The Federal Government has launched the National Strategy and Costed Action Plan on Ending Child Marriage in Nigeria (2025–2030), with a call for sustained funding, coordinated action and stronger accountability to protect girls from early marriage.
The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, announced the initiative on Tuesday in Kano during the commemoration of the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child, themed “End Child Marriage and Invest in Girls’ Rights!”
She said the strategy was designed to strengthen interventions against child marriage, particularly in the North-West and North-East, where the practice remains a major challenge.
According to the minister, the success of the initiative would depend not on speeches or policy documents but on measurable improvements in girls’ access to education, protection services and opportunities for personal development.
“It will be measured by the number of girls who stay in school or return to it; the number of communities that adopt protective practices; the quality and reach of support services; the resources committed and actually released,” she said.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim identified poverty, insecurity, school exclusion, gender discrimination, harmful social norms and inadequate social protection among the factors sustaining child marriage.
She stressed that addressing the practice required a comprehensive response involving education, healthcare, child protection, social welfare, family support and economic empowerment.
The minister urged federal ministries, departments and agencies, state governments and local authorities to incorporate their responsibilities under the strategy into their programmes and budgets.
She also called on traditional and religious leaders, parents, civil society organisations, development partners and community stakeholders to work together to eliminate the social and economic conditions exposing girls to early marriage.
Linking the initiative to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration of 2026 as the Year of the Family and Social Development, she said the country could not achieve stronger families and communities while girls were denied the opportunity to complete their education and fulfil their potential.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim commended the Kano State Government for initiatives supporting girls’ education, including scholarships, free bus transportation for girls and the domestication of re-entry guidelines for married adolescent girls. She urged other states to adopt similar measures.
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, represented by the state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Children and People with Special Needs, Hajiya Amina S. Abdullahi, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to expanding educational opportunities and strengthening child protection.
The governor said Kano had established the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Girl-Child Education and a network of 88 girl-child education advocates across its 44 local government areas.
He also highlighted programmes including the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE), the Girl Child Initiative Shuttle Bus Programme, free and compulsory education policies, alternative learning opportunities and social assistance for vulnerable households.
According to him, programme records show that tens of thousands of learners have benefited from alternative learning interventions, more than 148,000 girls have participated in life-skills activities, and cash-transfer support has reached over 100,000 beneficiaries across the state.
Yusuf, however, acknowledged persistent challenges, including the number of out-of-school children, child marriage, other forms of violence and economic pressures confronting families.
He urged parents and caregivers to protect their daughters from abuse, exploitation and early marriage, while calling on traditional and religious leaders, schools, development partners and civil society organisations to strengthen community-based interventions.
Earlier, Abdullahi, whose welcome address was delivered by the Permanent Secretary of the state ministry, Hajiya Aisha Abdulkadir Makkatu, described the event as a collective commitment to protecting children’s rights and securing their future.
She also linked efforts to end child marriage to the Islamic principle of Maslahah, which emphasises public interest and the prevention of harm, as well as the higher objectives of Sharia concerning the protection of life, intellect, dignity and posterity.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) called on participating states to translate the national strategy into funded programmes, stronger education and protection services, and measurable results.
In remarks delivered by its Child Protection Specialist, Mona Aika, on behalf of the Chief of UNICEF Field Office, Kano, Shafeeq Ur-Rehman, the organisation described child marriage as a serious threat to children’s rights, education and future opportunities.
Citing the 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, UNICEF said approximately one in three young women nationally, and nearly one in two in the North-West and North-East, had been married before the age of 18.
“A costed plan must become a financed and implemented plan, reflected in state priorities, budgets, strong services and measurable results,” the organisation said.
Similarly, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), represented by Dr Audu Alayande, said sustained investment in girls’ education, health, protection and empowerment was essential to ending the practice.
Citing the same survey, UNFPA stated that 33.4 per cent of women aged 20 to 24 had been married before the age of 18, while 11.4 per cent had married before the age of 15.
The organisation said its adolescent girl initiative and second-chance education programmes in Northern Nigeria had supported the enrolment, retention and completion of secondary education for more than 45,500 adolescent girls.
UNFPA pledged continued collaboration with government institutions, development partners and civil society to improve girls’ access to education, health services and protection mechanisms.
Girl Effect Nigeria described the launch as a significant step towards eliminating child marriage, highlighting its Ilimi Haske project in Rimin Gado Local Government Area of Kano State.
The project, supported by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, was helping 647 girls remain in or return to school through education, life-skills training, family support and community engagement, the organisation said.
It also announced an Ending Child Marriage initiative in Dawakin Kudu Local Government Area, supported by the Gates Foundation, targeting 1,700 girls through community-driven interventions involving parents, religious leaders and other stakeholders.
Save the Children International, represented by its Director of Finance, James Ameh, stressed that adequate financing, effective implementation and accountability would determine the strategy’s success.
The organisation called for state-level action plans, stronger child protection systems, safe and inclusive schools, social protection for vulnerable families and opportunities for girls to develop leadership, life and livelihood skills.
It also urged authorities to involve girls in monitoring progress and shaping decisions affecting their lives.
Meanwhile, Education as a Vaccine (EVA), representing the Strengthening Systems and Communities to End Child Marriage consortium, reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the strategy’s implementation.
The consortium, supported by the Malala Fund, comprises EVA, the Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All, OneLife Initiative and YouthHubAfrica.
Its interventions cover Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna and Kano states, alongside national-level engagement, with emphasis on policy coordination, accountability and access to education for adolescent girls.
The organisation called for dedicated domestic financing, sustained government leadership and stronger accountability mechanisms. It also urged traditional and religious leaders, parents, men and boys to challenge harmful practices.
The national strategy is expected to provide a coordinated framework for government institutions and development partners to intensify efforts towards a Nigeria where every girl can remain in school, access protection and fulfil her potential.
