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WINET Seeks Improved Budgetary Allocations to Empower the Girl-Child

Menkiti said that the project was designed to seek partnership with the two local government areas involved., reports Ikenna Oluka

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Mrs Miriam Menkiti, ED WINET

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.

WINET

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.

WINET

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.

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The Peruvian Government Has Officially Classified Transgender, Nonbinary And Intersex People As “Mentally ill”

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According to the country’s ministry of health, the controversial decision was made to ensure the country’s public health services could “guarantee full coverage of medical attention for mental health” for the trans community.

It also categorises “dual-role transvestitism,” “fetishistic transvestism,” and “other gender identity disorders” under the same bracket of mental illness.

The new law will change language in the Essential Health Insurance Plan (PEAS) to reflect the view of trans and intersex people as a mental health disorder.

Trans groups across Peru have loudly condemned the decision as a step backwards for the country’s already complex relationship with LGBTQ+ rights.

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Math Teacher Accused Of Having Sex With 2 Students And Getting Pregnant For One Tearfully Reveals The Baby Was Taken Away From Her

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The UK teacher who had a baby with an underage student while on trial for having sex with another teenage boy broke down in court after revealing her newborn baby girl had been “taken away” from her.

Manchester math teacher Rebecca Joynes, 30, sobbed to jurors over how her baby was taken “24 hours after being born” this past January — and now she only sees her for nine hours a week, Joynes told jurors on Monday, May 13, according to the Manchester Evening News.

“At the moment I have contact with her three times a week for three hours and that’s it,” she said through tears.

Joynes was arrested and released on bail on orders not to have unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 after allegedly grooming her pupil, known as Boy A in court, by buying him a $430 Gucci belt before bringing him to her apartment for unprotected sex.

She was suspended from school and eventually fired, but soon after, she began having a relationship with a 15-year-old boy, known in court as Boy B, whom she had a baby with in January.

Joynes, who has denied having sex with either boy when they were underage, told the court that when she learned of the allegations against her she had gone to the second boy in a “panic” and he deleted all of her phone’s content.

The former teacher denied having a sexual relationship with the second boy until after he turned 16 and she was already suspended from teaching.

According to her narration,

She said he had added her on Snapchat twice, which she only accepted the second time because she thought he “wanted to tell her something.”

Joynes said a friendship developed and he quickly became her “best friend” even though the boy would make flirtatious and sexualized comments toward her when he was drunk.

She told jurors that it wasn’t until after his 16th birthday that he messaged her saying “I’ve left school now” with a winky face.

After she received notice that she had been dismissed from her job, he went to her apartment, where following an emotional conversation, they had sex.

The two then entered a relationship that Joynes described as “quite toxic” telling the court how the teenager was “very controlling.”

After discovering she was pregnant, Joynes hid love notes for the boy to find around her apartment.

The notes eventually led to a piece of baby clothing that had the words “I love my daddy to the moon and back” written on it.

The court was told that she gave birth to their baby girl in January, but following an emergency court hearing, the newborn was taken away from Joynes.

Joynes has denied two counts of sexual activity with Boy A; two counts of sexual activity with Boy B; and two counts of sexual activity with Boy B while being a person in a position of trust.

Her trial is ongoing.

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First Man To Receive Pig Kidney Transplant Has Died

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The first Man to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant has died two months after the operation.

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), which carried out the procedure in March, announced Sunday, May 12, that Richard “Rick” Slayman, 62, has died.

They said there was no indication his death was a result of the transplant.

Transplants of other organs from genetically modified pigs have failed in the past, but the operation on Mr Slayman, who was suffering with end-stage kidney disease, was hailed as a historic milestone.

In addition to kidney disease, Mr Slayman also suffered from Type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

In 2018, he had a human kidney transplant, but it began to fail after five years.

Following his pig kidney transplant on March 16, his doctors confirmed he no longer needed dialysis after the new organ was said to be functioning well.

“Mr Slayman will forever be seen as a beacon of hope to countless transplant patients worldwide and we are deeply grateful for his trust and willingness to advance the field of xenotransplantation,” MGH said in a statement.

Xenotransplantation is the transplanting of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another.

MGH said it was “deeply saddened” at his sudden death and offered condolences to his family.

Mr Slayman’s relatives said his story was an inspiration.

“Rick said that one of the reasons he underwent this procedure was to provide hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive,” they said.

“Rick accomplished that goal and his hope and optimism will endure forever.

“To us, Rick was a kind-hearted man with a quick-witted sense of humour who was fiercely dedicated to his family, friends, and co-workers,” they added.

While Mr Slayman received the first pig kidney to be transplanted into a human, it is not the first pig organ to be used in a transplant procedure.

Two other patients have received pig heart transplants, but those procedures were unsuccessful as the recipients died a few weeks later.

In one case, there were signs the patient’s immune system had rejected the organ, which is a common risk in transplants.

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