The COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus Program, NG CARES, has inaugurated a Step-down Zonal Training on Gender-Based Violence in Delta State, to sensitize the populace on the need to stop the menace.
The National Coordinator of NG-CARES Dr. Abdulkarim Obaje, made this known in Asaba, at the opening of an event aimed at equipping Gender related Programme Officers with the capacities to deliver on gender based results.
Dr. Obaje represented by the Senior Grievance Mechanism Specialist, at the Federal CARES Support Unit Dr. Uju Nwonse, stated the project would enable participants to contribute to the prevention of incidents of gender-based violence as part of the execution of the NG-CARES Programme.
Dr. Obaje stressed “One of the requirements of World Bank is that every programme will be gender sensitive.
“So, the essence of this is to help them to have the capacity, the will to deliver on gender-based results, because gender issues are very important in development interventions and they are part of grading programmes. If your programme is not gender sensitive, they may cancel your programme, and this means people that are supposed to benefit from the programme are not benefiting from it.”
The Delta State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Chairman of the State NG-CARES Steering Committee Sonny Ekedayen, observed that the sensitization project was in line with the ongoing global campaign to put an end to gender based-violence and other harmful practices against women and girls.
Commissioner observed “Women are said to be the weaker sex, more of the victims tend to be ladies.
“For those people who are victims should seek help, because most times the fallout is usually at a wide ramification than the physical bruises you see. The first thing is to report and then you seek help.”
Participants from nine states including Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia, Rivers and Akwa Ibom were trained on sexual exploitation, sexual harassment and abuse.
Others from Bayelsa, Imo, Cross Rivers and Delta State also attended the zonal step-down training on GBV eradication.