Child Marriage: UNICEF Warns Northern States as FG Launches 5-Year Action Plan
By Ayeeshat J Ahmad from Kano
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has urged governments in Northern Nigeria to strengthen health, education and child protection systems to tackle child marriage, warning that the practice continues to undermine girls’ rights, education and future opportunities.
The Chief of UNICEF Field Office Kano, Mr Shafeeq Ur-Rehman, made the call on Tuesday at the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child and the launch of the National Strategy and Costed Action Plan for Ending Child Marriage in Nigeria (2025–2030), held at Coronation Hall, Government House, Kano.
UNICEF said about one in three young women in Nigeria were married before the age of 18, according to the 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, while the proportion was nearly one in two in the North-West and North-East.
He said the prevalence was 74 per cent in Bauchi, 72 per cent in Jigawa, 69 per cent in Katsina and 39 per cent in Kano State, compared with the national average of 33.4 per cent.
The UNICEF official said child marriage violated girls’ rights, disrupted their education and exposed them to health risks associated with early pregnancy and limited access to essential health services.
Shafiq Ur Rehman congratulated the Federal Government for launching the National Strategy and Costed Action Plan, but warned that its success would depend on adequate funding and effective implementation.
“A costed plan must become a financed and implemented plan, reflected in state priorities, budgets, strong services and measurable results,” he said.
He urged Northern states to demonstrate sustained political commitment, increase domestic financing and strengthen systems that protect girls and support their development.
Earlier, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, said Nigeria could not achieve sustainable development while girls continued to lose their education and opportunities to child marriage.
She said the Federal Government had launched the National Strategy and Costed Action Plan on Ending Child Marriage as part of efforts to move from policy commitments to coordinated implementation, financing, monitoring and accountability.
The minister said the plan would focus on addressing the factors that push girls into early marriage, including poverty, school exclusion, insecurity, harmful traditional practices, gender discrimination and inadequate social protection.
She said the government would measure the success of the plan by the number of girls who remain in or return to school, the quality of protection services available to them, resources committed and released, and the reduction in conditions that expose girls to child marriage.
Sulaiman Ibrahim said protecting girls required effective laws, accessible services, reliable data and institutions that were accountable for results.
She also called for stronger implementation of the Child Rights Act and improved reporting, referral and response mechanisms for girls at risk of marriage or violence.
The minister described education as one of the most effective tools for preventing child marriage, calling for greater investment in girls’ access to and completion of basic and secondary education.
She urged governments to address barriers including insecurity, violence in and around schools, poor water and sanitation facilities and the economic pressures that force some families to withdraw their daughters from school.
Sulaiman Ibrahim commended the Kano State Government for its initiatives to promote girl-child education, including scholarships, free bus transportation for girls and the domestication of re-entry guidelines for married adolescent girls.
She called on other states to adopt similar measures and ensure that the national strategy reached communities, schools, wards and households where girls faced the greatest barriers.
The Kano State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Amina Abdullahi Sani in her opening remarks, welcomed participants to the event and reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to protecting the rights and welfare of children.
She said Kano had social protection measures aimed at safeguarding children’s rights, including their right to education and protection from harmful practices.
The commissioner appreciated development partners for their continued support to the state and commended the Federal Government, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development for prioritising the rights and development of the girl child.
Amina urged stakeholders to work together to ensure that policies and programmes designed to protect children translated into tangible benefits for girls and vulnerable families across the state.
Fatima Nasir and Maryam Abdul Ahmad separately said marriage disrupted aspirations and opportunities, saying every girl had dreams that they wished to pursue if given the opportunity and protection.
The two girls called for greater protection of girls from early marriage and improved opportunities for education and personal development.
The National Strategy and Costed Action Plan, which covers 2025 to 2030, is expected to provide a framework for coordinated action by federal and state governments, development partners, civil society organisations and communities towards reducing child marriage in Nigeria.
Mal Hassan Gama civil society organizations member stressed that ending child marriage would require sustained political commitment, adequate financing, stronger social protection and greater investment in girls’ education, health and empowerment.