Hot SourceMichael Olugbode in Abuja
The Government of Canada has pledged to support the second phase of the Women’s Voice and Leadership Nigeria (WVL-N) Project implemented by ActionAid Nigeria with 15.75 million Canadian dollars,
This five-year initiative is designed to strengthen women’s rights organisations, promote gender equality, and combat gender-based violence across Nigeria.
ActionAid Nigeria’s Country Director, Andrew Mamedu, revealed this on Thursday while highlighting the project’s objectives, stressing its ambitious outreach.
He said: “In the next five years, hold us accountable. We plan to reach 2.7 million women indirectly and 350,000 directly through the support of 188 women-led organisations working at community, local government, and state levels.”
He explained that while the project will focus on eight states, other innovation funds will cover nationwide interventions:
“But there are other strategic opportunity funds or innovation funds, those ones will be run across the 36 states.”
Mamedu further broke down the categories of women the project will target, disclosing that “It includes women with disability, it includes women, the poor and excluded, women that are facing gender-based violence, women that are getting into politics, women in leadership position, women that are trying to improve their livelihood, women facing one form of discrimination.”
He added that ActionAid would collaborate broadly with stakeholders to ensure impact, stressing that: “As ActionAid we will work with all stakeholders, governments, the state governments, the federal government, Ministry of Women Affairs, agencies, departments that are relevant for this, and of course development partners as well to get these results that we assume.”
Clarifying what “strategic funds” mean, Mamedu said: “So strategic funds are funds that deal with emergency issues and they can be assessed within 48 hours.”
At the project’s launch in Abuja, the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Pasquale Salvaggio, reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to gender equality.
He said: “We are absolutely delighted to support this new initiative that demonstrates Canada’s commitment to gender equality in Nigeria. We are pleased to have so many allies and champions with us today as we work together to advance these goals.”
Explaining why support for women’s rights organisations in Nigeria is essential, Salvaggio said, “It matters because Nigerian women and girls are the drivers of change in their communities, they are entrepreneurs and educators, health workers and human rights defenders, policy advocates and peace builders.”
He also pointed to the global impact of the programme, stating that: “The Women’s Voice in Leadership programme has exemplified this leadership. Globally, WVL has supported over 2,200 women’s rights and feminist organisations across more than 30 governments.”
On the scope of the Canadian investment, the High Commissioner concluded: “This investment will be delivered nationally with strong focus on localization, inclusion and sustainability
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