International Women’s Day: Orelope-Adefulire Advocates For Equity To End Gender Imbalance In Nigeria

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire has reiterated the commitment of her office to the welfare and advancement of Nigerian women.

Princess Orelope-Adefulire said this in a message in Abuja to commemorate the 2023 International Women’s Day, adding that the task of ensuring gender equality in the nation should be embraced, encouraged and promoted by all segments of the Nigerian society.

According to her, “while ensuring equal opportunities for all without regard for gender will help accelerate the development of the country and the achievement of sustainable development, it is however, more important for the country to ensure equitable distribution of such opportunity as people start from different places, so true inclusion and belonging require equitable action.”

She also stated that it has been well documented that the 2030 Agenda of leaving no one behind cannot become a reality until the female gender are given full opportunity to realize their potentials.

On the part of Government, Orelope-Adefulire stated that her office has focused on projects designed to cater for the welfare of women.

This she said include delivery of over 25 advanced medical facilities, popularly called Mother and Child Centres designed and equipped to help reduced child and maternal mortality by OSSAP-SDGs across the country.

She added that her office has also renovated and deliver hundreds of health centres across the country.  

“These are strategic intervention directly linked to the achievement of SDG-3 on ‘Quality Health and Well-being for all’ as well as other cross-cutting SDGs.

“But our aim is to contribute to the reduction of child and maternal mortality in Nigeria. We want to ensure that an otherwise pleasant experience of child will not end in sorrow for the mother.

“We are also investing in well-equipped Centres where women who have suffered from various forms abuse can seek solace. The Centres are equipped for them to learn on trade or the other so that they can be economically independent, even after leaving the place.

“These are all part of our contributions to the welfare of Nigerian women with the support of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari,” said the presidential adviser.

Commemorated on March 8 every year, the 2023 theme is “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality” with hashtag #EmbraceEquity.