ActionAid Nigeria Impacts 3m Lives in Nationwide GBV Campaign

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt ActionAid Nigeria has disclosed that its interventions against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) have reached about three million people, including men and women, as part of efforts to tackle harmful cultural practices and strengthen the protection of women and girls across the country. The organisation made this known at the close-out stakeholders’ forum of its Multi-Stakeholder Action for the Prevention of Gender-Based Violence (MAP-GBV) project in Port Harcourt, Rivers State at the weekend. The intervention, implemented with support from the Ford Foundation, recorded significant milestones in Anambra, Osun and Rivers States, particularly in community mobilisation, advocacy, public awareness and the engagement of traditional and religious institutions. Speaking at the event, ActionAid’s Director of People and Culture, Funmi Olukeye, said the programme had recorded remarkable achievements in changing attitudes towards gender-based violence, including efforts that contributed to the abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in some communities in Rivers State. She identified the creation of community influencers and the engagement of traditional rulers, lawyers, lawmakers and religious leaders as some of the major achievements of the intervention. According to her, behavioural change has improved considerably over the past two years, largely due to sustained grassroots engagement and increased awareness. Olukeye, however, stressed the need for stronger community commitment and civil society participation to sustain the gains. She called for the institutionalisation of structures within government and traditional leadership systems to ensure that the campaign against gender-based violence continued beyond the lifespan of the project. Also speaking, Coordinator of the Rivers State Multi-Stakeholder Action Committee on GBV Prevention, Evelyn Membere Asimiea, said the initiative had made significant progress since its establishment in November 2024. She said the intervention had strengthened public awareness, improved advocacy and encouraged greater participation by traditional and religious institutions in addressing gender-based violence. “So far, we have increased public awareness and generated efforts to sustain community development,” she said. Asimiea, a lawyer, identified increased awareness of the Rivers State Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law 2020 as one of the major gains of the intervention. She explained the engagement of traditional rulers and religious leaders had strengthened grassroots advocacy, while the development of a GBV Prevention Manual for traditional rulers had improved their capacity to address harmful cultural practices. The project also facilitated the establishment of the Rivers State Multi-Stakeholder Action Committee on GBV Prevention, bringing together government agencies, civil society organisations, traditional rulers, religious leaders, women’s groups, security agencies and the media. One of its major achievements was the signing of a Royal Mandate by traditional rulers on April 24, 2026, committing them to challenging harmful cultural practices, promoting the VAPP Law and strengthening community-based protection systems. In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Mrs. Lauretta Davies Dimkpa, assured the state government would sustain the structures established under the intervention. Dimkpa described the project as an important intervention that had strengthened collaboration among stakeholders and provided a common platform for addressing gender-based violence. She declared “The Committee will not be allowed to die with this project. The Ministry will retain it as its official coordination platform for GBV prevention in the state”. She also commended ActionAid Nigeria for its technical support, noting that the intervention had strengthened coordination, improved community sensitisation and enhanced awareness of the rights of women and children. The Permanent Secretary reaffirmed the commitment of the administration of Governor Siminalayi Fubara to protecting vulnerable persons and addressing all forms of gender-based violence. She disclosed that the ministry had established a Sexual Assault Referral Centre at the Safe Home, Borokiri, Port Harcourt, describing it as the first of its kind in Rivers State, while efforts were ongoing to ensure its full operationalisation. According to her, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Response Teams have also been established in Eleme, Etche and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Areas, with plans to extend the initiative to other parts of the state. Dimkpa further revealed the Community-Based Child Protection System was operational in 100 communities, with the state government committing to pay 100 auxiliary social workers for five years to sustain the programme. She urged stakeholders not to allow the relationships and progress achieved through the MAP-GBV project to end with its close-out, stressing that eliminating gender-based violence required sustained collective responsibility. The MAP-GBV project was designed to address persistent incidents of violence against women and girls, harmful cultural practices, inadequate awareness of legal protections and weak coordination among institutions. Stakeholders at the forum agreed that sustaining the gains would require continuous government commitment, adequate funding, stronger community participation and effective implementation of existing laws to ensure lasting protection for women, girls and other vulnerable persons.