A public lecture tagged ‘Situation Analysis of Children and Women’ in Oyo State was recently organized by the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Ibadan, in collaboration with UNICEF, Akure Field Office for the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). Leading the discussion, Dr Kolawole, a Consultant to UNICEF, called for a holistic evaluation of feedback from members of CSOs on-field identified trends, patterns, incidences and causes of key deprivations visibly noticed in Oyo, Ogbomoso and Oke-Ogun areas. These include widespread poverty, youths unemployment, especially graduates of Nigerian tertiary institutions, lack or dilapidated social infrastructures, incessant rape cases and effects of COVID-19 as it affects adolescents.
At the end of the programme, the unanimous consensus of the CSOs include: • The Oyo State government should endeavour to sustain budgetary allocation for education and possibly review the allocation upward • Government should review upward the budgetary allocation for healthcare in Oyo State. It should also consider mass production of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) i. e face masks to be given out free of charge to pupils in basic schools, teachers of basic and secondary schools as well as health workers in the state. • Government should expedite action to put AMOTEKUN on a motion for improved security of lives, property and farmlands across nooks and crannies of the state. • Need for the state to enforce Child Rights Laws; legislate against child labour and sexual molestation. The Violence against Persons Prohibition (VAP) Act must be enforced to curb the scourge of sexual violence against children and women
