The Girl-Child and Social Protection in Nigeria

Abstract

Social protection strategies and policy frameworks have often neglected children’s vulnerability to violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect. Yet, children need special attention in social protection policy as they are often more vulnerable than the adult. In Nigeria, there is no overarching policy on social protection and no national policy on social assistance and for vulnerable children in particular. Even as there is a need to focus on Nigerian children in general, particularly, there is an urgent need for an understanding of the multiple and often intersecting vulnerabilities and risks that the girl-child face, which are often higher than those faced by boys. This study, therefore, examines the state of social protection in Nigeria; the vulnerabilities and risks that threaten the social and economic wellbeing of the girl-child in Nigeria; the mechanisms and initiatives that the Nigerian government can put in place to enhance social protection in general and that of the girl-child, in particular; and the roles nongovernmental actors play in the provision of social protection in Nigeria.