Activist calls for gender-responsive budgeting in Akwa Ibom State

Lucy Eyo, a civil society advocate in Akwa Ibom State, urged the government to address the needs of women, girls and vulnerable groups in its annual budgets. At the launch in Uyo of “Budgets as Policy: Advancing Gender Justice through Fiscal Analysis,” she cited a review of 2023–2025 budgets that found gaps between allocations and actual spending, as well as inadequate funding for gender-based violence services. Eyo said at least 14,200 of the 15,200 out-of-school children at secondary level are girls, and that the 2025 revised budget lacks publicly available gender markers to track who benefits from spending. The project will examine funding for women’s empowerment, education, water, sanitation and hygiene, and healthcare, with findings to be shared with government and civil society stakeholders.