AGE Network Introduces the 2024 'Belle By Choice' Challenge

In an effort to reduce the incidence of unintended pregnancies among women and adolescent girls in Nigeria, the African Girls Empowerment Network (AGE) is preparing to launch the 2024 Belle by Choice Challenge.

According to a statement from its Administrator, Matina Ebri, AGE has successfully established a collective movement, #Bellebychoicemovement#, in collaboration with various organizations, including Advocate for Peace Nature and Gender Justice (APNAG), Assist Women and Develop Children Initiative, and many others.

The challenge is scheduled to run from September 1, 2024, to December 2024, marking the third anniversary of the Belle by Choice initiative and coinciding with World Contraception Day 2024.

Ebri emphasized that the initiative aims to tackle the root causes of unwanted and unplanned pregnancies, such as rape, child marriage, and the stigma surrounding women's and adolescent sexuality.

Additionally, the initiative seeks to enhance access to modern contraception for women and adolescent girls, especially those in vulnerable and displaced situations, by engaging men and boys, including community leaders and youth, particularly in hard-to-reach areas.

“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.’

Ebri urged women’s sexual rights advocates, civil society actors, development partners, media, and government to join the #BelleByChoiceMovement to mitigate the prevalence of unintended pregnancies and their associated challenges, including unsafe abortions, high maternal mortality rates, school dropouts among girls, and child marriages.