For immediate release
As part of our mission to flatten the curve of unwanted pregnancies among women and adolescent girls in Nigeria, we are excited to announce the launch of our 2024 Belle by Choice Challenge.
In this year’s challenge, we are not alone, we have formed a movement #BelleByChoiceMovement for collective action with Advocate for Peace Nature and Gender Justice (APNAG), Assist Women and Develop Children Initiative, Association for the Restoration of the Dignity of Womanhood, Women for women empowerment CBO, Empowering Women for Excellence Initiative, Women for Decency International Outreach, GENDER ABREAST HEALTH FOUNDATION (GA, NGICHE GROUP OF COMPANY, Network For Youth Enlightenment And Development N-YED, Abdulganiyu Lawal, Kabaa Digital Resource Centre, Centre for Communities Education and Youth Development, Abraham’s Children Foundation, G.O.Lawalson Trading Company, The Young and Woman initiative, Bethel Viva Foundation, Centre for Communities Education and Youth Development, Freehearts Africa Reach Out Foundation (FAROF) and many more you can also join the movement.
The challenge will commence from the 1st of September 2024 through December 2024 to commemorate the 3rd anniversary of our Belle by Choice and the 2024 World Contraception Day.
This year, we are setting another challenge to reach 10,000 Men and boys and get them involved to end rape, sexual & intimate partner violence, child marriages, stigma and break barriers to women and adolescent girls’ access and uptake of modern contraception and family planning commodities and services.
Nigeria accounts for 2.5 million cases of unwanted pregnancies reported annually, contributing to a concerning maternal mortality ratio of 512 per 100,000 live births, as per the reports of the UNFPA in 2022 and the Federal Ministry of Health in 2020. The lack of men’s involvement has contributed to the slow uptake of contraception and family planning and this has played a major role in the high rate of unintended pregnancies, preventable maternal mortality, and unsafe abortion in our country. Urgent action is needed, and we strongly believe that men’s active involvement in preventing child marriage, sexual violence, rape and of course child spacing and birth control can make a substantial difference in addressing these issues.
Through the 2024 10k Men Give Belle By Choice Not by Force challenge we want to address the roots and underlying causes of unwanted, and unplanned pregnancies such as rape, child marriage, sexual/intimate partners violence, and stigma surrounding women and adolescent sexuality and increase the access and uptake of modern contraception among women and adolescent girls particularly those in the vulnerable and displaced settings by reaching out to and engaging men and boys, particularly the community leaders, family heads, religious/traditional leaders, youths and men including those in the hard to reach communities.
We are calling on women’s sexual rights advocates and civil society actors, development partners, media, and government to join our #BelleByChoiceMovement and together we will reduce the incidence of unwanted pregnancy and its attendant problems such as unsafe abortion, maternal mortality rate, girls’ school dropout, child marriage among others.
For more information about the #BelleByChoice Campaign or to volunteer, donate or coordinate the 10,000 Give Belle by Choice campaign in your community or State, please get in touch with Matina Ebri by sending us an email to African Girls Empowerment Network: operations@agenetwork.org, Tel/WhatsApp +2348062762068
To learn more about the 10k Men Give Belle by Choice Campaign on the links below: https://youtu.be/F90Y0j_NXm8?si=_hRW0l4RoFB2Z9L5,
https://youtu.be/4CU0i-zvBiE?si=3ONKapxrGvKni9Te, view the impact report of the challenge recorded last year https://youtu.be/7_Vq_AudPZU?si=qDNLsoaRH23hFihe, and a Short Drama by students of College of Education Akpankpa, CRS, https://youtu.be/BTzh34yV5MM?si=bnm3nPufBd0hwUj3
To join the #BellebyChoiceMovement
Click the link to sign up as a member and join the movement: https://forms.gle/qxbDZhntQYcu7XAu7
#MenGiveBelleByChoiceNotByForce
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Notes to Editors
African Girls Empowerment Network (AGE Network), is a registered young female frontline civil society organization dedicated to reducing gender inequality by empowering and advancing the human rights of young women and girls, particularly those in displacement & vulnerable settings. We advance gender equality in girls’ education, promote young women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, bolster women’s role in leadership and economic inclusion, and strengthen the capacity of young women’s and girls’-led groups in Nigeria. (www.agenetwork.org, stem.agenetwork.org)
