The Private Sector's Role in Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 on Vulnerable Women and Girls in Nigeria

In recent weeks, the Nigerian private sector has assumed a leading role in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. On 27 March 2020, the Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID), spearheaded by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Aliko Dangote Foundation and Access Bank, was established to mobilize private sector resources towards supporting the government’s response to the crisis. CACOVID will also help mobilize private sector thought leadership, raise public awareness and buy-in for COVID-19 prevention, and provide direct support to strengthen the healthcare sector’s capacity to respond to the crisis. To date, CACOVID has mobilized around NGN 26 billion (USD 72 billion), 22% of its NGN 120 billion target, from private sector organizations including GTBank, BA, IHS, the African Finance Corporation, Lafarge Africa, Access Bank, the Dangote Group and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.