By Victoria Ojeme
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director Anne E. Patterson joined Federal Minister of Women Affairs Dame Pauline Tallen to launch a new National Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Situation Room at the Ministry.
A statement made available to journalists yesterday said that USAID is strengthening the capacity of the Ministry to monitor and improve services through the development and operationalization of effective data management systems.
According to the statement, USAID is working closely with the Ministry to deliver multi-sectoral services – health, protection, household economic strengthening, and education – for vulnerable children and their caregivers through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) initiative.
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Under the Data for Implementation (Data.FI) activity, USAID is strengthening the capacity of the Ministry to monitor and improve services through the development and operationalization of effective data management systems.
“The mandate of the Ministry of Women Affairs — to promote women’s equality and opportunity and protect women and children from abuse and exploitation — also cuts across all USAID programming,” Ms. Patterson said at the launch. “This new Situation Room is a collaboration that will help Nigeria prevents violence against women, improve resilience of vulnerable children and their caregivers, and respond to the needs of survivors of violence.”
The new Situation Room will harmonize OVC program reporting and optimize the National OVC Management Information System.
USAID works closely with the Ministry of Women Affairs to coordinate OVC interventions within its broader child protection and women’s empowerment mandate.
Implemented by Palladium, Data.FI is among several USAID activities that help Nigeria provide essential social and health services to nearly 500,000 vulnerable children and their caregivers, including 13,000 children living with HIV.
Last year, more than 19,000 beneficiaries received USAID-supported GBV services.
The event also served as an opportunity for Minister Tallen to present USAID with an award recognizing the Agency’s substantial investments in women and children in Nigeria over the past two decades, auspiciously timed to coincide with the annual 16 Days Against Gender-Based Violence commemoration around the world.
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