Nigeria
About Nigeria
Nigeria is a federal republic located in West Africa, bordered by Benin to the west, Niger to the north, Chad to the northeast, and Cameroon to the east, with a coastline on the Gulf of Guinea to the south.
According to World Bank data, Nigeria’s population stood at approximately 232.7 million people in 2024, making it the most populous country in Africa.
The country covers a total land area of 910,770 square kilometres, also according to World Bank figures, placing it among the largest countries on the continent by size.
Nigeria operates under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which establishes a presidential system of government with power shared between a federal government and 36 individual states, each with its own governor, state assembly, and judiciary. The Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, serves as the seat of the federal government and is administered separately from the 36 states.
For administrative, political, and economic planning purposes, Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory are grouped into six geopolitical zones.
North Central comprises Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, and Plateau, along with the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
North East comprises Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe.
North West comprises Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara.
South East comprises Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo.
South South comprises Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, and Rivers.
South West comprises Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Oyo.
This structure means that Nigeria’s development challenges and priorities are rarely uniform across the country. Conditions affecting food security, education, health, and livelihoods can vary significantly between zones and even between states within the same zone, which shapes where and how PASDO’s work in Nigeria is directed.
In Nigeria, PASDO, as an internationally operating non-profit, non-governmental and charity organisation, runs targeted interventions aligned with its objectives of helping to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in selected countries around the world.
This intervention includes grants that support individuals, families, and households, alongside volunteer-led activities and community engagement, all aimed at improving livelihoods and living standards.
This page outlines PASDO’s presence and engagement in Nigeria, how its mission and priorities connect to Nigeria-based challenges, and how individuals can get involved.
Challenges Against Sustainable Development in Nigeria
Nigeria faces significant challenges across many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, a few of which are highlighted below.
Sustainable Development Goal 1: No Poverty
According to the National Bureau of Statistics’ 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index survey, 63 percent of people in Nigeria, roughly 133 million individuals, are classified as multidimensionally poor, with poverty markedly more severe in rural areas at 72 percent than in urban areas at 42 percent, and more than half of those living in poverty are children. This scale and depth of poverty is a problem that demands action from all possible stakeholders, including PASDO, to ensure it is tackled effectively.
Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger
According to Nigeria’s Cadre Harmonisé food security analysis, prepared by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in partnership with the FAO and WFP, an estimated 34.7 million Nigerians are projected to face crisis-level food insecurity or worse during the June to August 2026 lean season, one of the highest figures recorded in the country to date. This scale of food insecurity is a problem that demands action from all possible stakeholders, including PASDO, to ensure it is tackled effectively.
Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being
According to UNICEF’s 2024 update on the State of Nigeria’s Children, 40 percent of children under five in Nigeria are stunted and 8 percent are wasted, while for every 100,000 women who give birth, 1,047 die, one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world. This burden of child malnutrition and maternal mortality is a problem that demands action from all possible stakeholders, including PASDO, to ensure it is tackled effectively.
Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education
According to UNICEF’s 2024 report on out-of-school children, Nigeria has approximately 18.3 million out-of-school children, comprising 10.2 million of primary school age and 8.1 million of secondary school age, giving Nigeria the highest number of out-of-school children of any country in the world. This scale of educational exclusion is a problem that demands action from all possible stakeholders, including PASDO, to ensure it is tackled effectively.
Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
According to the 2021 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene National Outcome Routine Mapping survey, conducted by Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Water Resources with the National Bureau of Statistics and UNICEF, only 10 percent of Nigerians have access to complete basic water, sanitation and hygiene services combined, and 23 percent of the population still practice open defecation. This gap in access to safe water and sanitation is a problem that demands action from all possible stakeholders, including PASDO, to ensure it is tackled effectively.
Sustainable Development Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
According to the World Bank’s 2025 Tracking SDG7 report, covering 2023 data, only 61.2 percent of Nigeria’s population has access to electricity, leaving an estimated 86.8 million people without access, the largest electricity access deficit of any country in the world. This gap in energy access is a problem that demands action from all possible stakeholders, including PASDO, to ensure it is tackled effectively.
Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
According to the National Bureau of Statistics’ Q2 2024 Nigeria Labour Force Survey, 93 percent of employed Nigerians work in the informal sector, and 85.6 percent are self-employed, reflecting how little of the country’s workforce has access to stable, formal employment. This scale of informality and economic insecurity is a problem that demands action from all possible stakeholders, including PASDO, to ensure it is tackled effectively.
Programs in Nigeria
PASDO runs a number of programs in Nigeria, each responding to one or more of the challenges highlighted above.
Nigeria Agricultural Technology Adoption Program (NATAP) Grant
NATAP Grant supports Nigerians in acquiring agricultural technology, equipment, knowledge, and skills, with a current focus on Black Soldier Fly farming training and hydroponics kits, helping more people establish smaller, less land-dependent forms of food production. Learn more about NATAP Grant
Basic Education Project (BEP)
BEP works to increase primary and secondary school enrolment in Nigeria, including through the construction and equipping of classrooms, such as the additional two-storey building completed at Cardinal International Academy. Learn more about PASDO’s work on education
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
The WASH program works to improve access to clean water and sanitation in Nigeria, including through the construction of borehole facilities in communities that otherwise rely on unsafe or inconsistent water sources. Learn more about PASDO’s work on WASH
Clean Energy Program (CEP)
CEP responds to Nigeria’s unreliable power supply and rising energy costs, including training youths on solar panel installation in collaboration with local partners. Learn more about PASDO’s work on clean energy
Sustainable Aquaculture Supply in West and Central Africa (SASWeCA) Project
SASWeCA works to help marine biodiversity adapt to the impacts of climate change while boosting food and nutrition security in Nigeria and across West and Central Africa, including through mobile fish pond systems for household and backyard fish farming. Learn more about PASDO’s work on climate change adaptation and food security
Advocacy on Biodiversity and Climate Change in Nigeria
This program addresses the worsening flooding, landslide, and gully erosion activity affecting Nigerian communities as rainfall patterns intensify under climate change. Learn more about PASDO’s work on biodiversity and climate change
Grants in Nigeria
PASDO offers grants in Nigeria as one of the ways it supports progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. These grants, most times, are delivered through participating providers rather than as direct cash payments, and each one is designed around a specific area of need.
The Nigeria Agricultural Technology Adoption Program (NATAP) Grant is one example, currently supporting Nigerians in acquiring agricultural technology, equipment, knowledge, and skills. Additional grants addressing other areas covered in the Sustainable Development Challenges section are being introduced on an ongoing basis.
Volunteering in Nigeria
Volunteering is central to PASDO’s presence and activities in Nigeria. PASDO offers opportunities for individuals to contribute their time, skills, and energy toward causes that support sustainable development, community resilience, and practical impact.
In Nigeria, volunteers may:
- Assist with outreach and programme navigation
- Support agricultural, education, health, and clean energy initiatives
- Contribute to awareness campaigns
- Help with administrative, digital, or communication tasks
To explore current volunteer opportunities, you can use the Volunteer Opportunities and Options Near Me tool on the PASDO homepage and search by your location.