Onelife Initiative Partners to Address Child Marriage in Northern Nigeria

Onelife Initiative will be joining three other partners to address the festering issue of Child Marriage in Northern Nigeria. This 2-year initiative will be driven through the Strengthening Systems and Communities to End Child Marriage (SSCE) project. The Initiative is a collaborative between Onelife Initiative, Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA), YouthHubAfrica and Education as a Vaccine (EVA).

Supported by Malala Fund through its joint action initiative, the project seeks to eliminate child marriage in Nigeria by addressing its root causes, strengthening multisectoral partnerships and supporting communities to protect and promote girls’ rights.

At the inception meeting which held recently at Grand Bohabs Hotel, Abuja, representatives from the 4 partner organisations were in attendance. The team reviewed the key activities, the workplan and also assigned roles to the various partners. Also addressed were the governance structure, coordination mechanisms and collaboration modalities amongst others. Other conversations centred around implementation plans, safeguarding standards and key risks, financial reporting that matches compliances, result frameworks and next steps.

“Child marriage prevalence remains high in the country, with 44% of girls married before the age of 18, totalling over 24 million child brides and ranking third globally. Four out of every ten girls in Nigeria are married before the age of 18.” According to the Demographic & Health Survey report 2023/4, 1 in 3 girls in Nigeria(33.4%) are married before the age of 18, predisposing them to worrisome maternal health situation. In Northern Nigeria, about 73% of girls with primary education and below are married off before the age of 18.

The project will be executed in 5 states — Bauchi, Kaduna, Borno, Adamawa and Kano. The 2 year project is expected to achieve significant milestones and impact by 2028 when the project ends. Onelife Initiative team was represented at the meeting by the Executive Director, Accounts Officer and a Monitoring and Evaluation Intern