Healthy Life Development Initiative

HELDi’s ongoing SGBV health facility data collection, alongside engagements with our beneficiaries and key stakeholders (Traditional Ruler, police, Medical officer of Health etc) in ONELGA LGA, aims to strengthen community-based SGBV response and support systems. We sincerely appreciate Rise Up Together for their continuous support.

HELDi participated in a Multistakeholder Capacity Strengthening Workshop on Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), Energy Transition, and Investment Governance in Nigeria, organised by Policy Alert. It was a very impactful and insightful workshop, providing me with deeper knowledge of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). Indeed, knowledge is power. The UNEP Report on the ongoing Ogoni cleanup, 15 years on, was also presented and discussed. Thank you, Policy Alert, for the opportunity to learn, engage, and gain more knowledge on these important issues.

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Dear partners, colleagues and ,

SUMMARY OF THE SOUTH-SOUTH SGBV INFO HUB AUGUST 2026 WEBINAR ON STRENGTHENING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE VIOLENCE AGAINST PERSONS PROHIBITION (VAPP) LAW FOR THE REDUCTION OF SEXUAL AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE: LESSONS FROM THE CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENT, HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEVELOPMENT (CEHRD)

On 28 August 2026, the South-South SGBV Info Hub convened its monthly learning sessions, this time, on strengthening the implementation of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law, drawing on the field experience of the Centre For Environment Human Rights And Development - CEHRDand the Healthy Life Development Initiative (HELDi) in Rivers State. The session brought together civil society actors, government officials and community representatives from across Nigeria's South-South region to examine why a law as comprehensive as the VAPP Law continues to struggle for traction on the ground, and what practical steps are closing that gap.

The Lead Speaker, Egbilika Josiah of CEHRD, reframed Gender-Based Violence (GBV) not as a distinct problem separate from the VAPP Law, but as the holistic menace the Law was designed to address, meaning that every awareness campaign, referral, counselling session or arrest a stakeholder undertakes is, in effect, an act of VAPP implementation. He traced CEHRD's work with the Rivers State Ministries of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Justice, Women Affairs and Health toward a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for VAPP implementation, targeted for launch on 10 December 2026, International Human Rights Day and the anniversary of the Rivers State VAPP Law's passage.

Dr. Mfon C. Utin of HELDi described the establishment of community and Local Government Area (LGA) GBV response teams in Eleme, Etche and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni (ONELGA), fulfilling a provision of the Rivers State VAPP Law (Section 40) that had not previously been operationalised. Since inception, these teams have handled close to 400 SGBV cases and have begun feeding data into the Ministry of Social Welfare's platform for onward transmission to the Federal GBV Information Management System.

Discussion following both presentations surfaced recurring, cross-cutting themes: the absence of a functioning sexual offenders register in Rivers State; the corrosive effect of informal payments demanded from survivors at points of police and health-sector response; chronic underfunding of government GBV response structures; and the urgent need for coordinated budget advocacy directed at state governments and legislators.

Contributions from Rivers, Delta, Cross River and Enugu States illustrated that these challenges, and the collaborative approaches being used to address them, are shared across the region.

Over the coming days, the South-South SGBV Info Hub partners will be sharing excerpt from the August Webinar.

This webinar was hosted with support from Gender and Development Action

HELDi team has just concluded SGBV data collection at all 10 health facilities in Eleme LGA. Even under heavy downpours, we are always at work. Watch out for more details on our findings. It was a successful exercise, and we sincerely appreciate our team members, especially those in the communities, the RSPHCMB for approving the facility data collection, and our sponsor, Rise Up Together, for their continued support.

Our BusinessDay newspaper report on the sensitization held in Omudioga Community, Emohua LGA, Rivers State, on environmental pollution and adaptation strategies. The community is one of the oil producing communities in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. Don’t miss reading it! We sincerely appreciate Global Greengrants Fund for their invaluable support and commitment to promoting environmental awareness and community resilience.

https://businessday.ng/life/article/heldi-submits-report-on-community-sensitization-on-environmental-pollution/

During our field data collection on SGBV at health facilities in Etche LGA. Thank you, Rise Up Together for your continued support.

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