Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba has underscored the urgent need for joint intervention funding to promote women empowerment to overcome significant gender disparities.
Agba said that the funding would also facilitate the achievement of results outlined in gender equity in Nigeria’s National Development Plan (NDP).
The minister spoke at a follow-up meeting of the Government-Donor Joint Funding Facility meeting for Gender Equality and Women Empowerment which he hosted on Friday in his office in Abuja.
The meeting discussed the progress made on the action points from the previous meeting and the next steps for a joint action plan going forward.
Agba reaffirmed the federal government’s unwavering commitment to working with institutions and agencies using a human rights-based approach to create safe spaces for women and to achieve equity for them.
He said the presence of participants, including the Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Paulen Tallen and other critical bodies and stakeholders, at the meeting was a demonstration of “your avowed commitment to collaborate with the Government to ensure that women and girls in Nigeria are given the support and opportunities they need to thrive and further contribute to the development of the Country.”
Others who attended the meeting were the representatives of Embassy of Japan, United Nations Development Programme, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, United Nations, European Union, High Commission of Canada, United Bank for Africa, . KOICA, Embassy of Norway, British High Commission and USAID.
Agba recalled that at the maiden meeting on April 6, 2023, he highlighted the fact that women and girls were key agents of development and change in every Nation and that Nigeria had been working towards achieving gender equality and women empowerment, but noted that significant gender disparities still existed in various sectors of the Nigerian society.
According to him, “Consequently, our collective support to the gender equality and women empowerment joint intervention funding facility is imperative, as it will respond to Mr. President’s Call to Action towards addressing the National state of emergency created by violence against women and girls in Nigeria.”
He reiterated at the meeting the 2021 Gender Development Index (GDI) released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in which Nigeria ranked 156 out of 189 countries, with a GDI value of 0.744, indicating a significant gender development gap in the Country.
“Also, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, 31.4% of Nigerian women aged 15-49 have experienced physical violence since age 15, and 14.9% have experienced sexual violence. Though, experts believe that these numbers are likely to be underreported due to the stigma attached to reporting such crimes.
“Again, according to the World Bank, only 47.8% of women in Nigeria participate in the labour force, compared to 80.5% of men, indicating that the gender gap in Nigeria is wider than the global average.
“But, let me not bore you with those startling statistics since your presence here as I mentioned earlier is a demonstration of your commitment to work with the Government to pool resources towards addressing these gaps and reversing the negative trend.”
He continued: “It is imperative to underscore the urgency of a gender equality and women empowerment joint intervention funding. Suffices to state that at the moment, an estimated investment of about N108bn (approximately US$250million, taking into consideration 17% inflation, is expected to facilitate the achievements of the results outlined in women and gender equity over a period of 4-5 years projected in our National Development Plan (NDP).
“The Plan recognizes that achieving sustainable development requires the active participation of women in all aspects of society, and has outlined several strategies for promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment.
“It is in light of the foregoing, that this follow-up Government-Donor Joint Funding Meeting is intended to carry on with the momentum, look at where we are with regards to Action Points from the previous meeting, articulate next steps and forge a joint action going forward.”
In rounding off, he assured the meeting that the Government, with its leadership and coordination mandate, remained committed to working with institutions and agencies using a human right-based approach to create safe spaces for women and the most vulnerable and to achieve equity for them.
He thanked the various institutions for their support to the Government of Nigeria, pointing out that “as I round off my tenure in office as a Federal Minister, I look forward to seeing that our shared goal of empowering women and girls in Nigeria gains sustainable traction in the incoming administration through this initiative. Finally, let me take this opportunity to thank you profoundly for all the cooperation I have enjoyed.
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