The Cross River State Government has unveiled a 44-page Strategic Plan for orphans and other young people to enhance its drive toward the protection of her most fragile, delicate and vulnerable population,
The document was developed with the collaboration of Cuso International, Global Affairs Canada, Centre for Clinical Care Research, Nigeria (CCCRN) the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) amongst others for the Cross River State Ministry of Women Affairs to guide the implementation of key interventions effectively.
In a keynote, the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs. Edema Irom described the plan as “a document that will serve as a blueprint and road map for OVC prevention and response interventions in Cross River.
“It will also serve as a guide for state actors in program implementation to strengthen interventions by ensuring quality and prompt services to OVC and their households, reduce duplication of efforts by partners, ensure sustainability as well as strengthen and enhance coordination and collaboration,” Irom stressed.
She expressed appreciation to international partners such as the Centre for Clinical Care and Clinical Research Nigeria and CUSO International for the technical and financial support in the development, printing, and launch of the CRS Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Strategic Plan.
In a speech, the Head of Programmes, Africa of Cuso International, Mr. Uko Ekott said the launch of the plan was a call to action for every stakeholder committed to enhancing the well-being of humanity, especially advancing the rights of children.
Ekott also said that the plan was “well suited with Cuso International’s new strategy 2023 – 2027, which prioritises the need to address the root cause of inequality and improve the economic and social conditions of the most marginalised through providing technical support to organisations and institutions working in related focus areas through an integrated approach to partnership and capacity building.”
He promised that Cuso International would expand its collaborative frontiers with the Cross River State Government and development partners to improve efficiencies, reach and impacts of her programmes.
Filling gaps
Also, the Chief of the Party, CCCRN, Peters Adekoya congratulated the state government for the achievement, which was a signal for greater collaboration to fill the deficits and gaps in Cross River State.
Dr. Adekoya noted that there were millions of vulnerable children and orphans, who require society’s care and concern particularly the homeless children and those stigmatised as witches, saying “The content-specific policy would serve to guide the direction of government interventions for the sustainability of the programmes after the close out”.
He also emphasised the need for greater synergy between government agencies and development partners to effectively implement the policy and expressed the hope that in the future, the policy would become entrenched in the law of Cross River State.
There were several goodwill messages from civil society organisations and the Cross River State Head of Service, Mr Innocent Eteng, who was represented by the Deputy Director of Administration, Aje Ayuk.
The Cross River State Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Strategic Plan is expected to be distributed across the 18 local government areas and to government agencies especially those engaged with child development.
Dominica Nwabufo
Comments are closed.