Wale Elegbede 
Again, the appalling plight of women came to the fore in a rapid gender analysis survey conducted by Women Advocates Research & Documentation Centre (WARDC), on the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on households in Nigeria. WALE ELEGBEDE reports
When the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the novel COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020, little did Nigerians know that the pronouncement will turn around all aspects of everyday life. Upon confirmation of the first case of COVID-19 in Nigeria on February 27 as confirmed by the Federal Ministry of Health, trepidation sets in for many citizens and the federal government aptly responded to the growing spread of the virus by ordering a lockdown that enforced restrictions of movement in states considered as epicenter of the pandemic in the country.
To reduce the spread, flatten the curve and enhance a comprehensive response to the crisis, the federal government established the Presidential Task Force for control of COVID-19 under the leadership of Secretary to the Federal Government, Mr. Boss Mustapha, on March 7, 2020. Whilst the federal government restricted movements in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos and Ogun states at the initial stage, other state governors followed suit by declaring lockdown in their respective states. With businesses and organisations shut down during the period, citizens worked from their respective homes except for essential workers. Expectedly, the lockdown had variegated impacts on the society, especially the vulnerable groups which include women, adolescent girls, among others.
Carrying out a national survey to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on households during lockdown, the Women Advocates Research & Documentation Centre (WARDC), said its finding indicated lapses in the nation’s emergency response framework.
Titled ‘Rapid Gender Analysis of the Impact of COVID-19 on Households in Nigeria’, the survey was carried was on 10 sample states including Lagos, FCT, Kano, Akwa-Ibom, Enugu, Borno, Kwara, Ogun and Kaduna. Speaking in Lagos at the launch of report, the Founding Director of WARDC, Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, said the research, supported by the Action Aid and UK-aid, was necessitated by the negative impacts of the pandemic on the society. WARDC, which has been supporting gender equality interventions in Nigeria, said COVID-19 “exacerbates pre-existing structural inequalities in income, decision making between men and women.”
“With the negative impact of COVID- 19 on the society, it became critical to do a holistic assessment of the effect on indigent women who represent the majority of WARDC targetted beneficiaries, therefore, a Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) became imperative,” Akiyode-Afolabi said.
She disclosed that the objectives of the RGA was to document the experience of women during COVID-19 in relation to decision making, and access to information, socio-economic services and palliatives. The WARDC founder also said the analysis was instituted to investigate women’s experience of gender-based violence and insecurity before and during COVID-19, as well as examine the impact of corruption on national response and social support services. “Incidence of harassment by security personnel; rape; assault; and battery; ritual killings were reported in several parts of the country.
The pervasive incidence of rape attracted the attention Governors Forum who rightly declared is ‘national emergency” she said. On methods adopted for sampling, the Centre said it used mixed methods, involving collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data, adding that three local governments were purposively selected from three senatorial districts of each state, to give the survey an adequate representation.
“A total number of 5,813 respondents were sampled across the selected states,” she said, adding that they were selected from indigent women, civil society activists and government officials. From the data analysis, 63.6 per cent of the households across the selected states were headed by men, while the state with the highest number of male headed household is Borno 63.8 per cent, just as Lagos with 61.2 per cent had the least number of households headed by men. “Exclusion of women from decision making both at households and community levels is symptomatic of a patriarchal society,” the survey said.
Similarly, the analysis indicated that 53.3 per cent of respondents had basic knowledge of COVID-19 while about 47 per cent had poor knowledge of what the virus entails. Also, results across selected states revealed that about 60 per cent of the respondents were fully engaged in children’s care during the pandemic. “Women’s unpaid labour especially domestic care works tend to increase exponentially during national emergencies, thereby worsening women’s economic disempowerment.”
The reports also revealed that distribution of palliatives became avenue for corrupt practices especially officials of the states whom he said simply hijacked the process and diverted palliative materials to their cronies and family members.
At least, 75.8 per cent of women across the nine states selected did not receive any support from the government during the COVID- 19 lockdown. Similarly, none of the respondents from Akwa Ibom and Enugu received cash as form of support from the government. Also, only an insignificant proportion of respondents from Lagos (2.4%), Ogun (3.9%) and Borno (2.6%) received face masks and sanitisers as token palliatives. “Accountability principles did not provide guiding framework in the management of palliatives during the lockdown.
“Accountability principle requires openness and transparency in information sharing and distribution of resources as enunciated by the World Health Organisation, WHO. “The Nigerian experience clearly negates those principles due to the secrecy that shrouded information and sharing of palliatives,” said the report.
It also revealed that the handling of COVID-19 donations by the Federal Government and different states have not been transparent. Rapid Gender Analysis noted that: “Women are often more dependent on basic services; healthcare, education, water and sanitation, because of their domestic roles.
“Hence, corruption in such basic services can have disproportionate and negative consequences for women and girls.” “Healthcare facilities and services were dysfunctional in the management of COVID-19 due to poor funding and pervasive corruption.
Nigerian state lacks the required institutional capacity for effective response to pandemic of such magnitude and thus had to follow the model from the western countries in the national response,” the report added On abuses, the report said the highest proportion of girls and women that were sexually abused with the COVID-19 pandemic were female respondents from FCT (58%), Kaduna (47%) and Lagos State (46%). The study further revealed that a result across all the selected states and FCT shows that 45.2% experienced domestic violence during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Proffering solutions, the report recommended implementation of 50 per cent women representation in national emergency response team and other taskforces at state and community levels as well as the incorporation of 50% women political representation into electoral reforms with legislative backing Dr. Akiyode-Afolabi also urged government to appropriate prevention and response measures be put in place for Gender Based Violence (GBV) including hotlines for reporting incidents; counseling supports and safe shelter .
Others recommendations include: Provision of necessary supports for survivors of GBV such as rehabilitation, counseling and other support services; Promoting transparency and accountability in government institutions is critical for effective implementation of gender equality commitments and service delivery; investment in women hygiene such as the provision of accessible potable water, toilets and fumigation of public places during health crisis; among others. The report urged government to incorporate accountability and transparency principles into the national emergency response framework.
It also recommended the institutionalisation of social support services in the state structure, condemning operation on based a “fire brigade” framework. Clearly, the most vulnerable groups in the society need improved protection from the system and the way to go about it is for stakeholders, government inclusive, to strategically collaborate.
