Nigeria 2018 Chart page

Women’s ability to earn money is not only a fundamental economic right but also critical to improving their and their family’s wellbeing. Through our programme, women gain knowledge in small business management and in a vocational skill (e.g. tailoring) that can help them to earn. In Nigeria, around 50% of the population live in extreme poverty. This data shows that with investment and support, marginalised women are able to lift themselves out of poverty and provide more stability for their families.

45% of women graduates of our programme in the Nigeria reported personal earnings of at least $1.90 a day*, compared to 9% at enrolment.

*$1.90 a day is the international extreme poverty line set by the World Bank.

Savings and assets are critical for women and households to cope with economic shocks, by providing a safety net for hard times. For women living in poverty, savings can be seen as an unaffordable luxury. In our programme, women learn how they can save even on a low income.

95% of graduates of our programme in Nigeria reported saving a portion of their earnings, compared to 42% at enrolment.

Food security is a key indicator of wellbeing and decreasing poverty. Food security is not just about having access to enough food but also nutritious food. Nutrition is a key part of our training, supporting women and their family’s health and wellbeing.

Upon graduating from our year-long programme, 99% of women reported having sufficient food in the house in the last four weeks, compared to 83% of women at enrolment.

56% of women on our programme in Nigeria reported sometimes or frequently practicing family planning at graduation compared to 10% at enrolment.

The significant increase in the number of women practicing family planning is extremely encouraging. As well as supporting women to know their reproductive rights, our programme supports women to have greater decision-making power (which we see in Goal 5.6), access to referral services such as access to contraceptives and increase their self-efficacy (which we see in 5.1) – all of which contribute to the increase in women who practice family planning.

Many of the women we serve have never completed primary school due to discrimination in their communities that undervalue girls and blocks them from opportunities. Increases in education for girls is a positive sign of change across generations.
 
Women graduates of our programme in Nigeria reported 59% of girls in school compared to 56% at enrolment.

Women gaining confidence is central to their empowerment, believing in themselves and their abilities to participate, engage and affect change for themselves, their facilities and communities. It is also a positive sign of recovery from trauma and isolation.

The perceived self-efficacy of the women on our programme in Nigeria has increased on graduation, from 0.40 on average to 0.82 on a scale of 0-1.

In the conservative communities where we work women are denied influence over decision-making, including over their own bodies. Our data highlights an important shift in women’s voices being heard in decision-making which should also lead to positive changes in wellbeing and self-efficacy.

89% of women graduates of our programme in Nigeria reported at graduation being involved in decisions about having more children compared to 20% at enrolment.

Women face multiple barriers in accessing employment. For example, in Nigeria, attitudes in communities favour men working with women expected to stay at home to cook, clean and look after the children. Yet women’s employment is critical to their economic opportunities.

On graduation of our programme, 97% of women reported employment across all occupation levels compared to 69% at enrolment.

Conflict and poverty increase women’s vulnerability to all forms of violence, with violence acting as both a consequence and driver of discrimination with women surviving violence being more vulnerable to further abuse. According to national statistics, 16% of women in Nigeria have experienced intimate partner violence in their lifetime. This is a significant increase in women’s confidence to speak out against violence against women.

14% of graduates from our programme reported publicly speaking out against abuse of women compared to 3% at enrolment.

Women’s engagement with groups in their community demonstrates women’s increasing participation. Informal networks are key for providing social and economic support as well as group decision-making skills through elections of committees to manage the group.

The percentage of women who were a member of a group outside of our training had increased by the end of our year-long programme in Nigeria, from 94% at graduation compared to 72% at enrolment.