By Gabriel Ewepu – Abuja

The UN Women, International Labour Organisation, ILO, United Nations Industrial Development, UNIDO, World Health Organisation, WHO, have collaborated to build capacity of women on production of quality Personal Protective Equipment and other healthcare related products.

This was made known during the opening ceremony of ‘Strengthening the Capacity of Local MSMEs/Manufacturers to Produce High Quality PPEs and Healthcare-related Products’ in Abuja.

Speaking on the essence of the training, in an address of welcome, the  Lansana WOnneh of UN Women Nigeria, represented by the National Programme Officer, UN Women, Patience Ekeoba, said the crisis occasioned by the novel Coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic caused global health emergenct and economic downturn, and with the pressing need to contain spread of the deadly virus the demand for PPEs and healthcare products increased astronomically.

And the crisis affected investment, growth, employmet and had negative impact on completeness of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs in Nigeria.

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Ekeoba said: “The government of Nigerian and the United States system has designed this project wit the aim of strengthening the capacity of local MSMEs and manufacturers to produce high quality PPEs and healthcare-related products.

“This training is part of UN Women’s collaboration with other sister agencies-UNIDO, ILO and WHO to promote enhanced participation of women-owned and youth-led businesses/MSMEs in the local production and supply of high-quality PPEs and healthcare products.

“We are here today to mare the opening ceremony of a four-week capacity building workshop which will be delivered by UN Women and ILO from today till end of March 2022 in three different locations including Abuja, Lagos and Enugu to ensure proper geographical spread across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, she explained that the training tends to address identified knowledge gaps related to starting and growing business operation in a proper way with production and distribution of quality products as well as branding and packaging.

According to her, the UN Women on the prohect would be taming up policy issues associated with the distribution of products by women and young women entrepreneurs and amplify the gender responsive procurement principles to ensure both government agencies, development partners and private sector prioritize PPEs produced by women as quality products.

She said: “UN Women is very excited that this activity is taking place at this time when the world is commemorating the Month for Women. The theme for this year’s celebration is specifically on Women’s Economic Empowerment; ‘Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow’ recognizing the contribution of women and girls around the world, who are leading the charge on climate change adaptation, mitigation, and response, to build a more sustainable future for all.”

She also added that women and girls are effective and powerful leaders and change-makers, hence the need to examine opportunities and also constraints to empower women and girls to have a voice and being equal players in decision making that would enhance sustainable development and greater gender Ekeoba said: “The government of Nigerian and the United States system has designed this project wit the aim of strengthening the capacity of local MSMEs and manufacturers to produce high quality PPEs and healthcare-related products.

“This training is part of UN Women’s collaboration with other sister agencies-UNIDO, ILO and WHO to promote enhanced participation of women-owned and youth-led businesses/MSMEs in the local production and supply of high-quality PPEs and healthcare products.

“We are here today to mare the opening ceremony of a four-week capacity building workshop which will be delivered by UN Women and ILO from today till end of March 2022 in three different locations including Abuja, Lagos and Enugu to ensure proper geographical spread across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, she explained that the training tends to address identified knowledge gaps related to starting and growing business operation in a proper way with production and distribution of quality products as well as branding and packaging.

According to her, the UN Women on the prohect would be taming up policy issues associated with the distribution of products by women and young women entrepreneurs and amplify the gender responsive procurement principles to ensure both government agencies, development partners and private sector prioritize PPEs produced by women as quality products.

She said: “UN Women is very excited that this activity is taking place at this time when the world is commemorating the Month for Women. The theme for this year’s celebration is specifically on Women’s Economic Empowerment; ‘Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow’ recognizing the contribution of women and girls around the world, who are leading the charge on climate change adaptation, mitigation, and response, to build a more sustainable future for all.”

She also added that women and girls are effective and powerful leaders and change-makers, hence the need to examine opportunities and also constraints to empower women and girls to have a voice and being equal players in decision making that would enhance sustainable development and greater gender Ekeoba said: “The government of Nigerian and the United States system has designed this project wit the aim of strengthening the capacity of local MSMEs and manufacturers to produce high quality PPEs and healthcare-related products.

“This training is part of UN Women’s collaboration with other sister agencies-UNIDO, ILO and WHO to promote enhanced participation of women-owned and youth-led businesses/MSMEs in the local production and supply of high-quality PPEs and healthcare products.

“We are here today to mare the opening ceremony of a four-week capacity building workshop which will be delivered by UN Women and ILO from today till end of March 2022 in three different locations including Abuja, Lagos and Enugu to ensure proper geographical spread across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, she explained that the training tends to address identified knowledge gaps related to starting and growing business operation in a proper way with production and distribution of quality products as well as branding and packaging.

According to her, the UN Women on the prohect would be taming up policy issues associated with the distribution of products by women and young women entrepreneurs and amplify the gender responsive procurement principles to ensure both government agencies, development partners and private sector prioritize PPEs produced by women as quality products.

She said: “UN Women is very excited that this activity is taking place at this time when the world is commemorating the Month for Women. The theme for this year’s celebration is specifically on Women’s Economic Empowerment; ‘Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow’ recognizing the contribution of women and girls around the world, who are leading the charge on climate change adaptation, mitigation, and response, to build a more sustainable future for all.”

She also added that women and girls are effective and powerful leaders and change-makers, hence the need to examine opportunities and also constraints to empower women and girls to have a voice and being equal players in decision making that would enhance sustainable development and greater gender equality.

However, in her conclusion, she charged the facilitators and organisers of the training to focus on ensuring gender dimensions of each topic is considered while delivering the training, and also avoid any form of intimidation by male counterparts of women and not gender blind in order to achieve set objectives of the project.

Also speaking was the Employment and Migration Officer, ILO, Dino Corell, who pointed that, ‘The ILO has identified boosting demand for products and services including temporarily converting production to COVID-29 necessities, as well as protecting employment and social protection as important for SMEs to overcome the pandemic.

“Meanwhile, with the pressing need to prevent the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for healthcare products and Personal Protection Equipment, PPE, has increased.

“The ILO component of the project has a particular focus on capacity building in the areas of occupational safety and health, business development, financial services. In view of this, ILO and UN Women are organizing capacity building on business development using the ‘Start and Improve Your Business, SIYB, programme for identifies MSMEs producing PPEs in the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria.”

Corell further explained that the SIYB is targeted at improving businesses run by women and men in the MSMEs sub-sector of the economy, and also to further create employment for women and men, which the programme has components of ‘Generate Your Business Idea; Start Your Business; Improve Your Business; and Expand Your Business’.

He (Corell) expressed optimism that project would equip participating MSMEs within quality resources and business development skills to help business owners grow and expand their business operations and as well as to meet local and international demands of PPEs and other healthcare related products.

Expressing appreciation for the training for them, one of the participants, Dama Bala, from Maiduguri, Borno State, North East Nigeria, said she has been into production of hand-sanitizers and nose-mask as preventive materials against COVID-19 pandemic.

Bala said the capacity build will add value to their business and also prevention of the virus.

“I really appreciate for what they have done, which they will ensure we are established entrepreneurs.

“During lockdown we had serious economic issues caused by lockdown occasioned by the novel Coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic, which our finances were locked down, and even to the point that I don’t have N50.

“Therefore I started to prepare hand-sanitizer and supplied it to women when they have gatherings as a measure to prevent COVID-19.

“At a point even the luvilia was out of stock in the market. We also made material (cloth) nose-masks which were selling for N50 to N100.

“UNIDO is so encouraging to us, and we’re sending questions on paper to us, which I was responding to and they explained to me some of the difficult ones step by step, and now we are at the training”, she added.

Vanguard News Nigeria