By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – AS part of activities to mark its 10th anniversary in Nigeria, an international Civil Society Organization, Plan International, Thursday, empowered eight youth organisations with N80 million to boost their activities.

The Country Director, Plan International, Charles Usie, handed over the cheque of N10 million each to the successful eight youth-led organisations in order to enable them implement projects that will positively impact children in their respective areas.

While making a public presentation of a new Country Strategy (2024-2028), Usie explained that the selection of the eight youth-led organizations from the six geopolitical zones was based on a competitive process in six geopolitical zones, which also Plan International Nigeria’s Girls Get Equal campaigners and an organization focused on People With Disabilities, PWDs, making up the eight recipients.

The beneficiaries include: Girls Get Equal Nigeria; Special Physically Challenged Care Foundation; Tomorrow is a Girl Initiative; Halima Isah Usman Charity Foundation; Open Knowledge Development Initiative; Spring of Hope for Girl Child Development; Access to Learning and School (Atlas) Initiative; and Street Mentors Network.

He said: “We are aligning our strategy with action, and today, we are supporting several youth organizations with N10 million each to go forth and make change for Nigerians, especially girls.

“We have served N36.9 million people in Nigeria, both directly and indirectly. This is a significant milestone for us, and we are proud of these achievements.”

He also highlighted the organization’s renovation of over 120 primary healthcare centres, which have been handed over to the government, and noted that over N150 billion has been spent on various projects across Nigeria in the past decade.

“In the last 10 years, we have managed, spent, and accounted for over 180 million euros, which is over N150 billion. We all know the situation in Nigeria; to account for N150 billion and have none of us in the EFCC or prison is something we are proud of.”

Meanwhile, according to him, the launch of a new five-year strategy (2024-2028) tagged ‘Girls Are Empowered to Act and Drive Change’, aims to empower 20 million girls to learn, lead, decide, and thrive in Nigeria.

“We are focusing on three main areas: child development, sexual and reproductive health rights, and protection from violence. Across these six areas, we plan to invest 120 million Euros to reach our target of impacting 20 million girls over the next five years”, he said.

However, he said insecurity remains one of the major challenges to activities of Plan International in Nigeria, “The state of insecurity has heavily impacted our work. For example, of the over 520 schools we have built or renovated, more than 50 have been destroyed by insurgencies.”

He therefore, appealed to the government to strengthen security efforts across Nigeria to protect communities, roads, and people, as this would facilitate the organization’s efforts.

“For instance, one cannot travel by road from Maiduguri to Gwoza—a local government area just 40 minutes away—due to insecurity. Similar conditions exist in many parts of the South-South and North-East regions”, he lamented.

He also raised concerns about the implementation of policies meant to protect children, such as the Child Rights Act and the Violence Against Persons Act.

“These policies prohibit all forms of violence and abuse against children, yet violations persist, such as the arrest and detention of children for three months on allegations of terrorism.

“While we may have improved the number of policies, our advocacy is focused on ensuring their full implementation.

“If we fully implement the policies currently in place, we will make significant progress”, he said.

Also in a remark, a Board Member, Plan International Nigeria, Dr Kole Shettima said, “For the next 10 years, our goal is certainly to ensure that 13 million more girls are reached, empowered, become their own, celebrate their lives, now living in our country, working shoulder to shoulder with others, contributing towards a better world and development of our country.”