SCI: 25m Nigerians Benefited from Our Humanitarian Interventions in 2023

*UK Charity calls for action to aid vulnerable women

Folalumi Alaran in Abuja

Save the Children International (SCI) at the weekend revealed that close to 25 million children and household members benefited from its intervention  in 2023, with 38 per cent being children and 64 per cent of them being girls.
SCI’s Director of Advocacy, Campaign, Communication and Media, Amanuel Mamo, disclosed this in Abuja, at the Commemoration of the International Women’s Day (IWD).

He stressed that  acknowledging women and girl’s rights as human rights was the first step in fostering gender equality.
“In 2023, Save the Children reached close to 25 million children and household members (24 per cent directly and 76 per cent indirectly) in Nigeria.
“Of the more than 6 million participants reached directly, 38 per cent  were children and 64 per cent were girls. Of the 25 million reached directly and indirectly, 53 per cent were children.

“Currently our programmes in Nigeria cover both humanitarian response and development programmes and include multi-thematic programmes in child protection, education, health, WASH & nutrition, and child rights governance,” he said.
He listed child marriage as one of the most grievous forms of violence perpetrated against girls, describing it as a human rights violation and a form of gender-based violence.

According to him, forms of violence against children are: Physical, sexual, emotional, with child marriage being all of these three combined.
“It is estimated that two in every five women were married as children in Nigeria.  Investing in children, girls, is investing in women tomorrow. The level of women empowerment tomorrow,  the level of financial liberty of women tomorrow, depends on how and what we invest on the girl child today,” he added.
Mamo further called on stakeholders, from national to local levels, to scale up social protection services, initiate a national movement against child marriage, and develop robust strategies for child protection laws.

He called on stakeholders to scale up, replicate and maintain some of the best practices in providing social protection services to women, girls.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive and Founder of the Community Outreach Project Solutions (COPS) Charity in the United Kingdom, Miriam Virgo, has emphasised the critical need for government intervention in Nigeria to address the plight of elderly and widowed women facing poverty and food scarcity.
Virgo, who was in Nigeria for a community outreach project, expressed her concern for the impoverished population, particularly women with no family or financial support.

She revealed her focus on Nigeria, citing a deep sense of responsibility and commitment. She expressed her intention to raise awareness among Nigerians who have migrated to the UK, urging them to contribute to the welfare of those left behind.
She said: I think it’s really sad to see so many impoverished people. And there just seems to be a huge disparity between poor and rich here in Nigeria. And I feel like there should be a middle ground where everybody should have a hand.

“ We went to a school yesterday and there’s so many young people that are so intelligent and they want to be scientists and stuff like that, everyone needs a helping hand. And some of these women just need a helping hand.

“ And I think I would love to have like multi-millions to just build up these areas and help these people and I wish the government would help them too.”

In response to a question about partnerships and sponsorships, Virgo mentioned receiving support from the National Lottery community funds in the UK, but highlighted that many of the projects are self-initiated, driven by her personal commitment to making a positive impact on society.

Also speaking at the occasion, the founder of the Female Entrepreneurship and Empowerment Network International (FEENI), Mrs. Anne Marie on her part called for collaborative efforts on International Women’s Day

Marie highlighted the mission behind their recent outreach event in collaboration with firefighters, which she explained was to include widows and the less privileged in the celebration of International Women’s Day, emphasising the importance of collective support.