Social Policy

See how UNICEF is supporting the government of Nigeria to provide social protection in Nigeria.

Schoolchildren by the class window
UNICEF/2018/Esiebo

The Challenge

Every child has the right to survival, growth, development and participation. Protecting and fulfilling these rights requires budgets, laws and social policies that promote equity.

Nigeria is beset by high levels of disparity in terms of access to social services and income distribution. Disparities are socio-economic – linked among others to types of employment and levels of education of the parents– as well as geographic, mainly between North and South and between rural and urban areas. Gender inequality is pervasive in Nigeria, in terms of political representation, access to and control over land, credit facilities, technologies, education and health. Large numbers of people live in poverty, both monetary and multidimensional.

Solution

We work to ensure that more boys, girls and adolescents, particularly the most vulnerable, benefit from enabling policies and social protection to live free from poverty.​
A girl sits in class

Support the design and drafting of child-sensitive, costed national and state level development plans, bills and policies.

Children sit in a classroom in northeast Nigeria

Ensure public finance delivers results through child-focused social sector planning and spending.

Women dancing at an event

Build local capacity and community participation to promote inclusiveness and avoid discrimination​.

A girl stands in front of a class

Support social transfers (cash and in-kind support) to facilitate access to health services and girls’ education​.

Children sit by a classroom window

Enhance access to essential social services – Revised National Social Protection Policy and National Cash and Voucher Assistance Strategy.

A boy holding a UNICEF school bag

Monitor the impact of policies and interventions.

Resources

Social policy publications and reports