As the world marks the International Day of the Girl Child 2023, with the theme, ‘Invest in Girls Rights: Our Leadership, Our Well-being’, the Akwa Ibom State Ethical and Attitudinal Reorientation Commission (EARCOM), has advocated for improved educational, reproductive health and safety opportunities for the girl-child.
In a statement on the worldwide celebration, Executive Chairman of EARCOM, Dr Dorothy Thompson, said the Commission reiterates her strategic advocacy for access to improved education, reproductive healthcare and gender sensitivity, in tackling the plight of the girl-child.
While celebrating the girl-child, the EARCOM Chairman observed that the majority of them from the less privileged background are out of school and may not realise their full potential in life if the situation is not reversed. She said the society must consciously work to improve the well-being of the girl-child as they transition from childhood to adulthood through educational advancement in line with the objectives of the ARISE Agenda of Governor Umo Eno.
On their reproductive health, Thompson said, EARCOM will remain a champion in upholding the rights of the girl-child by fighting gender-based violence, promiscuity, drug abuse, pimping, sex trafficking, prostitution, child marriage, rape, bad peer pressure, and untimely pregnancy, all of which she explained, negatively affect the girl child.
She, however, also campaigned for attention to be paid to the girl child during their menstrual period due to inconveniences caused by the lack of basic sanitary provisions, including sanitary pads, clean toilets, water, and disposable facilities, insisting that, these shortcomings do not augur well for the girl-child.
Describing the theme of the IDG 2023 as apt, Thompson, said it is high time the girl-child is given their pride of place in the society with improved access to education which will best empower them for a brighter future and knowing their rights in the human community.
She pledged that the girl-child everywhere in Akwa Ibom will continue to find in EARCOM, a resilient and consistent advocate for their rights, and accordingly congratulated them on their upcoming internationally acknowledged day.
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