Canada Pledges 15.75M CAD for Women's Voice & Leadership Nigeria Project Phase II

• The Government of Canada will contribute $15.75 million Canadian doll, to support the second phase of the Women's Voice and Leadership Nigeria (WVL-N) Project
• The project is focused on strengthening women's rights organizations, improving gender equality and responding to gender-based violence across Nigeria

The Canadian government has pledged 15.75 million Canadian dollars to phase two of the Women's Voice and Leadership Nigeria (WVL-N) Project, which is being executed by ActionAid Nigeria.

The project is a five-year endeavor aimed at strengthening women's rights organizations, promoting gender equality projects, and combating gender violence in Nigeria.

As ActionAid Nigeria Country Director Andrew Mamedu noted, the project is targeting 350,000 women directly and 2.7 million indirectly through the activities of 188 women-led organizations. The priority states will be eight, while funds are provided for interventions in all 36 states, as well as emergency response provisions.

The project will focus on a number of groups such as women with disabilities, women experiencing gender-based violence, women in politics and leadership, and women experiencing social or economic exclusion.

ActionAid Nigeria said implementation will entail working with federal and state governments, government ministries and agencies, and development partners.

During the project launch in Abuja, Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria Pasquale Salvaggio pointed out Canada's assistance for gender equality and cited the wider global Women's Voice and Leadership program, which has assisted over 2,200 women's rights and feminist organizations across over 30 nations.

The Nigerian initiative will be implemented at the national level, focusing on localisation, inclusion, and sustainability.