By Edwin Philip
Stakeholders holders has sought for better ways of transforming how public resources are managed for a better service delivery for vulnerable groups such as women and organisation communities in Nigeria.
The brainstorming event which was organised by International Budget Partnership( IBP) Nigeria the International Budget Partnership (IBP) Nigeria, featured groundbreaking research findings on how Nigeria’s informal tax system affects women traders and workers, emphasising the daily tax burdens women face while trying to earn a living.
The Strategic findings according to IBP Nigeria will take a systemic approach to reform, applying a strong gender-responsive lens to address the root causes of Nigeria’s public finance and service delivery challenges.
The session identified women as key to the strengthening of Nigerian economy and the wellbeing of rural communities, adding that the new strategy is a time their voices to help drive the policies and investments that affect their lives.
According to IBP Nigeria, their goal is to unlock lasting, structural change so that women and other marginalized groups can meaningfully influence how public resources are managed and ensure those resources deliver real benefits where they are needed most.
However, the group said by amplifying the voices of smallholder women farmers, women in the informal economy, and community health advocates, are working to ensure historically excluded groups are at the center of public finance decisions.
According to them are Agriculture and Maternal Health Systems are key focal areas, capitalizing in two important service areas of Agricultural service delivery for smallholder women farmers—supporting women who are central to food security but are under-resourced due to limited access to land.
According to Yinka Babalola, IBP Nigeria’s Country Manager; “Across Nigeria, women are the backbone of local communities, driving agricultural production and informal trade, yet they continue to face barriers to the quality public services they need to thrive,” “For smallholder women farmers—who are central to Nigeria’s agricultural production—this means limited access to land,essential farm inputs, and public investments to support their livelihoods” he said.
Adding that, For many others, it means struggling to access affordable, reliable healthcare, particularly maternal care, which remains out of reach for far too many” he added.
The event featured paper presentations, brainstorming sessions, panel discussions real time and virtual, proffering solutions on equitable taxation, giving women access to normal financial services, provision of grievance redressing platforms, integrating women into tax policy making decisions in order to address the barriers that different groups faces, that collaborations with civil society organization, women groups, government agencies, should drive advocacy for gender responsive tax policies.
The event brought together over 20 government officials from key institutions—including the Budget Office, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and Federal Ministry of Agriculture—alongside representatives from the State Ministries of Health, Budget, and Agriculture in Oyo, Ogun, Kano, Anambra, and Niger States, international development partners and national organizations, market women, chambers of commerce and industries as well as cooperative societies.