AKSG To Partner CBOs, DonorAgencies On Integrated Child Health, Social Services..
Akwa Ibom government has pledged its readiness to partner Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and donor agencies in tackling issues involving street children in the state.


The commissioner for women affairs and social welfare, Dr. Ini Adiakpan, who made this known, recently, while flagging-off the Integrated Child Health and Social Services Award (ICHSSA) Lot 1 cash transfer programme, which took place at the Ikot Ekpene Local Government Council Hall, observed with dismay the untold hardship and abuses suffered by street children which, she noted, had exposed them to various societal ills and diseases such as HIV/AIDS and advocated mainstreaming of street children's well-being into ICHSSA - CCCRN's next phase of intervention.

Adiakpan, who lauded Gov Udom Emmanuel for providing the enabling environment and proper structure for the co-ordination of the activities of CBOs and donor agencies with a view to ameliorating the plight of vulnerable persons in the state, observed that the unfolding events within the year, such as Covid-19 pandemic and other precarious occurrences, had further aggravated the distressed situation of vulnerable households which, she noted, made the ICHSSA - CCCRN Lot 1 cash transfer programme an economic imperative.

The women affairs boss also lauded the governor's wife, Dr. Martha Emmanuel, for her compassionate disposition at improving the living conditions of women and children through her various intervention programmes such as building and furnishing of houses for the less privileged, provision of sources of livelihood for the economic wellbeing of vulnerable persons, as well as care for pregnant women, among others. She expressed appreciation to ICHSSA and Center for Clinical Care and Clinical Research (CCCRN) for reaching out to vulnerable households in 14 local government areas through the unconditional cash transfer programme, expressing the hope that the remaining 17 local government areas would be accommodated in the next phase of the programme.

She, however, called for upward review of the N40,000 paid to each of the benefiting households in line with the economic realities of the time. While commending CCCRN for adopting cashless policy in the disbursement of funds to the beneficiaries, Adiakpan urged the organization to carry out needs assessment of the beneficiaries with a view to providing guidance for effective utilization of the funds.

Earlier in his opening remarks, the chief of party for the project, Dr. Adekoya Peters, said the event was to mark the official launch of ICHSSA I CCCRN cash transfer Programme, aimed at cushioning the effect of the economic difficulties faced by the benefiting households, which were further compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Adekoya, who thanked the state government for providing an office accommodation for the project's Gender Based Violence Situation Room in the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, said ICHSSA I CCCRN programme was a 5-year co-operative agreement funded by the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which started in December 2019 and implemented by CCCRN in partnership with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and supported by local resource partners in priority local government areas of Akwa Ibom and Cross River States.

He further stated that the goal of the project was to ensure that Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) were cared for and protected by their households, communities, local and state governments in order to reduce their vulnerability to HIV, adding that his organization had since its inception conducted gender based assessment and HIV stigma index survey for the state with findings inputted in their work plan for the year.

The chief of party also disclosed that the organization had provided services for over 200,000 children in Akwa Ibom and Cross River States with Akwa Ibom having over 150,000 slots, stressing that the essence of the programme was to enhance household economic strengthening and resilience. Also speaking, the Household Economic Strengthening (HES) technical advisor, Mr. Felix Ikyereve, said the primary purpose of ICHSSAI - CCCRN unconditional cash transfer programme was to improve access to health care for HIV management and other related diseases, strengthen food consumption needs of most vulnerable households, as well as provide business start-up support for such households.

Ikyereve disclosed that 3,713 households were targeted for the whole scheme, while 1,213 households in Akwa Ibom and Cross River States had already been captured in the first phase of the programme with Akwa Ibom having 65 percent of the total number of the beneficiaries, indicating a population of 84 percent females and 16 percent male beneficiaries, respectively.

He added that the sum of N40,000 would be paid in two instalments to each of the beneficiaries in 14 local government areas of Akwa Ibom through Y'ello Digital Financial Services Ltd (YDFS), a subsidiary of MTN Nigeria. He listed the local government areas in the first phase of the programme to be Ikot Ekpene, Okobo, Eket, Mbo, Oron, Oruk Anam and Ibesikpo Asutan

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