Hajia A’isha Dantsoho, the Permanent Secretary, Sokoto State Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, has called for increased stakeholders’ efforts on ending Gender Based Violance (GBV) in Sokoto state.
Dantsoho made the call on Friday at a parley with 2022 Spotlight Initiative Joint Monitoring Team, adding that no single individual, non-governmental organization or the ministry would make impacts without collaboration with others.
She appealed to stakeholders to work towards ending gender based violence, harmful practices, violence against women and girls in all forms.
She also thanked the UN-Spotlight Initiative and every other donors for their commitment to a safe world for all, especially women and girls.
The representative of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr Olusola Akintola, applauded implementing partners of Spotlight Initiative in Sokoto for their dedication.
Olusola also thanked implementing partners in Sokoto for engaging the media, adding that whatever they did, stakeholders should ensure that their success stories were circulated consistently aside internal review of their activities.
Also, a representative of Civil Society Reference Group, Mrs Rhoda Tyodea, noted that the issue of GBV must not be taken for granted.
Tyodea commended the commitment of Sokoto state government and other partners on the achievements so far recorded.
In his presentation on overview of their assessment of Spotlight Initiative Implementing Partners in Sokoto, the Representative of UN-Partner, Mr Yinka Akin, said the debriefing was geared towards reviewing their findings, comparative analysis, recommendations and next step to go forward on programme.
Yinka said the overall objective of the visit was to provide recommendation for improvement and not any form of wichthunt.
He further stressed that the visit had cooperative, participatory, comparative analysis, culture of fairness and transparency; no fault finding mission but to promote learning.
He noted that the six pillars of Spotlight Initiative were geared towards, “a Nigeria where all women and girls are free from violence and harmful practices”.
Yinka further appealed to all Project Monitoring Units in Sokoto to develop sustainability plans that include an exit strategy, with support from Civil Society Organizations reference groups and other stakeholders.
Reports have it that the review meeting was attended by representatives of supporting partners, community groups, response teams, journalists and others.