ActionAid empowers women’s rights groups through WVL-N project

ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) has increased capacities of Local Women’s Rights Organizations and Networks Movements in Nigeria to effectively promote and protect the rights of women and girls through the Women’s Voice and Leadership Nigeria (WVL-N) project.

Over 100 women groups in Kwara, Kebbi, Bauchi, Lagos ,Cross River and Enugu states are targeted to benefit from the project which was funded by the Global Affairs Canada (GAC).

The Country Director, Ene Obi, at the flag-off of the  three-day training  in Abuja on Friday, explained that the WVL-N project is a five-year project funded by GAC with the aim of increasing the capacities of Local Women’s Rights Organizations and Networks Movements in Nigeria to effectively promote and protect the rights of women and girls

She said the five-year multi-million naira project, formally launched in July 2019, by the AAN and the GAC was to strengthen the fulfillment of rights of women and girls in Nigeria.

According to her, the WVL-N project is a five-year project is aim at increasing the capacities of Local Women’s Rights Organizations and Networks Movements in Nigeria to effectively promote and protect the rights of women and girls.

According to her, these will be achieved through the provision of tailored capacity building (trainings) and funding (grants), hence, strategic capacity building is fully embedded into project design and will remain a priority throughout the project’s lifecycle.

“A training on effective network management and advocacy tailored to suit the mandates of women’s rights networks is vital as it will improve their capacities to function as Networks and to carry out their advocacy mandates.

“Women are seen as a countervailing power to the authoritarian tendencies of the state and as a site for peoples’ participation in the development process.

“This is especially important because Civil Society Organisations which women’s rights organisations and networks are part of, play a pivotal role in contributing to policy development and holding the government accountable through advocacy,” she said.

Also, the AAN’s Women’s Rights Programme Manager, Nkechi-llochi Omekedo, explained that the second year of implementation has brought on board additional 72 women’s rights organizations at the community level bringing the number of project partners to 100.

She said that in the first year of the project 10 women’s rights networks and 18 women’s rights organizations were engaged as national and state level partners respectively and were engaged in three main capacity building trainings on Financial Management Report Writing; Documentation and Media Engagement; and Intersectional Feminist Programming and Policy Influencing.

She further said this huge addition will translate into more trainings at the national, state, and community levels starting with training on Network Management and Advocacy for the 10 national partners.

She also explained that some of the national partners are 100 Women Lobby Group from Federation of Muslim Women of Nigeria, (FOMWAN) Bauchi; and Network of Disabled Women (NDW).

She also said Women in Politics Forum (WIPF), International Federation of Female Lawyers (FIDA), League of Women Voters of Nigeria (NOW) are part of the beneficiaries .

While others are Small Women Holders Farmers of Nigeria (SWEDEN), Nigerian Feminist Forum (NFF) and NECA’s Network of Women Entrepreneurs ,Christian Women for Excellence and Empowerment of Nigerian Society (CWEENS).

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