Odisha Signs Pact With UNFPA To Promote Digital & Financial Literacy Of 6 Lakh Women

Bhubanewar: The Odisha government has signed an agreement with the United Nations Population Fund, India (UNFPA) to launch an initiative to strengthen Mission Shakti SHG network in the state.

The initiative titled “Social Empowerment of Women through the Women Self Help Groups of Mission Shakti in Odisha” will play a critical role for achieving the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals in the State, particularly Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and Goal 5 (Gender Equality).

The three-year project aims at promoting digital and financial literacy among WSHG members of Mission Shakti for improving their social and economic development. Digital literacy would enable women to be better connected, more informed and communicate with the external world.

Financial literacy will equip WSHG members with the skills to manage money effectively and enable them to reach out to cooperative societies and banks for accessing loans.

The MoU signed by Department of Mission Shakti with UNFPA will equip nearly 600,000 women across self-help groups with digital and financial skills. Known as Digi Shaktis, these women will, in turn, reach out to millions of other women to educate them on these skills.

Speaking at the signing of the agreement, Sujata R Karthikeyan, secretary, Department of Mission Shakti said, “Our experience shows that investing in women’s social and economic empowerment pays huge dividends, both in terms of collective social progress and local economic growth. With this partnership between Mission Shakti and UNFPA, we are poised to take significant leaps towards our goal of Empowered Women – Empowered Odisha.”

“With this visionary Mission Shakti initiative, over 6 million women will gain powerful digital and financial skills along with increased control over their sexual and reproductive health,” said UNFPA India Representative, Andrea M Wojnar.