The Federal Government has proposed N84.48 billion to implement a five-year national strategy to end child marriage in Nigeria by 2030.
The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, announced this on Tuesday night at the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child commemoration and the launch of the North-West Strategy to End Child Marriage in Kano.
She said the National Strategy and Costed Action Plan on Ending Child Marriage in Nigeria, 2025–2030, would provide a framework for implementation, financing, monitoring and accountability.
The minister said the strategy was designed to address the root causes of child marriage, including poverty, insecurity, exclusion from school and harmful traditional practices.
According to her, Kano is strategically positioned to serve as a model for nationwide implementation due to its influence across Northern Nigeria.
She highlighted scholarships for girls, free bus transportation for female students, and the adoption of school re-entry guidelines for married adolescents as initiatives that support girls’ education in Kano.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim said the Federal Government was strengthening the implementation of the Child Rights Act and working with state governments to coordinate interventions against child marriage.
She added that the strategy required clear funding arrangements and defined responsibilities for institutions implementing it at national and subnational levels.
In a presentation, Mr Musa Aliyu-Musa, Director of Economic Services in the ministry, put the total cost of implementing the strategy over five years at N140.802 billion.
He said the Federal Government was expected to provide 60 percent of the funding, amounting to N84.481 billion, while development partners would contribute the remaining 40 percent, estimated at N56.320 billion.
The strategy identifies six intervention areas, including enforcing legal frameworks, changing harmful social and cultural norms, empowering adolescents and communities, strengthening child protection services, and improving monitoring and data generation.
It also seeks to improve coordination among government institutions, traditional and religious leaders, civil society organizations and development partners to ensure effective implementation.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Kano State Ministry of Women Affairs, Children and Persons with Special Needs, Aishatu Abdulkadir, said the state was implementing programs to promote child development and girls’ education.
She listed the AGILE Project, the Girl Child Initiative and free and compulsory education policies among measures aimed at improving access to education.
Abdulkadir called for collective action by parents, community leaders, religious institutions and other stakeholders to keep girls in school and protect them from exploitation.
She added that protecting girls from early marriage was consistent with the Islamic principle of Maslaha, which emphasizes public interest and the prevention of harm.
The event featured presentations on ending child marriage and implementing the national strategy, alongside goodwill messages from Girls Not Brides, Plan International, ActionAid and Girl Effect.
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The organizations called for sustained domestic financing, stronger coordination among government agencies and expanded access to safe and inclusive education to ensure girls completed their schooling and made informed decisions about their futures.
Data presented at the event indicated that 17.5 million Nigerian girls and women had been married before the age of 18, while 6.5 million had been married before turning 15.
NAN reports that the strategy aims to reduce child marriage through legal reforms, community engagement, education, economic empowerment and stronger protection systems, with the goal of ending the practice by 2030.
