Health
16-Day Activism: FIDA Tasks Stakeholders on Ending GBV
The Federation of Female Lawyers (FIDA) on Wednesday stressed the need for institutions and communities to be proactive and develop policies that prevent every form of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and ensure perpetrators are dealt according to the law.
Ms Rhoda Tyoden, National President, FIDA Nigeria made the call in Abuja at a news conference in commemoration of 16 days of activism on Ending all Gender-Based Violence Against Women and Girls with theme: “Orange the World: End Violence Against Women NOW!
Tyoden, while decrying the increasing number of reported cases of GBV in the country, described it as a clear gross violation of their fundamental
human rights.
“It is a global health and developmental issue that cuts across economic wealth, culture, religion, age, and sexual orientation.
“It is one of the most extreme expressions of unequal gender relations in our society,
accordingly it remains a critical factor for the optimum contribution and development of women and girls in our society,” she said.
She further regretted that women and the girl-child were subjected in many climes to live and survive in domestic settings that threatened their very existence and proper development.
“The COVID-19 Pandemic showed more than ever that women are the most disadvantaged in the society, as the pandemic fueled an exponential increase in
VAWG through domestic and physical abuse, rape, psychological abuse, FGM, early marriage among others,” she said.
According to her, World Health Organisation (WHO) reports indicates that globally about 1 in 3 (30 per cent) of women worldwide have been subjected to either physical and/or sexual intimate partner
violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime, maintaining that these statistics are worrisome and cannot be ignored.
“We acknowledge that the theme is apt and appreciate the emphasis on ending the violence NOW, stressing the urgency required and emphasize that all persons
are born free, equal and must be respected and protected.
“As such, women and indeed girls must be kept safe from all forms of violence,” she stressed.
She proffered new tools in the prevention and elimination of VAWG stressing the need for increased awareness and advocacy efforts; Sharing knowledge, intervention strategies and innovations.
“Institutions and communities must therefore be proactive and develop policies that prevent and deal forthwith with abuse to act as a deterrent.
“There is urgent need to address the gendered impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Women and Girls in West African Commonwealth countries.
“Legislators and the Executive
members of Governments should act fast in ending the violence against women and
girls in the region.
“This call remains a desideratum as the rate of violence still escalates, and is still at an all-time high due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and
girls which is fueled by patriarchy and misogyny. These must all be stopped now, “she stressed. (NAN)
Hundreds of millions of children and adolescents around the world face daily violence in their homes, schools, and elsewhere which could have lifelong consequences.The World Health Organisation (WHO) said this on Thursday.The violence includes being hit by family members, being bullied at school, as well as physical, emotional, and sexual violence, WHO said.
In most cases, violence occurs behind closed doors. More than half of those aged two to 17 or more than a billion minors in total experience violence each year according to the WHO. In three out of five children and adolescents, it is physical violence at home, with one in five girls and one in seven boys experiencing sexual violence.Between a quarter and half of minors are affected by bullying according to the information provided.Only half of the children reportedly talk about their experiences of violence and less than 10 per cent receive help.Lifelong consequences could include depression and anxiety disorders, or tobacco and drug use.As a result, many children do not reach their learning potential in school.Against the backdrop of being highly preventable, violence remains a horrific day-to-day reality for millions of children around the world leaving scars that span generations,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director general.The UN’s first conference on violence against children opened in Bogota, Columbia on Thursday.At the two-day conference, more than 100 countries pledged to find ways to better support overwhelmed parents and introduce school programmes against bullying and for healthy social behaviour.They also pledged to raise the minimum age for marriage.Some countries wish to generally ban children from being hit at school or home. (dpa/NAN)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has listed 17 bacteria, viruses and parasites that regularly cause disease as top priorities for new vaccine development.WHO, in a study published on Tuesday, reconfirmed long-standing priorities for vaccine research and development (R&D), including for HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis – three diseases that collectively take nearly 2.
5 million lives yearly. The study is the first global effort to systematically prioritise endemic pathogens based on their regional and global health impact. Attention is also given to pathogens such as Group A streptococcus, which causes severe infections and contributes to 280,000 deaths from rheumatic heart disease, mainly in lower-income countries.Another new priority is Klebsiella pneumoniae — a bacteria that was associated with 790,000 deaths in 2019 and is responsible for 40 per cent of neonatal deaths due to blood infection (sepsis) in low-income countries.The new study supports the goal of ensuring that everyone, everywhere, can benefit from vaccines that protect against serious diseases.It aims to shift the focus in vaccine development away from commercial returns towards regional and global health needs, WHO’s Dr Mateusz Hasso-Agopsowicz, who works in vaccine research, said in a statement.He explained that in the past, vaccine R&D typically was influenced by profitability.“As a result, diseases that severely affect low-income regions received little attention.“We hope this represents a critical shift where we want to change the focus from commercial perspective profitability of new vaccines towards the actual health burden so that the new vaccine research and development is driven by health burden and not just commercial opportunities,” he said.To carry out the study, WHO asked international and regional experts what they think is important when prioritising pathogens for vaccines R&D.Criteria included deaths, disease and socioeconomic impact, or antimicrobial resistance.“We had asked experts that have expertise in pathogen epidemiology, clinicians, paediatricians, vaccine experts from all of the WHO regions, to ensure that the list and the results that we produce really reflect the needs of diverse populations worldwide,” Hasso-Agopsowicz said.Analysis of those preferences, combined with regional data for each pathogen, resulted in the top 10 priority pathogens for each of WHO’s six regions globally.The regional lists were then consolidated to form the global list, resulting in the 17 priority endemic pathogens for which new vaccines are urgently needed.To advance vaccine R&D, WHO has categorised each pathogen based on the stage of vaccine development and the technical challenges involved in creating effective vaccines.Hasso-Agopsowicz said the study is expected to guide future vaccine R&D investments, including funders, researchers and vaccine developers, and also policymakers as they “can decide whether to introduce these vaccines into immunisation programmes.” (NAN)
The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan,has suspended the strike it embarked on Oct. 25.The workers resumed work on Friday morning.The seven-day nationwide warning industrial action embarked upon by the unions was to press home their demands ofadjustment of Consolidated Health Salary Structure as was done with the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure sinceJan.
2, 2014 and implementation of consultant cadre for pharmacists in federal health institutions. Others are upward review in the retirement age from 60 to 65 years for health workers and 70 years for consultants, andpayment of outstanding salaries of JOHESU members in professional regulatory councils.The UCH JOHESU Chairman, Mr Oladayo Olabampe, said that the strike was suspended as directed by the national body.He explained that “the suspension followed an MoU signed between JOHESU national leadership and Federal Government.“The Federal Government asked for a maximum of six weeks counting from Oct. 31, to meet our demands.“Based on the MoU signed, the JOHESU National Executive Council met and resolved that the strike be suspended on Fridaynationwide.”According to him, JOHESU UCH is obeying the order, and workers have resumed work.Olabampe said that if the demands were not met after the six weeks, they would embark on an indefinite strike. (NAN)
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