The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expanding an existing partnership
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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry visit children at the Lights Academy in Abuja, Nigeria, Friday, May 10, 2024.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are sharing an update about their Archewell foundation as they kick off their inaugural visit to Nigeria.
On Friday, May 10, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped out for their first international tour since stepping back from their royal roles in 2020 with a visit to the Lightway Academy with The GEANCO Foundation in Abuja.
After spending time with the nonprofit that administers the David Oyelowo Leadership Scholarship for Girls, Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, are now announcing the expansion of the partnership between GEANCO and the Archewell Foundation.
Archewell’s existing initiative dedicated to serving girls and young women in Nigeria with menstrual health products and educational services will now include mental health resources and training for young men and women.
The announcement coincides with an inaugural Mental Health Summit organized over two days for nearly 200 students in the Nigerian capital of Abuja. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex opened the summit by speaking to the young people gathered there.
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It was also announced that GEANCO plans to hold summits throughout Nigeria in the future, “providing teenage girls and boys with the information, skills, and coping mechanisms necessary to flourish mentally” a statement said.
The nonprofit is dedicated to providing medical care, educational services and emotional support to young female survivors of terrorism and gender inequality in Nigeria, and the enhanced partnership with Prince Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Foundation bolsters their work together.
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle cheer at the 2023 Invictus Games.
In September 2023, Archewell announced the donation of school supplies and menstrual products to young women in Nigeria in partnership with GEANCO. The support from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s charitable nonprofit also made possible menstrual health education for 2,500 girls throughout where GEANCO serves, supporting the well-being of young women in school.
The David Oyelowo Leadership Scholarship for Girls is named in honor of the British-Nigerian actor, who connected with the Duchess of Sussex in the fall. In November 2023, Meghan moderated a conversation with Oyelowo and Misan Harriman following a special screening of the Academy Award-nominated Netflix short film The After, which the Oyelowo starred in and Harriman directed, at a private residence in Montecito, California.
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David Oyelowo, Misan Harriman and Meghan Markle speak at a screening of The After on Nov. 15, 2023, in Montecito, California.
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Prince Harry and Meghan live in Montecito with their children Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 2, and share a special connection with Harriman. The Nigerian-born British photographer has been behind many of the couple’s family photos, snapping their pregnancy announcement in February 2021 and later the first official photo of their daughter Princess Lilibet at her first birthday party in the U.K. in June 2022. Harriman also appeared in the Harry & Meghan series, which debuted on Netflix in December 2022, and has spoken out to support the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on multiple occasions.
Harry and Meghan are in Nigeria at the invitation of the Chief of Defense Staff, the country’s highest-ranking military official. Prince Harry and Meghan’s stay will highlight the Invictus Games, which welcomed Nigeria as a new entrant at the latest iteration of the adaptive sports competition for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans in Germany in September 2023.
Nigerian Minister of Defense Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar Badaru attended last year’s Games in Germany, and expressed willingness to host the event should Nigeria be granted the opportunity in the future.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will also meet with service members and participate in a variety of cultural activities while visiting Nigeria, which may be especially poignant for Meghan.
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The Duchess of Sussex previously revealed on her Archetypes podcast in 2022 that she learned she has Nigerian heritage through a genealogy test, and Prince Harry joked in his opening remarks at the 2023 Invictus Games that his wife was rooting for the Nigerian team. The couple also spent time with the Nigerian athletes on the ground in Germany at the latest Invictus Games.
The Nigeria tour follows Prince Harry’s stay in the U.K. this week for the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, which was highlighted by a service at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.
PEOPLE understands that the Duke of Sussex invited King Charles, Prince William Kate Middleton, for the Service of Thanksgiving commemorating a decade of Invictus, which they did not attend.
Prince Harry and Meghan’s busy itinerary in Nigeria includes a stop at a military hospital for Harry, a reception with military families, a Women in Leadership event co-hosted by Meghan, a basketball clinic, polo fundraiser and more.
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