The Policy Innovation Centre, today announced that the highly anticipated Gender and Inclusion Summit, with the theme “Building Bridges: Advancing Gender and Inclusion through the Intersection of Trade and Health”, will be held on November 28 and 29, 2023 in Abuja, Nigeria. This landmark event promises to be a catalyst for positive change, uniting voices, inspiring commitments, and mobilizing stakeholders to advance gender equality.
The Gender and Inclusion Summit was conceptualized in 2022 as annual event to provide an inclusive platform to explore transformative ways to advance gender equality, inclusion and gender responsive governance in Africa. The 2023 Gender and Inclusion Summit is a landmark event that will provide a platform to explore strategies that expand gender-inclusive economic opportunities, bridge gaps to access to healthcare and advance gender equality. By joining forces and leveraging the collective power of government, development partners, civil society, academia, and the private sector, the summit aims foster collective commitment and focused action.
Speaking about the upcoming event, the Chief Executive Officer Designate of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Dr Tayo Aduloju stated that ‘’To facilitate the advancement of a gender-inclusive society, it is necessary to consider how trade, investment, and health policies/interventions affect women, men, and vulnerable populations differently. Despite their significant contributions to informal trade, women continue to have limited access to resources and markets. There are also significant gaps in access to health services and Nigeria’s maternal mortality remains among the highest in the world’’. He further stated that “Considering these realities, the high-level forum on the SDGs has partnered with the Policy Innovation Centre (PIC) to ensure seamless delivery of the Gender and Inclusion Summit 2023”.
The Executive Director of the Policy Innovation Centre, Dr Osasuyi Dirisu stated that “The 2023 Gender and Inclusion Summit will explore strategies to advance gender and inclusion by harnessing the potential of trade to promote economic participation, reduce inequalities, improve access to opportunities as well as innovative approaches to bridging healthcare financing gaps and access to quality healthcare services’’.
The Summit will be a two-day hybrid (physical and virtual) event comprising of plenary, panel, breakout sessions, oral and poster presentations, skills building workshops, creative/art competitions and exhibitions. Dr Dirisu further stated that “The Summit will provide an all-inclusive platform for dialogue with a wide range of stakeholders by amplifying the voices of the most vulnerable and co-creating innovative solutions to bridging inequality gaps in Nigeria”.
The Gender and Inclusion Summit is an annual gathering dedicated to evidence driven dialogues, policy advocacy and for annual check-ins on progress made or challenges in advancing Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) in Nigeria.
