AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Nigeria Monday, marked International Women’s Day (IWD) 2025 with various women and girls groups in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, eliciting a call for all stakeholders to give maximum respect and value to women and girls to accelerate a healthy living.
AHF equally advocated for action to empower women and girls, in a bid to celebrate their achievements while promoting action to break down barriers to their health, equality, and opportunity.
The Senior Regional Medical Manager in charge of Benue State, Dr. John Ugboji stated this at a forum put together by the foundation as part of activities to mark the 2025 International Women’s Day (IWD), held at AHF-Nigeria Makurdi office.
Dr. Ugboji insisted that AHF placed enormous value on women and girls in the society, which is why most of the organisation’s programme is anchored around women, girls and children in order to better their lives.
He noted that the value of women and girls cannot be over emphasized, insisting that the foundation would continue to prioritize issues of women and girls so as to give them sense of belonging.
Also speaking, Advocacy and Marketing Manager, AHF Nigeria, Steve Aborisade, stressed the need for leaders at all levels to turn commitments into action to accelerate development.
He maintained that a just and equitable world would only be possible when women and girls could claim their full rights, power, and potentials.
“AHF Nigeria joins the global movement to demand an end to the inequities that hold women and girls back.We must support women and girls in our society to accelerate action by giving free education to girl child, empower them through positive venture. This is the only way to reduce HIV and eradicate the scourge amongst them.
The representative of the State Ministry of Health, Dr. Obatomi Joy, lamented that over the years women are being neglected, which made them to look down on themselves.
She stated that there is need for a change of attitude amongst women and other members of the society in order to accelerate action.
Dr. Obatomi assured that the State Ministry of Health would continue to strive to ensure that all women and girls have equal access to health care in the State.
“We must give women the respect they deserve in the society in order to accelerate progress. Women must stop stigmatizing themselves in order to achieve success”.
She stated that State government would continue to partner with relevant organisations such as AHF to promote healthy living.
On her part, the Director of Women Affairs, State Ministry of Women Affairs, Mrs. Magdalene Andor, commended AHF for what they are doing in the State’s health sector especially their strategic approach to menstrual issue amongst women.
She explained that many women are being faced with menstrual poverty, Gender Based Violence and Stigmatisation and commended AHF for their efforts in tackling them.
She added that in order to accelerate action and tackle the issue of Gender based violence against women, the State government has established a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) where where survivors of such act can be treated.
Mrs. Andor enjoined women to stop looking down on themselves, saying that most men rely on them for ideas that make them take actions and stand out among their peers.
She encourage people to always be ready to report any case of gender based violence against them to the appropriate authorities for necessary action.
Speaking on the theme of this year’s celebration, “Accelerate Action”, State Nursing Coordinator at AHF, Ruth Atabo, said the theme is a worldwide call to acknowledge strategies, resources, and activity that positively impact women’s advancement, and to support and elevate their implementation.
She said AHF celebrate and appreciate the work women do, especially mentor mothers, to impact the society saying that their focused intervention has positively enhanced their advancement and implementation of innovative strategies to prevent the transmission of HIV, reduced stigma and discrimination, improved the quality of life of people living with HIV and eliminate mother to child transmission.
