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Christian Aid has been working in Nigeria since 2003 and has a reputation as an organisation that respects its local partners, delivers quality and cost-effective programmes, and is willing to learn from, and share its learning with, others.

Our vision is for a just, equitable and peaceful Nigerian society, where poverty has been eradicated and every person is empowered to live life in all its fullness.

We seek an end to poverty in Nigeria by challenging systems and structures that perpetuate inequality and favour the rich over the poor. This is done through our three core strategic programme areas:

  • Health
  • Governance and social development
  • Humanitarian work

We work to improve the health of poor and marginalised people; raise community voices to demand accountability through advocacy and promoting engagement between people and government; improve gender equity and the participation of women and girls in development initiatives; and respond to humanitarian emergencies to alleviate the suffering of people affected by conflict and disaster.

In recent years, we have adopted a structural approach, incorporating cross-cutting themes such as social and behaviour change communication, monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL), advocacy and gender into all of our work.

Our aims

  1. Empower poor and marginalised people to make informed decisions about their lives and engage meaningfully in their own development.
  2. Improve health for poor and marginalised people, particularly women, children and vulnerable people.
  3. Increase government accountability and responsiveness.
  4. Encourage the inclusion of women and marginalised groups in decision-making processes. 
  5. Improve gender equity and human rights.
  6. Ensure fairer distribution of wealth to close the gap between rich and poor.
  7. Greater equity and respect for human rights.

Looking for more in-depth information?

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In Nigeria we work on...

Health

We improve the health of poor and marginalised people, particularly women, children and people with compromised immunity through integrated community-based health interventions, ensuring accountable health governance in communities. We help to strengthen systems that improve access of vulnerable population to health services through advocacy for inclusive health policies. We empower and build the resilience of local communities to take responsibility for their own health, using community participatory tools and social behaviour change communication strategies.

Governance and social development

Our governance and gender programme seeks to improve government accountability and responsiveness to the needs of poor and marginalised people. We are helping communities to raise their voices to demand accountability, promoting engagement between people and government and strengthening community structures. We promote inclusive participation by ensuring gender equity and the participation of women and girls in development activities, by challenging harmful socio-cultural norms that make women and girls in Nigeria suffer systematic disadvantages.

Humanitarian response

Increasing insecurity and violence in the northern part of Nigeria has led to millions of people becoming displaced and losing their sources of livelihood. We have built strategic partnerships that have enabled us to respond to the needs of those affected by the crises. We have provided relief to over 400,000 displaced people since this work began in 2016. Our work in north-east Nigeria has improved the food security and livelihoods of internally displaced people in Adamawa, Borno, Benue and Gombe states. Our work cuts across emergency response, livelihoods, protection and WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) among the most vulnerable populations in conflict areas.

'We now shine bright like stars'

- Theresa Nnatoanya, Beneficiary and community leader.

Where we work

We work in areas where the need is greatest and we have strong existing partnerships. Currently, we operate in 11 states, and have offices in Anambra, Benue, Borno, Kaduna, Plateau, as well as our main country office in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Key achievements

Community health and HIV

The Strengthening Community Health and HIV Response project, was a 5-year project funded by UK aid which delivered community health and HIV work through trained community health agents. More than 1.6 million people in rural communities were supported to take up health services and adopt preventive health practices.

Our partner, the Association of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (ASWHAN), has contributed to the successful campaign for legislation to prohibit discrimination and provide legal protection for the 3.4 million Nigerians living with HIV.

Christian Aid in partnership with the National Association of Faith Leaders Living With/Affected by HIV/AIDS (NINERELA) engages faith communities on HIV/AIDS and on responding to sexual and gender-based violence. The project aims to reduce HIV-related stigma and discrimination in faith congregations/communities and improve the uptake of HIV services. The project has trained 36 religious leaders on HIV prevention and stigma reduction and mitigation. Almost 6000 people received HIV counselling and testing, while more than 6,000 were reached with interactive online radio with messages on prevention, stigma reduction and mitigation.

Partnership for Improved Child Health (PICH), a three-year UK Aid Match funded project, aims to expand access to free life-saving treatment for under-fives in hard to reach communities in Benue State. Trained community volunteers treat children affected by malaria, pneumonia and diarrhea. More than 200,000 children have been reached directly and the project has indirectly reached more than 1.5 million people. Health Legacy Strands 2 (HLS2), an add-on nutrition component to PICH is an evidence-based response to malnutrition in children in Benue. HLS2 has distributed 21,000 supplementary food packs since inception.

Christian Aid is delivering Closing the Gap to Sustainable Health Care Access through Health Insurance (CHAIN) in collaboration with the Nigeria Health Watch to lead civil society dialogue and policy-advocacy which improves Nigerians access to healthcare. CHAIN contributed to the process that led to the passing of the Benue State Health Insurance Bill.

Governance and Social Development

Voice to the People (V2P) supported communities in Kaduna state and the south-east region of Nigeria to take ownership of their own development by driving accountability among their governments and leaders, take part in decision-making and raising their voices to demand their rights and services. The UK aid-funded project has reached an estimated 30 million people through social media and radio programmes and has directly supported 52,162 citizens.

The Collective Action for Adolescent Girl Initiative (CAAGI) aims to improve the choices and opportunities for adolescent girls in Kaduna, northern Nigeria, to live more productive and meaningful lives. CAAGI’s major strategies are sensitisation and capacity building especially for faith and traditional leaders, creation of safe space, and community-led advocacy.

Improving Early Warning and Early Response Systems to Strengthen Disaster Preparedness in Nigeria’s Middle Belt (E4E) funded by European Commission’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) aims to influence positive behaviour change of individuals and communities towards both the reduction of flooding in vulnerable areas and early response to flood warnings. The project covers Benue, Kaduna and Plateau states and also seeks to strengthen the efforts of government agencies/authorities towards implementing early warning systems.

Side-by-Side is a growing global movement of people of faith who want to see gender justice become a reality across the world. Through this movement, faith and traditional leaders work together to pursue transformational change for gender justice by addressing the inequality and powerlessness faced by women and girls who suffer systematic disadvantage and discrimination – particularly those who are poor, live in rural areas, and are from particular social groups. Christian Aid is working through a national-level Faith Actors Dialogue Forum across all 36 states.

Building Early Warning Response Systems (BEWERS) focused on working with community members to understand the root causes of conflict. The initiative strengthened relationships between security agencies and communities, and built community resilience to conflict through expanded cooperation, tolerance, understanding and equity. The project worked with religious and traditional leaders, women and youth groups, including artisans. Special consideration was given to people with disabilities to ensure inclusivity.

Humanitarian

Through our humanitarian interventions in north-east Nigeria, we have improved the food security and livelihoods of 27,532 internally displaced people in Adamawa, Borno and Gombe states. We also constructed WASH facilities and conducted WASH sensitisation in communities. Since 2016, Christian Aid has implemented 10 projects, seven of which are still ongoing, reaching more than 400,000 people. Almost 12,000 people have benefited from unconditional cash assistance and 169,000 have been reached with food assistance through our humanitarian work.

Our programmes

List programme reports – by location

Accelerating Localisation Through Partnerships

Accelerating Localisation Through Partnerships aims to foster the power of strong partnerships between national and local NGOs and INGOs.

Collective action for adolescent girls, Nigeria

In 2017, ITL began funding a new project in northern Nigeria, where child marriage is rife, focusing on girls aged 10-19.

Disaster Reduction and Social Safety (DRaSS)

DRaSS aims to save lives and protect the health and livelihoods of vulnerable people from the impact of climate-related disasters with focus on flooding.

Evidence and Collaboration for Inclusive Development (ECID)

ECID is a four-year programme funded by the UK Government which aims to reduce poverty, realise rights and improve the well-being of the most marginalised in Myanmar, Nigeria and Zimbabwe

The Global Fund

The Global Fund is helping to strengthen health systems and to improve malaria treatment and prevention in Nigeria.

UK Aid Match 4

Reducing child mortality and morbidity rates in Benue State, Nigeria. Our Partnership for Improved Child Health (PICH), Christian Aid Nigeria’s flagship UK Aid match funded health project, closed in August 2019.

Voice to the People (V2P)

Voice to the People (V2P) Voice to the People (V2P) was a good governance project supporting communities in Kaduna state and the Southeast region of Nigeria to take ownership of their own development. It ended in 2018.

News, blogs and stories

List articles by location - Particle

Going ‘vertical’ is critical for success in accountable governance

Achieving sustainable and replicable change through accountable governance

Picture Power Nigeria

Community members and health volunteers documented the challenges they face and the benefits of the UK Aid Match programme through the medium of photography.

Nigeria’s path to social justice

Adebola Fatilewa, from Christian Aid Nigeria, explores how minority and marginalised groups in Nigeria have been left behind, showing why our ECID programme puts socially excluded people’s experiences at the centre of policy decisions.

Celebrating #WomenHumanitarians

Christian Aid Nigeria joins the international community on World Humanitarian Day to celebrate the unsung heroes who are often are subjected to harsh and dangerous conditions, putting their lives at risk to help others who are affected by crisis.

Empowering everyone to empower others

Stories of change from our CAAGI programme in Nigeria.

Reports and resources

List Resources – by location

A Community Reporters Guide

A guide to support community development and to empower stakeholders in engaging governance processes.

Community Based Monitors Guide

This guide breaks down the role of a community based monitoring and how they act as active citizens to ensure government works for the people.

Community Development Perspective to Civic and Voter Education

This manual gives precision and direction to communities on Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA) for community development.

Doing Accountability Differently

This document explores the practice and results of Christian Aid's Voice to the People Programme in Anambra State, Nigeria.

Doing Accountability Differently - Summary Paper

This paper summaries the practice and results of Christian Aid's Voice to the People Programme in Anambra State, Nigeria.

Improving the Choices and opportunities for adolescent girls - A toolkit for faith leaders

Improving the Choices and opportunities for adolescent girls - A toolkit for faith leaders

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