The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said the COVID-19 pandemic reversed the entire gains made concerning the education for girls in years.
It said the pandemic took the organisation back because a lot of girls did not go or return to school while a lot were married off, and many more fell victim to gender-based violence which rose at the period.
The country director UNFPA, Ulla Mueller, made this known yesterday at the School for the Gifted in Gwagwalada, Abuja, while marking the 2021 Universal Day of the Child.
Mueller, who was represented at the occasion by Dr. Sampson Ezikeanyi, said: “I must tell you that COVID-19 is one of the worst things that has ever happened to us as an organisation because it reversed the entire gains we have made for quite some years now.
“For example, during COVID-19, a lot of girls did not go to school; some were married off. There was increased rate of gender-based violence because they were not in school. Some of them could not get access to voluntary family planning counseling and services. So it’s like taking us back. And our mantra is to leave no one behind in realising the 2030 global goal.”
In her speech, the Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, explained that the biggest victims of the pandemic in the country were children.
She stated, “The theme for this year’s celebration is “Unite to reverse the impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Children.” The year’s theme is very appropriate, considering the impact of COVID-19 on the educational, health, mental health, social cultural impact on the Nigerian child, most especially on the orphans and vulnerable children. Also the theme for this year is to celebrate children for who they are and to bring awareness to children around the globe that have experienced violence in forms of abuse, exploitation, diseases, hunger and discrimination. It is disturbing to note that some children are involved in child labour, some are living on the streets and some children dropped out of school, while some girls were married off due to the emergence of the scourge of COVID-19 Pandemic.
“As you are all aware, the COVID-19 Pandemic is a universal crisis for children. The number of children infected in Nigeria may not be significant, but children were the biggest victims of COVID-19 Pandemic in terms of impact directly or indirectly.
“Although some of the effects of the pandemic will not be the same for all children, a great number of children were affected in the following areas: Extreme poverty which led to school dropout for some children, especially the girl child; hunger, malnutrition, increase in child mortality and increase in number of street children.
Others are child battering, increased violence against children as well as increase in Gender-Based Violence. Others suffered from online child sexual exploitation as a result of online learning that was introduced by schools during the lockdown. This development affects children’s mental health, their social development, their safety, economic security and protection and thus increased their vulnerability. The worst hit were the children in IDP Camps and orphanages, street children as well as children without parental care.
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