To address widening disparities concerning nutrition, education and other forms of child rights violations in the country, UNICEF recommends a comprehensive approach to prevent out-of-school menace and treat severe acute malnutrition among children.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has stressed for African countries like Nigeria to stop violations of children’s rights by eradicating all formsof disparities in child nutrition and education.
The agency reports that Nigeria has 10.5 million out-of-school children, 40 percent of whom are betweenthe ages of six and eleven and, particularly amonggirls, do not attend any elementary schools.
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Nutrition and education disparities are two other major reasons children’s rights to proper nutrition and education are being violated, according to UNICEF.
Regrettably, the girlchild bears the burden of the disparities, especially in some parts of the country. For instance, 40 percent of children in the North who are between the ages of six and eleven and are mainly girls are out-of-school.
Hardly two out of ten of the two million children in Nigeria who are suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) receive treatment.
Seven percent of pregnant women and seven percent of women who are of reproductive age suffer from acute malnutrition. Just 17 percent of infants are exclusively breastfed during the first six months of life, a statistic that hasn’t changed much in the past ten years. Only 18 percent of infants between the ages of six and 23 months receive the most basic nutrition.
The nutrition budget continues to be underfunded and delayed at all levels, despite global warnings that hunger is a critical developmental issue that jeopardizes a country’s future and GDP. The adoption and full implementation of the Child Right Act have been impeded by the purposeful creation of legal or policy restrictions in many states throughout Nigeria.
In light of this, experts have called for serious action to be taken to address unsolved or persistent issues that damage Nigerian children’s cognitive and physical development as well as their ability to have productive futures.
This includes their rights to a suitable diet and an education, as specified in the Child Right Act. The detrimental effects of these indices on children, particularly girls, who will be denied employable skills, desirable jobs, and important contributions to the advancement of the nation, are equally distressing.
According to UNICEF, while the education crisis affects children across in Nigeria, girls, children with disabilities, and those from the poorest households are increasingly affected.
Other children who are disproportionately impacted by the education issue include those who live on the streets, those who have experienced displacement or natural disasters, and those who reside in remote places.
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It is unfortunate that millions of children in Nigeriahave never entered a classroom. Perhaps even worse is the shocking number of children who enroll in school, but never advance from elementary to secondary education, destroying their dreams of a stable future. 35 percent of Nigerian pupils who finish elementary school do not go on to secondary education, according to estimates.
Cristian Munduate, the UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, said this recently in a statement honoring the International Day of Education.
This was recently said by Cristian Munduate, the UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, in a message to commemorate the International Day of Education.
Munduate stressed the need for girls to have an opportunity to attend school in order for them to have a formal education that confronts gender inequity. “We need to encourage their creativity and originality,” she continued, “since all females have a lot to contribute to fixing Nigeria’s challenges. “We also need to ensure that kids are safe at school. No child should be afraid to walk into a classroom because they think their school will be attacked or that they’ll be abducted,” the UNICEF Representative said. And no parent should be reluctant to enroll their children in school. No parent should be afraid to send their children to school either.
Likewise, researchers have emphasised the importance of expanding educational opportunities for all Nigerian children and eradicating gaps in educational enrollment and achievement.
They also criticised Nigeria’s current policies, which are weak in tackling severe acute malnutrition amongchildren under five, which presents as stunting, wasting, being underweight or overweight, and low productivity.
In order to promote children’s growth and development, they have advocated for game-changing policy changes and well-intentioned advocacy activities at all levels.
Promoting a secure and viable future for Nigerianchildren through targeted programmes and activities, as well as a strategic focus, is equally crucial.
They reiterated that this is the right time to implement existing nutrition policies, like the National Policy on Food and Nutrition.
Similarly, it is crucial to adopt comprehensive approaches to preventing and treating severe acute malnutrition (SAM), as well as providing adequate budgetary allocation, cash-backing, and prompt release of nutrition funding.
According to experts, improving food accessibility, availability, and accessibility at all levels urgently requires significant legislative monitoring of budgetary allocations for agriculture, nutrition, and the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.
Experts are pleading with all states to enact and fully implement the Child Right Act, which requires that every child receive free, mandatory, and universal basic education and that every parent or guardian make sure that their child or ward attends and completes primary and junior secondary school.
It is now a matter of urgent public emergency to increase educational access, eliminate educational enrollment disparities, and raise public awareness of the obligations of the Child Right Act. The time to adopt comprehensive approaches to curb disparitiesin nutrition and education, by providing adequate budgetary allocation, cash-backing, and prompt release of funding in the sector is now.
