Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, says 60 per cent of 10.5 million out-of-school children in Nigeria are girls.

Orelope-Adefulire said this at the inauguration of the United Nations Women’s SDGs Report entitled: “Turning Promises into Action: Gender Equality in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” on Monday in Abuja.

She was represented by the Programme Secretary, SDGs, Alhaji Lamido Waziri.

Orelope-Adefulire also said that 35 per cent of women and girls aged 15 and older were subjected to sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner as of 2017.

She added that only 24.8 per cent of women aged 15 to 49 years made their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive healthcare.

According to her, what we are doing today is directly supporting the attainment of SDGs on the achievement of gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls.

“The report provides a comprehensive and authoritative assessment of progress, gaps and challenges to date in the implementation of the SDGs from a gender perspective.

“More importantly, the report highlights issues on the centrality of gender equality in the achievement of all the 17 SDGs and the policies needed to achieve them.

“Remember that 60 per cent of the approximately 10.5 million out-of-school children in Nigeria are girls.

“As of 2017, the proportion of women and girls aged 15 years and older, who were subjected to sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner was estimated at 35 per cent.

“Similarly, the proportion of women aged 15 to 49 years who make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive healthcare was put at 24.8 per cent,’’ she said. (NAN)

– Nov. 26, 2018 @ 18:19 GMT |