities of women and girls in Nigeria”.
The roundtable meeting had present representatives from diverse sectors which included donors, development partners, civil society organizations, and knowledge-based stakeholders.
All members present extensively discussed collective commitment to addressing the challenges and barriers that hinders gender equality and women’s empowerment in the country.
Uju noted that the meeting is not merely a gathering of minds but a testament to the Renewed Hope Initiative commitment to catalyze positive change in the lives of women and girls across the nation.
In her keynote remarks, the Gender and Human Rights Programme Lead, Onyiye Belinda Ndubuisi outlined the need for the agency and the ministry to work collectively, seal partnerships, streamline projections towards a new beginning for Women and Girls.
Also speaking, the Economic, Lead Economic Empowerment, (UN Women), Dr. Chukwuemeka Onyimadu thanked the minister and stakeholders for the meeting, citing needs for progressives advancement for gender.
“We will deepen this collaborative agenda, work with the ministry and other stakeholders to get things done,”
