Niger: Traditional chiefs sign landmark commitment

In a landmark event, 80 traditional chiefs have signed a statement of commitment to raise awareness of the crucial inter-relationship between literacy, education and reproductive health. The signing of the Niamey Declaration was the highlight of a two-day Forum of Traditional Chiefs that the UNFPA Country Office organized in partnership with the Association of Traditional Chiefs. The high turnout included three influential Emirs of Niger – the Sultan of Zinder, the Sultan of Dosso, and the Sultan of Matame.
The Declaration is committed to highlighting family planning, to all children receiving at least secondary school-level education, and to the need to end child marriage. It also recognizes the inter-relationship between demographic growth, development and poverty, and calls for boys and men to be involved in reproductive health issues, modelled on the “Husbands’ School”, a strategy developed by UNFPA Niger to involve men in health promotion and foster change at community level.

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