Stakeholders Call for Increased Commitment on Fight Against SGBV in South-South Region

A cross section of stakeholders in the NGO sector at the South-South Consultative Meeting on Information Dissemination, held on the 27th of April 2022, at GADA Head office in Calabar

Stakeholders have called for increased commitment on the fight against Gender-Based Violence. They made the call at one-day multi-stakeholder consultative meeting on Information Dissemination, Capacity Building and Networking for NGO's working on SGBV in the South-South Region, organized by Gender And Development Action (GADA) in Calabar on the 27th of April. This followed a similar meeting held in Port Harcourt in March. 

The meetings served as a melting point for participants to share strategies on how to effectively prevent and respond to SGBV issues. At these meetings, stakeholders and participants called for effective partnership, collaboration, exchange, and commitment on the fight against SGBV across the South-South region.  

Supported by the Ford Foundation, GADA is implementing a three-year project to reduce SGBV in CRS by shifting negative gender attitudes, practices and norms and to promote partnership, exchange and learning in the region.

The Consultative Meeting held at GADA's office in Calabar, and had in attendance stakeholders from different NGOs, including partners that cut across religious leaders, faith-based organizations, women’s rights organizations, human right organizations, state actors, community-based leaders, and the media. It provided a valuable opportunity for participants to share their experiences and expertise, as well as identify similar challenges and opportunities for regional collaboration.

In her opening remarks, Mrs. Francisca Effiom, the Program Manager of R-GBV at GADA, expressed concern at the high rates of GBV in CRS and in the region. She stressed the need for NGOs and other stakeholders to work together towards preventing SGBV and providing support for survivors. She reiterated the importance of information dissemination and capacity building as key strategies in the fight against SGBV and called on all participants to avoid working in silos and rather approach their work collectively through networking, exchange and partnership building. The Project Manager reaffirmed GADA’s continuing partnership with the Ministry of Women Affairs, and government in general.

One of the participants, Mr. Kebe Ikpi - the State Coordinator, Child Protection Network stressed the need for effective collaboration among organizations working on SGBV and said that the response should go beyond meetings. “Meetings are not enough, the work we do requires constant and consistent engagement”. 

He added that because this meeting “covers the whole of the South-South, it gives it a very large scope that requires that stakeholders from across six states in the geo-political zone will become part of the discussion." He commended GADA for its work in addressing SGBV and praised the organization for organizing the consultative meeting, which he described as a valuable opportunity for a diversity of stakeholders to share ideas on how to best combat SGBV in the region.

Mr. Kebe seized the opportunity to call on the Cross River State Governor to sign the Childs Right Law, stressing that all stakeholders, including government agencies, NGOs, and community members need to commit to creating a safer environment for children.

Another participant Mr. Efe Anatie of Neighborhood Care Well Foundation stressed the need for data and information sharing across the region to enable actors learn about how cases are being effectively managed. According to him -"Before now I share information with funders and other relevant stakeholders but right now, I believe that it's not only sharing information with funders, but also sharing information with others, like other NGOs, and community stakeholders working on the same issue”.

As follow-up, GADA intends to set-up a virtual space to facilitate dialogue, exchange, advocacy, networking and consensus building around issues of SGBV and also to promote best practices and innovation in the South-South region.