KANO, Nigeria – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has empowered 95,556 adolescents with vital vocational skills, financial literacy, and safe spaces in Katsina State, under its REACH (Reaching and Empowering Adolescent Girls in North-West Nigeria) programme.
The initiative, implemented across six local government areas — Katsina, Kafur, Kankara, Rimi, Baure, and Mani — was showcased during a community town-hall meeting in Katsina designed to review and consolidate its impact.
UNICEF Education Specialist, Muntaka Muhammad-Mukhtar, revealed that the two-year programme aims to “boost school enrollment, retention, and completion for adolescents in vulnerable communities.”
Beneficiaries — both girls and boys — were trained in high-demand skills such as knitting, crochet, henna art, cap making, and throw pillow design. These skills are aligned with market trends to help youth generate sustainable income.
UNICEF Adolescent Development Specialist, Ngozi Izuora-Songu, noted that out-of-school girls and survivors of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) were key beneficiaries.
“The vocational skills acquired by the girls aligned with local market demands, making their products highly marketable,” she said.
She added that medical kits were donated to six health centres and that over 150 traditional and religious leaders, as well as security personnel, were sensitised on child protection and GBV response.
The town-hall meeting also served as a platform for dialogue among adolescent girls, parents, educators, and officials to evaluate the barriers girls face in transitioning from primary to secondary education.
