Ndhlovu pledges strategic technical support to Nigeria

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) Country Representative in Nigeria, Ms Ratidzai Ndhlovu, has pledged the Fund’s strategic technical support on reproductive health, data development and humanitarian services to the country.

She made the promise on Monday in Abuja at the UNFPA Abuja Office 2015 Annual Review and 2016 Development Meeting.

The UNFPA boss, who commended staff of the organization for their efforts through the year, however, recalled that the Fund and some Implementing Partners lost some staff and asked for a one-minute prayer for the departed souls.

Ndholvu emphasised that “UNFPA is not a donor organisation but more of offering technical assistance and training to organisations to achieve their goals.

‘’This is because donor organisations are drastically reducing their contributions to us in 2016 and this is a huge challenge to us.

‘’We are ready to support the Federal Government, but there is 70 per cent reduction in donor contributions next year and this is a big challenge as we move forward.

‘’This is because UNFPA buys family planning facilities in the 36 states of the federation and the FCT,‘’ she said.

Ndhlovu, who noted that UNFPA had a big role to play in developing government policies in different areas especially in the states, stressed the need to work with the men ‘’so that they will understand what the women go through and be able to help them when the need arises’’.

She said the organisation had empowered women across the country, especially in the North East, but that the body needed to refocus on the scope, size and coverage of its programmes.

She, therefore, noted the organisation’s plan to restrategise in the year ahead ‘’so as not to lose our IPs’’.

She identified some of the problems peculiar in the different regions in the country, saying that in the South South, South West and South East, the issues were that of teenage pregnancies and Female Genital Mutilation, while humanitarian issues were enormous in the North East.

In the North West, she said, the problem of girl-child education was of great concern ‘’as most of the young girls in that area do not go far in schools if they go at all’’.

She, therefore, urged IPs to initiate viable programmes that would impact on peoples’ lives going forward.