Written by Bernard Otu Assim-ita
When Ada first started her small tailoring business in Lagos, she believed that consistency would be enough to grow. What she did not anticipate was just how much the rising cost of essential items, poor access to social services, and the inflated price of menstrual products would eat into her earnings. On days when she could not afford pads, she skipped work entirely. When public health facilities around her shut down their youth-friendly units because of budget cuts, she felt that loss, too. Everything seemed connected somehow, even though she could not name the system shaping these struggles.
In November 2025, thousands of miles away from Ada’s shop, governments, civil society groups, and feminist organisations gathered in Nairobi for the United Nations negotiations on the proposed global tax convention. For the first time, these talks were held on African soil. From Nigeria to Kenya, Brazil to India, delegates sat in rooms negotiating the basic question that affects people like Ada whether they realise it or not: who gets the right to tax global profits, who gets access to information, and who gets to decide what counts as fair.
Education as a Vaccine joined this process alongside feminist partners, bringing attention to how tax policies shape the lives of women and girls. Over the two weeks of discussions, countries pushed beyond cosmetic reforms and confronted the deeper rules that have shaped global revenue, inequality, and power for decades. Many governments insisted that profits should be taxed in the countries where real economic activity happens, not where multinational corporations shift them. Others demanded transparency tools such as beneficial ownership registries and public reporting. Countries spoke openly about illicit financial flows, reminding the room that tax abuse and aggressive avoidance drain resources meant for health, education, gender equality and climate action.
For Nigeria, the negotiation space became a moment of clarity. Representatives repeatedly emphasised that existing international tax platforms have not served developing countries well. Nigeria’s intervention that “if the existing fora had been adequate, we would not be here” became one of the strongest statements of the negotiations. It reflected what many countries in the Global South feel. The rules governing global taxation have not been written with them in mind, nor with women and girls in mind, even though they live with the consequences the most.
Executive Director, Women for a Change Cameroon and Executive Director Toyin Chukwudozie at the third UN Tax Convention negotiations in Nairobi
As Education as a Vaccine and Women for a change organisation Cameroon engaged through the feminist network, it became clear that the conversations in Nairobi were not distant policy debates. They were closely tied to the everyday realities of girls and women, starting with the simple question of whether they can afford menstrual products each month. Feminist delegates explained that tax systems shape these day-to-day experiences in ways that often remain invisible. This includes whether girls can buy pads without hardship, whether health centres have enough resources to provide SRHR services, whether social protection programmes can function without relying on donors, and whether countries like Nigeria can sustain climate and community resilience. In other words, the outcomes of global tax negotiations influence the services, support systems and opportunities that women and girls depend on in their daily lives.
Even the question of illicit financial flows is not just about numbers. When revenue leaves the country through profit shifting, communities lose clinics, safe spaces, and WASH facilities that women and girls rely on. When governments are pressured into harmful tax incentives to attract investors, the money lost often comes from sectors that matter to women’s lives. When social spending decreases because governments do not have stable revenue, young women feel it first. They feel it at the market. They feel it when they cannot buy pads. They feel it when they seek help after violence and find that the support services around them no longer exist.
Through the Red Thread project supported by Fos Feminista-Sang Pour Sang, our advocacy goes beyond promoting menstrual health and dignity. We place a strong focus on menstrual tax reform and menstrual health justice because these issues are directly linked to the global tax convention process. The Nairobi negotiations highlighted, more clearly than ever, how taxation shapes menstrual health outcomes. Feminist delegates demonstrated that tax policies have a direct influence on period poverty. When essential menstrual products are taxed as luxury goods, girls bear the burden. When countries lose revenue through profit shifting and tax abuse, the funds meant for menstrual health programmes, SRHR services and GBV response systems begin to disappear. Decisions made in spaces like the negotiation room in Nairobi eventually shape the everyday reality of young people back home.
The Nairobi experience also offered important lessons for Nigeria. A fair tax future requires national leadership and commitment. It requires aligning domestic tax reforms with global conversations and ensuring that taxes do not unfairly burden low-income households. It requires recognising that tax justice is a form of gender justice. It requires investing in public services that support communities, especially girls. It requires transparency, accountability, and a willingness to challenge old systems that were never designed for us.
This is only the third round of negotiations, and the process will continue through 2026 and 2027. As these discussions deepen, they sharpen our commitment at EVA to keep advancing menstrual dignity, SRHR, GBV prevention, and youth health equity. The ongoing work in Nairobi is a reminder that young women like Ada should not have their futures shaped by tax rules written far from their realities. It underscores a truth we cannot ignore: fair taxation is not simply about revenue, it is about justice, dignity, and the ability of women and girls to live full, safe, and healthy lives. And as the global tax framework takes shape, we will continue to ensure that the voices and needs of young people remain at the center of the fight for a fairer world.