Advocacy Project—Incorporating Girl's Education in the Rivers State Climate Change Bill

The project examines how climate-related challenges—including flooding, displacement, environmental degradation, loss of livelihoods, and household economic pressures—can disrupt girls’ education and increase their vulnerability to dropping out of school. Through this project, WITI is working to ensure that climate action in Rivers State accounts for the specific ways climate change can affect girls and their ability to remain in school.

As part of the project, data is being collected from 15 selected secondary schools across four Local Government Areas in Rivers State. The data collection is helping to build an evidence base around the experiences and challenges faced by students and schools in relation to climate change and education. The findings will be used to strengthen advocacy and support recommendations for the inclusion of gender-responsive provisions in the Rivers State Climate Change Bill.

The project also involves engagement with relevant stakeholders, including schools, civil society organizations, policymakers, and other actors working on climate change, education, and gender equality. These engagements are intended to create space for dialogue around the importance of protecting girls’ education within climate policies and ensuring that climate responses do not leave girls behind.

WITI is also advocating for climate policies that recognize the interconnectedness of climate justice, gender equality, and education. By bringing girls’ education into conversations around climate change, the project seeks to contribute to a more inclusive and responsive climate framework for Rivers State.

The project will culminate in advocacy and policy engagement aimed at ensuring that the Rivers State Climate Change Bill 2026 incorporates meaningful gender-responsive provisions that protect and promote girls’ continued access to education in the face of climate change.

Through this work, WITI hopes to demonstrate that climate action is not only about protecting the environment—it is also about protecting people's rights, opportunities, education, and futures.

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