Nigeria accounts for almost half of West Africa’s population with approximately 213 million people, and has an extremely young population. At-risk women and girls are being targeted for sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, rape and forced marriage (for illegal adoption and ritual purposes), organ harvesting, and street begging. Economic hardship, enhanced by the pandemic, corruption, political instability, and violent conflict, has disrupted rural commerce and livelihoods. Recent analyses (https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-trafficking-in-persons-report/nigeria)also highlight the prevalence of forced labor. High-risk industries include mining, textile manufacturing and agriculture, and those most at risk include rural citizens, those internally displaced, and those working informally (particularly including migrants). Inflation has heightened the cost of survival, and most rural Nigerians are not protected by underdeveloped social protections. More have become vulnerable, indebted, and desperate as a result. In the areas we are actively working in, we have seen growing distress and hunger, and families made more susceptible to trafficking and enslavement.

Arise started working in Nigeria in 2021 and has since implemented 28 grants delivering long-term prevention projects with a variety of frontline groups. The grants have focused on skills training, awareness, financial security, and capital spending. At the outset of our work, Arise partnered with the Nigerian Conference of Women Religious (NCWR), supporting congregations across Nigeria to raise awareness about human trafficking and implement projects to bring about long-lasting, locally-led change. In a recent external independent evaluation, the growth of Arise’s work in Nigeria was praised, and long term benefits - including increased threat awareness and bolstered financial security - were identified.

Continue facilitating and supporting locally-led prevention projects in high-risk areas across Nigeria. Prioritize entrepreneurship programs for at-risk young people, focus on sustainability of programs by including more community leaders in all awareness raising and projects, and finally focus more directly on specific geographical areas of Nigeria that need further support. Implement more projects to support the work of the NCWR working against human trafficking. Continue our capacity building support and training to the frontline groups we work with, enhancing their reach, effectiveness, and sustainability. Launch of the MEL App – an app designed to measure and evaluate projects in real time.