President Muhammadu Buhari says his administration remains committed to eradicating poverty and enhancing growth and development for women and girls.
Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday, said Buhari gave the assurance in a message to mark the 2020 International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that from November 25, the United Nations’ “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence” will begin and end on December 10.
According to the president, the International Day of Eliminating Violence against Women presents a unique opportunity to highlight actions taken by his administration to address violence against women and girls.
Buhari disclosed that to address these developments, governments at Federal and state levels had put in place various measures to curb sexual and gender-based violence ”which has increased due to the lockdown measures introduced to check the COVID-19 pandemic”.
He said his administration had initiated programmes such as: Tradermoni, Marketmoni and Farmersmoni under the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme as part of measures to address gender-based poverty in the country.
”To mitigate the socio-economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the government has prioritized vulnerable groups, including women, in the provision of medical and social assistance.
”Our administration remains committed to eradicating poverty and enhancing growth and development for women and girls.
”In the last year, over one million Nigerians have been enrolled into National Social Register of Poor and Vulnerable Households to enable them to access needed social assistance.
”Under the National Social Investment Programme, we have commenced cash transfers and distribution of food items to individuals and families across all States in Nigeria as palliatives.
“The palliatives will cushion the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, ” Buhari explained.
He said his administration believed that the promotion and protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms are critical to the attainment of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.
The president urged the international community to support the mandate and operations of the Human Rights Council.
He said this was in the quest of the council to strengthen institutions in relation to gender equality and empowerment, as well as the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls.
”We have developed additional strategies to improve the quality of life for women and girls, redoubling our efforts to improve access to productive resources for women and girls as well as continue to ensure the protection of fundamental rights.
”We are very mindful of the necessity to empower women and girls for the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; the African Union Agenda 2063; as well as the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action.
”I wish you successful commemoration and Days of Activism,” Buhari said, in the statement.
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