The Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation is partnering with the World Bank and other critical stakeholders, to convene a Gender Mainstreaming and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Success Stories Dissemination Workshop under the Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria (TRIMING) Project,
A statement signed by the Director of Information and Public Relations in the ministry, Mrs. Funmi Imuetinyan in Abuja, says the TRIMING Project was designed to enhance irrigation systems and promote integrated water resource management, with gender and social safeguards as core components.
According to the statement, the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Richard Pheelangwah, stresses that the project has transformed women, youth, and vulnerable groups from being marginalized to becoming vital contributors in agriculture and water governance.
It highlights the achievements of the project, to include the development of GBV Action Plans across all schemes for risk mitigation and survivor support, women’s leadership in Water Users Associations (WUAs), enhancing inclusive decision-making, and the economic empowerment of women through active roles in irrigation management.
According to the statement, Prof. Utsev explains that the extensive capacity-building on gender sensitivity and GBV prevention, the strengthening of local capacitie, including youth champions and gender desk officers, cultural norm shifts through media, dialogues, and storytelling in local languages, as well as alignment with global best practices and World Bank environmental and social standards, are additional achievements of the project.
The statement applauds President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the World Bank, and the Project Monitoring Unit for their support in driving TRIMING’s success urging the replication of its gender and GBV initiatives in other projects and emphasizing that achieving a gender-equitable, GBV-free society requires ongoing commitment and collaboration.
The statement says in a welcome address, the Deputy Director of Irrigation in the Ministry, Mr. Hauwa Sadique Mohammed, who represented the Permanent Secretary, describes the workshop as a milestone in advancing inclusivity, equity, and safety, particularly for women, girls, and vulnerable groups in the TRIMING Project.
According to the statement the Permanent Secretary highlighted that from inception, the project prioritized gender equality, GBV prevention, and social inclusion, with gender mainstreaming embedded across all stages to ensure equal opportunities and safe spaces.
It adds that the Project Coordinator, Ipinlaye Olaiya, while explaining the central role of gender mainstreaming across all components of the TRIMING Project, notes that the deliberate integration of gender perspectives was not only strategic but essential to the long-term sustainability and impact of the interventions.
