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Tag: UNICEF

  • 270,000 Nigerian children living with HIV – UNICEF

    270,000 Nigerian children living with HIV – UNICEF

    The United Nations Children’s Fund ( UNICEF ) has said that at least 270,000 children aged 0 to 14 years were living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Nigeria as at 2016.

    The figure represented the lion share of half of the 540,000 total infected children in West and Central Africa over the same year.

    Nigeria also recorded 37,000 new HIV infections among children out of the total of 60,000 new infections in West and Central Africa over the same period, representing 62 per cent of the new infections.

    The UN children’s agency warned that the West and Central Africa were lagging too far behind the rest of the world in access to HIV treatment and care.

    The UNICEF Director, West and Central Africa, Ms Marie-Pierre Poirier, in a report released on Tuesday, called for improvement of early diagnosis and access to HIV treatment and care for children.

    The report said four in five children living with HIV in West and Central Africa were still not receiving life-saving antiretroviral therapy.

    It warned that AIDS-related deaths among adolescents aged 15 to 19 years were on the rise.

    “It is tragic that so many children and adolescents today are not receiving the treatment they need just because they have not been tested,” Poirier said.

    According to UNICEF, West and Central Africa has the lowest paediatric antiretroviral treatment coverage in the world.

    The region has only 21 per cent of the 540,000 children (aged 0 to 14 years) living with HIV receiving antiretroviral treatment in 2016 – compared to 43 per cent globally.

    “A major cause behind this is the limited capacity of the countries to perform the tests needed for early infant diagnosis of HIV.

    “Without knowing a child’s HIV status, his or her family is less likely to seek the treatment that could prevent the tragedy of a child’s death from AIDS-related illnesses.

    “The situation is worse among adolescents: the annual number of new HIV infections among those aged 15 to 19 years in the region now exceeds that of children aged 0 to 14 years,” the report stated.

  • 160,000 died of AIDS-related illness, says UNICEF

    160,000 died of AIDS-related illness, says UNICEF

    The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said yesterday that about 160,000 people died as a result of AIDS-related illness in last year.

    UNICEF HIV and AIDS Specialist Dr Idris Baba, made this known in Kaduna at the 2017 World AIDS Day, organised by the Kaduna State Agency for the Control of AIDS (KADSACA).

    The activity began with a rally from the Ministry of Health to KADSACA office along Katuru Road, Malali.

    Baba said less than 10 per cent of young people in Kaduna State knew their HIV status.

    Baba said the 2017 data of the United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), also showed that 15 per cent of Nigerian youths of less than 15 years engaged in sexual debut, adding that the development had increased HIV vulnerability among young people.

    According to him, there was also very low HIV testing rates with only 17 per cent of young people knowing their HIV status in the country, adding that of the figure, less than 10 per cent was recorded in Kaduna State as at 2016.

    The specialist also said for various reasons, ranging from gender, biological to socio-economy; young women had a higher HIV prevalence and were infected earlier in life than men of the same age group.

    He said that UNICEF had committed significant resources in supporting Adolescent and Young Persons (AYPs) HIV interventions in the state.

    “The intervention is ongoing in Igabi, Birnin Gwari, Lere, kagarko, Chikun, Jaba and Jema’a Local Government Areas of the state. This is part of our goals of ensuring that 90 per cent HIV positive AYPs know their status, 90 per cent HIV positive placed on treatment,” he said.

    He praised state government for the successes so far recorded in HIV response in the state, stressing that the state recorded HIV 5.6 per cent prevalence in the state 2001 while the figure increased to 7 per cent in 2007.

    He, however, said that following sustained coordinated prevention, the prevalence had consistently declined to 2.2 per in 2014.

    Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Paul Dogo, said that the state’s HIV/AIDS response would remain strong and resilient.

    Dogo also said the state could do better by further reducing the burden of HIV, especially among the AYPs population in the state.

  • Polio: UNICEF immunizes 2m children in four states

    Polio: UNICEF immunizes 2m children in four states

    The Global Affairs Canada (GAC) in conjunction with UNICEF said it immunized more than two million children in rural communities of Jigawa, Niger, Taraba and Zamfara states in the past one year.
    Dr. Esther Obinya, a UNICEF health specialist and the National Coordinator of the Hard To Reach (HTR) project, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jalingo on Saturday, that the initiative of reaching rural communities with vaccines was recording a lot of success.
    She disclosed that the HTR project was able to reach more than 900,000 pregnant women in the four states with ante-natal and post-natal services and commodities within the period.
    Obinya stated that the HTR, which is aimed at eradicating polio and strengthening health care in remote communities, is enjoying support from the federal, state and local governments in all the four high-risk states where the project is ongoing.
    She disclosed that more than 3,000 settlements had been visited at least three times since the project began in March 2016.
    She identified security breach occasioned by the frequent communal clashes, hazardous terrains, political interference and getting the right technical personnel, especially, Nurse-Midwives as the major challenges of the project.
    The Bill and Melinda-Gates foundation had carried out similar exercises in Borno, Yobe, Kaduna, Bauchi, Katsina, and Kano with very good results, she said.
    Obinya, who was in Taraba to supervise the Quarter 3, 2017 Review Meeting of GAC/HTR for Jigawa, Niger, Taraba, and Zamfara states, also called on the benefiting states to work assiduously to sustain the project which would end in December 2018.
    Delegates from the four states had earlier undertaken field trips to some Hard to Reach communities in Ardo-Kola and Jalingo Local Government.
    NAN recalls that the World Health Assembly had in 2012 asked the World Health Organisation to formulate a programme that would eradicate polio worldwide when it was discovered that Nigeria, Afghanistan, and Pakistan had remained the three most endemic countries that were left with polio.
  • 60 per cent children at risk of poor development, says UNICEF

    60 per cent children at risk of poor development, says UNICEF

    The United Nations Children’s Fund has said 60 per cent of under five children in Nigeria are at risk of poor childhood development.

    UNICEF’s Education Specialist, Swadchet Sankey, made this known  at an early childhood development (ECD) media dialogue in Kano.

    Sankey said

    250 million children globally under five are unlikely to reach their potentials because their development had been stunted by poor nutrition.

    According to her, Nigeria is among the top 10 countries contributing to 250 million children under five who are at risk of not reaching their potentials.

    She noted that most children do not reach their potentials because their development had been stunted by stress, lack of early stimulation and poor nutrition.

    Early Childhood Development, according to the organization, refers to the physical, congnitive, language and social and emotional development of a child from the parental age up to age eight.

    At the dialogue which was organised by UNICEF in collaboration with Federal Ministry of Information, Abuja, Sankey said, lack of ECD in children also affected a country’s growth.

    “Nigeria does not have the fundamentals in place for a comprehensive approach to ECD, with an integrated multi-sectoral ECD policy, the key indicators of child development outcomes in the country remain low,” she said.

    Sankey noted that the current policy on ECD was outdated and needed to be reviewed to contain current thinking and an improved approach to delivering ECD across various platforms in Nigeria.

    She however urged Nigerians to collaborate to ensure the attainment of ECD in children.

    Sankey said there is need to address regulation issues which would serve as a guide to developing children’s potentials.

  • 60 per cent children in Nigeria at risk of poor development, says UNICEF

    The United Nations Children’s Fund has said 60 per cent of under five children in Nigeria are at risk of poor childhood development.

    UNICEF’s Education Specialist, Swadchet Sankey, said this at an early childhood development (ECD) media dialogue in Kano recently.

    Sankey disclosed that 250 million children globally under five are unlikely to reach their potentials because their development had been stunted by poor nutrition.

    According to her, Nigeria is among the top 10 countries contributing to 250 million children under five who are at risk of not reaching their potentials.

    She noted that most children do not reach their potentials because their development had been stunted by stress, lack of early stimulation and poor nutrition.

    Early Childhood Development, according to the organization, refers to the physical, congnitive, language and social and emotional development of a child from the parental age up to age eight.

    At the dialogue which was organized by UNICEF in collaboration with Federal Ministry of Information, Abuja, Sankey said, lack of ECD in children also affected a country’s growth.

    “Nigeria does not have the fundamentals in place for a comprehensive approach to ECD, with an integrated multi-sectoral ECD policy, the key indicators of child development outcomes in the country remain low,” she said.

    Sankey noted that the current policy on ECD was outdated and needed to be reviewed to contain current thinking and an improved approach to delivering ECD across various platforms in Nigeria.

    She however urged Nigerians to collaborate to ensure the attainment of ECD in children.

    Sankey said there is need to address regulation issues which would serve as a guide to developing children’s potentials.

    “There are regulation issues and it is the responsibility of the government to impose these regulations; today you see some schools using the Montessori model while others use the American model. There is no regulation.

    “Again, child development is not about biology and genes, it is about environment, nutrition and care.

    “ECD is the foundation for attaining sustainable development and we are working with training institutions, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to ensure play-based learning in classrooms,” Sankey noted.

    Also, a UNICEF Nutrition Specialist, Bamidele Omotola, urged mothers to stimulate their children for proper development.

    Mr. Omotola, in his presentation, noted that parental stimulation was a major factor in preparing children for the future.

    Also, Acting Director, Universal Basic Education, Mayowa Aleshi, called for adequate planning and utilization of resources to expand early childhood development in the country.

    He disclosed that there are about 62,406 primary schools as at 2014, adding that only 28,026 of them had Early Childhood Care and Development Education centres.

    According to him, the centres have 56,588 teachers and caregivers with 74% of these population qualified.

    He also disclosed that the Nigerian government has set aside “2% of consolidated revenue fund for implementation of UBEC Programme Funding; segregated to a matching grant of 50%, instructional materials at 15%, teachers’ development at 10% and 5% each of the three components on pre-primary schools.

  • Italy donates $5m to help eradicate polio in Afghanistan

    Italy donates $5m to help eradicate polio in Afghanistan

    The Italian government donated 5 million dollars ( 4.3 million euros ) to the UNICEF and WHO to help eradicate polio in Afghanistan, a UNICEF statement said on Tuesday.

    “Of this amount, 2.9 million dollars (2.5 million euros) will go to UNICEF and WHO, which are both working in the framework of the National Emergency Action Plan for Polio (NEAP) aimed at interrupting the disease transmission in Afghanistan”.

    The statement also noted that the remaining 2.1 million dollars (1.8 million euros) have been granted to UNICEF to improve the coverage and quality of nutrition services for children under five, adolescent girls and mothers in the most deprived provinces.

    “Improving the nutritional status of children in Afghanistan is a priority,” said Adele Khodr, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan quoted in the statement.

    “When children don’t get the nutrients they need at a young age, they are not able to reach their full potential and Afghanistan misses out on one of its most valuable resources — its children.

    “Polio remains endemic in only three countries in the world — Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.

    Around 10 million children under the age of five receive vaccinations multiple times every year, in all areas of the country, UNICEF said.

    There has been immense progress in eradicating polio in Afghanistan and the country is closer to stopping transmission than ever before, the statement said.

    NAN

  • UNICEF doubles funding appeal for displaced kids in Northeast

    UNICEF doubles funding appeal for displaced kids in Northeast

    The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has more than double its funding appeal to provide humanitarian resources for Nigeria from $55 million to $115 million.

    This is to assist an additional 750,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), especially children recently reached across conflict-affected areas in the Northeast.

    “We are reaching new areas to provide critical humanitarian assistance but we need greater international support to further scale up and reach all children in dire need,” said Afshan Khan, UNICEF’s Director of Emergency Programmes.

    She added that “Children’s lives are literally hanging by a thread.”

    UNICEF added that as new areas open up to humanitarian assistance, the impact of the Boko Haram insurgency on children becomes more evident.

    While there are more than two million internally displaced persons in Nigeria, UNICEF believes one million children are displaced and out of school. Hundreds of thousands of those children are psychologically affected from the horrors they have lived through. An estimated 400,000 children under five will suffer from severe acute malnutrition this year alone, it was learnt.

    UN said more than four million people are facing severe food shortages and 65,000 people are living in famine-like conditions, mostly in Borno, the worst affected state.

    About 60 per cent of health clinics have been partially or completely destroyed by the insurgency, and 75 per cent of water and sanitation facilities require rehabilitation, especially in Borno State.

  • Gombe executive to back GOE bill passage

    Gombe executive to back GOE bill passage

    The Gombe State Executive Council has vowed commitment to support the passage of the Gender and Equal Opportunities ( GEO ) Bill by the state House of Assembly with a promise to ensure full implementation after passage.

    This position is contained in a communiqué issued after a two-day sensitisation workshop organised for them by the European Union (EU) Women under its programmed tagged “Promoting Women Engagement in Peace and Security in Northern Nigeria.”

    The document signed the state Commissioner for Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, Mal. Yusuf Manu Swa and Ishiaku Mohammed, Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Women Affairs also saw participants committing to active engagement of women and youths i peace-building process.

    Participants condemned in strong terms violence against women, girls, children and all vulnerable persons.

    It therefore resolved to speak against all forms of violence against all persons

    The workshop drew 40 members, which include commissioners, permanent secretaries, UN Peace and Security Project team and representatives of the gender committee.

    It was basically aimed at deepening the knowledge of the members of Gombe state executive on contents of Gombe State GEO Bill and to collate input from them on the content of the Bill.

    The workshop also provided a platform for direct advocacy for the passage of the Bill, while enhancing participants understanding of the United Nations Security Council Resolution ( UNSCR ) 1325.

    The meeting was funded by European Union ( EU )  and implemented by UN women in partnership with UNICEF and the state ministry of women Affairs and Social development.

  • Kanu, El-Hadji Diouf, Apiah, Amokachi , others to light up Kano

    Kanu, El-Hadji Diouf, Apiah, Amokachi , others to light up Kano

    African football legends are billed to light up the ancient city  of Kano on December 14 in a novelty match against Kano Pillars.
    According to the General Coordinator,Moo Mohammed Mustapha, he listed the  ex-international footballers who will feature in the match to include former Super Eagles and two-time African Footballer of the Year, Kanu Nwankwo, El-Hadji Diouf of Senegal, Steven Apiah of Ghana, Mohammed Kalou of Sierra-leone.
    Others include Fabian Makati of South Africa, Samson Siasia, Tijani Babangida, Lukas Kadiebe of South Africa, Garba Lawal, Mutiu Adepoju, Peter Rufai, Daniel Amokachi and the host of others.
    However, Kanu Nwankwo who was present at the Press Conference in the company of Diouf appealed to the Federal Government and state governments to pick interest in the December 14 football match, designed to help the IDPs.
    “We have to do this for the IDPs because people talk about and forget about them. We call on the Federal Government, state governors, corporate organizations, wealthy individuals and Nigerians in the Diaspora to respond positively to this clarion call.
    “We should make sure that we all play a role. We want the Federal Government and the state governments to be part of this. This is a very big statement and we have to do it. This game is very important to Nigeria. It is important to raise the hope of the IDPs. We have to come to their rescue,” he stated.
    The tourney is  designed to drum up support for a fund-raising to assist the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the country.
    Meanwhile, the chairperson of the MATCH4IDPS Local Organizing Committee, Abi Goodman, the event is a charity game to raise awareness for the need to help IDPs who are victims of Boko Haram insurgency and others who are in camps across the country over one problem or the other.
    Goodman who addressed sportswriters during a pre-match press conference to create awareness for the event said, “we are here to introduce a charity and the purpose is to use the opportunity to raise awareness on the situation going on in IDP camps across Nigeria.
    “The match is designed to kick-start campaign to raise fund for the IDPs. The Match is between African football legends and Kano Pillars football club.
    It will hold at Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano on the 14th of December, 2017.”
    According to her, the event became necessary to help IPDs, adding that donor agencies such as the United Nations, UNICEF and other Non Governmental Organizations have run out fund, “and there is need to use other avenues such as football to attract donors to help and support our brothers and sisters who are practically suffering in the IDPs across Nigeria.”
  • Nigeria accounts for 20% of Africa’s births – UNICEF

    Nigeria accounts for 20% of Africa’s births – UNICEF

    Nigeria currently accounts for 20 percent of all the births in Africa, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reported.

    UNICEF, in a report: ‘Generation 2030 Africa 2.0: Prioritising investments in children to reap the demographic dividend’, also said one in every 13 births globally would take place in Nigeria by 2050.

    UNICEF said special attention is required for Nigeria, given the projected increase in births and child population.

    “Nigeria currently accounts for nearly 20 percent of all of Africa’s births and 5 percent of the global total.

    “Between 2016 and 2030, 120 million births will take place in Nigeria alone – more than all the births in Europe – accounting for 6 percent of the global total for that period.

    “Based on current projections, by 2050, one of every 13 births globally will occur in Nigeria,” the report said.

    The report found that half of the world’s children would be African by the end of the 21st century.

    “In 1950, Africa had just above 10 percent of the world’s children. By 2100, if current trends persist, around 50 percent of all the world’s children will be African.

    “By 2030, the end year for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Development, Africa’s under-18 population is projected to increase by around 170 million, reaching a total of 750 million.

    “By mid-century, around 42 percent of the world’s births, 41 percent of all under-fives, 38 percent of all under-18s, and 36 percent of all adolescents will be African.”

    The report added that almost one billion children would live in Africa by mid-century.

    Based on the population projection, Ms Leila Pakkala, UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, urged investment as Africa’s youth population surged.

    “Investing in health, protection, and education must become an absolute priority for Africa between now and 2030.

    “Some 11 million education and health personnel will be needed to keep pace with the projected unprecedented population growth of children in Africa – an increase of 170 million children between now and 2030.

    “We are at the most critical juncture for Africa’s children. Get it right, and we set the foundation for a demographic dividend.

    “This could lift hundreds of millions out of extreme poverty and contribute to enhanced prosperity, stability and peace,” she said.

    The report identifies three key issues for investment: health care, education as well as the protection and empowerment of women and girls.

    It added that to meet minimum international standards in health care and best practice targets in education, Africa would have to add 5.6 million new health workers and 5.8 million new teachers by 2030.

    Ms Marie-Pierre Poirier, UNICEF’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa, stressed the need to invest in the potential of the projected one billion children in Africa.

    Poirier said: “If Africa steps up its investments in children and youth now, transforms its education systems and empowers women and girls to participate fully in community, workplace and political life.

    “It will be able to reap faster, deeper and longer dividends from its demographic transition.

    “Conversely, if investments do not occur in Africa’s youth and children, the once-in-a-generation opportunity of a demographic dividend may be replaced by a demographic disaster, characterised by unemployment and instability.”

    UNICEF recommended three policy actions to create the socio-economic conditions for Africa’s coming generations.

    The first is to improve health, social welfare, and protection services to meet international standards; or beyond, in countries close to attaining them.

    Secondly, it recommended Africa’s educational skills and vocational learning system be adapted through curricula reform and access to technology to meet the needs of a twenty-first-century labour market.

    The report also prescribed that Africa secures and ensures the right to protection from violence, exploitation, child marriage and abuse.

    This includes removing barriers preventing women and girls from participating fully in community, workplace and political life; and enhanced access to reproductive health services.