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Tag: UNICEF

  • UNICEF identifies, proffers solutions to Nigeria’s learning crisis

    UNICEF identifies, proffers solutions to Nigeria’s learning crisis

    United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said the learning crisis in the country is stalling development.

    The global body called for foundational learning skills to correct the trend.

    UNICEF’s Education Specialist, Mrs. Yetunde Oluwatosin, spoke at a media workshop on foundational literacy and numeracy yesterday in Benin, Edo State capital.

    News Agency of Nigeria reports the workshop was organised by UNICEF with Edo State SUBEB, Ministry of Education and Lagos State Directorate of National Orientation Agency (NOA).

    Oluwatosin said 73 per cent of 10-year-olds could not read or comprehend simple text, while nine of 10 children in sub-Saharan Africa were trapped by learning poverty.

    The education specialist also said only 63 per cent of five-year-olds of the poorest children, mostly in rural areas and in the North, participated in organised learning.

    She added this had led to late primary school entry and poor learning outcomes.

    Read Also: UN Chief, others call for global peace, solidarity

    Mrs. Oluwatosin said three of four children could not read with meaning or solve simple mathematical problems.

    According to her, 73 per cent of youths are literate while only seven per cent have ICT skills to work and learn digital economy.

    The education specialist noted limited infrastructure, dearth of teachers, limited learning data, especially on proficiency level, are among causes of the problem.

    She said UNICEF was improving quality of teaching and learning materials, adding the global body had reached over 1.8 million children with learning materials between 2018 and 2022.

    Mrs. Oluwatosin said UNICEF was planning to reach another 4.8 million by 2027, primarily in the North.

    The education specialist noted foundational learning skills would stop the learning crisis and improve learning outcomes in primary schools.

    Communication Officer, Ms. Blessing Ejiofor, urged the media to sway policies and decisions to improve learning outcomes for children.

    Commissioner for Education, Dr. Joan Oviawe, lauded UNICEF’s efforts at reducing learning poverty.

  • UNICEF: Lagos, Borno, others top food, nutrition insecure states

    UNICEF: Lagos, Borno, others top food, nutrition insecure states

    More people experience food and nutrition insecurity in Borno, Katsina, Kaduna, Jigawa, and Kano states, according to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

    It noted Cadre Harmonisé report said 17.6 million in 26 states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT),  suffer from  food and nutrition crisis.

    The report added between March and May, top food and nutrition insecure states were Lagos (1,596,099); Borno (1,553,499); Katsina (1,314,123); (Kaduna) 1,222,929; Jigawa, 1,063,633; and Kano, 1,006,542.

     UNICEF urged governments to ramp up interventions and domestic funding for nutrition, particularly for children.

     Speaking in Port Harcourt at a media dialogue on child malnutrition, with focus on financing, UNICEF’s Communication Specialist, Geoffrey Njoku, called for increased allocation for nutrition, and timely release of funds.

    Read Also: Reps committee summons two ministers, AGF, HCSOF over failed mass transit scheme

     He said:  “We have a nutrition problem in Nigeria, and it is particularly bad for children. Although UNICEF and other partners are supporting Nigeria to combat malnutrition, the government is not putting in enough money into ending the country’s nutrition problems. The government needs to put in its money into dealing with malnutrition.”

    Head of Child Rights Information Department in Federal Ministry of Information, Najaatu Hassan, represented by Temitoye Falayi, said: “Through the media, we have achieved success in the nutrition space, however, we can do more. We want Federal Government to commit more funds to nutrition for children. We want to make sure malnutrition is a thing of the past.”

     Nkeiru Enwelum, Nutrition officer at UNICEF, said: “While there are 35 million children under five in Nigeria, 12 million are stunted, and three million are wasted. Also, Nigeria is ranked first in Africa and second globally in children that are malnourished.

     “The government must commit more money for health, and ensure there is more health for the money committed through accountability and transparency. Also, mothers need to exclusively breastfeed babies for, at least, six months, which will guarantee their physical and mental growth and development.”

  • UNICEF Nigeria appoints Kate Henshaw, Cobhams, Waje, Ali Nuhu as ‘champions’ for child rights

    UNICEF Nigeria appoints Kate Henshaw, Cobhams, Waje, Ali Nuhu as ‘champions’ for child rights

    UNICEF Nigeria has appointed four celebrities of the music and film industries as its “Champions”.

    They are: Cobhams Asuquo (music producer), Aituaje Iruobe, popularly known as Waje (musician and film actors) Kate Henshaw and Ali Nuhu (popular actors).

    UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Ms. Cristian Munduate, who announced the appointment of the Champions yesterday in Lagos, said the celebrities would serve as powerful voices amplifying issues around child rights for 12 months.

    According to her, in the course of the next one year, the champions will work together with UNICEF to elevate pressing issues on children, spanning various sectors, such as health, education, nutrition, child protection, water sanitation, and hygiene.

    Read Also: Palliatives: Why we delayed distribution – Makinde

    “Through music, film, and public engagements, we hope to touch hearts, shift perspectives, and inspire action.

    “This collaboration symbolises a bridge between the commitment to child rights and the power of art and storytelling.

    “We are truly elated to join hands with such influential voices in the entertainment industry – Cobhams, Waje, Henshaw, and Nuhu. Their dedication and passion for children’s rights will undeniably amplify the urgency of the issues we fight for daily,” Munduate said.

    As UNICEF champions, Cobhams, Waje, Kate Henshaw, and Ali Nuhu will engage in numerous initiatives and campaigns designed to ensure that every child’s right to survival, growth, development, and protection is upheld and championed.

    The celebrities called for a change of mindset, urging the government to create a favourable environment for children to thrive.

    Henshaw said: “A lot of the mindset needs to be changed. It helps to have people like Waje, Ali, Cobhams and I, who have integrity, and can also help drive the changes that UNICEF is calling for in our country that would make our society a better place to live in.”

    In his remarks, Cobhams said: “Everyone is a champion and needs to have a sense of responsibility. You have a responsibility to pass on the torch.”

  • UNICEF sensitises five million Nigerians on genital mutilation

    The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) said over 5.68 million individuals have been reached through radio, television and social media to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Nigeria.

    The UN agency said that 5,094 girls were reached through sensitisation in primary and secondary schools and empowered with change agents in partnership with existing school clubs.

    UNICEF FGM Consultant in Imo and Ebonyi states, Mr Ben Mbakwem, spoke yesterday at the 7th quarterly meeting of Imo State Technical Committee (STC) on FGM Abandonment.

    It was organised by the Imo State Ministry of Gender and Vulnerable Group Affairs in collaboration with UNICEF, UNFPA and National Orientation Agency (NOA) in Owerri.

    Represented by the Director of Gender Affairs in the state’s Ministry of Gender, Dr Blessing Azubuike, Mbakwem said  3,903 girls and women had also received health, social and legal services.

    He noted that the figures covered the five states of Imo, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Osun and Oyo covered by NOA and UNICEF as states with the most prevalent in FGM.

    Mbakwem said that UNFPA- UNICEF 2018 Joint Report indicated that 18 per cent of girls and women in Nigeria aged 15 to 49 years had undergone FGM, while over 14.8 million girls were at risk between 2015 and 2030.

    He said a lot of progress had been made since Nigeria joined other countries on the joint programme on FGM abandonment.

    Mbakwem said that already, 415 communities had made public declaration of FGM abandonment with sustained FGM discussion in the Annual Women’s Home and Abroad Meeting (August Meeting) and inclusion of FGM in the “New Yam Festival” in the Southeast.

  • Child soldiers

    We welcome UNICEF’s initiative to end the scourge

    It has been a multiple whammy for children in the north-east part of Nigeria, ever since the predatory Boko Haram struck in that territory. If they are not getting killed in the armed conflict, they may be conscripted to fight the war, even by non-state combatants. The tragedy of children who have been denied their normal childhood experiences has the most devastating impact. Regrettably, to help protect the neighbourhood, the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) had recruited children amongst their members.

    But that kind of abuse is about to end. Following the intervention of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the CJTF has agreed to stop recruitment of children into their fold and to release those already recruited. Penultimate Friday, about 894 children, including 106 girls recruited into the CJTF in Maiduguri, Borno State, were released. The UNICEF in a statement said: “Children of north-east Nigeria have borne the brunt of this conflict. They have been used by armed groups in combatant and non-combatant roles and witnessed death, killing and violence.”

    Confirming the release of the children, UNICEF said it was in fulfilment of an agreement it reached with the CJTF in 2017 to release children in their fold, and to also stop any such recruitment. We applaud the agreement and its implementation. The children, no doubt, deserve to have a better life experience, and every effort should be made to discourage their recruitment as child soldiers, whether by Boko Haram or those fighting the scourge. At least, with the CJTF releasing the children in their control, one aspect of the challenge is contained.

    On this page we have had cause to commend the CJTF, and that commendation is deserved considering the enormous support they have given the military joint task force to fight Boko Haram. Of course, being indigenes of the community, they know the terrain and the renegade members of the community more than the regular fighting forces, and such knowledge is useful in fighting a shifty rogue army like Boko Haram. So, getting the CJTF to conform to international practices with regards to the rights of children, even in war, is welcomed, so that the CJTF members are not indicted under international laws, after the war.

    No doubt, the plight of children in the north-east is horrible. Many of them have become orphaned by the war, and are just roaming the streets without any next-of-kin. Many more are not only out of school; they leave in refugee camps, with all the consequences associated with them. The female ones get raped or asked to give sex in exchange for food and other essentials. Added to these traumatic experiences is the possibility of being recruited as a child soldier. As noted by UNICEF, children’s “participation in the conflict has had serious implications for their physical and emotional well-being.”

    The north-east harbouring millions of internally displaced persons surely needs more aid from the international community. Of note, according to UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Humanitarian Response Plan for Nigeria stands at about N78.4bn (about $279m) out of which United Nations humanitarian chief, Mr Stephen O’Brien, has released about N3.7bn ($13m) from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), to support about 250,000 displaced persons in the region. The agency noted that the gesture is a life-saving measure for the people in the region who have suffered so much from the ravages of Boko Haram attacks.

    Admittedly, other institutions in Nigeria and across the world have thrown in huge sums, to ameliorate the challenges faced by the displaced persons. The federal and state governments, particularly Borno State, the epicentre of the insurgency, have also done a lot to help the situation, but, like in any unfolding tragedy, the resources poured in are also swallowed by the increasing need of the displaced. So, the permanent solution is to defeat Boko Haram, so the people can be resettled in their homes to fend for themselves.

    As noted by the UN agency, “the destruction of crops and looting of livestock have left many people unable to support their families.” Towards helping those able to farm to start again, the UN agency notes that “more than 50,000 people need seeds and tools for the upcoming planting season.” Mr O’Brien also said the “CERF funds will enable humanitarian partners to provide critical psycho-social support and protection services.” Furthermore, he said: “CERF funding will help them to rebuild their livelihoods.”

    The most vulnerable in the crisis in the north-east no doubt remains women and children. All necessary efforts to help them should be put in place. That should also include international pressure on Boko Haram to stop the atrocity of recruiting child soldiers. On their part, the CJTF must release every child helping as combatants and non-combatants in the unfortunate war brought by Boko Haram.

  • UNICEF/Access Bank Charity Shield Polo ignites Kaduna

    All is now set for the continent’s premium polo extravaganza, the Access Bank UNICEF Charity Shield Polo Tournament which gallops off at the Fifth Chukker Lawns of Kangimi Resort in Kaduna from June 6- 25, 2019.

    The international polo fiesta which has been the biggest sporting attraction in Nigeria and indeed Kaduna for almost two decades now, promises to be the most competitive and most exciting since inception as a record number of eighteen teams loaded with international stars from around the world, are expected to vie for honours.

    Sponsored exclusively by Access Bank Plc and traditionally hosted by Fifth Chukker Polo & Country Club, the annual event has benefited rural community and the suburbs with renovation of schools and provision of facilities like bore holds and empowerment of women.

    Executive Director, Personal Banking, Access Bank Plc, Victor Etuokwu who disclosed this in Lagos at a press briefing heralding the 2019 edition of the international tournament, said that a new 60 blocks of classrooms has been added to numerous achievements of the charity event this year.

    He stated that project that would berth a new education system in Kaduna, was a contribution by the bank alongside the partners, Fifth Chukker Polo & Country Club, and well meaning individuals to the sustenance of the charity platform.

    “This year’s tournament is more than an affirmation of our commitment to socio-economic wellbeing of mankind and acknowledgement of the impact the initiative has had on the lives of the orphaned and vulnerable children in northern Nigeria especially in Kaduna state,” he emphasized.

    Etuokwu also disclosed that the project which is currently seventy percent complete, will on completion, admits a record 12,600 orphans and less privilege children across rural communities in the state, on a two shift system of morning and evening seasons.

    The prestigious polo tourney revered as on e of the biggest fund raising charity polo in the world, would be decided in two stages of ten days of exciting campaigns. The first stage of the annual tournament will pitch 14 teams jostling for the UNICEF and the Usman Dantata Cup respectively, while the second stage promises to be a thrilling experience as six fully armed teams loaded with foreign professionals do battle for Access Bank Cup and the event’s biggest prize, Charity Shield.

    Some of the high goal teams listed to contest for top honours are defending champions, Rubicon team from Abuja, former champions, Fifth Chukker/Access Bank, Lagos STL and Jos Malcomines who are seeking to win their first ever Charity Shield title.

    Other are Kaduna Tila Farms, two Kano teams, Bichi Farms and Terra P&E teams, and the hard fighting Kamgimi Resort team that missed the final spot last year by the whiskers.

    Sheyi Tinubu’s mounted Lagos STL that hit Kaduna with two fortified teams, would be eyeing the events second most wanted prize, the Access Bank Cup in a three split campaign against die hard squads like Murtala Laushi’s Malcomine miners from Jos and home boys, Kangimi Warriors.

    With pre-tournament  speculations and tensions  reaching the sky, the duo of Jos Malcomines and STL loaded with foreign “Hired Assassins” from Argentina and Europe are bracing for a baptism of fire as they dare five times champions, Fifth Chukker\ Access Bank team in a winner-takes all Charity Shield mayhem that is too close to call.

    UNICEF officials, who witness the Lagos media event, thanked Charity platform partners for their support, urged other corporate organizations to emulate their kind gestures toward UNICEF’s fight against HIV/AIDS pandemic in the country.

    “Dig deep into your pocket and give generously. By giving your full support in this event, you will be helping UNICEF to address the need of children affected by HIV/AIDS in Nigerian. Children,” they pleaded.

    Inaugurated in 2003 with the African Masters as a platform to raise funds for charity, the Emir of Katsina Charity Shield has grown to becoming one of the major events that the record setting Fifth Chukker Resort is revered for.

    The event was initially named after His Royal Highness, Alhaji Muhammadu Kabir Usman who has remained the pillar of the Nigerian polo for over 50 years now. The late Emir of Katsina, who was the Life President of the Nigerian Polo Federation himself retired as a +5 player before he ascended to the throne in 1981.

    Meanwhile, foremost women’s polo player, Neku Atawodi-Edun has been unveiled  as Access Bank W brand ambassador.

    Access Bank Coordinator, Women Banking Initiative, Ayona Aguele-Trimnell, described Neku as a Nigerian polo player, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and an investor.

    Neku Atawodi-Edun, who accepted the endorsement, said she was thrilled at the opportunity offered by Access Bank to carry through her passion for promotion of women empowerment and encouraging women polo in Nigeria to an acceptable international level.

    She told media executives in an interactive session that as Access Bank ambassador, she hopes to be playing more in the European season that recently galloped off after the climax of the US season in April.

    Neku listed some of the countries she would be flying the flag of Access Bank, to include United Kingdom, France, Spain and Germany. Neku hopes to play more in Africa, with the forthcoming 2019 Access bank UNICEF Charity Shield tournament billed for Kaduna in June.

  • 1, 700 children linked with armed group in Borno released – UNICEF

    United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on Friday said 1, 700 children among the ranks of Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in the insurgency war in Borno had been released.

    UNICEF’s Country Representative, Mohammed Fall, stated this at the formal handover of the second batch of 894 children by the CJTF to their families, in Maiduguri.

    CJTF is a local militia group formed in 2013 to assist the military and other security agencies in the fight against insurgency, and to protect communities from insurgents’ attack.

    However, it had recruited children in its ranks to discharge its responsibility.

    Fall disclosed that the first batch of 833 children were released by the CJTF in October, 2018 as part of commitments to end the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict in the North-East.

    He said “Since September, 2017 when the CJTF signed an action plan committing to put measures in place to end and prevent recruitment and use of children, 1, 727 children and young people have so far been released.

    “Since then, there has not been recruitment of children by the CJTF.

    “Children in the North-East have borne the brunt of the conflict; they are used by armed groups in combatant and non-combatant roles and have witnessed death, killings and violence.

    “This participation in conflict has had serious implications for their physical and emotional wellbeing.

    “Any commitment for children that is matched with action is a step in the right direction for the protection of children’s rights; it must be recognized and encouraged”.

    Fall added that the newly-released children would benefit from reintegration programme, “to help them to return to normal civil life, attain self-development and contribute to the peace-building process in the society’’.

    READ ALSO: Kaduna: 6,000 babies at risk of HIV in 2019 – UNICEF

    The UNICEF’s official reiterated the commitment of the organization to collaborate government, humanitarian and development organizations to ensure the protection of children’s rights in the war-torn region.

    “We cannot give up the fight for the children as long as children are affected by the fight. We will continue until there is no child left in the ranks of all armed groups in Nigeria”.

    According to statistic by UNICEF, over 3, 500 children were killed, maimed, raped, abducted or recruited and used by non-state armed groups between 2013 and 2017 in the combat against insurgency.

    It revealed that 9, 800 persons associated with armed groups and vulnerable children in the region accessed reintegration services between 2017 and 2018.

    In his speech, Mr Abdullahi Izge, Deputy Solicitor-General, Ministry of Justice, Borno, said that CJTF adopted sound programmes to release children in its ranks and reintegrate them into the society in line with UN Resolution 1612.

    Izge explained that 400 of the 833 children earlier released were enrolled into formal schools while the remaining were trained on various trades under a special skill acquisition programme.

    He added that 894 children with links to armed groups were identified in Maiduguri and Jere while similar exercise was ongoing in 13 local government areas of the state.

    In his remarks, the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Garbai Ibn El-Kanemi, commended UNICEF over the children reintegration and polio immunization programmes.

    El-Kanemi called on the children to use the opportunities given to them to learn trades, become self-reliant and contribute to the development of the society.

    The event was attended by Switzerland’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Georg Steiner; representatives of US Embassy, heads of humanitarian organizations and representative of Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj.-Gen. Benson Akinroluyo, among others.

    (NAN)

  • Nigeria tops list of global unvaccinated children

    Nigeria is on top of the list of global unvaccinated children with about 4 million children missing out in the first dose of the measles vaccines, the United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said.

    The global agency said Nigeria has the highest number of children under one year who missed out on the first dose, at nearly 4 million.

    An estimated 169 million children globally missed out on the first dose of the measles vaccine between 2010 and 2017, or 21.1 million children a year on average, UNICEF also said.

    Nigeria is followed closely by India with 2.9 million.

    In low and middle-income countries, the situation is critical. In 2017, for example, other countries with huge statistics are Pakistan and Indonesia (1.2 million each) and Ethiopia (1.1 million).

    The global body warns that against the widening pockets of unvaccinated children, which according to him have created a pathway to the measles outbreaks hitting several countries around the world today.

    In the first three months of this year, more than 110,000 measles cases were reported worldwide – up nearly 300 per cent from the same period last year. An estimated 110,000 people, most of them children, died from measles in 2017, a 22 per cent increase from the year before.

    Two doses of the measles vaccine are essential to protect children from the disease, but due to lack of access, poor health systems, complacency, and in some cases, fear or scepticism about vaccines, the global coverage of the first dose of the measles vaccine was reported at 85 per cent in 2017.

    The figure has remained relatively constant over the last decade, despite population growth.

    Global coverage for the second dose is much lower, at 67 per cent. WHO recommends a threshold of 95 per cent immunisation coverage to achieve “herd immunity”.

    In high income countries, while coverage with the first dose is 94 per cent, coverage for the second dose drops to 91 per cent, according to the latest data.

    The United States (U.S) tops the list of high-income countries with the most children not receiving the first dose of the vaccine between 2010 and 2017, at more than 2.5 million.

    It is followed by France and the United Kingdom (UK), with over 600,000 and 500,000 unvaccinated infants during the same period.

    Worldwide coverage levels of the second dose of the measles vaccines are even more alarming. Of the top 20 countries with the largest number of unvaccinated children in 2017, nine have not introduced the second dose.

    Twenty countries in sub-Saharan Africa have not introduced the necessary second dose in the national vaccination schedule, putting over 17 million infants a year at higher risk of measles during their childhood.

    Speaking on the development, UNICEF’s Executive Director Henrietta Fore said: “The measles virus will always find unvaccinated children. If we are serious about averting the spread of this dangerous but preventable disease, we need to vaccinate every child in rich and poor countries alike.

    “Measles is far too contagious.

    “It is critical not only to increase coverage but also to sustain vaccination rates at the right doses to create an umbrella of immunity for everyone.”

  • 3,500 child soldiers recruited in Nigeria —UNICEF

    More than 3,500 children, aged between 13 and 17, were recruited by armed militant groups between 2013 and 2017 and have been used in the ongoing armed conflict in Northeast Nigeria, the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, has said.

    The organisation, in a statement ahead of the 5th anniversary of the abduction of 276 Chibok schoolgirls, said the figures may not represent the exact picture of the use of child soldiers by the armed groups, especially Boko Haram.

    “In addition to these children, 432 children were killed and maimed, 180 were abducted, and 43 girls were sexually abused in North-East Nigeria in 2018,” it said.

    The UNICEF said the Chibok abduction, closely followed by another mass kidnapping of another 110 girls in Dapchi, is a grim reminder that widespread abductions of children and grave violations of children’s rights continue to take place in the North-East.

    “Children should feel safe at home, in schools and on their playgrounds at all times,” the statement quoted Mohamed Malick Fall, UNICEF representative in Nigeria, as saying.

    It asked the parties to the conflict to “fulfil their obligations under international law to end violations against children and to stop targeting civilian infrastructure, including schools.”

    At least 100 of the Chibok girls remain in captivity.

    Since 2012, non-state armed groups in the North East have recruited and used children as combatants and non-combatants, raped and forced girls to marry, and committed other grave violations against children, the agency said.

    It said some of the girls become pregnant in captivity and give birth without any medical care or attention.

  • UNICEF: Over 3.6 m Nigerians in need of hygiene services

    The United Nations International Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) says over 3.6 million people lack access to potable water, sanitation and hygiene services in Nigeria.

    UNICEF’s Representative in the country, Mr Mohamed Fall, made this known on Friday in a statement to commemorate World Water Day scheduled for March 22 with the 2019 theme: “Living no one behind”.

    Fall identified 1.1 million as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as a result of violence and conflict, noting that many of them are out-of-reach in remote areas still impacted by conflict.

    “About 800,000 people are in hard-to-reach areas and 79 per cent of these are children and women.

    “In Nigeria, conflict has created huge challenges for people living in the Northeast of the country, where violence has affected their ability to access water and sanitation, leading to diseases such as cholera.

    “In the North-east 5,365 people were affected by cholera, with 61 dying in 2017, while 12,643 people were affected in 2018 and 175 died of the disease,” Fall said.

    UNICEF Executive Director, Ms Henrietta Fore noted that children below the age of 15 in countries affected by protracted conflict on the average, are three times more likely to die from diarrhoea  due to lack of  access to WASH facilities  than as a result of  direct violence.

    Fore, who quoted UNICEF’s latest report titled: “Water Under Fire”, said the odds were already stacked against children living through prolonged conflicts.

    “The odds are already stacked against children living through prolonged conflicts with many unable to reach a safe water source.

    READ ALSO: UNICEF: we’re committed to clean environment in Anambra

    “The reality is that there are more children who die from lack of access to safe water than by bullets,” she said.

    Fore said that UNICEF has intensified efforts to scale-up life-saving responses, especially in IDP camps to ensure quality and sustainability of WASH services and facilities.

    She further noted that the agency was also working to minimise the risk of WASH-related diseases and provide preventive measures against cholera and other water-borne diseases.

    According to her, without safe and effective WASH services, children are at risk of malnutrition and preventable diseases including diarrhoea, typhoid, cholera and polio.

    “Girls are particularly affected: They are vulnerable to sexual violence as they collect water or venture out to use latrines. They deal with affronts to their dignity as they bathe and manage menstrual hygiene.

    “And they miss classes during menstruation if their schools have no suitable water and sanitation facilities.

    “These threats are exacerbated during conflict when deliberate and indiscriminate attacks destroy infrastructure, injure personnel and cut off the power that keeps water, sanitation and hygiene systems running.

    “Armed conflict also limits access to essential repair equipment and consumables such as fuel or chlorine – which can be depleted, rationed, diverted or blocked from delivery. Far too often, essential services are deliberately denied,” she noted.

    “Deliberate attacks on water and sanitation are attacks on vulnerable children. Water is a basic right. It is a necessity for life,” she added.

    NAN