The groups yesterday, unveiled their plan to provide access to social protection for elderly and People With Disabilities (PWDs), and the youths, to ensure their voices are heard in the country.
The country Director, Oxfam, John Makina, stated this during the press conference organised by the groups, Voice, Include Innovative Influence, in conjunction with Oxfax, Linking Learning, in Abuja yesterday.
Makina noted,” Voice is being implemented in 10 Countries including Nigeria. Currently, Nigeria is focusing on Abuja, Lagos and Enugu States. The three thematic focuses of Voice are: improved access to productive resources, finance, land, and water and employment, improved access to social services, health, and education in particular, space for political participation.
He said, Voice project is an innovative grant facility that supports access to resources, participation and rights of marginalized vulnerable people, including the PWDs, elderly, youth and women that face exploitation, abuse and violence such age discrimination amongst others.
He said, it’s also focus on the (5) categories: People with disability (PWD), Women facing exploitation, abuse and violence (WEAV), Age discriminated groups, and ethnic minority/Indigenous group
He emphasized that this project focuses on vulnerable people; the elderly, PWDs and youths at the community level that lack access to basic amenities, such as healthcare, education, financial needs, empowerment and provide them with social protection to ensure that their voices are heard.
He said, we are implementing this projecta in ten countries, across Southeast Asia and Africa- including Nigeria, the projects empowered rights holders to amplify voice for them and influence positive action for the challenges facing in the society under the symbol “Nothing about us without us (Now-us)” principle.
He noted ” that Oxfam initiated this project in Nigeria recently some years back, since then Voice has directly funded over 40 organizations under 4 grant categories: Innovative and Learn grant, Sudden opportunity grant, Empowerment grant and Influence grant with the propose to reach over 100 organisation with target 100 communities across the country.
However said, we have impacted over two million Nigerians directly and indirectly, on our various initiatives, universities, custodial centres, rural settlement and urban slums across the countries.
In his remarks coordinator, Voice Nigeria Project Akom Nya said, we have empowered them through various programs, no just financial aspect but through knowledge sharing skill acquisition and we also listen to hear some of their views and opinion to address them at the community level.
He said, through this program we have some womens that are in prisons, and local communities which don’t have access empowerment initiatives, education, healthcare facilities and financial inclusion that will guarantee voices in the society.
Meanwhile, Cognito Executive Director, Christy Asala, said, voice is a program within the dialogue and dissent policy framework of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. The overarching goal of this policy framework is to strengthen the capacity for lobby and advocacy of civil society organisations in low-and lower-middle-income countries.
She said, ” it aimed at capacity strengthening for lobby and advocacy of civil society organisations and representatives of the most marginalised and discriminated groups. These groups are often the most hard-to-reach.
However” the innovative approaches to both capacity strengthening, to lobby and advocacy as well as empowerment are essential to Voice. A linking and learning process must encourage sharing of lessons learned, and provide a forum for mutual learning and empowerment of the most marginalised and discriminated groups. Voice is initially a five-year program, for which EUR 50 million is available for both program-, management- and linking and learning costs, she added.”
She added, we are a social enterprise that uses creative communication strategies, knowledge management, capacity building and technology to address critical development issues, amplify the impact of development programmes, highlight innovative learnings and use these learnings for improved future programming towards improving the wellbeing of target populations.
We called on the government at all level local, state, federal government and other private institutions to support these initiatives to achieve a great society in general.
Capacity building enables individuals and organizations to develop competencies and skills that can make them more effective and make projects sustainable, thus increasing the potential to enrich lives and solve society’s most intractable problems.
