Nigeria’s Honourable Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim has charged the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to move beyond policy declarations and translate resolutions of the National Council on Women Affairs, Child Advancement and Social Development into concrete action, measurable results and improved living conditions for women, children, families and vulnerable Nigerians.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim, FSI, gave the charge at the formal opening of the 26th National Council on Women Affairs, Child Advancement and Social Development in Jalingo, Taraba State, with the theme: “Strengthening Families and Advancing the Care Economy for Inclusive Development: Operationalizing Nigeria’s Renewed Social Protection Architecture.”
Hajiya Imaan stressed that the deliberate focus on “operationalizing” Nigeria’s renewed social protection architecture was intended to shift attention from policy formulation to implementation at the grassroots.
According to her, the central question was no longer what government’s position on women, children and families was, but whether those policies and interventions were actually being delivered in communities across the country.
She noted that the declaration of 2026 as the Year of Families and Social Development by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, had placed families and the systems that protect them at the centre of national transformation.
The Minister disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development had developed, reviewed and validated 38 new policy instruments, bringing its portfolio to 42 instruments, covering national policies, guidelines, action plans, implementation frameworks, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, standard operating procedures, legislative amendments and a proposed Bill.
She explained that the instruments addressed critical areas including childcare, adoption, orphanages and residential care, child protection, shelters for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, gender mainstreaming, workplace gender equality, menstrual health and hygiene, women’s economic empowerment, social protection, disability services, family support and community inclusion.
Hajiya Imaan also called for deliberate investment in the care economy, describing care work as critical economic infrastructure rather than a private responsibility to be absorbed silently within households.
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She said the disproportionate burden of unpaid care work carried by women remained a major barrier to their participation in the formal economy.
According to her, investment in childcare, elderly and disability care, community health, early childhood development and social care infrastructure would simultaneously create decent jobs, reduce women’s unpaid care burden and increase their participation in productive activities.
She further emphasized that recognizing care work was consistent with Nigeria’s international obligations, including CEDAW, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, relevant African human rights instruments, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and the Sustainable Development Goals.
She further emphasized that recognizing care work was consistent with Nigeria’s international obligations, including CEDAW, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, relevant African human rights instruments, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and the Sustainable Development Goals.
She also disclosed that a lot of empowerment programs projects taking place, Some have already been implemented and a lot of women has shown interest in them.
The Minister further called for stronger coordination among Federal and State Governments and development partners, proposing a quarterly Federal, State and development partner technical coordination platform to align program work plans and interventions.
She also announced the introduction of performance awards for States, recognizing excellence in the domestication of national instruments, budgetary commitment, program delivery and reach, data reporting and innovation.
