*Calls for empowerment to improve food, nutrition outcomes
By; ALEX UANGBAOJE, Kaduna
As the world marked the 2024 International Women’s Day (IWD), Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), has again, reminded the Nigerian Government and other stakeholders of the importance of women in the agricultural value chain.
CS-SUNN, in a statement with the theme, “Invest in Women, and accelerate Progress for optimal nutritional outcomes” signed by the Executive Secretary, Mr Sunday Okoronkwo, noted that the role of women is critical in attaining each of the pillars of food security, availability, access, and utilization.
The statement said that Nigeria cannot continue to miss out on nutrition and gender-equality dividends, thus ending gender inequality and empowering women will enhance priority interventions for improved food and nutrition security outcomes.
“By empowering women economically, we enable them to support themselves, their families, and their communities, thereby, contributing to sustainable development and social progress
“Also, leveraging the Multiple
Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) at scale to strengthen Antenatal Care platforms across Primary Health Care centres will deliver high impact maternal nutrition interventions for Nigeria.
“It will reduce anaemia among pregnant women to 40% by 2025 (according to the National Multisectoral Plan of action for Food and Nutrition) and reduce anaemia among pregnant women by 50% by 2030 (SDGs 2030).” The statement added.
CS-SUNN, explained that “4.5 million (58%) of an estimated 7.8 million pregnant women in Nigeria are anaemic. (NDHS 2018, UNICEF estimates), Nigeria has the third highest maternal mortality ratio (512 / 100,000) translating to 225 deaths per day with Post Partum Haemorrhage being a key cause. (NDHS 2018, UNICEF estimates)
“1 in every 10 women in the world lives in extreme poverty (UN Women). At prime working age, only 61 per cent of women are in the labour force versus 90 per cent of men. (UN Women).
“CS-SUNN, recently supported the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development to develop
and validate the National Guideline on Women and Girl’s empowerment for optimal nutrition.
“A roadmap designed to create a convergence of different interventions across sectors and policies addressing specifically the empowerment needs of women and girls to enhance their access to optimal nutrition to be adopted by
policymakers, stakeholders, including government; civil society and private sectors, corporate
implementers; academia; and development partners, all of whom are involved in designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating women and girls empowerment programmes at the national, state, and
community levels.”
They therefore, call for the domestication of the guideline in the states and its full
implementation and funding to promote women and girls’ empowerment to achieve optimal nutrition outcomes in Nigeria through a multi-sectoral approach.
“We call for the implementation of 6 months maternity leave with pay for working women by the government, states and organizations who are yet to, as supporting breastfeeding in the workplace has significant human and economic benefits. In addition to maternity leave, we urge employers to establish breastfeeding corners in workplaces to facilitate nursing mothers’ access to a private and
comfortable space for breastfeeding or milk expression.
“By creating breastfeeding-friendly workplaces, we promote women’s participation in the workforce while supporting their ability to provide optimal nutrition for their infants.
Beyond these, more investments are needed to promote women’s access to income-generating activities and financial services as key drivers of economic empowerment and poverty alleviation.” The statement said.
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