The Gombe State Government has established a Gender-Based Violence (GBV) clinic at the state’s specialist hospital to cater for rape survivors.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Habu Dahiru, said this on the sideline of a stakeholders’ engagement meeting on Coronavirus, organised by the Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria (PPFN) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on Tuesday in Gombe.
Represented by Dr Abel Anold, the Deputy Director, Hospital Services, the commissioner said with the support of development partners the clinic would be offering free services to rape survivors.
According to him, the advent of Coronavirus pandemic increased the number of cases of gender-based violence in state.
Dahiru said this necessitated the support of UNFPA and other partners to curtail the spread of the pandemic and cater for rape survivors.
He advised relevant authorities to report rape cases within 72-hours to the GVB clinic or any health facility for prompt intervention.
The commissioner noted that most rape cases were not being reported on time or not reported at all, adding that there is need for people to always speak out.
The state Focal Person of UNFPA, Dr Lanre Asiwaju, said the mandate of the agency was zero maternal mortality, child spacing practice and zero gender-based violence cases.
Asiwaju said this was being achieved through civil society engagement to reach out to communities, especially those in need of life saving messages.
Mrs Bathsheba Kalla, the state PPFN Coordinator, said the meeting was to educate stakeholders on GBV and to assess progress made.
