Government, NGOs urged to invest more in girls

UNFPA Malawi Officer in Charge has urged the government and NGOs in the country to invest more in girls if they are to contribute to the country's development (By Moses Nyirenda)

Girls dance during the commemoration of international day of the girl child.

Malawi: Miranda Tabifor, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) Malawi Officer in Charge, has urged the government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the country to invest more in girls if they are to contribute to the country's development.

She made the remarks on Thursday during the commemoration of International Day of the Girl Child, which was organised by Girls Empowerment Network (GENET) at Chiseka Primary School Ground in Lilongwe under the theme 'Our time is now-our rights, our future.'

Tabifor stated that because girls outnumber boys in many communities throughout the country, there is a greater need to invest in them so that they can contribute to the country's development.

 “In many communities in Malawi majority of the young people are girls and you cannot go into the community and said you do not find girls.

“Therefore if we invest more in these girls that form a critical mass of the population and that are mostly subjected to different inequalities that we know such as; teenage pregnancies, child/early marriages, we are likely going to develop our country as these girls will have a role to play,” Tabifor said.

She also stated that UNFPA will continue to support partners who work to improve the well-being of girls in the country.

According to her, UNFPA is currently providing financial assistance to GENET in order for it to run some of its projects aimed at empowering girls and young women in the country with various skills.

Takondwa Kaliwo, GENET Programs Advisor, stated in her comment that her organisation is committed to empowering girls in the country in various ways with support from UNFPA and other donors.

 “With support which we are getting from various donors including UNFPA, our aim is to empower girls throughout the country so that they should have resilience and skills that would help them achieve their dreams.

“Currently we are working on different programs which include education as well as Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) programs,” Kaliwo said.

She also stated that, in addition to other programmes, they are implementing a project called 'Technology and Empowerment Enhancing Network in Safe Spaces (TEENS),' which aims to empower girls and young women in the country with business skills.