Abuja Hosts Summit On Terrorism, Other Threats To The Girl Child

At a  pre-event media  briefing Thursday in Abuja, the Director General of the National Centre for Women Development (NCWD), Lady Onyeka Onwenu,   said the two-day summit would underline several efforts by government in removing all barriers that limit the growth and development of women and in particular girl child education in the country.

Being held under the auspices of the First Lady, Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan,the NCWD and Friends Africa, a non-governmental organisation, the summit   will discuss the strategic importance of the girl-child to the development of the society and the nation and will engage key stakeholders in  girl child education in Nigeria.

The summit also aims  to come up with  effective strategies and a programme of action  to curb situations that threaten the ultimate success and well-being of the girl child.

Lady Onwenu who listed   certain identified challenges to include  terrorism, kidnapping, trafficking, gender inequality, discrimination, gender-based violence and outdated cultural practices such as female genital mutilation,  and early child marriages, maintained that these  had to be tackled if the girl child is to prosper in the country.

Expected at the conference are participants from all over the country and international institutions such as UNICEF and UNFPA.

The two-day gathering will  focus on  Education, Health, Economic Empowerment, Security and Gender-based Violence amongst others.