UN Women, African Development Bank partner to address GBV in Nigeria

UN Women in partnership with African Development Bank have launched the High-level Working Group on Gender Response Budgeting, Policies and Institutions, to address the pressing issue of gender-based violence in Nigeria.

The launch was done at the High-Level Dialogue on Investment in Gender Equality and Ending Violence Against Women for Rights and Development, in Abuja, Nigeria.

Speaking, The UN Women Country Representative in Nigeria and ECOWAS, Beatrice Eyong, said GBV was not just a human rights issue but also an economic issue a that is costing the Nigerian government 1.5% of its Gross Domestic Product.

“We are talking in terms of billions of dollars that the country is losing every year because of Gender Based Violence.  So Gender Based Violence is linked to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. So if we do nothing, we will not get out of poverty and we will not get sustainable development. The World Economic Forum estimated in its global gender gaps report of 2022 that it will take about 132 years for the world to achieve gender equality. What does this mean for Nigeria? At this space, some of us, including our daughters might not experience gender equality in their time.

“This is therefore a call to collective actions by all international organisations, government agencies, community stakeholders and even the private sector to address the under-representation of women and barriers to gender equality,” she noted.

Also speaking,  the Director General, Nigerian Country Department,  African Development Bank, Dr Abdul Kamara has said the bank has a very clear stance on Gender Based Violence (GBV), stating that in 2024, ADB celebrated 25 years of gender mainstreaming in all its operations geared towards evidence based reduction in gender gaps and more importantly, in accelerating gender equality.

“One area where the bank has made very visible impact in the economic empowerment in the last seven years is increasing access to finance through a special initiative called AFAWA which is an acronym for Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa. In the context of this Pan African Initiative, the African Development Bank seeks to bridge the financing gap of $42 billion currently hindering women-owned and women-led enterprises across the continent and I am glad to report that we disbursed over a billion dollars of this across Africa, seeking to increase access to finance for women,” he said.

The Chairperson, Nigerian Governors’ Spouses Forum, Professor,  Olufolake Abdul-Razaq, said the Forum remains steadfast in advocating gender responsive budgeting across the 36 states of Nigeria and the FCT, and to ensure that all gender laws become a cornerstone of governance at the sub-national levels, adding that the well-being of women and girls remained a pivotal indicator of how well any nation was faring in driving her developmental plan.

“It is time to address the structural barriers that perpetrate inequality for women and girls to reach their full potentials. This is my believe and it is not only an act of justice but a strategic investment in resilience and productivity of our nation as this no doubt stands as a veritable gift to commemorate the 2024 16 days of activism against GBV.”

The GBV is a growing concern that required immediate attention and collective action, despite the  progress made toward dealing with violence, women and girls continue to face violence, discrimination and marginalisation.

To this effect, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Vitalis Obi, emphasised that empowering women was crucial to breaking the cycle of violence, which could be done by creating and promoting gender responsive policies.

“We must take decisive action to prevent and protect our women from all forms of violence and to create a society where everyone feels safe irrespective of their gender. One of the ways by which we can bridge this persistent gap is by institutionalising gender responsive budgeting in all sectors of the economy.

“Gender responsive budgeting is the strategic approach that integrates gender perspectives into the entire budget cycle. Allocate adequate resources to the programmes that will address GBV, women empowerment and education,” he said.

The event is part of the global “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence” campaign, which runs from November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to December 10th the Human Rights Day.