Nigeria secures $2.95m grant to advance girls’ education

Nigeria has secured a $2.95 million grant from the Malala Fund to support organisations working to strengthen girls’ rights, improve education financing and expand access to and completion of secondary education.

The grant was disclosed in the Malala Fund’s 2025-2026 Annual Report, which highlighted the organisation’s work with partners to influence policies and systems that keep girls out of school in Nigeria and other countries.

According to the report, the Nigerian funding is being channelled to organisations working directly with girls and communities to remove barriers to education and improve opportunities for girls to enrol in and complete secondary school.

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Globally, the Malala Fund awarded $9.8 million in grants during the year and, with its partners, contributed to six significant policy and implementation changes across Nigeria and Pakistan.

The report said more than 122 million girls are currently out of school worldwide, with barriers including conflict, displacement, child marriage, early motherhood, poverty and inadequate education infrastructure.

It identified child marriage and early motherhood as major factors pushing girls out of school in Nigeria and Tanzania, while other countries face challenges such as restrictions on girls’ education, shortages of female teachers and the cost of schooling.

The Malala Fund stressed that national policy commitments and global promises alone could not overcome the barriers confronting girls, noting that civil society organisations embedded in communities played a critical role in translating commitments into funded and implemented action.

It said the organisations build evidence, challenge social norms, convene coalitions and hold governments accountable for delivering on education commitments.

The report also disclosed that 66 per cent of funding under the organisation’s Education Champion Network went to organisations led by young women during the year.

The Malala Fund said investment in girls’ education had major economic implications, estimating that failure to enable girls to complete secondary education could cost the world between $15 trillion and $30 trillion in lost productivity and earnings.

It added that girls’ education influenced economic growth, labour force participation, financial inclusion and health outcomes across generations.

The report further highlighted the organisation’s five-year strategy, launched last year, which focuses on working with local advocates, civil society coalitions and governments to influence policies, financing and systems that determine whether girls complete their education.

The Malala Fund said it would deepen and accelerate the work as part of its efforts to ensure every girl can learn and choose her future.