Abiodun Nejo
Ekiti State Government says it is committed to sustaining relationships with stakeholders and partners to promote safety and security so as to eliminate all forms of gender-based violence.
Stating this in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday during the opening of a one-day workshop organised by the Nigeria COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Project, which is a World Bank-assisted project, state Commissioner for Health, Dr Oyebanji Filani, said the state has zero-tolerance for all forms of violence, including sexual exploitation and gender-based violence.
The commissioner, who was represented by the Director, Public Health, Ministry of Health, Dr Abayomi Ibrahim, said achieving such would require the cooperation of all.
He said, “I enjoin participants to utilise the knowledge acquired from this workshop to fuel public intolerance for all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, and Gender-violence in the state. The present administration will continue to work with stakeholders and partners to promote safety and security”.
CoPREP State Project Coordinator, Mrs Bosede Alowooye, recalled the COVID-19 experiences during the pandemic, noting that it came with some challenges that included different shades of sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, and GBV.
“The project is to prevent, protect, detect, and respond to threats posed by the pandemic in Ekiti State” to eliminate such issues,” she added,
CoPREP Gender Pillar Coordinator, Mr Tolu Ogunniyi, said the collaborative efforts of stakeholders across sectors culminated in the development of a state action plan featuring radio awareness campaigns, community engagements, training sessions, and policy advocacy.
He added, “The commitment to creating awareness, mobilizing community support and advocating for policy enhancements showcased a unified front against sexual abuse and exploitation and sexual harassment”.
The consultant to the project and Programme Manager, Balm in Gilead Foundation for Sustainable Development, Mr Nelson Akerele, said, “The two-year action plan was developed to guide and facilitate stakeholders’ joint response to sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment and GBV in Ekiti State”.
While presenting the development objectives for the state action plan 2024 – 2026, he called on all stakeholders to join forces against all forms of gender violence.
Meanwhile, participants at the workshop adopted the state action plan as a working document and drew out quick action steps to address the short-term objectives of the plan.
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