The Women Affairs Secretariats of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has announced its decision to adopt the pathfinding model as a strategic approach to eliminate violence against children across the territory.
The Mandate Secretary, Mrs Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi, made this commitment in Abuja on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the two-day ministerial-level Regional Meeting of the Pathfinding Global Alliance on Ending Violence Against Children.
The Pathfinding Global Alliance is a collaborative initiative that unites countries and relevant stakeholders dedicated to accelerating efforts to end all forms of violence against children by the year 2030, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The alliance serves as a vital platform for partners to exchange crucial information, share promising practices, disseminate valuable lessons learned, and engage in collaborative efforts to demonstrate tangible progress in child protection.
Mrs Benjamins-Laniyi informed the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the FCT Women Affairs Secretariat would establish the “FCT Community Network for Ending Violence Against Children.” She further stated that a robust multisectoral approach, involving all relevant sectors, would be strengthened and supported by a comprehensive legal framework to ensure the effective implementation of child protection programmes within the FCT.
She emphasized that this strategic move aligns with the Nyesom Wike-led FCT Administration’s unwavering commitment to providing the necessary environment for children to grow, develop, and thrive to their full potential.
For the Nyesom Wike FCT, she asserted that “everything is a capital project. So, it is not just road and other capital projects; it is also about women and children – the human capital project of renewed hope in the FCT.”
The Mandate Secretary described the pathfinding model and its associated toolkit as an “economy of model” that strategically invests resources in ending violence against children, thereby creating a positive trajectory for economic prosperity that ultimately impacts the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Mrs Benjamins-Laniyi also highlighted that increased emphasis would be placed on the full implementation of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP Act), which was domesticated in the FCT approximately ten years ago.
She noted that the pathfinding regional conference serves as a crucial “wakeup call” to ensure the activation and full operationalization of the VAPP Act, thereby strengthening child protection mechanisms within the FCT.
“May 23 will mark 10 years of domestication of the VAPP Act in FCT with no form of implementation for a decade,” she stated. “We are, therefore, taking every step to ensure the full implementation of the Act toward an uninterrupted growth and development of children in the FCT. It will not be just a talk shop, but a concrete step towards profiling the 10-year existence of the VAPP Acts in the FCT and coordinating with children as principal stakeholders. This will enable the children to bring their ideas in driving solutions and application of the pathfinding toolkit to end all forms of violence in the FCT.”
Mrs Benjamins-Laniyi further emphasized that FCT interventions will also prioritize the well-being of mothers and the family unit, stressing that neglecting the mother would inevitably jeopardize a child’s future prospects.
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The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, Dr Najat M’jid, inaugurated a crucial toolkit aimed at ending violence against children.
Mr Simon Halvey, Senior Economist at Cornerstone Economic Research, explained to NAN that the toolkit is entitled, “Building the Investment Case for Ending Violence Against Children Tool Kit.”
Mr Halvey stated that the purpose of the toolkit is to empower member countries and stakeholders in the child protection sphere worldwide to develop their own compelling investment cases for ending violence against children. “The tool kit will enable countries to generate evidence on why investing to end violence against children is not just a social and moral imperative but also economically the smart and the right thing to do,” he said. “They can do this by demonstrating the massive returns in terms of outcome for children and in terms of long-term economic growth and development which can accrue by investing in preventing violence against children.”
Mr Asmundur Dadason, a technical aide to Dr M’jid and former minister of children and education in Iceland, also informed NAN that the toolkit would assist countries in making the necessary budgetary provisions towards effectively ending violence against children, thereby significantly helping to address the existing investment drought in child protection.