Ogun First Lady Presents ICPD Global Commitments in Nairobi
Bamidele Abiodun
Wife of the Governor of Ogun State, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun has presented her commitment to advance the implementation of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Program of Action, at a high-level conference convened by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Nairobi, Kenya.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the ICPD (which took place in Cairo in 1994), where 179 governments adopted a landmark Program of Action which set out to empower women and girls for their sake, and for the benefit of their families, communities and nations.
To that end, more than 30 world leaders, global organisations and NGOs gathered in Nairobi to commit to three major areas affecting the sexual and reproductive health of women and girls. The three core targets outlined were: zero preventable maternal deaths, zero unmet needs for family planning and zero gender-based violence and other harmful practices.
Abiodun, an SDG champion and founder of Ileri Foundation, pledged to work with government and other organisations to invest more in the health sector, with particular focus on women’s health.
She also committed to personally seeing to it that 20,000 girls and 10,000 women, receive life-saving information and education over the next three years, to enable them make informed decision about their future.
“Our outreach programs have already begun targeting girls in primary and secondary schools with age-appropriate information that they require to keep safe and healthy. Improving girl child education and menstrual hygiene through free sanitary pad provision in secondary schools in Ogun State, is also a high priority for us.”
She also pledged to work with government and law enforcement in Ogun State to strengthen laws that protect against gender-based violence and other harmful practices affecting women and children: “We aim to establish a crisis center for women by December 2020, with dedicated emergency numbers for quick response in times of crisis.”
The Nairobi Summit on ICPD25 is an inclusive platform, bringing together governments, UN agencies, civil society and private sector organisations to discuss and agree on actions to accelerate the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action, which is critical to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
