Commissioner calls on Technical Steering Committee To Address Psychological Needs of Survivors

The Commissioner for Women Affairs, Chief (Mrs.) Oluwakemi Opeyemi Afolashade, has called on members of the Technical Steering Committee on Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) to address the emotional and psychological needs of survivors.

Chief Afolashade made this call on Wednesday during the 2nd quarterly meeting of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Technical Steering Committee, held at the Ministry’s Conference Hall in Ilorin.

She noted that it was important to appraise OVC programmes in the State as any project without appraisal or evaluation mechanism from the inception of the project to its end, is prone to failure. 

 

According to her, “You will all agree with me that this project is purely a humanitarian service to the people of the State and it is very important that we develop passion for the job and derive joy in discharging our duties in order to attain excellent results in our outcomes. We should all attend to the matter of the victims, as if they are our biological brothers and sisters.”

The Commissioner noted that “It will be appropriate to admit that the Orphans and Vulnerable Children and their caregivers face complex challenges and only our contribution and dedication can make them narrate a sweat story of their lives.”

Chief Afolashade commended the Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, for providing quality support, conducive and enabling atmosphere for the implementation of this project in Kwara State.

The Director, Child Directorate of the Ministry, Hajia Idiat Alabi, reported that a key recent achievement in the Ministry’s programmes for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) is the allocation of funds to support their education and nutrition, which include providing school materials, paying school fees, and supplying nutrient-rich food to improve attendance, learning outcomes, and overall child development.

Hajia Alabi accentuated the state government’s commitment to OVC, noting that nutritional support was provided for malnourished children and other medical needs to improve recovery outcomes and reduce mortality risks among the most vulnerable pediatric patients at the Children Specialist Hospital, Ilorin.

The Cluster Lead and Technical Adviser for Support for Family Health (SFH), Dr. Opeoluwa Farinu, commended the state government for the rejuvenation of Family Court and admonished participants to create a trauma sensitivity environment where people can speak about their traumas because most vulnerable persons have gone through one traumatic condition or the other.

Iyanu Lawal,

Press Secretary,

MOWA.

08037087332