ActionAid Nigeria, an anti-poverty non-governmental organisation, has called on the Federal Government to prioritise vulnerable women, children, aged and persons with disabilities in its palliative measures to cushion their loss of income during this period of lockdown in the country.
Speaking in Abuja on Friday, Ene Obi, the Country Director pointed out that electricity, water and food should be made available to households to reduce the burden of work on women, adding that when women are reached their households benefit.
Obi equally disclosed that AAN has released strategic funds to her project partners in different parts of the states to cater for the protection of women during the period of epidemic, adding that a 9-member committee on COVID-19 has been set up by AAN who are finalising a strategy and seeking innovative ways of working with relevant stakeholders during this period.
She said: “ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) has followed with keen interest the Federal Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We applaud some of the steps taken by the Presidential Task Force and other stakeholders, including the media and first responders who are working tirelessly to ensure that the novel virus is exterminated from our shore.
“As an anti-poverty non-governmental organisation working to combat poverty and promote social justice in Nigeria for the past 20 years, ActionAid Nigeria is responding to the pandemic and we deem it fit to highlight our response and comment on governments response strategy thus far particularly as it affects our primary beneficiaries; women, children, youths and persons with disabilities”.
“ActionAid Nigeria’s approach to emergencies focuses on cultivating women’s leadership and shifting power to local organisations and movements. ActionAid Nigeria is currently responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in partnership with Activista Nigeria; a youth movement consisting 2957 youths, 28 women led organisations, 12 Local Rights Programme partners and the CSO Network on Social Protection consisting of 60 CSO groups across the federation. AAN’s immediate response is focused on protection services for women and girls, awareness, prevention and control; this we are implementing through community-based facilitators who have received safety kits and the pandemic awareness materials including megaphones, flyers, posters and banners with messages in local languages. Working with community-based facilitators is a safeguarding approach to mitigate the risk of staff and partners infecting or being infected in the response process. The community-based facilitators are leading the awareness campaigns in the communities and providing real time updates on the situation”.
“Also, strategic funds have been released from AAN to our project partners in different states to cater for the protection of women during the period of the epidemic. AAN has set up a 9-member Committee on COVID-19 finalizing a strategy and seeking innovative ways of working with relevant stakeholders during this period”.
Victoria Nnakaike, Lokoja
