The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Ministry of Women Affairs have launched a new National Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Situation Room at the Ministry of Women Affairs in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
The Situation Room is to deliver multi-sectoral services – health, protection, household economic strengthening, and education – for vulnerable children and their caregivers through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) initiative.
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director Anne E. Patterson, said that under the Data for Implementation (Data.FI) activity, USAID is strengthening the capacity of the Ministry to monitor and improve services through the development and operationalization of effective data management systems.
“The mandate of the Ministry of Women Affairs — to promote women’s equality and opportunity and protect women and children from abuse and exploitation — also cuts across all USAID programming, with this the new Situation Room is a collaboration that will help Nigeria prevent violence against women, improve the resilience of vulnerable children and their caregivers, and respond to the needs of survivors of violence.”
An award was presented to USIAD in recognition of its substantial investments in women and children in Nigeria for the past two decades, auspiciously timed to coincide with the annual 16 Days Against Gender-Based Violence commemoration around the world.
Responding, Patterson expressed that; “We are honoured by this award, our support to health care as well as livelihood training for caregivers through the Ministry of Women Affairs, will continue to ensure the nutritional, educational and other needs of some of the most vulnerable Nigerians are met. We look forward to further collaboration to protect children and promote women’s equality.”
Responding to the gesture, Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs Pauline Tallen, said explained that “USAID works closely with the Ministry to coordinate OVC interventions within its broader child protection and women’s empowerment mandate not only to mitigate the risks of HIV, but also to support caregivers to strengthen the economic resilience of their households.
Adding that; “These efforts have brought us to this historic moment of opening a repositioned OVC situation room where we can obtain real-time data with ease. This will no doubt enhance the data generation and management at the national, regional and international levels.”
Last year, more than 19,000 beneficiaries received USAID-supported GBV services in 7,500 government and private health service providers that provided counselling on gender inclusion, and gender-based violence prevention and response.
The new Situation Room will harmonize OVC program reporting and optimize the National OVC Management Information System and harness the power of data to help case managers respond effectively provide appropriate services to help these children affected by HIV in their families and communities.
PIAK
