ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The LifeSpring Development Foundation (LSDF) has called for the full domestication and practical implementation of the Enugu State Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) (VAPP) Law and the Safe Termination of Pregnancy (SToP) Policy Guidelines, saying laws and policies can only make meaningful impact when they are understood, accessible and consistently applied by healthcare providers and relevant institutions.
The call came during a three-day Policy Review and Validation workshop on the implementation of the Enugu State VAPP Law and SToP Policy Guidelines organised by the LSDF in collaboration with the Enugu State Ministry of Health in Enugu.
The Enugu State VAPP Law, 2019, was passed by the Enugu State House of Assembly on April 4, 2019, and signed into law later that month. Modelled after the federal Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015, the legislation provides a comprehensive legal framework to prevent and respond to all forms of violence in both public and private life.
The law protects women, men, children, persons with disabilities and the elderly against physical, sexual, emotional, psychological and economic abuse, harmful traditional practices and other forms of violence.
The LSDF is a non-governmental organisation that promotes sexual and reproductive health and rights through advocacy, economic empowerment, stigma-free healthcare services, innovative health interventions and community engagement.
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The organisation works to improve access to quality reproductive healthcare while supporting policies that protect the rights of women, girls, boys and other vulnerable groups.
Speaking at the workshop, LSDF Country Director, Dr David Ebhodaghe, said although the VAPP Law was enacted several years ago, implementation remains the real challenge, making domestication critical to protecting women, girls and other vulnerable persons.
“The fact that these policies have been enacted is not enough. They have to be domesticated,” Ebtrodagho said.
According to him, domestication goes beyond having laws on paper, ensuring healthcare workers, government agencies and other service providers understand their responsibilities, apply the provisions correctly and provide services without fear of violating the law.
“If they don’t know the applications, the implications and the value these policies are meant to serve, then their services will not be effective,” he said.
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Ebhodaghe noted that states which have successfully domesticated the policies have recorded significant improvements because simplified versions of the guidelines are displayed in health facilities, allowing healthcare workers to easily reference them while carrying out their duties.
He cited Ekiti State as one of the states where effective domestication has strengthened implementation, adding that healthcare providers are now more confident because they understand both their responsibilities and the legal protections available to them.
The LSDF Country Director expressed optimism that the workshop would produce simplified versions of the VAPP Law and SToP Guidelines for distribution across health facilities, ministries, departments and agencies in Enugu State.
“When we say domestication, it means the policies are accessible. People can see them, read them, understand them and apply them,” he said.
Ebhodaghe disclosed that with support from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp), LSDF is coordinating the domestication of the policies in Enugu, Ekiti, Ondo and Taraba states.
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Responding, Enugu State Commissioner for Health Prof. George Ugwu, said the state government was committed to reviewing the VAPP Law to ensure it responds to emerging realities while supporting ongoing efforts to reduce maternal and infant mortality.
According to him, reviewing existing laws and policies has become necessary to improve healthcare delivery and strengthen protection for women, children and other vulnerable groups.
“We are all out now in Enugu State to reduce maternal mortality and infant mortality, and our governor is not joking about it,” the commissioner said.
Ugwu said the review would also strengthen the capacity of healthcare workers while addressing harmful cultural practices that negatively affect women’s health and rights.
On his part, the Enugu State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Enugu State, Barrister Osinachi Nnajieze said the state government had already begun taking concrete steps to ensure the VAPP Law is fully enforced, stressing that the era of allowing gender-based violence cases to go unpunished was over.
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He disclosed that following discussions with LSDF and other stakeholders, his ministry had begun operationalising the law by directing prosecutors to file charges under the VAPP Law rather than relying on older criminal statutes.
“One of the ways to breathe life into a new law is to operationalise it. I directed the Director of Public Prosecutions that henceforth cases should begin to be charged under the VAPP Law,” he said.
According to him, the directive has already started yielding results, revealing that within weeks, no fewer than seven case files requiring prosecutorial decisions had been prepared under the VAPP Law.
The Attorney-General vowed to pursue gender-based violence cases without fear or favour, insisting that offenders must be held accountable regardless of their social status.
“We cannot allow our society to become a sub-human society. My responsibility is to hold offenders accountable and send a clear message that gender-based violence is not a free-for-all” Nnajieze added.
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He further revealed that the state was strengthening criminal investigations through the recently established Forensic Centre and disclosed that plans were underway to establish a special court to accelerate the trial of gender-based violence and related offences.
Speaking also, the National Coordinator Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) LEAD at the SWAp Coordinating Office of the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Muntaqu Umar Sodiq said Nigeria’s rising maternal mortality remains a major concern despite huge investments in the health sector, attributing the challenge partly to duplication of efforts and poor coordination.
Sodiq noted that the Federal Government’s Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII) identified 172 local government areas responsible for more than half of maternal deaths nationwide, with Enugu among the priority states receiving interventions.
Represented by the SRH LEAD, SWAP Coordinating Office Dr Ronke Atamewalen, Sodiq added that the domestication of the SToP Guidelines would help communities better understand the legal framework guiding reproductive health services while supporting healthcare providers to deliver services within the law.
The workshop held from June 29 to July 1, brought together officials of the Federal Ministry of Health, Enugu State Ministry of Health, Enugu State Ministry of Children, Gender Affairs and Social Development, Civil Society Organisations, judiciary, Women’s Aid Collective (WACOL), security agencies, healthcare professionals, Journalists and religious leaders.
Some of the highlights during the workshop include interactive sessions, group discussions, brainstorming exercises and policy validation meetings aimed at identifying implementation gaps and developing practical solutions.
The participants also reviewed key provisions of the Enugu State VAPP Law and the SToP Guidelines, while jointly developing strategies to improve implementation, strengthen inter-agency collaboration and increase public awareness of the policies.