Women Information Network (WINET), an Enugu-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has called for improved budgetary allocations to empower the girl-child and end child marriage.
The Executive Director of WINET, Mrs Miriam Menkiti made the call on Tuesday in Enugu during a ‘Media Roundtable for Journalists on Use of Budgetary Provisions to End Child Marriage’.
Menkiti said that the NGO was currently carrying out a project on Budget Advocacy to End Girl-Child Marriage’, funded by Girls Not Brides, UK.
The executive director said that the organisation was a global network of over 1, 500 Civil Society Organisations from over 100 countries committed to ending child marriage and ensuring that girls could reach their potentials.
She said that the project which was in its pilot phase was being implemented in Aninri and Enugu South Local Government Areas of the state.
Participants with ED WINET Miriam Menkiti & Facilitator & Budget Expert Mr. Casmir Ugwu
“The objectives of the project are to advance to the chairmen in the two councils of the state the need for increased budget line for interventions to end child marriage.
“This can be done by keeping girls in school and the provision of good healthcare services.
“The second objective is to train local government budget teams on making implementable budgets to end girl-child marriage and promote girl-child retention in schools,” she said.
Menkiti said that the project was designed to seek partnership with the two local government areas involved.
She said that interventions that would address child marriage must be planned for, costed and funded across sectors in the budget.
In a lecture, a former Permanent Secretary, Budget and Planning in Enugu, Mr Casmir Ugwu, said it was important the local councils directed substantial sum of their annual budgets toward empowering the girl-child.
Ugwu said that such could be done in form of incentives to support the parents to keep girls in school.
During the media roundtable today Tuesday 22nd March 2022
He said that it was also necessary to engage community leaders and parents to stop the practice of child marriage, bearing in mind the value of education for girl child.
“The need for ending child marriage is hinged on so many benefits which include educational attainment, improved healthy development and maternal mortality of the girl-child among others,” he said.
He said that the end result of such advocacy would be the attainment of the sustainable development goal 15 which washinged on achieving gender equality and empowerment of women and girls.