The Nigerian governors’ wives on Tuesday pledged to intensify advocacy and awareness campaigns on the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to prevent deaths related to cervical cancer in the country.
The Chairperson of Nigerian Governors’ Wives Forum (NIGVF), Mrs Olufolake Abdulrazaq, said this while reading a 10-point communique at the end of the quarterly meeting of the forum held in Bauchi.
She said the forum would collaborate closely with primary health workers and the Ministries of Health and Social Welfare to ensure that awareness creation on the HPV vaccine was effective enough to address the resistance being encountered at the grassroots level.
The forum also resolved to change its name from the Nigeria Governors Wives’ Forum to the Nigeria Governors Spouses’ Forum (NIGSF).
The Chairperson said the change in the forum’s name underscored the active role the wives of governors played in advocating for increased women’s representation in leadership positions across the country.
“The First Ladies have collectively endorsed the Women Digital Upskilling programme in partnership with the Labour Business School and Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC).
“This initiative is designed to have the First Ladies sponsor girls and women from their respective states for digital training to reduce the gender gap in the digital industry and ensure that women can benefit from this significant sector.
“The First Ladies endorsed the joint compact on ending Gender- Based Violence and Harmful Practices. This is a collaboration of the NIGWF and UNICEF,” she stated in the communique.
AbdulRasaq further stated that in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Forum would facilitate a capacity-building programme focused on drug abuse prevention and mitigation.
She explained that the initiative was designed to equip the governors’ wives with the knowledge and skills to effectively engage and advocate for critical social issues within their respective states to drive change.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 17 wives of Nigerian governors participated in the quarterly meeting with Hajiya Aisha Mohammed, the wife of Gov. Bala Mohammed, as the Chief host.
(NAN)
