Health
Mental Health: EWEI records 46.4% Reduction Among Women In Kaduna
By Sani Idris Abdulrahman
The Together We Can Project, implemented by an NGO, Empowering Women for Excellence Initiative (EWEI), has recorded a 46.43 per cent reduction in mental health symptoms among women in Kaduna State.
Mr Jeremiah Mendie, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Focal Person for the project, disclosed this on Tuesday while presenting its impact findings at the project dissemination event in Kaduna.
Mendie said the project also recorded 89.43 per cent business survival and income increases of between 40 and 60 per cent among women beneficiaries.
He said the intervention provided loans to 80 women, with a full loan repayment rate of 71.67 per cent, demonstrating progress in supporting women’s economic empowerment.
According to the findings, 58 women received counselling, while 83.3 per cent rated the support they received very highly.
Mendie said 74.77 per cent of the women reported feeling more valued and supported, while 31 achieved full financial independence and improved personal agency.
He said the project recorded 276 primary beneficiaries, 581 secondary beneficiaries and more than 1.6 million indirect outreach contacts through its activities and advocacy.
The project, implemented by EWEI with support from the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women, combined mental health support, economic empowerment and community action.
Mendie said the findings highlighted the importance of integrating psychosocial support, livelihood assistance and community mobilisation to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project’s interventions targeted conflict-affected communities like Kasuwan Magani in Kajuru Local Government Area and Kujama in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The findings also highlighted the importance of strengthening service delivery, institutional capacity and community-based protection mechanisms to sustain the gains recorded during implementation.
Mendie said bringing specialist services closer to women through cooperative safe spaces would improve access to counselling and strengthen local capacity to support survivors.
He also emphasised the need to retain institutional knowledge through refresher training, staff handovers and survivor-sensitive documentation within health and justice systems.
The findings identified insecurity and operational delays as challenges to implementation, requiring flexible approaches to financial support and safe access to markets.
According to Mendie, adaptive measures included flexible loan repayment schedules, safe access plans and peer learning to help beneficiaries continue their businesses despite operational challenges.
The project also mobilised eight women’s cooperatives and 60 male champions, engaging men, health workers and court officials in community-led violence prevention.
The findings recommended sustained support for survivor-led peer networks, women’s cooperatives and groups of men and boys committed to preventing violence against women and girls.
They also called for stronger coordination among sexual assault referral centres, the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, justice institutions and financial actors.
Earlier, Mrs Juliana Joseph, Project Manager of the Together We Can Project, expressed satisfaction with the transformation recorded among beneficiaries.
Joseph said the initiative had helped women move from trauma, hopelessness and economic hardship towards resilience, renewed confidence and self-sufficiency.
She urged local, state and federal governments to adopt integrated approaches that gave vulnerable people opportunities to rebuild their lives and become economically independent.
Safiya Ibn-Garba, Programme Director of EWEI, said the project was implemented over three years to support women and girls affected by conflict, violence and economic hardship.
She said the intervention directly reached 276 women and girls, while 581 community members, including traditional and religious leaders and male champions, became advocates against violence.
Ibn-Garba added that the project engaged 102 government representatives and institutional actors to strengthen survivor-centred referral pathways and institutional responses.
She said digital advocacy, public awareness campaigns and online outreach reached more than 1.6 million people, promoting peace and zero tolerance for gender-based violence.
In a goodwill message, Khadija Ado, representing the Kaduna State Ministry for Education, congratulated EWEI and the UN Trust Fund on the project’s achievements.
Ado said the initiative provided psychological support, empowered girls and engaged men and boys to help keep girls in school.
She said the ministry would sustain its partnership with EWEI to extend the gains beyond the project communities and promote safe, inclusive and violence-free learning environments.
Similarly, Hadiza Nasir, representing the Kaduna State Ministry of Health, described the prevention of violence against women as an important public health priority.
She urged stakeholders to sustain the achievements and continue working together to build safer and healthier communities.
The Kaduna State Attorney-General, James Kanyip, represented by Kuwot Waje, commended the initiative and called for similar interventions to be extended to other communities across the state.
A traditional leader, Amos Yakubu, Sarkin Tudunwadan Yamma, Kujama, also commended EWEI and the UN Trust Fund, urging stakeholders to sustain the intervention and extend its benefits to more women.
A beneficiary, Mrs Marwanata Abubakar from Kasuwan Magani, said the financial assistance enabled her to expand her business from selling beans and okra to clothes, shoes, bedsheets and children’s clothing.
Abubakar said she saved part of the money received and reinvested it in her business, adding that the increased income also helped her pay her children’s school fees.
Another beneficiary, Rahab John from Chikun Local Government Area, said the project supported her business financially and provided access to health checks.
John said the assistance had improved her business and expressed appreciation to the organisers and government authorities for supporting the intervention.
NAN reports that in sustaining the achievements, EWEI said it would require stronger community leadership, continued institutional partnerships and accessible services that enable women and girls to live safely, recover from trauma and achieve economic independence. (NAN)
Edited by Yakubu Uba
