Abuja, October 25, 2024
The Nigeria State Girls Summit (SONGS) Steering Committee has released its preliminary report on the 2024 state camps to be conducted across the country. This report, the second in the series, highlights key findings and recommendations from an extensive data collection and consultation process.
The report was launched at the second of the bi-annual summit to be held in Abuja, following the inaugural meeting in 2022.
The SONG Summit is under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Women’s Affairs, in partnership with development partners such as the Ministry of Education, the National Human Rights Commission, the Federal Ministry of Justice, Plan International, Christine Aid, Save the Children, ILO, UNESCO, and Action Aid. It will be held. , Mercy Corps, UNICEF, FIDA, UNFPA and other organizations to raise awareness about the current situation of girls in Nigeria and elicit discussions with key stakeholders to generate recommendations on the way forward. It brings together government officials, civil society organizations, and adolescent girls.
The state camp served as an important platform for the committee to engage directly with the target audience, gain insight into their lived experiences, and identify their most pressing needs and challenges.
The interim report provides a comprehensive overview of the current situation for girls in Nigeria. This highlights the critical importance of addressing the multifaceted barriers they face, from access to education and health care to issues of safety and social inclusion.
The report also outlines four pillars of child rights law that will serve as thematic areas to guide the Commission's future interventions.
1. Protection: Girls highlighted poverty, silence due to intimidation and prejudice, and lack of justice when GBV issues are reported.
2. Development: The report highlights that when girls try to raise their voices and contribute to decision-making, they often face negative, humiliating and even abusive reactions from elders in their communities. I’m doing it.
3. Survival: The report notes problems such as forced and early marriage. Female genital mutilation. rape; sexual abuse and harassment; Child labor. human trafficking. sexual abuse;
Denial of access to education. Sexism. Denial of equal opportunity. Refusal to participate in sports. Among other things, there are things that impede their ability to grow.
4. Participation: Limited education contributes to the underdevelopment of communities as it exposes disadvantaged girls to social vices and deprives them of the right to participate in decision-making. Disadvantaged girls often have little or no access to quality health care, leaving them reliant on traditional medicine and substandard health facilities.
Insights from the preliminary report highlight the importance of creating platforms where young people can interact freely. Enacting legislation that guarantees inclusive and gender-sensitive decision-making, access to free and quality education at all levels, and provision of free and quality health care for teenagers, especially at the local level. ensure that
Tunde Alemu, Co-Chair of the Summit Steering Committee, said: “On behalf of the SONGS Steering Committee, we are committed to engaging all stakeholders to ensure that the unique needs and aspirations of Nigerian girls are effectively addressed. We are committed to working together with all parties involved.”
Ending note:
For more information about the Nigeria Girls Summit and access to the preliminary report, please contact Tunde Alemu, Co-Chair of the Steering Committee, International Nigeria Policy, Research and Impact Manager.