UNICEF Tasks Nigeria To Invest In Child Survival, Development

As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to commemorate the International World Children’s Day, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has tasked global leaders to invest in child survival and development.

In a statement, UNICEF’s Representative in Nigeria, Mohamed Fall, said Nigeria has the world’s highest number of out-of-school children, and one of its highest rates of maternal, child as well as infant mortality.

He said more than four million children are unimmunized and tens of millions of Nigerians still do not have access to clean water and proper sanitation, putting children’s health at risk.

Fall added that diseases like pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria combined with underlying malnutrition are responsible for most of the deaths among infants and children in Nigeria.

According to UNICEF, “Nigeria’s burden of stunted growth among children is the second highest in the world, with 16.5 million affected, and the burden of severe acute malnutrition is high, with an estimated 2.6 million children severely acutely malnourished.

“No matter where a child is born whether into wealth or poverty, they and their parents have the same hopes and dreams for their future. And we owe it to all children to give them a fair chance to survive and fulfil those dreams.”

In partnership with the Nigerian Government, he said “we are determined to ensure that stronger investment will yield progress for all children in education, health including ensuring routine immunization for all, nutrition and child protection.”

Fall however lamented that the Nigerian children experience a wide range of abuses and harmful practices, adding that an estimated 3 in 5 children have suffered one or more forms of violence before reaching 18, with over 70 per cent experiencing multiple incidents of violence.

He said, this World Children’s Day, we must recommit to children knowing that for Nigeria to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, we must invest in long-lasting institutional and community-based systems and policies for children’s survival, growth and development.

UNICEF’s said, Nigerian children have a huge role to play in the country’s national development as it is the generation of children growing up today who will take their place as Nigeria’s leaders tomorrow and who will be able to take further to really accelerate the progress we make now.

He added that the call came with a global request asking individual to sign a global online petition asking for ‘children to be put back on the agenda.’

“We want to build a world where every child is in school, safe from harm and can fulfil their potential and nowhere is this more true than in Nigeria.”