Malala Fund, the global education advocacy organization founded by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, has announced support for a youth-led coalition in Nigeria aimed at reducing child marriage by keeping more girls in school. The Fund will provide a two-year Joint Action Grant (JAG) to four Nigerian civil society organizations to activate the country’s National Strategy to End Child Marriage, positioning girls’ education as the central policy solution.
Nigeria has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world, with over 30% of girls married before the age of 18. In the country’s northeast and northwest regions, the rate rises to nearly 50%, driven by poverty, insecurity, and school dropout. The grant seeks to mobilize youth leaders to drive collective action, ensuring Nigeria’s national strategy translates into actionable state plans, real financing, and accountability for results.
The funding will support coordinated advocacy and implementation across Adamawa, Borno, Kano, Kaduna, and Bauchi states, areas with some of the highest child marriage prevalence. The coalition is led by Education As a Vaccine (EVA), alongside YouthHubAfrica (YHA), the Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA), and Onelife Initiative. Together, they will work with government agencies to promote education-focused reforms, enforce existing laws such as the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, and push states to adopt clear action plans and funding commitments.
New research highlighted by Malala Fund underscores the economic and social impact of education in delaying marriage. Analysis by Accelerate Hub, a research partnership led by the University of Oxford and the University of Cape Town, suggests that reaching more out-of-school adolescent girls in northern Nigeria with education and support programs could reduce child marriage by about two-thirds within four years. The study projects that an estimated $114 million investment could yield economic returns more than 21 times the initial cost, while preventing roughly 327,000 child marriages. The Fund notes that school dropout is the tipping point, with secondary education completion significantly delaying marriage.
Beyond policy advocacy, the coalition plans to generate research on barriers to girls’ education, promote school re-entry for married and pregnant girls, and challenge harmful social norms through community engagement and behavior-change campaigns. Leaders emphasize that protecting a girl’s education not only transforms her life but also disrupts the cycle of child marriage for future generations.
Malala Fund’s work globally focuses on ensuring girls can access 12 years of free, safe, and quality education, emphasizing advocacy, research, and support for local organizations in regions facing the greatest barriers to girls’ education.
