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Orange, UN Women join forces to support women’s economic empowerment in West and Central Africa

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Orange, UN Women join forces to support women’s economic empowerment in West and Central Africa

Orange, UN Women join forces to support women’s economic empowerment in West and Central Africa

By: Our Reporter

Orange and UN Women have teamed up to support women’s economic empowerment and rural farm’s resilience to disasters in West and Central Africa. 

An initiative to support women’s digital inclusion

In addition to the financial assistance given to the project to bolster these initiatives, Orange and the Orange Foundation offer their unique technical expertise, their network and their existing infrastructure in digital skills, technologies and digital inclusion. The project will also allow UN Women and its partners to build on results achieved so far through the “Buy from Women” initiative, and its future developments in Liberia and Mali.

The Liberia project launch following a pilot project, which is the adaptation of the “Buy from Women” platform to the local context and is almost complete, thanks to a first collaboration between the Orange Foundation and UN Women. 

A statement from UN Women on Wednesday revealed that “the two Orange Foundation Women’s Digital Centers (WDC) in Liberia train women, who are not familiar with new technologies, on using digital tools and  platforms”. 

It said specifically, women will learn in these centres how to use the “Buy from Women” platform, following a pilot project with womens’ cooperatives working in the cassava and cereal value chains. Over time, this initiative and its developments should help support 1,200 rural women across the country.

In Mali, the technical, financial and human resources deployed through this partnership will help expand the “Buy from Women” offering and assist an additional 400 women.

The three components of the project which will complement Orange and UN Women’s support in Liberia include:

“Digital to support the economic empowerment of women in rural areas: with improved access to markets and educational opportunities thanks to the consolidation of the “Buy from Women” initiative, a focus on the e-commerce platform as well as training, marketing and other activities. 

“Digital to support women’s resilience to disasters in rural areas: with improved risk coverage, weather forecasting and warnings and advice on how to adapt farming with the current climate change.

Also Read: FGN bans direct trade of farm produce between foreign…

“Digital to improve women’s access to renewable energies in rural areas: supporting domestic and productive uses and their accessibility, including financing of Pay-As-You-Go solar systems (prepaid, payment for a short period of use, etc.), and building women’s skills in the energy sector. 

“Buy from Women” is an innovative initiative implemented by UN Women, in partnership with the public and private sectors, which aims to improve the digital inclusion of women living in rural areas. It does so by facilitating access to digital technology and new market opportunities, but also provides information, weather warnings and digital financial services. This initiative helps boost the productivity and income of businesses and farms run by women.

The Innovative is implemented in around ten countries across the world, where the model is  adapted to the needs and characteristics of each country, it has allowed 1,500 women in Mali to market and sell their products (shea nuts, cereals, vegetables, jewelry and hygiene products, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic), and to have access to online training.

Executive Director CSR at Orange and Deputy Chair of the Orange Foundation, Elizabeth Tchoungui explained: “As the leading continent for female entrepreneurship and in the front line against the climate emergency, Africa’s resilience is an incentive to pursue the partnership between Orange and UN Women to improve conditions for women in rural areas with the help of digital tools.”

Executive Director UN Women France, Fanny Benedetti added: “Women’s economic empowerment is a crucial element for UN Women.  It is also more broadly a major driver of emancipation and a means of safeguarding women’s human rights. “Buy from Women” is a flagship initiative that opens up a full range of possibilities for women living in rural areas who are often not familiar with technology, to support them in the driving role they can play in favor of sustainable development.”

Orange, UN Women join forces to support women’s economic empowerment in West and Central Africa

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Eid-el-Kabir: IPCR Calls on Nigerians to Peace, Harmony

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Eid-el-Kabir: IPCR Calls on Nigerians to Peace, Harmony

By: Michael Mike

Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) has called on Nigerians to promote peace and harmony in their communities, recognizing that peace is essential to national development and progress.

The advice was given by the Director General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Dr. Joseph Ochogwu, in his message on Eid-el-Kabir.

The Institute, while extending warm greetings to Nigerians, wished them a joyous and peaceful celebration, marked by love, compassion, and unity.

The Institute while noting that Sallah is a significant occasion in the Islamic calendar, symbolizing the values of sacrifice, gratitude, and community, emphasized that the spirit of Sallah should guide Nigerians in their interactions with one another, fostering a culture of peace, tolerance, and understanding.

The IPCR urged Nigerians to promote peace and harmony in their communities, recognizing that peace is essential to national development and progress, while
encouraging individuals to embrace the values of Sallah, including forgiveness, empathy, and kindness, in their daily lives.

According to IPCR, peace is critical to promoting national stability and cohesion.

The Institute also urged Nigerians to use this period of Sallah celebration to address conflicts and promote dialogue, which could help to build trust and understanding among Nigerians and also contribute to a more peaceful society.

It recognized that the country’s many ethnic and religious groups can work together to build a more harmonious society, celebrating their differences and promoting a culture of tolerance.
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Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing

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Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing

By: Michael Mike

A community leader and the Waziri Mushere of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, Chief Yohana Margif has expressed dismay over the incessant killing of innocent citizens of the community.

Margif made this known in an interview with journalists on Thursday in Abuja.

He called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene to halt what he described as genocide against the people, which he said was being perpetrated by suspected herdsmen.

Margif also called on Malam Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, and other security chiefs in the country, to rein in the alleged culprits.

He said: “I would like to draw the attention of the topmost leadership in Nigeria to the deteriorating dire security situation in Plateau, particularly in Mushere Chiefdom of Bokkos LGA.

“I urge President Tinubu to take immediate decisive action to halt these endless and senseless killings, protect lives and properties, and secure the future of the Mushere people, and other victims of obvious genocide against the people.

“Herdsmen are killing our innocent people, burning their homes, looting their foodstuff, property, livestock, and taking over their ancestral lands,” he said.

According to the Abuja-based real estate mogul, the attacks and attendant killings have intensified recently since the onset of this year’s farming season.

Margif further said that the people had been displaced from their villages and ancestral homes and were forced to become internally displaced persons in the country.

He emphasised that the situation required immediate intervention by all stakeholders in order to prevent further escalation and inflict an irredeemable harm by wiping out the entire community from the surface of the earth.

He lamented that: “Since President Tinubu’s administration began, Plateau State has witnessed an unprecedented escalation of violence and loss of lives.

“This is the current sad reality. Our people are constantly under the threat of the enemy’s bullets and can’t sleep with two eyes closed due to the perpetual unleashing of violence against them by external forces.

“Something urgent must be done to stem the tide of violence and end this war against the people in order not to
harm this administration’s reputation,” Margif said.

In the past couple of days, suspected herdsmen militia killed no fewer than 35 people in the localities of Hokk, Pangkap, Fokoldep, Kopmur, Margif, Horop, Mbor, Mushere and Kwahas localities in Mushere Chiefdom.

Chairman, Bokkos Community Peace Observers, Kefas Mallai, who confirmed the killings to newsmen, said the victims included a 70-year-old Pastor of COCIN LCC Kwakas-Mushere, Mimang Lekyil, who was attacked and killed in the church.

He said that the pastor’s wife was also shot in the leg and was admitted at the Jos University Teaching Hospital for treatment, he said.

“Bokkos has never been this insecure, with the people being butchered as we are currently witnessing,” Lilian Madaki, from the Mushere community told journalists.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Emmanuel Adesina, also confirmed the incident in a statement saying security forces including police and military personnel, had been deployed in the affected communities.

Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing

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VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu

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VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu

** Says Nigeria has lost an intellectual giant

By: Our Reporter

Vice President Kashim Shettima today led other Muslim faithful for the Jana’iza (funeral prayers) of the late elder statesman, renowned medical scholar and former Minister of Education and Petroleum, Prof. Jibril Aminu, at the National Mosque in Abuja.

Prof. Aminu, a one-time President of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (OPEC), passed on in Abuja on Thursday after a prolonged illness.

The Vice President, who arrived at the National Mosque at 1:52 pm, commiserated with the family of the deceased and prayed Allah to comfort them and make Aljanna Firdaus the final abode of the late elder statesman.

Noting that the late Prof Aminu’s demise is a great loss to the nation, VP Shettima described the late surgeon, educationist and administrator as a man who saw it all, just as he said the deceased was an intellectual giant who can hardly be replaced.

“It is a very sad loss. Prof Jubril Aminu was the last of the great titans, an iconic figure who enormously contributed to the development of the nation.

“He was variously the Executive Secretary of NUC, Vice Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri and Honourable Minister of various ministries across the country and left his landmarks on the sands of time.

“He is irreplaceable. May Allah grant him Aljanatul Firdaus and give the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. His loss is not just to the good people of Adamawa State but to the nation and Africa at large,” the Vice President prayed.

Born in Song, Adamawa in 1939, Prof. Aminu was a towering figure in Nigerian public life.

The late Consultant Cardiologist served the nation in different capacities, including as Federal Minister of Education and later Federal Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (1989–1992), Ambassador of Nigeria to the United States (1999–2003), and Senator representing Adamawa Central (2003–2011).

He was also President of OPEC in 1991 and President of the OPEC Conference between 1991 and 1992 while he was Petroleum Minister.

Other mourners who joined the Vice President at the National Mosque in Abuja for the Jana’iza included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Special Adviser to the President on General Duties (Office of the Vice President), Dr. Aliyu Modibbo; former Secretary to the Federal Government, Yayale Ahmed; former Governor of Adamawa State, Admiral Murtala Nyako; former Governor of Gombe State, Senator Danjuma Goje; former Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai (rtd); former Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman; former Minister of State for Health, Dr. Aliyu Idi Hong, among many others.

VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu

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