By Nafisat Makinde
Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman Ibrahim, has revealed that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has taken concrete steps to integrate family-focused approaches into national policy. Speaking at the ongoing ministerial session of the International Family Forum (IFF) with 26 ministerial participants, Sulaiman-Ibrahim highlighted efforts centered on repositioning the care economy through strengthening caregiving systems and protecting vulnerable populations.
According to a statement by her Special Adviser on Media & Publicity, Mr Jonathan Eze, Sulaiman-Ibrahim made this disclosure in Abuja on Thursday. The minister emphasized that Nigeria has placed families at the forefront of her national development through the Renewed Hope Agenda of the current administration, which she described as unprecedented.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim acknowledged the challenges faced by families in navigating a rapidly evolving world, citing urbanization, digital exposure, economic pressures, migration, population boom, unprecedented and prolonged humanitarian crisis, health pandemics, and shifts in societal values redefining the dynamics of family sanctity. She expressed that these realities have compelled the Nigerian government to collectively invest in family-oriented policies that are both protective and transformative in nature.
The minister highlighted the significance of the 2025 United Nations International Day of Families, celebrated under the theme, “Family-Oriented Policies for Sustainable Development: Towards the Second World Summit for Social Development”. She noted that this theme reflects the collective efforts of governments in advancing global dialogue through family-oriented policies that advance sustainable development.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim announced that Nigeria has taken proactive measures to strengthen family cohesion initiatives, including the National Framework for Family Cohesion, the National Family Strengthening and Development Programme (NFSP), the Committee for Family Cohesion, the Nigerian for Women Programme, and the National Guidelines for Alternative Care for Children.
The minister received applause from delegates as she announced the introduction of the National Guidelines for Alternative Care for Children, aimed at ensuring vulnerable children receive appropriate care. She emphasized that the guidelines complement the National Plan of Action on Ending Violence Against Children, recently launched by Nigeria.
In her concluding remarks, Sulaiman-Ibrahim invited multilateral institutions to increase investments in family policies, establish funding mechanisms for family-centered social protection, and integrate family well-being into the sustainable development agenda. She affirmed Nigeria’s readiness to partner with all nations to develop an international framework for promoting family resilience and support the adoption of a Joint Declaration on family.
