Reported by Simon Daniel Yusuph l Journalist at Weng Global
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has called on parents, community leaders and other stakeholders in Bauchi and Gombe states to strengthen positive parenting and create safer, more supportive environments for girls as part of efforts to end child marriage and expand opportunities for the girl-child.
The call, made in connection with the 2026 International Day of the Girl, places families at the centre of efforts to protect girls from harmful practices, keep them in school and ensure they have the opportunity to determine their own futures.
UNICEF’s 2026 global theme for the International Day of the Girl is “End child marriage and invest in girls’ rights.” The agency says every girl should have the freedom to learn, grow, make choices about her life and fulfil her potential.
UNICEF Places Parents at the Centre of Child Protection
UNICEF’s message in Bauchi and Gombe reflects growing recognition that ending child marriage cannot depend only on laws and government policies.
Parents and caregivers play a critical role in determining whether girls remain in school, receive adequate protection and are supported to pursue opportunities beyond early marriage.
Positive parenting involves nurturing children through care, communication, support, guidance and non-violent discipline. UNICEF’s evidence from a decade of evaluations shows that children generally benefit when caregivers receive sustained support and when parenting programmes are connected to health, education, child protection and social services.
The agency’s evidence also indicates that information alone is often insufficient. Families require practical support, trusted relationships and community-based services capable of helping parents respond to the challenges children face.
That approach is particularly important in communities where economic pressure, social expectations and gender norms can influence decisions concerning girls’ education and marriage.
Child Marriage Remains a Major Challenge
Child marriage remains one of the most serious barriers to the rights and development of girls across Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa.
UNICEF describes child marriage as a human rights violation with serious consequences for girls, including disruption of education, early pregnancy, social isolation and reduced economic opportunities.
The organisation says more than 12 million girls worldwide are married before reaching adulthood every year, while sub-Saharan Africa has one of the highest regional burdens of child marriage. UNICEF’s 2026 International Day of the Girl information states that approximately one in five girls globally are married before the age of 18.
For Nigeria, the issue carries particular significance because the country is among those with the largest populations of child brides globally.
The consequences extend beyond individual girls. When girls leave school early and enter marriage or motherhood before they are ready, households and communities can lose opportunities to develop the education, skills and economic potential of a significant part of their population.
Ending child marriage is therefore not only a child-protection issue. It is also connected to education, public health, poverty reduction, gender equality and economic development.
Bauchi and Gombe Face Particular Pressure
The focus on Bauchi and Gombe is significant because both states have been identified in development and child-protection programmes as areas requiring sustained interventions to address vulnerabilities affecting children and adolescent girls.
UNICEF Nigeria’s 2025 annual report highlights work involving families and communities in Bauchi and Gombe, including initiatives that engage fathers and households on child health, nutrition, WASH and child protection. The report said the Fathers for Good Health initiative mobilised 26,250 households and nearly 200,000 fathers across Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa and Plateau states.
Such programmes demonstrate the importance of engaging fathers and other caregivers rather than treating child protection as an issue affecting mothers and girls alone.
The approach also reflects a wider understanding that changes in household behaviour can reinforce formal government interventions.
Where parents, religious leaders, traditional leaders, teachers and community organisations work together, girls can receive stronger protection and greater encouragement to remain in education.
Positive Parenting Can Strengthen Protection
UNICEF’s research on parenting and family-focused programmes indicates that positive parenting can contribute to child protection by improving communication between caregivers and children and reducing harmful disciplinary practices.
The agency says parenting support works best when it is sustained, adapted to families’ needs and connected to other services.
For girls facing pressure to marry early, supportive relationships with parents and caregivers can provide an important layer of protection.
A parent who listens to a girl’s concerns, supports her education and helps her understand her rights can play a major role in expanding her choices.
This does not mean placing the entire responsibility for ending child marriage on individual families.
Poverty, social expectations, insecurity, limited access to education and weak protection systems can all influence the circumstances in which families make decisions.
Consequently, stronger parenting needs to be accompanied by effective public policies and community support.
Education Remains Central to the Future of Girls
One of the most important ways of protecting girls from child marriage is keeping them in school.
UNICEF has repeatedly identified education as a critical intervention in efforts to delay marriage and improve girls’ future prospects. Its work on ending child marriage highlights quality secondary education, economic opportunities and efforts to challenge harmful gender norms among the measures needed to accelerate progress.
Education can give girls knowledge, skills and confidence while increasing their ability to participate in decisions affecting their lives.
For families, however, keeping a girl in school can become difficult when household income is limited or when social expectations place greater value on marriage than continued education.
That makes investment in education and social protection particularly important.
Communities also have a role to play in changing attitudes that treat girls primarily as future wives rather than as children and young people with rights, ambitions and economic potential.
UNICEF Calls for Investment in Girls
The International Day of the Girl campaign goes beyond preventing child marriage.
UNICEF’s 2026 theme calls for investment in girls’ rights, recognising that protection from harmful practices must be combined with opportunities for girls to learn, participate and lead.
The organisation says investments in girls can contribute to healthier families, stronger communities and more resilient societies.
This means governments and communities must consider girls’ needs across several areas, including education, health, nutrition, protection and economic empowerment.
Girls also need safe spaces where they can express their views and seek assistance when facing abuse, exploitation or pressure to leave school.
For parents, investment can begin at home through encouragement, equal treatment, communication and support for education.
The Role of Fathers and Male Community Leaders
The emphasis on parenting also raises the importance of involving fathers and male community leaders in efforts to protect girls.
UNICEF’s work in Bauchi and Gombe has included engagement with fathers and households, reflecting the recognition that men can influence decisions involving children’s health, education and protection.
In communities where fathers, traditional leaders and religious leaders have significant influence over family decisions, their support can help challenge practices that expose girls to early marriage.
Male engagement can also help shift the responsibility for raising and protecting children from being viewed primarily as a mother’s role.
Positive parenting requires participation from the entire family.
Child Marriage Has Long-Term Consequences
The effects of child marriage can extend well beyond the wedding itself.
UNICEF notes that girls who marry during childhood are more likely to leave school and face risks associated with early pregnancy. The practice can also limit employment prospects and reinforce cycles of poverty.
When a girl leaves school early, she may lose opportunities to acquire skills that could later improve her economic independence.
Early marriage can also expose girls to increased health and protection risks.
For this reason, preventing child marriage is not simply about delaying a ceremony. It is about protecting a girl’s childhood and creating conditions in which she can develop her abilities before making major decisions about adulthood.
A Wider African Challenge
The issue extends beyond Bauchi and Gombe.
UNICEF says child marriage remains particularly prevalent in West and Central Africa, where about 41 per cent of girls are married before reaching age 18. The region contains six of the world’s 10 countries with the highest child-marriage rates.
The agency has therefore called for approaches that combine community dialogue, support for girls to remain in school, stronger services and legal and policy measures.
Africa’s rapidly growing population makes the issue increasingly urgent.
If girls are protected, educated and supported, they can contribute significantly to their families and economies. If they are excluded from education and pushed into early marriage, countries lose part of the potential represented by an entire generation.
Why the UNICEF Message Matters
The appeal to parents and leaders in Bauchi and Gombe matters because laws alone cannot eliminate child marriage.
Legislation can establish minimum standards and penalties, but social practices often change when families and communities understand the consequences and actively support alternatives.
That is why positive parenting, community mobilisation and investment in girls need to work together.
The responsibility also extends to government.
Authorities must ensure that schools are accessible and safe, child-protection systems function effectively and vulnerable families can access services that reduce pressures contributing to child marriage.
Civil society organisations, religious institutions, traditional authorities and development partners also have roles to play.
What Happens Next
The effectiveness of the call will depend on whether the message is translated into sustained action at household, community and government levels.
Parents can support girls by encouraging education, listening to their concerns, avoiding violence and creating environments where children can seek help.
Community leaders can challenge harmful social norms and encourage families to keep girls in school.
Governments can strengthen child-protection systems, improve access to education and health services and ensure that laws protecting children are implemented effectively.
UNICEF’s broader approach to ending child marriage also emphasises social protection, education, legal reform and efforts to address harmful gender norms.
The ultimate measure of progress will not simply be the number of awareness campaigns held. It will be whether fewer girls are forced into marriage before adulthood, whether more remain in school and whether families and communities increasingly recognise girls as individuals whose rights, aspirations and futures deserve protection.
Conclusion
UNICEF’s appeal to parents and leaders in Bauchi and Gombe places positive parenting at the heart of a much broader effort to protect girls and end child marriage.
The message is clear: protecting the girl-child requires more than reacting after harm has occurred.
Families must provide support and encouragement. Communities must challenge harmful practices. Governments must strengthen systems and enforce protections. And girls themselves must be given the education, confidence and opportunity to participate in decisions affecting their lives.
As UNICEF marks the 2026 International Day of the Girl under the theme of ending child marriage and investing in girls’ rights, the challenge for Nigeria is to turn commitments into practical change.
Every girl protected from child marriage and supported to remain in school represents not only an individual future preserved, but an investment in the future of her family, community and country.
Weng Global – stories beyond borders
Sources
- UNICEF
- UNICEF Nigeria
- UNICEF West and Central Africa
- UNICEF Data and Research
- UNICEF Evaluation
