Amby Uneze in Owerri
The UNICEF Enugu Field Office has pledged to partner Imo State towards ending female genital mutilation (FGM) by adopting the action plan already reached by various local government councils.
UNICEF Chief of Enugu Office, Dr. Ibrahim Conteh, said yesterday in Owerri that the world body would create the enabling environment to effectively put into practice the action plan.
Conteh, who was represented by UNICEF’s FGM consultant for Imo and Ebonyi States, Mr. Benjamin Mbakwem, added that multi-sectoral coordination as well as data collection and utilisation would be strengthened so as to promote response to the action plan.
He called on the LGA representatives to disseminate the message to their various communities for a more efficient implementation of the plan.
“Implementation of the action plan begins at the grassroots, the local government level and a lot of data collection and utilisation will be needed to achieve the desired objectives at that level.
“Our state-level partners will review the consolidated local government FGM elimination action plan, make input and identify activities to support its implementation based on their sectoral mandates, core competence and comparative advantage,” he said.
Already, nine local council areas of the state had jointly adopted an action plan to end the age-long practice of female genital mutilation.
Speaking also, Mrs. Juliet Igwe, a representative of the state government, pledged readiness to incorporate state-level activities into UNICEF plan.
Igwe, from the office of the Principal Secretary to the state government, assured delegates at the meeting that the government would provide the enabling environment for full implementation of the action plan.
Also, the Director of the National Orientation Agency in Imo State, Mr. Nazzy Njoku, said necessary public enlightenment would be carried out by the agency in line with the resolutions of the meeting.
He thanked LGA and state partners for their commitment to eliminate FGM, and expressed the optimism that it would soon be a thing of the past.
