Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, and India’s Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt. Annpurna Devi, met on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi to discuss women’s and children’s development.
The meeting aims to explore structured cooperation to adapt proven Indian models in women’s economic empowerment, child nutrition, early childhood development, women’s safety, and gender-responsive budgeting to Nigeria’s development needs.
At the high-level bilateral meeting between both Ministers, discussions centred on converting shared demographic realities and development challenges into practical opportunities for policy learning, institutional strengthening and programmes capable of delivering measurable benefits to women and children.
A major area of proposed collaboration is women’s economic empowerment, particularly India’s self-help group, affinity group and collective models, which have been supported through successive World Bank programmes.
Market Access
Nigeria expressed interest in studying the model for possible adaptation, especially its approaches to grants and financing, skills development, entrepreneurship, market access, collective bargaining and strengthening women’s participation in local economic development.
The Ministers also identified women’s participation in manufacturing as a potential area for partnership, with India sharing labour policies designed to make workplaces more supportive of women.
These include provisions requiring establishments with more than 50 women workers to provide crèche facilities.
On women’s safety, India shared its network of safe homes operated by State Governments and NGOs under a Ministry oversight initiative.
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The facilities provide temporary accommodation, psychosocial support, counselling, legal assistance and links to government services, alongside the 181 universal women’s helpline.
Nigeria could draw from the model in developing more accessible, coordinated and survivor-centred safe spaces for women in crisis.
Another proposed area is early childhood development and childcare, with Nigeria expressing interest in India’s Anganwadi system, which integrates early childhood education, healthcare, nutrition and maternal support for children up to six years and pregnant women.
Nutrition and management of malnutrition were also prioritised, particularly India’s systems for identifying, registering, treating and monitoring malnourished children through integrated health and nutrition interventions.
The two sides further examined maternal health, including India’s maternity cash benefit programme, which provides direct financial assistance to eligible mothers while encouraging formal healthcare and facility-based delivery.
Social Protection
India’s experience with gender-responsive budgeting also emerged as a potential learning area. Its framework identifies about 9.7 per cent of the annual budget for programmes benefiting women and girls, including safety, social protection and economic empowerment initiatives.
On women’s leadership and political participation, the discussions considered India’s reserved representation for women at grassroots government level, alongside broader strategies for increasing women’s participation in legislative and decision-making institutions.
The Ministers also recognised positive masculinity as critical to gender equality, particularly in engaging men and boys on women’s economic participation, childcare, safety and prevention of gender-based violence.
Other proposed areas of cooperation include gender legislation, institutional structures, grants and financing, manufacturing, adoption and child protection, as well as technical capacity-building between relevant institutions.
Technical Exchanges
As a next step, Nigeria and India proposed exploring a structured Nigeria–India cooperation framework on women and child development, beginning with technical exchanges, institutional partnerships and study visits.
Priority areas for initial engagement include nutrition, women’s collectives, women’s safety and safe homes, early childhood development, gender budgeting and women’s economic empowerment.
The proposed partnership would provide Nigeria an opportunity to study and adapt tested Indian approaches to its own context, while creating pathways for collaboration in skills development, manufacturing, investment and women-led economic activity.
