As Nigeria joins the world to mark the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child, ActionAid Nigeria as well as notable voices in the country have called for stronger action against child marriage. They are also calling for increased investment in girls’ education and improved protection of their rights, amid concerns that early marriage continues to limit millions of girls’ futures.

Families, community leaders and policymakers are being urged to intensify efforts to end child marriage and ensure that every girl has access to quality education, healthcare and opportunities to fulfil her potential.

Child Marriage Remains a Major Challenge in Nigeria

ActionAid Nigeria said 33.4 per cent of Nigerian women aged 20 to 24 were married before their 18th birthday, with the figure approaching 50 per cent in the North-East and North-West regions. The organisation, citing UNICEF estimates, said more than 3.7 million Nigerian women aged 20 to 24 had been married before turning 18.

According to ActionAid, poverty, limited access to education and harmful social norms continue to expose girls to early marriage, school dropout, early pregnancy and other forms of vulnerability. Child marriage can interrupt a girl’s education, restrict her employment prospects and increase her economic dependence. It can also expose girls to gender-based violence and limit their ability to make decisions about their health and future.

ActionAid said UNICEF analysis suggests that child marriage in Northern Nigeria could decline by as much as two-thirds if every girl completed secondary education, highlighting the importance of keeping girls in school.

To demonstrate the importance of education and awareness, ActionAid Nigeria highlighted the experience of Aisha Aliyu, who was 16 when her family began making arrangements for her to marry her cousin. Through the organisation’s Girl-led Research and Action Project, Aisha learned about girls’ rights and the risks associated with early marriage.

She subsequently spoke to her parents about her desire to continue her education, leading to the cancellation of the proposed marriage. Aisha has since returned to school and hopes to become a businesswoman and mentor other girls in her community, according to ActionAid.

The organisation said her experience demonstrated how access to information, education and safe spaces could empower girls to challenge harmful practices and participate in decisions affecting their lives.

Speaking on the issue, ActionAid Nigeria Country Director, Andrew Mamedu, said investment in girls must go beyond protecting them from harm to recognising their rights, supporting their leadership and providing opportunities for them to shape their futures. “Girls must be at the centre of the decisions that affect them, and government must ensure that the systems and resources required to make their rights a reality are in place,” Mamedu said.

Efforts to address child marriage are also being pursued through the Sub-Saharan Africa Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend Plus (SWEDD+) project, which combines legal protection with investments in girls’ education, health, empowerment and economic opportunities.

The initiative works with governments, regional institutions, legal professionals and civil society organisations to strengthen legal frameworks, improve enforcement, expand access to legal aid and make justice systems more accessible to women and girls. Its approach recognises that laws alone may not be sufficient to protect girls if institutions lack the capacity to enforce them or affected families cannot access support and justice.

SWEDD+ also seeks to address the economic pressures and social conditions that can contribute to child marriage and gender-based violence. The programme builds on earlier SWEDD interventions that reportedly reached three million women and girls, while extending efforts to ensure that legal protections translate into practical support for vulnerable communities.

One beneficiary, Armelle from Benin, was married at 14 because of financial hardship and became a mother. Following her husband’s death two years later, she was left to care for her child without a reliable source of income. Under the earlier SWEDD programme, she received vocational training and support to establish a snail-farming business.

“Since I started snail farming, we got some money and things are going better for us,” she said.

Her experience illustrates how vocational training and livelihood support can help vulnerable young women improve their economic circumstances, although such interventions must complement efforts to prevent child marriage in the first place.