Nigeria
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari originally announced a 14-day lockdown for the Lagos, Abuja and Ogun states on March 30. A 14-day extension was added.
Specifically in the Enugu State, borders, schools, inter-state transportation, markets, and airports have been closed, and gatherings have been banned.
Concerns and Challenges
Many people have experienced increased difficulty in accessing food supplies and medicines, especially women and children.
Adaptation Measures
Due to the ban on gatherings, the Society for the Improvement of Rural People (SIRP) has adapted in how to inform and educate their community. They stay in contact with beneficiaries via phone. Previously, SIRP held a Skills and Entrepreneurship training on soap making that has provided many girls with the knowledge that is in high demand right now. Additionally, they have produced posters and leaflets in lieu of trainings to inform the public on precautionary measures to be taken to avoid the spread of COVID-19.
Emergency Fund
With the emergency funds from Rockflower, SIRP was able to hold an educational program for 30 women and girls from the Ikirike and Idaw-River community. This included a knowledge sharing session about COVID-19 highlighting precautionary measures to take to avoid contracting the virus, the demonstration and distribution of facemasks and the distribution of essential food items. They were also able to provide posters to be shared more widely with the community.
Update from May 2020
The continuation of the Emergency Fund is focusing on adolescent girls. The majority of the project will be implemented on May 28, 2020, the International Day of Menstrual Hygiene.
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, women and girls have had to sacrifice their maternal and reproductive health. Before the pandemic, gender inequality, discriminatory social norms, cultural taboos, poverty, and lack of basic hygiene often left menstrual hygiene needs to go unmet. Now these deprivations have become exacerbated. Resulting in far-reaching negative impacts on the lives of our adolescent girls and young mothers, including but not limited to restricted mobility, freedom and choices, reduced participation in school, work and community life, compromised safety, and additional stress and anxiety.
Under the continuation of the Emergency Fund, the following activities will be implemented:
Education on how to prevent COVID-19 using the WHO and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) protocols.
Discussions around the 2020 International Day of Menstrual Hygiene.
Training on how to make reusable menstrual pads as skills training for economic empowerment for adolescent girls of Idaw River community.
Distribution of IEC materials, Personal Protective, Equipment (PPEs), sanitary pads and food items to mitigate the challenge of hunger for these adolescent young girls during this lockdown period as a result of COVID-19.
Read about SIRP’s International Day of Menstrual Hygiene.