International Women’s Day: NACA calls for improved standard of living for women

The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) has called on all stakeholders to rededicate themselves to improving the quality of lives of women and eliminate gender inequality. In a statement released by NACA on the occasion of the 2018 International Women Day (IWD), it stated that we should build on past achievements and […]

The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) has called on all stakeholders to rededicate themselves to improving the quality of lives of women and eliminate gender inequality.

In a statement released by NACA on the occasion of the 2018 International Women Day (IWD), it stated that we should build on past achievements and experiences to eliminate gender inequality, tackle girl child abuse and violence and ensure that our women are not left behind in our quest for a HIV-free generation.

The Director General of NACA, Dr. Sani Aliyu, was quoted in the statement saying  “women must be empowered to transform their perceived social disadvantage to opportunities if we must break the cycle of poverty, disease and particularly reduce the HIV burden in Nigeria.’’

NACA stated that it provides an opportunity to transform this momentum into action, to empower women in all settings, rural and urban, and celebrate the activists who are working relentlessly to claim women’s rights and realize their full potential. “This strategy is equally important in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of leaving no one behind,” it noted.

The statement further reads: “Evidence exists that gender-related interventions are potent tools for breaking the inter-generational cycle of poverty, particularly for disadvantaged women and girl children.

“Enabling economic empowerment and providing sustainable livelihoods for this population will reduce the rate of new HIV infections and bring us closer to achieving HIV epidemic control by 2030.”