By Emma’Enenche Umele…
Ahead of the 2022 International Day of the Girl Child which holds every October 11th, participants at an all-female summit in Benue State have tasked governments, development partners, and other relevant bodies to take urgent and deliberate steps to protect and improve a lot of girls and women including those with disabilities in the society.
The participants made this known at a summit tagged “State of the Nigerian Girls Summit” (SONGS) organized in Makurdi by Okaha Women and Children Development Organization (OWACDO), a Non-Governmental Organization, in conjunction with the Benue State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development supported by Action Aid Nigeria.
The participants drawn from upper primary school, lower secondary schools, school categories, children’s parliament, and Persons With Disabilities (PWDs), had focus discussions covering a range of issues including career path, child marriage, Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management (MHHM), academic challenges, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) as well as other issues including safety at home and in school among others.
Addressing the summit, Executive Director of OWACDO, Mrs. Joy Ijuwo who pointed out that the focus group pre-summit was a prelude to the forthcoming International Day of the Girl Child, explained that the activity was organized due to the high premium placed on girls, added that their recommendations would be collated and presented at a larger summit in Abuja come October as well as to organizations for intervention.
The robust feedback, responses, and concerns raised by participants were harvested from a mix of highly participatory exercises including experience sharing, and question and answer sessions which, according to Mrs. Ijuwo, would aid strategic planning for the girl child by several concerned organizations.