About half of the world’s population of 8.2 billion people is female. Of this population, 979 million (48.55% of the population) are girls aged 0-14 years.
Yet, females are disproportionally represented at every stage in life. Right from birth, male preference is a factor girl have to contend with. Young girls in Nigeria face various challenges including Female Genital Mutilation, lack of access to education, poor menstrual hygiene management, child early and forced marriage (CEFM) and various practices that place them at a disadvantage.
In the political space, women have been underrepresented in Nigerian politics since the country transitioned to democracy in 1999. The current Senate has only four women out of 109 members (3.7%); the House of Representatives has 17 out of 360 (4.7%); no single female governor, eight out of 36 deputy governors (22.2%), and no vice president or president. A critical question we need to ask ourselves is- “how can men make decisions for women and girls when they have not walked in their shoes?”
The registered voters in Nigeria in the 2023 general elections according to figures from the Independent National Electoral Commission were 49 percent women. Yet, they are grossly underrepresented in political offices; not because they lack the capacity but because men who hold sway for many years won’t let go. This is not only unfair, and unacceptable but also unsustainable.
How can a country truly move on when half of its population is underrepresented on the decision-making table? Playing the “mind your business” card would not help this situation either. This is why as a child and girls rights advocate, Plan International has over the past 10 years dedicated a significant part of its work in Nigeria on driving equality for girls and women.
This has translated into programmes activities, humanitarian and development interventions and campaigns on varied issues affecting girls. Plan International is a global organisation that works with children and girls in over 80 countries to create a more just and sustainable world.
Moreso, Nigeria currently ranks 130th out of 166 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index reflecting how much maginalised girls and women are in the country and the level of efforts still required for the country to attain gender equity and equality. The need to pay special attention to girls issues became more evident in the National Bureau of Statistics’ Nigeria Multidimensional Poverty Index released in 2022. The reports reveals that the high levels of poverty and inequality in the country have continued to adversely impact the girl child, particularly in terms of access to education, food, healthcare and other public services.
While it is not unusual to hear top government officials talk about the marginalisation of the girl child and the urgent need to address it, there has been more of talk than action to address the situation. The lack of attention to gender-specific peculiarities of the girl child is can be seen for example in the gender-blind design and implementation of the Social Investment Programme of the federal government.
Considering the fact that Plan International was founded to focus on children, why then are we particular about girls? What about the boys? What about the men?
We certainly are not leaving anyone behind including boys and men. They are integral part of our programming. However, our approach is gender transformative; meaning we are deliberate, calculative and pragmatic.
To cut the huge difference for instance in school enrolment, retention and completion between girls and boys, the special needs of girls are taken into consideration. Adolescent girls often face challenge of menstrual health; sometimes missing our of school or even dropping out to be married off. Boys don’t face these challenge. Plan International Nigeria implements programmes from five field offices in Nigeria- Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Bauchi and Sokoto, including the Country office in Abuja with programme presence in 10 other states.The programmes are targeted at the children, particularly girls and young women in Nigeria, through six Areas of Global Distinctiveness (AOGDs).
These AOGDs are centred around four results areas to ensure that girls can LEARN, LEAD, DECIDE and THRIVE. The AOGDs are Inclusive Quality Education (IQE), Skills and Opportunities for Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship (SOYEE), Children, Adolescents and Youth as active drivers of change (LEAD), Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), Early Childhood Development (ECD) and Protection from Violence (PfV).
To date, Plan Nigeria has reached over 36 million Nigerians directly and indirectly across our AOGDs of which 9,160,415 are girls. We have recorded significant milestones in various sectors in Nigeria. In 2018, Plan International Nigeria in collaboration with UNICEF initiated a novel approach to teaching in Nigeria- Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) initiative which increased access to education and inclusion in our programming.
In 2019, we launched the Girls Get Equal (GGE) Campaign with young girls and activists to build their capacities in Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR), Youth Leadership and Governance, climate change and grassroots mobilization. The GGE platforms have expanded beyond the initial locations of FCT, Borno, Kaduna and Plateau States to Kogi, Nasarawa, and Niger States. The cohorts are more self-organising and, in some instances, making use of their own generated resources for organising. Later that year, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education and other development partners, Plan Nigeria supported the implementation of the Safe Schools Declaration (SSD) and advocacy for strengthening and operationalization of the Safe Schools Minimum Standards.
In 2020, Plan International Nigeria piloted the development of the Accelerated Basic Education Programme Curriculum (ABEP) in partnership with the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) in Borno state. This had been adopted by the Nigerian Government for nationwide usage. In 2022, we strengthened Menstrual Health Management through the adoption of Pad Bank innovation to ensure girls stay in school in Bauchi state. This has now been replicated in other schools.
Plan Nigeria, together with other partners facilitated the passage of the Child Protection Act for Sokoto State in 2021 and Bauchi States in 2023. We have also launched the Gender Responsive Education Sector Planning (GRESP) and Tsangaya Manuals in Northern Nigeria.
In line with our Global Strategy priorities focusing on girls’ rights and youth-centered, Plan Nigeria inaugurated the first Plan International Nigeria’s Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) to ensure young people are included in the governance and decision-making processes of the organisation. Our young people have also been instrumental in the hosting of the maiden edition of Democracy convening, the adolescent and youth leadership conference and the development of the youth engagement strategy for the organisation.
Plan International’s current global strategy is tagged “All Girls Standing Strong Creating Global Change”.
In Nigeria, Plan International commenced operations in 2014. Its first country strategy (FY2017-FY2018) was tagged “Children, adolescents and youth especially girls, enjoy their basic rights in safety and achieve their potential as citizens including, during and after disasters”. This was followed by “Transforming Power Relations in Favour of Girls in Nigeria” (FY2020-FY2024), and now “Girls are empowered to take action and drive change” (FY2024-FY2028).
Comfort Runyi Effiom is Monitoring & Evaluation Manager for Plan Nigeria. She wrote from Abuja.
