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A Nigeria-based charity, HACEY Health Initiative, will be one of the recipients of the inaugural With and For Girls Awards, a global awards for girl-led and girl-focused organisations.

HACEY Health Initiative is recognised for its work in providing solutions to help close the inequality gap that limits women and girls’ access to health services and economic empowerment. The organisation is focused on improving the health and productivity of vulnerable and underserved population in Africa.

The awards are being organised by the With and For Girls Collective, a group of eight organisations – EMpower, Mama Cash, Nike Foundation, NoVo Foundation, Plan UK, Stars Foundation, The Global Fund for Children and The Malala Fund – with a track record of supporting civil society organisations working to improve the lives of girls and their communities.  

HACEY Health Initiative is one of 20 organisations from around the world who would be recipients of the awards at a London ceremony on Monday 16 November, 2015. Representatives from all the winning organisations will be in attendance along with multilateral agencies, INGOs and prominent people within the sector.

According to HACEY, Nigeria has two per cent of the world’s population, but it accounts for 10 per cent of global maternal mortality. With more than 14 million adolescent girls living in poverty in Nigeria, majority of the girls and women who die in childbirth are in the north of the country.

HACEY works with communities across Nigeria to improve the health and economic outcomes for over 300,000 girls. Through a targeted sexual and reproductive health and rights programme, HACEY has directly engaged more than 1,000 secondary school-aged girls.

The organisation has also raised awareness of gender-based violence using web and mobile technology, through which it has reached more than 100,000 people.

Muna Wehbe, CEO of Stars Foundation, said, “Despite the critical role that women and girls play in sustainable development, the World Bank estimates that less than two cents of every dollar spent on international aid is directed towards adolescent girls. The With and For Girls Award provides flexible funding to grassroots girl-focused NGOs, empowering them to invest their funds where they need them most. We want to shine a spotlight on these outstanding local organisations and encourage more funders to support girls in their role as vital agents of change within our sector."

As part of the award package, HACEY Health Initiative will receive $50,000 of flexible funding and capacity building support.