Ounfanatt Edui Moka

I am from Niger where most women get married, settle down, and keep a house. My father always told me that I only needed to study enough to make it to high school then find a good husband to take good care of me. Just like his 6 sisters. My mother on the other hand strongly believed that having an education should be my first priority. She liked to say "your first certificate in life should be a university diploma not a marriage certificate!” I was lucky enough to have a strong mother for a role model who ended up raising her kids by herself and always pushed me to be the best person I can be. I was able to make a life for myself thanks to my education. Unfortunately the choice I had, is far from reach for millions of girls in my country where 76% of girls are married by their 18th birthday, denied of education and their basic human rights. I have a 15years girl and I cannot stomach the fact that girls her age in my country and around the world are every day denied the right to be a girl, forced to be a mother when they are children themselves. I have faith that once given the adequate tools and opportunity these girls can thrive to reach their full potential. They become actors for their own development and help lift their family and entire communities out of poverty. We know that the virtuous cycle starts with the girl child and focusing on their health, nutrition and education is essential. I am honored to be working for such a unique movement that is the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement since its inception in 2011, which bring together people, partners and stakeholders across sectors to prioritize efforts to address malnutrition so that they can unleash the potential of millions of healthier, smarter and stronger children.