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WVL Nigeria Project Ends Year One (1) with the launch of COVID 19 Campaign from a Women’s Rights Angle

WVL-Nigeria project

The Women’s Voice and Leadership Nigeria project, a 5-year project funded by Global Affairs Canada, concluded its Year One activities in March, 2020. Over the last 12 months, the project has worked towards achieving its aim through a range of activities focused on supporting Local Women’s Rights Organisations and their Networks in their efforts to eliminate discrimination and rights violations in policy and legislation and the provision of services, as well as harmful social beliefs and practices in Nigeria. The project, currently being implemented in six (6) states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, has provided multiple layers of funding and tailored Capacity Building to Local Women’s Rights Organizations (LWROs) and Networks for them to better respond to the challenges of women in the Nigerian society. Key outcomes from the WVL project year one (1) include:

  • Selection and granting of 18 Women’s Rights Organisations as WVL State Implementing Partners
  • Selection and granting of 10 Women’s Rights Networks as WVL National Implementing Partners
  • Three Tailored Capacity Building Trainings organized for all 28 Project Partners
  • Disbursement of project Rapid Response fund to 9 Women’s Rights Organisations to address emerging issues of women’s rights violation and rights protection
  • Launch of Project Strategic Innovation Fund to support innovations in addressing women’s rights

 

With the spread of the COVID 19 Pandemic to Nigeria, the project is diversifying to address the emerging needs of women in project states. This is considered a priority because efforts to contain the Virus has resulted in total lock down of states with high prevalence rates.  With a total lockdown comes loss of livelihood as women constitute the vast majority of the labour force in the informal sector with no social safety net to fall back on. Other potential effects of the lockdown on women include increased burden of unpaid care, increased burden of family finances, rise in cases of domestic/spousal violence, and limited access to much needed maternal health services. Without a gender-equal response to the COVID 19 outbreak, the hard won progresses that have been made in relation to gender equality in Nigeria may be reversed. The project provided space and support for Project Partners to think creatively and program around addressing women’s needs during the COVID 19 pandemic in Nigeria. To this end, the Project Partners will commence Year 2 activities with focus on areas such as:

 

  • Protection services for women and girls including shelter and livelihood support
  • Home Schooling for girls via Radio and Television
  • Basic Relief items for women especially pregnant and lactating women
  • Intensified community sensitization to prevent Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and garner support to women during lockdown
  • Advocacy for inclusion of more women in COVID 19 taskforce across states and national level
  • Sensitization on the effects of, and misconceptions about COVID 19 in local languages
  • Research on interlinkage between COVID 19 and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV)

 

These activities will be implemented during the first quarter of project year 2 with the aim of mitigating the potential negative effects that COVID 19 may have on Nigerian Women. This opportunity has also been extended to non-project partners with urgent needs to intervene in protection issues for women.  Beyond the COVID 19 intervention, other milestones to be achieved in the new project year include:

  • Selection and granting of 72 Community Based Organisations
  • Disbursement of Strategic Innovation Fund to support Innovative Concepts
  • Establishment of a Feminist Hub to support the learning needs of project and non-project partners

 

More information on available project grants and current project grantees are outlined here:

https://nigeria.actionaid.org/news/2020/womens-voice-and-leadership-nigeria-project-special-grants

https://nigeria.actionaid.org/news/2020/womens-voice-and-leadership-nigeria-project-list-state-and-national-partners

 

For more enquiries about the project, visit: https://nigeria.actionaid.org/contact