The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Nigeria, has trained over 20 media practitioners on best ways to maintain zero tolerance on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the two-day trainings was held at Doven Hotel Lekki from Monday to Tuesday, in Lagos.
The Acting Head of UNFPA, Cross River Sub-Office, Dr Aliyu Yakubu, urged participants, who are basically from National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) to take the message to the grassroots.
Yakubu commended journalists for championing the message, saying their roles can not be over-emphasised on advocating for eradicating Female Genital Mutilation.
According to him, no perpetrators has ever being punished over the offence because the policy are not rightly implemented.
Also, the Head of Media and Communications, UNFPA, Haj. Kori Habib, appealed to media practitioners to be well equipped with vital information that UNFPA entails for proper reportage.
Habib said that UNFPA believes in NAN for global coverage, saying that the agency slogan says it as it is, “talk to One, talk to All”.
He said that their impact had been felt across the country, extending to the entire World and charged the agency on continuity.
She admonished the agency to always share information on different network such as: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Life, YouTube, among others.
Similarly, Mrs Uzoma Ayodeji, a Gender analyst, in her lecture titled: “Presentation of Phase IV UNFPA/UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital in Nigeria.”
Ayodeji said the percentage of the mutilation has been reduced in some areas, calling for more efforts, as UNFPA still have a long way to go.
She called for more contributions in other to achieve the goals of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of total eradication of Female Genital Mutilation.
Mr Karima Bungudu, Gender FGM Analyst, said that FGM is a way of removing clitoris from girls private parts without medical treatment in which had caused a lot of damages to their lives.
Bungudu emphasised that such allows for tetanus, acute urinary, infertility, while some wound would not heal, mental disorder and inability to enjoy sex in which are not right.
He charged young boys, men, parents, religious leaders, NGOs, government parastatals, ministries, traditional and community leaders to rise up to fight against female general Mutilation.
He emphasised that a tree cannot make a forest, cooperation of the duo with other agencies, ministry, NGO, traditional rulers, local governments, community leaders, parents and circumcisers, among others would go along way in elimination of FGM.
He called for the support of journalists to contribute their own quota through adequate broadcasting against female genital Mutilation and ensure passing the message beyond so as to totally eradicated by 2030.
A Consultant from United Nations Population Fund (UNPA), Mrs. Aduke Obelawo, said the future is bright and success has been promised on strengthened conviction, not on using force.
Obelawo asked media to preach to the people’s conscience and centralised on the social norms.
Similarly, Mrs Ayodeji Bello, an Activist from United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), who spoke on Global Media Campaign intensified her effort on canvassing for eradication of Female Genital Mutilation to rural and urban areas.
Bello stressed that media has a vital role to play in global media campaign by helping to sensitised the populace against mutilation.
She said that media is a powerful tool both print and broadcasting in which people will hear form radio among other broadcasting. (NAN)
