The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says empowering women and girls with life skills will help reduce cases of gender based violence (GBV) in Zambia.
UNFPA Gender Analyst Womba Mayondi notes that women and girls in the country need social protection as they are vulnerable and marginalized in society.
Ms. Mayondi said UNFPA, a UN lead agency advocates for the promoting of women and girls’ welfare has realized the need to work with government through the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Community Development and Social Welfare as well as other partners such as the Young Women Christian Association in order to respond and prevent cases of GBV and child abuses by physically and materially empowering them.
Ms. Mayondi said this when she handed over sanitary kits comprising reproductive products to 1,350 women and girls beneficiaries.
The donated items included a bucket, 2-metre chitenje material, sanitary towel, soap and some detergent pastes while Gwembe District Hospital benefited linen, gloves and an assortment of hand sanitizers in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ms. Mayondi also disclosed that UNFPA had so far trained over 100 personnel that included 37 GBV experts, 16 Protection Monitors, 13 Counselors, Community health workers among others.
Gwembe District Commissioner Timothy Siakaziba who graced the handover at Gwembe District hospital commended UNFPA for uplifting the lives of women and girls.
The DC said the donation is a step in the right direction for Zambia to achieve her sustainable development agenda on maternal and reproductive health.
Mr Siakaziba bemoaned the rising number of GBV cases in Gwembe that has made partnerships between government and UNFPA important, to addressing the vice.
Hope they’re safe products ?
We thank you for your assistance and partnership with our country. Continue in this way
Can these be donated to the upnd Male members
Too many hand outs just make our people lazy and keeps us unproductive. This culture of receiving donations must stop. Those sanitary kits will not last long but if those funds were invested in vocational training for these young girls and they were taught how to create job opportunities, that would be more sustainable.
We hope they are good products not laced with something, case of Coca-Cola and the Nigerian businessman who shipped Coca-Cola products to UK only to be told they were not safe for human consumption comes to mind. What was terrifying is that company response saying those products were meant for local ‘Africa’ consumption poisonous as they were. It’s time Afrika starts producing local .
It’s a good Gesture, the women definitely appreciate the help. It can be expensive for some of the girls out there to buy these essentials. Therefore, when such genuine help is available, why not utilise it instead of young girls dating older men in exchange for money to buy female essentials.