By Justina Auta
The UN Deputy Secretary-General, Mrs Amina Mohammed, and Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen, have urged the incoming government to prioritize women development and empowerment to boost the country’s growth.
The information is in a statement issued by Mr Olujimi Oyetomi, the Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs (FMoWA) in Abuja on Wednesday.
Oyetomi stated that Mohammed and Tallen made the call at a gala during the 67th Edition of the UN Commission on Status of Women in New York with the theme “Innovation and Technological Change, and Education in the Digital Age for Achieving Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women, Girls.”
He quoted the UN deputy secretary-general as saying “everyone that succeeds should be at the commanding level of women development in Nigeria.”
She also urged people in authority to be good ambassadors of women empowerment and development for the advancement of the nation.
He stated that Tallen, while presenting Nigeria’s National Statement at the session, said that the 2023 theme encapsulates national aspirations on gender equality and empowerment of women.
She said “I am happy to report that for the first time, the Nigerian Government has adopted a gender-perspective budget approach in its fiscal plans, policies and projects.
“This means that more than ever before, women and girls’ issues have come to the fore in our national development plans; including that of those living with disabilities.”
According to her, this has improved joint programmes in national budget, ICT, education, agriculture, health and nutrition, among others.
She said it would also equip women and girls with the necessary skills and tools to effectively participate in national development.
The minister revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic enabled Nigeria to become Africa’s biggest technology market in sub-Saharan Africa.
She said “our GDP shows that the ICT sector recorded the highest growth rate for all sectors of the Nigerian economy. The country also recorded more than 203 million of the continent’s internet users.”
She attributed it to tech start-ups in agriculture, education, healthcare, banking and finance, e-commerce, and transportation sectors, utilising digital technology and innovation to deliver creative solutions to different problems in communities.
She added that ICT could be leveraged for personal security, better access to education and jobs, financial inclusion or to access basic healthcare information.
The minister announced that a Nigerian girl developed a prototype underwear using nano-technology for early detection of breast cancer, while another is driving the provision of access to ICT services in the country, as well as 10 other countries.
“I would like to highlight that it is crucial to harness the transformative power of information and communication technology for development globally.
“Digital technology has the potential to accelerate progress toward the SDGs by enabling the creation of new opportunities for education, health, agriculture and entrepreneurship, among others.
“However, to achieve this, there is the need for appropriate policies, infrastructure and investment to ensure that technology is accessible and affordable for all,” she said.
Tallen, therefore, used the opportunity to appeal to development partners to prioritise and fulfil their financial and capacity building commitments in gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.
She said “my delegation calls for transparent negotiation of the agreed conclusions for this session, with adequate attention on capacity building.”
