The Nigeria for Women Program Scale Up is one of the highlights of discussion at the ongoing 23rd National Council on Women Affairs (NCWA), holding currently in Calabar the Cross River State capital from August 20 to August 24.
The NCWA, an annual policy colloquium for policy development for women and children in Nigeria, is a gathering of all ministries of women affairs and related ministries in all the 36 states of the federation and FCT.
At the front burner of discussions is the empowerment of women for which many states are yearning. At the colloquium, pilot states that have enjoyed immense benefits of NFWP, which has been occupied in improving the livelihoods of women in targeted areas have reported, for the council to note, how the current pilot project has changed the face of the states.
In a memorandum on social inclusion, the Federal Project Implementation Unit of the Nigeria for Women Project updated the council on the achievements of the Project since the 22 NCWA, noting that NFWP has so far achieved 88.8% implementation into the first phase (2018-2023) and also that the Project period has been extended by 10 months, to end March, 2024.
It was also noted at the NCWA that 18 states, including Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ekiti, Gombe, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Ondo, Oyo, Ogun, Sokoto, and Taraba have committed fully to the NFWP Scale Up, having met all the criteria for inclusion.