Ms Theresa Effa, Country Director for Rise Up Together in Nigeria, said the organisation identifies passionate leaders focused on women’s empowerment, equipping them with targeted training and strategic support to strengthen gender-focused interventions.
Effa spoke in Abuja on Saturday at the close of a six-day 2025 Nigeria Advocacy and Leadership Accelerator Workshop, which brought together selected leaders committed to driving meaningful social change across communities.
She explained that the initiative received support from Cummins Inc., a global power solutions company prioritising equity and social impact through investments that strengthened gender justice, leadership capacity, and community-led policy advocacy efforts in multiple countries.
According to her, Rise Up operates in several African countries, across South Asia, and within the United States, building networks of advocates who advance equitable policies and champion the rights of women and girls.
“In Nigeria, we have worked with NGO leaders since 2014 to promote gender justice for women and girls.
This year’s activity represents our sixth cohort, strengthening leadership and advocacy capacities nationwide,” she said.
She said the programme strengthens leaders working on women’s empowerment, ensuring they gain advocacy tools, strategic planning skills, and community engagement techniques required to advance systemic change and improve outcomes for underserved populations.
Effa noted that the organisation emphasises policy advocacy, guiding leaders to engage policymakers and institutions to address structural barriers facing women and girls and to achieve sustainable improvements in gender development indicators.
She highlighted ongoing advocacy in STEM education, where leaders push for policies encouraging girls’ participation, enabling more women to access science and technology careers and benefit from inclusive economic opportunities nationwide.
“We are also working on gender-based violence, supporting improved laws and policies that protect women and girls. We have trained nearly 200 leaders who now drive change across multiple Nigerian communities,” she added.
Effa said Rise Up operates in five key states, including the FCT, prioritising areas with poor gender development indicators and supporting initiatives that promote inclusion, safety, education, and better opportunities for disadvantaged groups.
She explained that leaders are trained to advocate for policy reforms and work directly with government decision-makers, ensuring interventions address root causes and produce long-lasting benefits for community development efforts nationwide.
According to her, a notable achievement came from a leader in the fifth cohort who helped develop a girl-child policy in Nasarawa State, which expanded access to education and strengthened girls’ protection.
She said the policy increased school accessibility for girls, attracting government funding to renovate learning facilities and provide cash transfers supporting caregivers, thereby reducing barriers that keep girls from completing their education.
“We are confident this new cohort will achieve outstanding results. Rise Up will continue supporting them through funding, technical assistance, and follow-up engagements as they advance gender justice across communities,” Effa said.
Ms Jennifer Broome, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Rise Up Together, said the organisation is a US-based nonprofit working globally, including in Nigeria, to expand advocacy efforts that advance equity for women and girls.
Broome expressed excitement about training the sixth cohort of leaders, noting that their work focuses on strengthening advocacy strategies, improving policy outcomes, and expanding opportunities for women and girls nationwide through impactful community engagement.
“This training will help improve education, healthcare, and economic prospects for women and girls, creating long-term transformational change. The 25 leaders in this cohort are already achieving remarkable progress,” she noted.
“They will apply the knowledge and skills gained to amplify gender-equity efforts across Nigeria. Their strengthened capacity will drive more inclusive policies and support meaningful reforms benefiting women and girls,” Broome said.
She added that support does not end with the workshop, as Rise Up maintains long-term partnerships with leaders to ensure they have resources, mentorship, and tools needed to implement sustainable advocacy initiatives.
Broome confirmed that planning for the seventh cohort in 2026 has begun, reflecting the organisation’s commitment to continuous leadership development and sustained investment in Nigeria’s gender-equity landscape.
Participant Ms Oluwatimilehin Onafeso, Executive Director of WAAW Foundation, said she had long desired advocacy training, describing the workshop as a “game-changer” that transformed her understanding of driving policy-focused social change.
She said the programme deepened her grasp of advocacy concepts and clarified how strategic engagement can influence policies addressing systemic barriers affecting girls and women, especially within science, technology, and education sectors.
Onafeso explained that advocacy involves addressing root causes, not merely meeting community leaders. She said effective change requires influencing policy, ensuring implementation, and working collaboratively with institutions committed to women’s advancement.
“This understanding has transformed my development approach. I am now excited to embed advocacy into every project within the foundation, creating lasting change that improves outcomes for women, families, and communities,” she said.
Another participant, Ms Tsakpa Dennis, Programmes and Partnerships Lead at Every Girl Initiative, said the training was a career highlight and significantly strengthened her ability to lead high-impact advocacy initiatives.
“The programme equipped me with essential skills to drive large-scale policy change. My organisation is now shifting sixty percent of its focus toward advocacy and influencing to achieve more sustainable development outcomes,” she said.
She noted that the training broadened her organisation’s perspective, shifting emphasis from service delivery alone to promoting long-term solutions through policy reforms and systemic interventions that transform communities.
Dennis expressed hope that the programme would reach more organisations, especially in underserved areas where advocacy capacity is limited, noting its importance for building sustainable, community-driven development models.
“The programme is vital for long-term change, and I hope it continues receiving strong support from corporate partners and government agencies committed to advancing women’s rights and gender justice,” she said.
