The Federal Government has renewed its commitment to improving the lives of women, children and persons with disabilities.
The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina, made the statement in her presentation at the ministerial platform in commemoration of the 2012 Democracy Day in Abuja on Monday.
She said that government realised that no meaningful development would be attained if women, children and persons with disabilities were left out, stressing that they constituted about 70 per cent of the population.
“No doubt, women, children, persons with disabilities, the elderly and other vulnerable groups under the mandate of the ministry, constitute about 70 per cent of the nation’s population.
“Obviously, no nation can aspire to attain its development goals if the train leaves the larger proportion of its population behind.
“Government is doing all in its capacity to ensure that there is improvement in the lives of women, children and persons with disabilities. ”
Maina said that the vision of the ministry was to have a Nigerian society that guaranteed equal access to social, economic and wealth creation opportunities to all, irrespective of gender.
She said that advocacy visits were made to the Minister of Health, to ensure that maternal and child mortality were reduced to barest minimum, adding that this had resulted in the introduction of free ante-natal and post-natal care for pregnant women and children below five years.
Maina said that the ministry carried out awareness campaign for increased participation of women in governance to achieve the 35 per cent affirmative action.
The minister said it was evident in the appointment of 13 female ministers and four special advisers, representing 33.3 per cent of women in appointive positions in government.
She also revealed that with the support of the MDGs Office, increased budgetary allocation was granted to State Governments for improved reproductive health rights for women.
Speaking on economic empowerment of women, Maina said that N82 million was disbursed to women entrepreneurs across the six geo-political zones, in collaboration with the Bank of Industry, to ensure that women were engaged in economic ventures.
Maina noted that the establishment of skills acquisition centres across the country would reduce social vices, increase income generation and reduce youth restiveness at the grassroots.
The minister said that advocacy visits were scaled up to mainstream the concerns of these groups into the country’s development process by creating gender desks in ministries, departments and agencies.
Maina said that the creation of gender desks was to ensure that there was gender perspective in budgetary systems, by incorporating gender components into the national budget.
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