The United Nations has commended the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) for its multisectoral approach to ending all forms of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).

Dr Najat M’jid, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Violence against Children, gave the commendation in Abuja on Tuesday, when she visited the Awyetu Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC).

The SARC, located at Bwari General Hospital was established in 2020 by the British Council on behalf of the European Union under its Rule of Law and Anticorruption (ROLAC) Programme.

The centre was established to provide comprehensive medical, psychological, and legal support to survivors of sexual violence, with a special focus on children and vulnerable populations.

M’jid expressed excitement with the synergy among the different sectors working together to eliminate all forms of SGBV in the FCT.

“I am happy today because of what I have seen – many ministries are onboard supporting the fight against SGBV.

“This is because the problem is not only the problem of FCT Women Affairs; the issues are also in health, in Justice, and in communities,” she said.

She said that she was in the country to understand what was being done to address SGBV, “and how together, we can move forward”.

She added that Nigeria was one of the paths finding countries on ending violence against children.

She also said that the country was very involved and very committed to end all forms of violence against children and had made pledges.

“Visit to Nigeria is to see how we can move ahead, how we can support and how we can achieve set targets from the many commitments the country has made.

“We want to see how we can translate those commitments into concrete services that will prevent and address all forms of violence against children,” she said.

The special representative, however, stressed the need to address the drivers of SGBV, detect and respond to reported cases and ensure that it was not happening again.

She further said: “It is really important to make sure that the victims can be heard, be considered and be seen as victims and make the perpetrators accountable.

“There is also the need to stop justifying violence against children and women through poverty and through social norms”.

Earlier, the Mandate Secretary, FCT Women Affairs Secretariat, Mrs Adebayo Benjamins-Laniyi, pointed out that a multisectoral problem required a multisectoral approach to tackle it.

Benjamins-Laniyi said that a stronger synergy was required among critical stakeholders to deliver critical intervention from the local to the state level, in line with global best practices.

She described M’jid visit as a “positive disruption” that sparked a desire to strengthen partnership and collaboration among the different stakeholders to do more for women and children in the FCT.

The mandate secretary said that the FCT Administration had rolled out plans to reposition the SARC centre to provide quality integrated services to SGBV survivors.

Also, the Mandate Secretary, Health Services and Environment Secretariat, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, said that M’jid’s visit reaffirmed the global resolve to protect children from violence.

Fasawe, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the secretariat, Dr Baba-Gana Adam, added that the visit was very encouraging.

She added that the visit also reinforced the role of sexual assault centre in ensuring access to care, justice, and dignity for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.

She disclosed that the hospital had continued to sustain the provision of services at the centre when the ROLAC support ended, but amidst numerous challenges.

The mandate secretary, identified some of the challenges as funding for essential drugs and kits, staff training and incentives, inconsistent collaboration with law enforcements, and absence of prevention and community awareness programmes.

Housing, income, education, and other social conditions have a greater impact on health than genetics or the quality of health-care systems, according to a new World Health Organisation (WHO) study.

The research, set to be presented and live-streamed from Geneva on Tuesday, found that social determinants such as poverty, discrimination, and lack of access to resources account for more than 50 per cent of health outcomes.

These “social determinants of health equity” include the environments in which people are born, live, work, and age, as well as their access to power, money, and opportunity.

“These factors create unjust and avoidable health gaps,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“Billions of people face higher risks of illness and death simply because of the conditions they’re born into or the social groups they belong to.”

Tedros emphasised that much of the global disease and mortality burden was preventable, calling health inequity a result of political and social decisions that global leaders had the power to change

As part of activities to mark the 2025 World Hand Hygiene Day, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has emphasised that hand hygiene is not just a clinical procedure.

It is a moral obligation and a public health imperative that must be embedded in the culture of healthcare delivery nationwide.

Dr Tochi Okwor, Head of Disease Prevention and Control at the NCDC, said this on Monday during a commemorative event held at Maitama District Hospital in Abuja.

Okwor reiterated that hand hygiene remained one of the most effective measures for preventing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), limiting the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and ultimately saving lives.

“The theme for 2025 campaign, ‘It Might Be Gloves. It’s Always Hand Hygiene,’ highlights the misconception that wearing gloves alone is enough to prevent infection.

“Gloves can become sources of contamination if not used properly or if hand hygiene is neglected before and after use.

“Glove stewardship, like antimicrobial stewardship, must be grounded in evidence, risk assessment, and responsible use,” she added.

Highlighting Nigeria’s progress in infection prevention and control (IPC), Okwor noted significant achievements, including the implementation of the Turn Nigeria Orange (TNO) movement, which assessed and strengthened IPC systems across the country.

She explained that the agency had established the Orange Network, a cohort of healthcare facilities serving as centres of excellence for IPC, antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), WASH, and diagnostics.

“Other key milestones include the launch of a national IPC policy and five-year strategic plan, the establishment of a dedicated IPC budget line at the federal level, and the training of more thsn 393 certified IPC professionals.

“We’ve also developed a draft IPC legal framework, formed operational technical working groups at national and state levels, and rolled out HAI surveillance systems for real-time infection detection and response,” she said.

While policies and protocols were vital, she emphasised that true progress lied in building a culture where hand hygiene was a lived practice embraced by healthcare workers, administrators, patients, and communities.

“We must move beyond compliance to foster a culture supported by leadership role-modelling, data-driven feedback, and patient empowerment,” Okwor said.

She noted that Nigeria’s IPC strategy aligned with the WHO’s Global IPC Strategy (2024–2030), supporting national health goals such as Universal Health Coverage and Primary Health Care revitalisation.

“Let every clean hand be a declaration that safety matters, that patients deserve better, and that no one should be harmed in the process of care,” she added.

Dr Rita Idemudia, Medical Director of Maitama District Hospital, stressed the significance of consistent hygiene practices in both healthcare and community settings.

“About 60 per cent of diseases can be prevented through proper hand hygiene,” she said, adding that regular handwashing was one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce infections and promote public health.

The event lauded institutions like Maitama District Hospital for translating national IPC policies into practice, setting benchmarks in implementation and demonstrating a commitment to patient safety.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) observes May 5 each year as World Hand Hygiene Day to raise global awareness about the importance of clean hands in preventing infections and safeguarding healthcare systems.

The event ended with a call to action urging all healthcare stakeholders to recommit to hand hygiene as a life-saving practice, one that must never be overlooked, regardless of gloves or other protective equipment in use.