The Crisis
Across the world, countless children live unseen on city streets - without homes, without safety, without hope. UNICEF and the Consortium for Street Children cite figures of up to 100 million street-connected children worldwide, while UNESCO estimates approximately 150 million globally: 30 million in Africa, 30 million in Asia, and 60 million in Latin America.
This is not a distant problem. It is happening now, on every street corner, in every state. And it is exactly why S2S Foundation exists..
Behind every statistic is a child.
100M+ Estimated street-connected children worldwide
Nearly 39% of Nigerians - around 87 million people - live below the poverty line, pushed further by inflation, recession and insecurity.
150M UNESCO estimate of out-of-school children globally
Boko Haram insurgency and banditry have closed schools and displaced over 2 million children in the North-East alone.
15% Nigeria's share of the world's out-of-school children
Over 50% of schools in conflict-affected states lack qualified teachers; in Jigawa, foundational reading proficiency is as low as 2%.
15 - 17M Street-connected children in Nigeria
13.2M Out-of-school children
Nigeria allocates just 4% of its health budget to mental health — wholly inadequate for a population facing this level of adversity.
87M Nigerians below the poverty line
Early and forced marriage continues to push girls out of school across rural and northern communities.
2M+ Children displaced by conflict
Left unaddressed, millions of Nigerian children risk becoming a lost generation - trapped in cycles of deprivation, exploitation and despair.
Invisible lives on Nigeria's streets
A holistic, sustainable solution
S2S Foundation's five-pillar model addresses the full complexity of this crisis — not with charity alone, but with education, healthcare, family support, vocational training, and leadership development working together.
Together Community & Family Support - No child should grow up without belonging.
Achieve Education & Literacy - Education is the most powerful and enduring pathway out of poverty.
Nurture Health & Mental Well-Being - Individual therapy, group art and play therapy, regular mental health screenings, and recreational activities including music, sport, and creative expression.
Overcome Empowerment & Advocacy - Vocational training in tailoring, carpentry, farming and mechanics.
Youth Leadership Skills Development - Communication, teamwork, civic engagement, financial literacy and public speaking.
The devastating toll on children
10–37% of Nigerian adolescents experience symptoms of depression or anxiety
Nigeria allocates only 4% of its health budget to mental health - wholly inadequate for this scale of adversity
100,000+ children living on the streets in Lagos alone
Nigeria accounts for approximately 15% of the world's out-of-school children
Without intervention, children risk becoming a lost generation trapped in cycles of deprivation and exploitation
Girls face compounded vulnerability from gender-based discrimination and early marriage
Why children end up on the streets
Armed conflict and the Boko Haram insurgency have forced school closures, displacing over 2 million children in the North-East
Over 50% of schools in conflict-affected states lack qualified teachers (NBS, 2023)
Chronic poverty — nearly 39% of Nigerians live below the poverty line
Cultural norms including early and forced marriage push girls out of school across rural and northern communities
COVID-19 recession and persistent inflation have pushed millions more into destitution
In Jigawa state, reading proficiency for foundational learners is as low as 2%