By Amin Kef (Ranger)
In a significant stride against Sexual Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), Minister of Finance, Sheku Ahmed Fantamadi Bangura, sealed a €15 million financing pact with the European Union on Thursday, April 11, 2024. This agreement, part of the EU-United Nations joint Spotlight Initiative, aims to bolster efforts to curb violence against women and girls.
During a succinct ceremony preceding the signing, Manuel Muller, the European Union’s Ambassador to Sierra Leone, emphasized that this agreement underscores the EU’s solidarity with Sierra Leone’s initiatives to combat gender-based violence. He highlighted the collaborative endeavor with the United Nations to address SGBV comprehensively expressing pleasure and honor.
The EU’s commitment, amounting to over 15 million EUR, underscores a global partnership between the EU and the United Nations aimed at addressing and mitigating GBV, offering relief to women across Sierra Leone.
Manuel Müller emphasized that achieving gender equality hinges upon eradicating violence against women, reframing it as a collective societal concern.
Highlighting the pivotal role of data, he stressed the importance of informed policies and decisions, recognizing that behind every statistic lies a human story of pain, fear, and injustice. The Spotlight Initiative aims to provide comprehensive support while raising awareness of women’s rights.
The EU Ambassador outlined the collaborative effort involving various Ministries in Sierra Leone, including Finance, Gender and Children’s Affairs, Social Welfare, Health and Sanitation, Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Justice, and Internal Affairs. This multi-stakeholder approach aims to reinforce existing services, such as One-Stop Centers, which offer holistic support to survivors.
Aligned with Sierra Leone’s Medium-Term National Development Plan 2019-2023, the Spotlight Initiative seeks to achieve a drastic reduction in GBV cases, contributing significantly to Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG5).
The overarching objective of the Spotlight Initiative is to ensure that all women and girls in Sierra Leone, especially the most vulnerable, live free from violence and harmful practices. Manuel Müller expressed confidence in parliamentary approval, underscoring the collective commitment to making the Spotlight Initiative a reality.
He also elaborated on the multifaceted approach of the Spotlight Initiative, which integrates various stakeholders including the Ministry of Finance to prioritize budgetary allocations, the Ministry of Gender and Children Affairs to spearhead efforts against violence, and other key Ministries such as Social Welfare, Health, Education, and Justice to provide holistic support to survivors.
The EU Ambassador extended gratitude to the Government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations for their continuous collaboration, emphasizing the importance of ongoing partnerships in addressing GBV effectively.
Nadia Rasheed, Acting UN Resident Coordinator and UNFPA Country Representative, hailed the Spotlight Initiative as a paramount global endeavor to eradicate SGBV. She underscored its recognition of Sierra Leone’s strides in combating SGBV and emphasized the collaboration between four UN agencies and the Government alongside civil society organizations.
Dr. Isata Mahoi, Minister of Gender and Children Affairs, expressed gratitude for the EU and UN’s commitment under the Spotlight Initiative. She pledged unwavering dedication to overseeing the program’s implementation, monitoring and impact, emphasizing the pivotal role of addressing SGBV in advancing women and girls’ development as outlined in the national agenda.
Minister Sheku Ahmed Fantamadi Bangura hailed the €15 million grant as a significant boost to the fight against violence targeting women and girls. He affirmed the Government’s readiness to deepen reforms and strengthen existing policies and legal frameworks to combat SGBV effectively.
