The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has partnered with the Value Female Network (VFN) Africa to donate medical equipment, ICT items and dignity kits to the Osun State Sexual Assault Referral Center now known as Succour Centre located within the State Specialist Hospital, Asubiaro, Osogbo.
The landmark event held on Thursday, September 4, 2025, drew the presence of top Government functionaries led by the Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, represented by the Commissioner for Health, Barr Jola Akintola to the High-Level Stakeholders Engagement held at the Executive Chamber of the Governor’s Office in Osogbo, capital of Osun State.
The donation of the equipment and items worth millions of naira was demonstration of the commitment of UNICEF and VFN towards eliminating violence against children and bring hope to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in Osun State.
The duo organizations were highly commended for their interventions in restoring a positive future to survivors of SGBV.
Speaking during the official handing over of the equipment, UNICEF’s Child Protection Manager, Mona Aika, said the gesture was extended to ensure that survivors of gender based violence are well taken care of and given hope.
Aika noted that the agency is working closely with the state government to eliminate Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
Aika said, “Together, we are challenging harmful practices, raising awareness, and supporting communities to protect girls from a violation that has no place in their future. This work, like Positive Parenting and the SARC, is part of one vision: a safer Osun for every child.
“Facilities and programmes can only succeed when communities embrace them – and we have seen here in Osun the willingness of parents, caregivers, leaders, and young people to work together in building a safer state for every child.
Aika, while commending the state government, said justice must be served to survivors of gender based violence.
“First, justice must be served – survivors must see their cases pursued to conclusion. Second, the Centre must be regularly monitored, with strong data management to improve and adapt its services over time. Third, it must ensure inclusive access, with deliberate measures to serve survivors with disabilities, so no one is left behind,” she added.
In her keynote speech, the Executive Director, Value Female Network (VFN) Africa, Dr Costly Aderibigbe-Saba, said as a survivor of Female Genital Mutilation herself, her life’s mission is to ensure that women and girls live free from violence and grow up safe, empowered, and protected.
Aderibigbe-Saba, who said the organisation has been at the forefront of protecting women and children through various initiatives, urged stakeholders to come together and ensure a violence-free state.
She commended officials of government in the line Ministries who have joined forces and initiatives with her organization in addressing issues of sexual exploitation and other forms of violence against women and children in the state.
According to her, “The Value Female Network (VFN) family—our program staff, technical team, board, and volunteers—deserve special mention. VFN has been at the forefront of protecting women and children through initiatives such as the Adolescent Boot Camp, Boys Promote Equality, Positive Parenting Program, Safe Spaces for Girls in Schools, Survivors’ Network strengthening, and community sensitization campaigns. It was also VFN Africa that independently constructed the disability ramp here at the Succour Center, ensuring accessibility for all survivors.”
While specially appreciating UNICEF, Mrs Aderibigbe-Saba, stated, “Our heartfelt gratitude goes to UNICEF, our donor and technical partner. Beyond funding, UNICEF has supervised and guided this work from start to finish. Through UNICEF’s support via VFN, this facility has undergone renovation (including plumbing, generator repairs, electrical works, and painting), procurement of equipment, capacity building for first responders, and strengthening of state monitoring and evaluation systems through the Child Protection Information Management System (Primero CPIMS). We hope to continue enjoying this vital partnership.
But beyond the structures and systems, let us not forget why we are here. Behind every statistic is a story of pain, resilience, and hope.”
Sharing a recent story of a young woman who was rescued from domestic violence and catered for at the Succour Centre, Dr Aderibigbe-Saba narrated: “There is a young woman whose story embodies why this center exists. After four years as a victim of sex trafficking, she returned to Osogbo, seeking peace. She got married and had a baby, but just three months later, her husband cruelly chased her out of their home in the middle of the day, with nowhere to go and no one to turn to. With her baby in her arms, she searched desperately and found Value Female Network.”
“At VFN, she was reassured, counseled, and immediately referred to the Succour Center. There, she was received with compassion—accommodated for the night, protected by the Civil Defence Corps, and provided legal support by the Ministry of Justice, who promptly assigned her a lawyer. Today, she is here with us, reunited with her family, and holding her 3-month-old baby. This is what a coordinated response looks like. This is what the Succour Center means to survivors,” she concluded amid applaud from the audience.
Highlighting other plans by VFN, geared towards fortifying activities at the refferal centre and also preventing incidents of sexual and domestic assault, the Executive Director disclosed that, “As a survivor of female genital mutilation myself, I know firsthand the scars—both physical and emotional—that violence leaves behind. My life’s mission is to ensure that women and girls live free from violence, and that children—boys and girls alike—grow up safe, empowered, and protected.
In the coming days, with UNICEF’s support, VFN will work with the Osun State Government to deliver high-quality, inclusive training for first responders across all six zones of the state, covering the three core ministries. Together, we will produce a radio jingle to raise public awareness, and continue to sensitize communities in close collaboration with government agencies, the Child Protection Network, and other civil society organizations.
The implication of this work is clear: UNICEF’s support, combined with the political will of Osun State and the dedication of civil society, ensures that women, girls, boys, and children like Habiba—whether directly abused or indirectly impacted—will always find protection and justice here.”
She concluded her speech by saying, “As we unveil these donations today, let this be a reminder that succour is here in Osun State. And let us commit, together, to building a future where violence has no place, and dignity, justice, and protection are guaranteed for all.”
In his remarks, the state governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke who was represented by the Commissioner for Health, Barr. Jola Akintola, commended UNICEF and VFN Africa for the interventions, saying that the donated equipment will provide assistance to victims of gender based violence in the state.
Adeleke said the state is collaborating with relevant agencies to ensure comprehensive management of the victims who are to be attended to at the Centre.
The governor urged other partners and well-meaning individuals to emulate the noble example of UNICEF and VFN Africa to also contribute to the sustenance of the Succour Centre, which was formerly known as Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC).
In their separate goodwill messages, all relevant stakeholders including the Commissioners for Health, Justice, Women and Children Affairs, security agencies and other implementing partners, they expressed happiness at the donations and efforts of UNICEF and VFN Africa, assuring of their continuous collaboration and support to tackle prevalence of sexual and physical abuse in the state and see to it that survivors of SGBV receive quality care, protection, empowerment and care.
After the high-level partnership strengthening event which took place at the Osun State Government Executive Chamber, the stakeholders proceeded to the location of the Succour Centre at the State Specialist Hospital, Osun State to officially receive the equipment, tour the centre and learn about its operations.
So far, the centre has provided a range of services including; medical, psychosocial, legal and referral services to 16 survivors ages 5 to 35 years within 3 months of its operations.
With UNICEF’s new strengthened partnership with the Osun State Government, the Succour Centre will witness more awareness-raising activities, comprehensive capacity building for its staff and effective data management systems and continue to serve as a haven providing life-saving and justice services to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence including children in Osun State, Nigeria.
The items donated included office furniture, desk, chair, cupboard; all-in-one monitor 27″
HP 27-inch, all-in-one desktop AI PC 27, printer, HP LaserJet Pro MFP M428fdw, bedlinen set, basin, kidney, stadiometer, dustbin, toilet, cotton wool 500g roll non-ster, WASH&Dignity Kit firstResp 1HH noPurifTab, drum sterilizing 260mm diam, swab cotton-tip sterile tube box, gloves exam latex, basin kidney polypropylene, forceps artery Kelly, thermometer clinical digital, stool adjustable on castors, phygmomanometer (child) aneroid, and stand infusion double hook on castors.
Others are bed screen hospital on castors, bowl stainless steel 180ml, surgical inst. exam/sut vaginal/cervical/SET, bed hospital standard with w/mattress, IEHK 2024 Suppl. PEP Unit, mask surgical type IIR ear loop disposable pack, drum sterilizing, spatula abdo malleable, gauze swab sterile, gloves, gloves exam latex, receptacle waste pedal action, stethoscope binaural complete, sphygmomanometer (adult) aneroid, trolley dressing, stretcher patient w/side, and examination table among others.
Commissioners from the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, Health, and Justice, members of Osun State Assembly, Permanent Secretaries and Directors of the line Ministries, Special Advisers to the Governor on Women and Children Affairs, representatives of the State Commissioner of Police and Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps attended the two in one event.
Also present were the commissioner for Women, Children and Social Welfare, Hon. Ayobola Fadeyi Awolowo, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barr Oluwole-Jimi Bada, SAN, Executive Secretaries of agencies, law enforcement agencies, religious leaders among many other relevant stakeholders.
