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Tag: Children

  • Boko Haram recruits 2,000 children – UNICEF

    Boko Haram recruits 2,000 children – UNICEF

    The terrorist Boko Haram group recruited about 2,000 children in 2016 and used them as child soldiers, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said.

    UNICEF Executive Director, Anthony Lake, disclosed this as global leaders gather in Paris on the anniversary of the Paris Commitments to end the use of children in conflict, according to a UN report.

    Lake said estimates indicated that tens of thousands under the age of 18 were being used in conflicts worldwide.

    According to the UNICEF chief, exact data on the number of children used and recruited in armed conflict is difficult to ascertain because of the unlawful nature of child recruitment.

    “For instance, since 2013 an estimated 17,000 children have been recruited in South Sudan and up to 10,000 have been recruited in the Central African Republic (CAR).

    “Similarly, nearly 2,000 children were recruited by Boko Haram, in Nigeria and neighbouring countries, last year alone, and there have been nearly 1,500 cases of child recruitment in Yemen since the conflict escalated in March 2015.

    “We cannot give up the fight to end child recruitment,” the UNICEF chief said.

    According to him, even though over the past 10 years, more than 65,000 children have been released from armed forces and armed groups, tens of thousands of boys and girls under the age of 18 continue to be used in conflicts around the world.

    “It is not only about looking back at what has been accomplished  but looking forward to the work that remains to be done to support the children of war,” he said.

    Adopted 10 years ago, the Paris Commitments, together with the Paris Principles and Guidelines, lay out guidance for protecting children from recruitment and use by armed forces or armed groups.

    The Paris Agreement also assists the release of child soldiers and their reintegration, with other vulnerable children affected by armed conflict in their communities.

    “There has also been progress: since it was adopted, the number of countries endorsing the Paris commitments has nearly doubled from 58 countries in 2007 to 105 at present, signalling an increasing global commitment to end the use of children in conflict.

    “Globally, more than 65,000 children have been released from armed forces and armed groups, including 20,000 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

    “Nearly 9,000 in the Central African Republic; and over 1,600 children in Chad. But more needs to be done,” the UNICEF chief said.

    According to him, seeking to build on the current momentum, the Paris International Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Children in Armed Conflicts is urging for unconditional release of all children – without exception – and putting an end to child recruitment.

    “It is also calling for increased resources to help reintegrate and educate children who have been released, and urgent action to protect internally displaced children, child refugees and migrants.

    “As long as children are still affected by the fighting, we cannot give up the fight for the children,” Lake added. (NAN)

  • 2,500 children affected by Lead poisoning in Niger

    2,500 children affected by Lead poisoning in Niger

    The Federal Ministry of Environment, says it has facilitated the treatment of lead poisoning of more than 2, 500 children affected  in Shikira community of Rafi Local Government Area of Niger.

    Mrs Aanu Basil, the Deputy Director, Marine Pollution, Contamination Clean-Up and Remediation in the ministry, said other residents of the community were safe from lead poisoning with the clean-up.

    Basil made this known in Abuja in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday.

    She said that the clean-up programme was an intervention from government aimed at preventing lead poisoning outbreak in the community.

    She observed that lead poisoning was as a result of illegal artisanal gold mining in Angwa Megero, Angwa Kawo and Shikira communities of the state.

    Basil said that the incident occurred few years after a tragedy outbreak of lead poisoning in the community killing about 28 children below the age of five.

    She said that the children who were contaminated from the lead poison had been treated by the government.

    Basil said that three officials of the ministry visited the site on the spot assessment; adding that proposal for the cleaning-up project commenced in 2016.

    She noted that the federal ministry of environment collaborated with the federal ministry of mines and steel and Ministry of Health to ensure effective implementation of the project.

    “The report of the visit indicated increase in the number of death of children as a result of high concentration of lead contaminants ranging from 5000 to 166, 000ppm in the impacted environment.

    “The situation was declared then as an emergency and immediate clean-up exercise of the impacted sites took place to enable tackle the situation,’’ she said.

    Basil said that one of the objectives of the clean-up project was to eradicate the presence of the high concentration of lead and other heavy metals contamination.

    She added that the exercise would curtail the immediate threat to life and health of the impacted communities, eliminate the continue exposure of the communities to lead and other heavy metal contaminants.

    The deputy director said that the project was being implemented in two phases with the collaboration of United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).

    “The phase one scope of the project is identification of the contaminated sites within the Shikira communities, awareness campaign within the communities, and a Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping.

    “Also, characterisation of the lead impacted sites, excavation of lead contaminated sites from the three impacted communities, bagging and containerisation of excavated contaminated soils in high density polyethylene bags.

    “Identification of new sites for sourcing of clean soils and for construction of landfill, excavation and transportation of clean soils to backfill the excavated contaminated soil areas, among others,’’ she said.

    She said that the project implementation was with the mobilisation of both contractors and some technical advisers in the ministry.

    Basil stressed the need to put in place relevant programmes for mining practices such as strong sensitisation exercise within the communities.

    She said that the essence of the sensitisation was to ensure that the communities complied with safe mining practices as it would prelude re-contamination of the remediated sites.

    She said that the ministry also recommended the establishment of organisation mining cooperative groups to enable effective implementation of the project. (NAN)

  • ABS throws gates open to women, children

    In its bid to encourage families to watch its home games, the management of Abubakar Bukola Saraki (ABS) Ilorin FC, has said women and their children under 15 years of age will from Sunday, Jan. 22, watch the team’s matches free.

    The team’s Director of Football, Alloy Chukwuemeka, disclosed this on Friday in Ilorin during an interview with journalists.

    The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Premier League Club Owners boasted that Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) stadia are safer than ever these days, kudos to the enabling environment created by the League Management company.

    “We want to encourage families to our match venues and the best way to go is to encourage the women.  All you need to do as the head of the family is to bring the whole house and only the husband will pay so far the rest are women, girls and boys U-15. ABSFC has a fantastic discipline when it comes to a safe place to watch a football match.

    “We have some other plans but we are starting with this one first beginning from the Ifeanyi Ubah game.  We want to get the women fully involved too, just bring your family and enjoy good football,” Chukwuemeka said.

    The Saraki Boys will be looking forward to consolidate on their impressive start to the season with a win against FC Ifeanyi Ubah on Sunday in Ilorin.

  • Children’s centre calls for support for people with disability

    Children’s centre calls for support for people with disability

    The Children’s Development Centre (CDC) in Nigeria has reiterated the need for parents, communities and governments to provide better  support to people living with disabilities through the provision of care and services as well as policy directions.

    The CDC, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), dedicated to the care and support of people living with disabilities, made the call at a Parents’ Summit  in Lagos. It formed part of activities to mark the 20th anniversary of the organisation.

    The Summit, tagged: “Overriding Stigma with Compassion in the Community: Is this a Family’s Solution?”, addressed the need for communities to provide adequate support structures devoid of stigmatisation for the care and management of people, particularly children living with disabilities.

    Director, CDC, Dr Yinka Akindayomi, lamented that very little progress has been made in  addressing the challenges and needs of special people as families and the society largely live in denial and unwilling to provide the necessary support.

    According to him, it was the need to change the attitude and direct attention to this area of need that the Centre organised the Parents’ Summit. “For far too long, parents and families have worked in silos, trying to provide care and services to their children with special needs. For as long as parents do not get together to address these issues as a group, it would be difficult to get support from the government and policy makers,” Dr Akindayomi said.

    “It is indeed, disturbing that governments at both the state and federal levels are paying little attention to this area. For instance, only Lagos State has enacted a Disability Act, and that is not even comprehensive enough as it fails to address the issue of stigmatisation of special people,” Dr Akindayomi added.

    The  summit addressed issues such as early detection of disabilities in children and intervention, access to quality and timely information, family financial management and health insurance, nutrition and management of diets to reduce risk factors and child abuse, among others.

    Parents recounted their experiences and challenges, providing care and support for their children with disabilities, while experts in nutrition, insurance, family and behaviourial health services, financial planning and relationships provided the perspective. Parents were encouraged to work as a team to prevent burnout as well as ensure that governments provide the right infrastructure and support. It was resolved at the summit that  parents’ forum as a support group be instituted to gain the government’s attention.

    The CDC is a service oriented, not-for-profit organisation, dedicated to provide a broad range of educational and support services for children, young people and their families within the community. It is a place where children and young people with developmental disability have a “sense of belonging”. It was established 20 years ago. “It is a facility donated by the Lagos State Government, where we have begun to meet our children’s needs for the future and the present,”Akindayomi said.

  • 43 teenagers escape from remand home

    About 43 teenagers have escaped from the Edo State Children Remand Home along Welfare road at Ikpoba-Okha local government.

    Teenagers arrested for various crimes or juvenile delinquencies are kept at the Ugbekun remand home pending when they attain 18 and  transferred to prison custody or properly rehabilitated.

    It was gathered that the detained teenagers escaped after gunmen stormed the center at about 2am on Sunday and shot sporadically.

    The gunmen were said to have broken down some windows and cut through iron protectors to pave way for the escape of the inmates.

    Officer in charge of the remand center, Mr. Victor Lawani, confirmed the incident but said some of the inmates have returned.

    Chief Security Officer of the center, who gave his name as Mr. Ojo, said the gunmen spent over two hours to cut through the protectors after they overpowered him.

    Oji said the gunmen stormed the center with sophisticated weapons. 

    Some of the inmates that were found said they ran into the bush until 5am and returned back to their hostel.

    Edo State Deputy Governor, Hon Philip Shaibu, who visited the scene to ascertain the level of damage expressed disappointment at the unkempt nature of the center.

    Hon Shaibu said it was unreasonable to keep children in such place.

    He ordered immediate inquiry into the remote and immediate causes of the invasion.

    “The place is porous, you cannot keep children in this dirty environment. They are humans like us. They deserve a better environment,” he said.

    Officials of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development who accompanied Hon Shaibu to the center said they have made a number of request on the need to rehabilitate the place but there has been no response from the state government. 

  • Healthy eating habits for children

    DEAR Harriet, Happy New Year! One of my New Year resolutions is to change my children’s eating habits.

    Please, help me.

    Mrs. Doris Shobo, Lagos.

     

    Feeding habits are learned behaviour. They’re not intuitive, so what your children learn to eat at home early in life sticks with them well into adulthood.

    It is not a good idea to count calorie or severely restrict food for children, like some parents do.

    The good news is that most overweight kids do not need to diet and they may not even need to lose weight at all. As overweight children grow taller,aim to keep their weight about the same. That means they grow into their ideal weight as they get taller.

    Your child might not be overweight or obese; it is important that they eat healthily and remain physically active. The tips here are relevant to all children, no matter their weight.

    Try new healthy meal: Ever find yourself making one meal for the adults in the house and another for the kids  or even one for each kid? Children take their time warming up to new things and if you keep giving them the old standbys, they’re not going to branch out and explore new foods.

    Be patient. Make the same dinner for everyone in the family, while making sure to put some foods on the plate that your children like. Then, add something new. If they don’t touch it, don’t worry about it, and definitely don’t make an argument out of it.

    Try again the next week and again the following week. Eventually, they’ll surprise you by at least tasting that new food.

    Be flexible. Note, anything in moderation is fine. Of course, if a child is given a treat once in a while, it is really not a bad idea. Yes, you have set diet for your child in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, allowing the child in moderation occasionally of what they like helps to knock off the feeling of deprivation.

    While we always want to make the healthiest choices for our children’s bodies, a special treat once a week or even once a month won’t do any damage. On the contrary, it will help make eating a more enjoyable experience and will help your child build a good relationship with food.

    Sugar swaps: Swap sugary drinks for water, milk or unsweetened fruit juice. Sugary drinks are not as good as water. Yes, they can provide momentary satisfaction for our children when they are thirsty, but in the long run, the substances in them apart from the little water added are harmful to their health. As a result, children should be encouraged to drink plenty of water daily, so that when they grow up, it will be easier to maintain, and the benefits of water must not be overlooked. It helps to improve the function of the kidneys and prevent constipation in children.

    Meal time: Today, many of us are disconnected from food sources in a way that is unprecedented in human history. The numbers of people who cook meals from the scratch are reducing by number because of our busy lifestyles. It’s faster to grab something from a fast-food restaurant on the way home after school/work, instead of cooking a well homemade meal with the entire necessary nutrients that they need to grow healthy.

    Every day, all children should aim to eat five or more servings of variety of fruits and vegetables. It is wise to give more fruits and vegetables which are in season to our children since they are usually cheaper than others. Some people see them as very expensive. Don’t forget the costs of fruits and vegetables are incomparable to the positive health benefits derived from them.

    Vegetable- a lot of food items fall into this category, not only green vegetables. Some of these are green leafy vegetables, okra, cabbage, garden egg, cucumber, tomatoes, broccoli and avocado pear. All these contain minerals, vitamin, iron, calcium and pro-vitamin. They are essential for healthy growth and development in children.

    Children need meals that are based on starchy foods, as they are still growing, for example, potatoes, pasta, rice, bread, breakfast cereal or other cereal.

    Protein-rich foods – poultry, fish, eggs, beans, pulses and lentils should not be left out.

    Lower- fat dairy products like milk, yoghurt, cheese (once children are over five).

    Activity:  30/ 60 minutes activity a day. Children should be encouraged to add activity into their daily life. It could be playing football, running, walking, any sport that they enjoy doing, be it at home or in school. In schools, make sure they enroll for a sporting activity. It keeps them stay healthy and busy.

    Don’t use food as reward, bribes, or punishment: It’s alright to take a child out for ice cream occasionally, but not as an incentive for a good work. Likewise, don’t punish children for not eating certain foods- it will only foster a negative relationship between you and your children, not to mention your children and food. Resist the temptation to give your children sweets and chocolate for rewards and comfort.

    Make sure your child eats breakfast: It’s the most important meal of the day, and it should ideally be the largest meal of the day to get your child off on the right foot. After 10 to 12 hours with no food, it’s important to refuel the engines. If they don’t eat in the morning, they’ll be tired and unable to concentrate in school before lunch. It’s essential that children jumpstart their metabolism in the morning, so their bodies don’t enter starvation mode which might later cause them to experience difficulty maintaining a healthy body weight.

    Some children need to practise small and working to a bigger meal if you’re having trouble getting your child to eat breakfast. For most children, breakfast should be around 500 calories and should be nutritionally balanced.

    Starting kids off with sugar first thing in morning is not ideal. This gives a quick burst of energy and then leaves your child drained. Breakfast should always include a source of protein, some healthy fats, carbohydrates (whole grains are best) and vitamins and minerals.

    Love and accept your child no matter what: Love and accept your child at any weight, size, or shape. During childhood, growth is unpredictable at best. It comes in spurts and a once-skinny child can suddenly plump up, while his height catches up with his weight. There’s a lot of pressure in our society to be thin, and you might be tempted to put your child on a diet during a growth spurt, but that won’t be helpful and may even cause emotional and physical damage.

    Instead, help your child maintain his weight until his height catches up. The best way to do that is to teach good healthy eating habits and encourage your child to be active.

     

    Harriet Ogbobine is a counsellor and a motivational speaker. Send your questions and suggestions to her blog; www.liwh.com.ng, text messages only 08054682598 or bineharriet@gmail.com.  You can follow her on twitter: @bineharrietj and instagram: harrietogbobine.

  • ‘Children out of wedlock is heart- breaking’

    Some couples in Abuja have described extra-marital affairs that lead to having children out of wedlock as terrible and heart-breaking.

    Some of those who spoke on the issue in interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) stressed the need for couples to be faithful to their partners.

    They said having “a love-child” was bad and keeping it a secret was more dangerous and could destroy the relationship.

    Mr John Obasi, a businessman at Wuse Market, said it would be a terrible thing for a married woman to have a lover much more having a love-child.

    “It is an abomination (a taboo) where I come from. In fact, if she keeps it a secret, she will not live to tell the story.
    “Our culture and tradition forbids a married woman being touched by another man, much more having a child for him,’’ he said.

    “If my wife cheats on me for any reason and has the courage to confess and ask for my forgiveness, I may forgive her; and if she has a child, I may also accept it.

    “But if she keeps it a secret and I find out, I will not forgive her and that will be the end of our marriage.

    “I recall an incident that happened in my village when I was growing up. A married woman cheated on the husband and had two children for her lover but had five children for her husband.

    “The husband was suspecting her and he was asking her to tell him the truth but she kept denying it until her children started dying and her husband became very ill.

    “So, the Kinsmen decided to consult the gods and the truth was revealed, so some sacrifices were made and the husband was saved but the woman ran mad and died.’’

    Mr Dare Deji, a medical doctor, said that it was not a big deal if his wife had a child outside of wedlock but if she kept the fact secret, he would never forgive her.

    Deji said any woman who kept such secret from her husband could kill him and that could end the marriage.

    He also said that “by virtue of the marriage any child that comes in during the marriage be it for me or from another man is mine.

    “I will forgive her and continue with the marriage, though, it will not be so easy but I will treat the child like my own.
    “The Yoruba speaking part of Kogi, (Okun) where I come from, will accept the child and move on with the marriage.

    “If a man does the same thing the woman will forgive and accept the child and move on with the marriage, so that is what I will do,’’ he said.

    Mrs Patricia Ogar, a housewife in Wuse, Abuja, said: “it will be a terrible thing for a married woman to cheat on her husband but for a man it can be understandable because men are polygamous by nature.

    “If she finds out that her husband has children from another woman, although she will be heartbroken, she will eventually overcome it.

    “I will forgive him and accept the children but there will no longer be trust in the marriage, a woman’s place is by her husband no matter what.

    “ Men have nothing to lose; when you walk away, they will always have your replacement waiting by the side to take your place.

    “Only few men understand the virtues of marriage and only few of them are decent and can carry on without sleeping around.

    “So, if you as a woman, are so unlucky to end up with such man, all you can do is to pray and ask for God’s grace to guide you, but leaving your home is not an option,’’ she said.

    Opara Adanna, a businesswoman at Wuse Market, said her husband’s lover had two children for him but she was still married to him.

    “When we got married I did not know that my husband had a lover and why he did not marry her before coming to me I don’t know.

    “After we got married, I discovered that he was cheating, I confronted him but that did not change anything. All I could do then was to be crying and praying.
    “So when she got pregnant, he secretly went and paid her dowry and married her properly without my knowledge. I got to find out from his relatives who had my interest at heart.

    “I couldn’t do anything and now they have two children, I had a choice to leave the marriage which was what the other woman wanted but I chose to stay.

    “I went on my knees in prayer and God answered me. Today I have peace in my home and I am very happy with my husband.

    “I was able to forgive him even before he asked and that gave me peace and God turned his mind and attention back to me.

    “It is not an experience that I can wish my worst enemy but when things happen, you have to be very wise in taking decisions,’’ Opara said. (NAN)

  • Child Safety: Empower your children and give them a voice

    Child Safety: Empower your children and give them a voice

    Last week, I tried to show you how the mind of pedophiles work, I am sure by now you can identify the signal of a potential pedophile and get them off the back of your children or wards.
    This week, I shall focus more on how to prevent the incidence of child molestation. in the end, you will be able to arm your children with the skills to take charge of their safety.
    During one of my child safety workshops in a private secondary school in Lagos, I asked the students to write down any experience of sexual molestation or any questions they wanted me to discuss, a sizeable number of the students have stories of attempted sexual molestation.
    One student shared how she has been constantly sexually molested by her uncle, although she wasn’t detailed in her explanation. Nobody knew what she was going through, not even her mother. Child body safety education is extremely important in empowering children to recognize sexual abuse, react to it and to report it.
    An average parent spends only a quarter of the 24hours with their children, a lot more spend less than that. They believe everything the child requires to be sound and responsible are taught in the schools. Most schools do not have this extracurricular where children or students are empowered to ward off sexual predators; I believe it is an essential learning that has been left out from school curriculum.
    As I move from school to school, teaching children and students how to grow up to be a whole adult with the capacity to make right choices concerning their sexual reproductive health and rights, I find enormous ignorance from teachers themselves. I believe there should be a balance in curriculum and where the school fails to prepare children to make informed decisions on their sexuality, parents must as a matter of top priority empower their children from an early age to become aware of themselves and how to cherish and preserve their sexuality.
    I have heard parents tell me they don’t know how to relate with their children when it comes to the issues of discussing sexuality. The problem is that if you don’t teach them, they will be tricked by outsiders and their innocence stolen at a very young age.
    At this point, it may be too late to make corrections. I strongly believe that quality parenting will reflect in the kind of society that we have. If parents themselves are poorly trained or ill prepared to be parents, then we will have a society of confused adults who will also mutate unbalanced children.
    If you think discussing sexual rights with your children in early age is not something you want to do, wait for this statistics. Studies have shown that one in every four girls is sexually molested before the age of 18 and one in every six boys is sexually molested before they turn eighteen. 90% of sexual abuses are perpetrated by persons known to the children.
    I have seen children from disciplined homes becoming sexually exposed at younger age. At a closer insight, you will discover that they have failed to teach the child the discipline of early sexual orientation that makes him or her responsible in making the right choices.
    Let’s get the facts straight, a child who has been molested will have an abnormal adulthood. The psychological impact is far reaching, it could result in some form of mental illness, lack of concentration at home or at school, promiscuity, chronic illness, trauma and a lot more.
    An empowered child however, grows to become responsible, confident and self effacing adult capable of making informed decisions with little supervisions.
    Parents should be mindful of red flags in a sexual predator so as to minimize the risk and opportunity of their children being exposed to pedophiles. It is the parent’s job and that of the children too to learn some safety rules and inappropriate behavior in other people so that they can recognize when something is not quite right.
    In my child safety workshops for schools, children are taught that they are the boss of their body which means that they are in charge of their body. They are in control of their body and their body belongs to them and if anyone tries to mess with them, they should act like the boss of their body. They are taught the private part rule which is that no one should touch their private part. No one should tell them to touch their private part. No one should talk about private part to them, or show them picture of private part. We let them know that it is unsafe and that if anyone tries to touch their private part, they should stretch their hands out in defensive manner and yell NO!! DON’T TOUCH MY PRIVATE PART like the boss of their body without fear.

     

    Njideka Obi

    Now this is so empowering, it builds their confidence and gives them a voice and trust me, nobody will mess with a child that has been empowered. A sexual predators greatest fear is getting caught and once he/she finds out that a child has been empowered, they leave the child alone and target voiceless weak children.
    Here are preventive actions parents must arm themselves with:
    1. Pay attention to anyone who is excessively admiring your child. Nothing is wrong with admiring a child but it could be a red flag, no matter who they are keep a close watch on your child’s admirers. If you notice any red flag in a person’s relationship with your child, STOP that person immediately from spending time alone with your child.
    2. Trust your instinct: always listen to your instinct as a parent. Your instinct is the best barometer for when something is not quite right.
    3. Make sure you teach your children the ASK FIRST rule, whether they’re four years old or sixteen years old they should know that before they go into someone’s house, car, or go for a walk with anyone, they have to ask you first. This rule is extremely important.
    4. Listen and communicate effectively with your child. Ask them for details after they have spent some time away from you. When they are narrating how their day went, you listen carefully for any red flag that needs an urgent action.
    5. Talk to your child about child body safety and arm them with knowledge.
    Njideka Obi, lawyer and a safety Advocate
    Phone no: 08060424282. safersmarterchildren@gmail.com

  • Loya Milk promotes swimming among children

    Loya Milk, a premium milk brand from the stable of Promasidor Nigeria Limited on Saturday, December 3, organised a swimming competition dubbed “Loya Swim Meet” for Secondary Schools in Lagos State where prizes of over N1million and other consolation prizes were given to participants.

    The brand handlers said thie aim  was to encourage swimming among secondary school students.

    The contest, which held at the Grange School, Harold Shodipo, Ikeja GRA, had 10 secondary schools in attendance with five boys and five girls each participating in the three categories of 25 metres freestyle, 50 metres freestyle and 100 metres freestyle relay.

    Promasidor Nigeria Category Manager, Dairy, Mr. Abiodun Ayodeji, said: “Loya Milk is fortified with 50 percent more calcium which helps in building stronger bone, tougher teeth and a healthy heart.

    “At the heart of this brand, is improving the well-being of children in Nigeria, and this is achieved not only by providing the best nutrition in Loya Milk but also by identifying with a sport that promotes this promise.’’

    Abiodun added: “We are aware that swimming is a 360-degree’ sport that involves all parts of your body, and it helps to maintain a healthy weight, healthy heart, control your muscle and above all, a fun exercise for growing children.”

    The schools that participated in the competition were Dowen College, Chrisland College, GreenSprings School, Halifield Schools, ST&T Regency International School, Supreme Education Foundation, Queensland Academy, Grace High School, Avi-cenna International and Honeyland College.

    One of the principals of Chrisland Schools, who emerged winner in the 50 metres swimming competition for boys, Mr. F. J. Vander Merwe, said: “l think it is a wonderful incentive for our students, and we would definitely maintain our performance in subsequent competition. We commend Loya Milk for this laudable initiative and would urge other organisations to emulate this.”

    On his team’s performance, Merwe said: “l am very proud of our pupils as they worked very hard for this, and if we can get more sponsors of this kind of event in Nigeria it would give students the encouragement to participate in swimming.”

  • Boko Haram: children severely malnourished, at risk of death, says UNICEF

    Boko Haram: children severely malnourished, at risk of death, says UNICEF

    Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director, on Tuesday, said the brutal years of Boko Haram insurgency had left a devastating impact on the children in northeast Nigeria.

    Lake stated this in a statement issued on Tuesday in New York on the situation of children in northeast, Nigeria.

    “The violent conflict in northeast Nigeria has left children severely malnourished and at risk of death.

    “In the three worst-affected states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, farming has been disrupted and crops destroyed, food reserves depleted and often pillaged, and livestock killed or abandoned.

    “In Borno, where the fighting has been most brutal, 75 per cent of the water and sanitation infrastructure and 30 per cent of all health facilities have been destroyed, looted or damaged.

    “The impact on children is devastating.

    “We estimate that 400,000 children will suffer from severe acute malnutrition over the next year in the three affected states,” he said.

    According to him, if the children do not receive the treatment they need, one in five  will die from cases of diarrhoea, malaria or pneumonia which are on the rise.

    “These figures represent only a fraction of the suffering. Large areas of Borno state are completely inaccessible to any kind of humanitarian assistance. We are extremely concerned about the children trapped in these areas.

    “We are making a difference in the areas we can reach. With the World Food Programme and other partners, we are treating acutely malnourished children.”

    He explained that UNICEF and other aid agencies and partners are vaccinating children against measles and polio and are providing safe water and sanitation services.

    “But this is nowhere close to enough.

    “Without adequate resources and without safe access, we and our partners will be unable to reach children whose lives are at imminent risk.

    “What is already a crisis can become a catastrophe,” the UNICEF chief said.