USAID, SCALE engage media on Nigeria’s development challenges

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Nigeria Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE) project have partnered to engage media practitioners in exploring opportunities to address the country’s development challenges.

The meeting, which was held in Lagos, yesterday, was aimed at deepening the understanding of media practitioners on the objectives of the SCALE project, interventions and approaches to building the capacity of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Business Membership Organisations (BMOs) for sustainable civic space with access to resources, tools and new competencies that enable them to fully engage with citizens and government.

Representative of the Chief of Party of the SCALE Project, Bosede Eitokpah, stressed the need for the media to partner with development agencies to help share results on their work.

She said: “A strengthened relationship between CSOs and the media would enable the telling of lesser-known but important stories that provide an opportunity for the voices of the people most affected by these stories to be heard”.

She advocated effective collaboration, especially for CSOs working on priority policy areas including health, education, trafficking in persons, sexual and gender-based violence, civic space, elections, inclusion and youth development, among others, which would result in effective governance and improved services for Nigerians.”

Executive Director, Nigerian Network of NGOs, Oluseyi Oyebisi, said the SCALE results would be delivered through Nigerian partners, who would take on increasing responsibility on the project’s timeline.

“Positioning us to implement future USAID CS strengthening and advocacy projects, while putting beneficiaries at the center of implementation assures that solutions will be locally-led thereby increasing the likelihood of the project’s success. Our media partners and Nigerians will be proud of this,” he said.

SCALE, a five-year project, is being implemented by Palladium, is aimed at strengthening the financial, management and advocacy capacity of CSOs to create an accountable, transparent, peaceful and democratic society with more effective public service delivery.