Wife of the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Dr Martha Emmanuel has inaugurated a Sexual and Gender Based Referral Center for Uyo Senatorial District.
The center which was instituted by Heartland Alliance Ltd/GTE in collaboration with the Akwa Ibom State Gender Based Violence Management Committee is designed to offer free medical and economic services to all victims of sexual and gender based assaults in the senatorial district.
Speaking before the inauguration of the facility in Uyo yesterday, Emmanuel who is also the chairperson of the State Gender Based Violence Management Committee called for support and collaboration to end Gender Based Violence.
The Governor’s wife said the Center would complement the Agape Center at Immanuel hospital in Eket and assured that the Center at the General hospital Ikot Ekpene would be opened before the end of May.
The FEYReP boss while thanking the management and staff of Heartland Alliance for their selfless service to the people of the state, pointed out that with the right collaboration, cases of rape and other vices would soon be history in the state.
The Akwa ibom First Lady also spoke against abusive relationships, advicing victims to rather consider the option of stepping aside than expose one’s self to life-threatening risks.
She called on all victims of sexual and gender based assaults in the state to report to the law enforcement agents, saying her Committee is ever ready to swing into action once notified.
In their separate remarks, the Hon. Commissioner for Health, Professor Augustine Umoh, State Team Lead of Heartland Alliance, Dr. Ngozi Nana, Special Assistant to the Governor on Multilateral and Donor Agencies, Mr. Nana Udom, and the NAPTIP zonal coordinator, Mrs. Tina Ugwu said the center is a one-stop shop for all cases of sexual assaults in the state.
They applauded the idea of having the referral center to treat and also extend both financial and psychological support to victims of sexual assaults.
