The Plan International Nigeria has donated over N80m to eight youth-led organisations as part of its commitment to youth development and well-being across the country.
The organisation’s Country Director, Mr Charles Usie, said this on Thursday in Abuja during the public presentation of a new country strategy (2024-2028) as part of its celebration of 10th anniversary in Nigeria.
Usie said the grantees were selected through a competitive process from Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, with Plan International Nigeria’s Girls Get Equal campaigners and an organisation focused on people with disabilities making up the eight recipients.
Each organisation received a cheque of N10million at the event to implement projects that positively impact children, especially girls in their respective areas.
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The list of 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 noted that Plan International has operated in Nigeria for the past 10 years, impacting the lives of children, girls, women, and boys across the country.
He said, “We have served 36.9m people in Nigeria, both directly and indirectly. This is a significant milestone for us, and we are proud of these achievements.”
He also said the organisation renovated over 120 primary healthcare centre’s, which have been handed over to the government, and that over N150bn 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 180m euros, which is over N150bn. We all know the situation in Nigeria; to account for N150bn and have none of us in the EFCC or prison is something we’re proud of,” Usie said.
He said the new five-year strategy (2024-2028) titled ‘Girls Are Empowered to Act and Drive Change’, aims to empower 20m girls to learn, lead, decide, and thrive in Nigeria.
Usie said, “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 also cited insecurity as one of the biggest challenges Plan International faces in Nigeria.
He said, “The state of insecurity has heavily impacted our work. For example, of the over 520 schools we’ve built or renovated, more than 50 have been destroyed by insurgencies and we have to expend resources to rebuild them.”
He urged the government to strengthen security across Nigeria to protect communities, roads, and people, saying this would facilitate the organisation’s efforts and make Nigeria achieve maximal development and citizens’ wellbeing.
Also, Dr. Kole Shettima who is a board member, Plan International Nigeria commended the donors and partners, who have been in this journey with them and communities across the country, who have given us their hearts, their homes, and their families to work with them.
He said Plan International is in the process of becoming a national organisation as one of their dreams, in the spirit of localisation, so that it is now going to be owned, operated, and celebrated by Nigerians.
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