By Justina Auta
The Federal Government has authorized three nationwide devices to strengthen safety for girls and kids, as Nigeria grapples with solely 52 sexual assault referral centres serving greater than 200 million folks.
Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, stated this on Thursday in Abuja throughout a information convention marking the twenty sixth anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
The occasion was themed: “From Commitment to Impact: Advancing Women, Peace and Security through Inclusive Leadership, Local Action and National Accountability in Nigeria.”
Sulaiman-Ibrahim stated the Federal Executive Council, presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, authorized three nationwide devices introduced by her ministry to strengthen safety, care and assist for susceptible teams.
She listed them because the National Action Plan on Ending Violence Against Children, National Policy on Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management, 2026–2030, and National Care Policy and Implementation Plan, 2026–2030.
“For a child, it means abuse is prevented before it happens and, where it does happen, that someone is there to act,” the minister stated.
She added that the kid safety plan would lengthen interventions to all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory by means of a Pathfinder State Model.
On menstrual well being, the minister stated the coverage would guarantee women weren’t compelled to overlook faculty as a result of they may not afford sanitary merchandise.
“For a girl, it means she should no longer have to stay home from school because she cannot afford a sanitary pad,” she stated.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim stated the coverage would additionally assist women-owned enterprises by means of native manufacturing of sanitary merchandise and the institution of Pad Banks in public areas.
She stated the National Care Policy would recognise unpaid care work and promote protected, regulated childcare and aged care companies to ease the burden on girls.
“It means her work is finally recognised, and that safe, regulated childcare and elderly care will free her time to earn, learn and lead,” she stated.
The minister defined that the approvals have been linked to peace and safety, noting that insecurity typically started with social challenges inside communities, together with abuse and exclusion.
“Insecurity does not begin on the battlefield. It begins in the home where a child is abused, in the classroom a girl misses for want of a sanitary pad,” she stated.
She, nevertheless, acknowledged gaps in addressing sexual and gender-based violence, noting that Nigeria at present had 52 sexual assault referral centres serving a inhabitants of extra tha 200 million.
“Nigeria has 52 sexual assault referral centres serving over 200 million people. That is not enough, and we are working to add more,” she stated.
The minister stated the federal government was additionally strengthening the Child Rights Act and the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act to handle rising threats.
She stated that Nigeria’s Third National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, launched in December 2025, was constructed on 5 pillars.
The pillars embody prevention, safety, participation, reduction and restoration, and disaster response and rising threats.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim stated the federal government was dedicated to making sure girls moved past being victims of battle to changing into energetic contributors in peacebuilding and neighborhood growth.
She stated girls have been “not merely survivors, but peacemakers and pillars that hold every home and community together.”
Earlier, Ms Beatrice Eyong, UN Women Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, represented by Mr Peter Mancha, Programme Manager, stated Nigeria had made progress in implementing UNSCR 1325.
Eyong, nevertheless, famous that the decision was but to be totally realised, as girls continued to face limitations to participation and gender-based violence in numerous settings.
(*3*) she stated.
She emphasised that girls’s participation was greater than symbolic illustration, including that their exclusion affected the problems addressed in peace agreements and battle decision processes.
“Peace is not sustainable without the full and meaningful participation of women as negotiators, mediators, signatories and witnesses,” Eyong stated.(NAN)
Edited by Abiemwense Moru
