International Development Minister Lynne Featherstone was in Abuja and Kano last week. While there, she announced the formal launch of DFID’s new Voices for Change (V4C) programme. Itad is in a consortium with GRM, Social Development Direct and the Nigerian NGO Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) to design and manage this programme.
We have all been working on producing a business case for V4C since mid-2012. Our design builds on DFID’s Vision for Women and Girls, but rather than focusing on the ‘pillars’ such as women’s health and girls’ education, the innovation in V4C is its focus on the enabling environment. This will include building the self-esteem of girls through access to life skills, working with men and boys and opinion leaders more widely on attitudes and behaviours towards women, a large programme of media communications targeting societal attitudes to women and girls, and a small component on the legal and policy provisions for women and girls. Itad is providing our staff member Dr Munirat Ogunlayi as V4C’s Deputy Team Leader in Abuja, and Julian Barr is the programme’s Results Director.
