Health and education of the girl-child are crucial to their development, the chief executive of the Institute of Human Virology of Nigeria, Dr Patrick Dakum has said.

Dakum was speaking in an event the institute organised for students drawn from 10 schools to mark the Women’s Day. He called for girls to be linked with mentors to guide their actualisation, saying women needed to be celebrated for their contribution to society.

“Having such mentors as example will inspire the girls to achieve even more because some obstacles (to upward mobility of women) would have been removed,” said Dr Zipporah Kpamor, head of community health at IHVN who stood in for Dakum, adding that mentoring was a “life-defining” activity for young girls.

She noted new education policies making it unlawful not to send children to school was “an opening for the girl child” to get better education, adding that awareness was necessary for girls and their parents on health issues, including HIV/AIDS.

The Senate yesterday urged the Federal Government to use the occasion of this year’s International Women’s Day to promote girl-child education in the country.

In his motion, Senator Ita Solomon Enang (PDP, Akwa Ibom), said women in the country had strived to rise above board in discharging their responsibilities despite various discriminatory norms against them; while Senator Ahmed Lawan (ANPP, Yobe) said efforts must be directed towards girl-child education as emphasized in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), arguing that they would fare better in the political arena if adequately educated.

Speaking on behalf of her female colleagues, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Women Affairs, Senator Helen Esuene (PDP, Akwa Ibom South), said apart from promoting girl-child education, child marriage must be criminalised.

In another development, the Senate has received President Goodluck Jonathan’s request for the confirmation of the appointment of Peter Ezeogwu and Diogwu Uche as members of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Federal Character Commission (FCC) respectively.