The CSW63 theme, which is; Social Protection Systems and Access to Public Services and Sustainable Infrastructure and the Empowerment of Women and Girls is in line with the social protection programmes being implemented by the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria.
The Honourable Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar said this in a statement that she presented at the 63rd Session of the Commission of the Status of women, New York, Tuesday, 12th March, 2019.
Hajiya Aisha Abubakar said that the social protection strategies of the present administration are based on sustainable development paradigms which are geared towards the elimination of poverty in the country as contained in the UN Sustainable Development Agenda 2030.
The Minister pointed out that the strategies adopted by the administration include; the Nigerian Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), the Social Protection Policy, and the National Gender Policy.
Others are; the Social Assistance, Social Insurance, Child Protection, Labour Market, Enterprise and Empowerment and the Anchor Borrowers Programme.
The Minister said that the government has established the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) to provide the needed financial support to the Small Scale and Medium Scale Enterprises.
Hajiya Aisha Abubakar said that the government has also established the N-Power Volunteer corps which has employed about 200,000 graduates and non-graduates youths.
The Market-Moni and Trader-Moni programmes are provided with loans at very low interest rates to both market women, artisans, youth and small scale farmers.
Hajiya Aisha Abubakar said that it is in recognition of these laudable programmes by our government that the World Bank has given us a loan to support the Nigeria for Women Project. It is our hope that the project will impact on 324,000 women, the minister said.
The Minister also reported that Nigerian girls were declared the champions at the 2018 World Technology Challenge in San Francisco for developing an application to tackle the prevalence of fake drugs in our country.
These feat by our young girls is a demonstration that the Nigerian women and girls have keyed into the ICT revolution, the minister said.
Press Unit
Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development
