The Lagos State Government, through its Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA), says it has impacted the lives of over 48,000 residents in the last two years.
The Commissioner for WAPA, Mrs Cecilia Dada, told a Ministerial Media Briefing on Tuesday in Ikeja that the state impacted on the residents through its empowerment initiatives and poverty alleviation programmes.
Dada said that the empowerment strategies initiated by the ministry had directly or indirectly benefited every family, including widows and the indigent residents across all the five divisions of the state.
The commissioner said that WAPA would start exposing its trainees to the use of technology and also enlighten women on newer practices in vocational training.
She said that this was considering the effects of COVID-19 and the need to adapt with the new normal within the digital space.
”In view of this, there will be training of 500 women on entrepreneurial and digital marketing techniques come June 2021, as part of plans to mark this year’s International Widows’ Day.
”In addition, WAPA is equally expanding the scope of activities with a view to creating more avenues for our women to leverage on professional platform.
”That is why 5,780 participants were incorporated into our Mega Empowerment initiative, so that through their productivity, they can also contribute to the increase in GDP of Lagos State,” Dada said.
She said that there had been positive feedbacks on all the programmes offered at its Skills Acquisition Centres, either short-term, medium-term and long-term empowerment initiatives on different skills.
According to her, the graduate trainees from the government’s skills acquisition centres are now contributing to the economic growth of the state, as employers of labour.
”Our Mandate is to ensure that there is zero tolerance for mediocrity being caused by poverty, or induced by vulnerabilities from societal influences.
”This, we have achieved through the various trainings offered at the government-owned 19 skills acquisition centres in the state.
”The ministry created platforms for International Women’s Day, with highlights on the dynamisms of women and a plan of action for ‘Women Assembly’, with over 11,400 women in attendance from the 57 Local Government/Local Council Development Areas.
”This is where issues that could deter women emancipation, as well as debar efforts exerted at curbing poverty, in our state were extensively discussed,” she said.
She said that a total of 3,337 adults also benefited from the intervention health programmes, initiated by WAPA.
Dada said that 6,780 women from five geographical areas of the state, also had the privilege of learning different vocations with participants receiving adequate start-up kits to enable them grow their businesses.
The commissioner said that WAPA harnessed resources to support the public with the production of 500,000 face masks, produced at the Skills Acquisition Centres of the state, by trainees on the Skills Acquisition Programmes, during COVID-19 outbreak.
She said that several other beneficiaries emerged from its various programmes like training of women farmers in cassava and maize, snail rearing and grass-cutter breeding among others.
