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Tag: UNICEF

  • New polio cases: Children in conflict areas in danger, says UNICEF

    New polio cases: Children in conflict areas in danger, says UNICEF

    The United Nation Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has said the news that two children have been paralysed by wild poliovirus in northeastern Nigeria, underscores the urgency of eradicating the disease in conflict-affected areas.

    The humanitarian organisation said the Federal Government and the World Health Organization have confirmed an outbreak of wild poliovirus in conflict-ridden Borno State, where children are already facing dangerous high level of malnutrition.

    A press statement by the UNICEF Chief Communicator, Doune Porter, said the two cases discovered has been in parts recently assessible in Borno, adding that  large areas of the state remain unreachable.

    She noted that Nigeria and the continent had its last confirmed polio case two years ago and was within a year of being certified polio-free before the recent development.

    Doune said: “We cannot deny the connection between conflict and the continued threat of polio. The two new cases mean children across the Lake Chad region are now at particular risk. With our partners, we will not stop until we reach every child with polio vaccination. The Federal Ministry of Health of Nigeria, supported by WHO, UNICEF and partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, are rolling out an emergency immunization campaign, starting in the accessible parts of Borno State.

  • Exclusive breastfeeding prevents cancer, maternal death – UNICEF

    Exclusive breastfeeding prevents cancer, maternal death – UNICEF

    Nursing mothers who adopt exclusive breastfeeding of their children, at least for the first six months of life stand a chance to be protected against Breast Cancer and Cancer of the uterus.

    This was disclosed by the UNICEF, Kaduna Field Office in Kaduna Tuesday.

    Speaking at a press conference to commemorate 2016 World Breastfeeding Day, Chief of Kaduna UNICEF Field Office, Utpal Moitra said, breastfeedingwithin 30 minutes of childbirth equally saves mothers from maternal death.

    He said, the 2016 World Breastfeeding Week was targeted at creating awareness on the relationship between breastfeeding and infant and young child feeding as a key component to sustainable development goals.

    According to him, “Initiation of breastfeeding within 30 minutes after birth saves mothers from the risk of postpartum heamorrage and maternal death and exclusive breastfeeding on demand in the first six months of life without water or any other food starts every baby on healthy path in life, providing all the nutrients the baby requires for optimum growth and development.

    “The feeding of the colostrum serves as the first immunisation against a host of diseases the mother must have been exposed to while continuing breastfeeding up to two years and beyond with appropriate complementary feeding supports optimal health, psychosocial and cognitive development with higher Intelligence Quotient and mental development.” He explained.

    Similarly, Kaduna State Nutrition Officer, Mrs. June Gwani said, against the general belief of mothers that, baby needs water, she said all water a baby needs in the first six months of life is in breast milk.

    According to her, breast milk contains 85% of water, so there is no fear of absence of water in the breast milk.

    She stated categorically that, constant breastfeeding of the baby protects nursing mothers against cancer of the uterus and breast cancer, such as it equally helps the mothers’ uterus to go back to position quickly after delivery.

    In her presentation, titled; ‘Breastfeeding: A key to Sustainable Development and Addressing the Current Situation and Challenges of Malnutrition in UNICEF Kaduna Field Office States.’ UNICEF Nutrition Specialist, Dr. Florence Oni said, northern Nigeria was lagging behind in proper breastfeeding, which had resulted to high rate of malnutrition in the region.

  • More than five million newborn babies deprived of nutrients – UNICEF

    More than five million newborn babies deprived of nutrients – UNICEF

    …says Exclusive breastfeeding nourishes, reduces risk of newborn deaths

    The United Nation Agency for Children (UNICEF) has said that more than five million newborns in Nigeria are deprived of essential nutrients and antibodies that protect them from disease and death as they are not being exclusively breastfed.

    The united Nation Agency for Children made the disclosure yesterday on the occasion to marks World Breastfeeding Week.

    According to the agemcy, only 25 per cent of the approximate 7 million children born in Nigeria every year, according to the 2014 National Nutrition and Health Survey are exclusively breastfed from 0-6 months of age.

    “We know that the pressure to give water to newborns in addition to breast milk is high. But the stomach of a baby is so small it can barely hold 60 millilitres of liquid and when it is filled with water, it leaves no room for breast milk and its life sustaining nutrients,” said Arjan de Wagt, UNICEF Nigeria Chief of Nutrition. “Babies who are fed nothing but breastmilk from the moment they are born until they are six months old grow and develop better. Breast milk gives a child a head start in life and a chance to fight child malnutrition later in life.”

    Nigeria is making progress in exclusive breastfeeding very slowly. Over ten years, Nigeria has increased its exclusive breastfeeding rate from 12 per cent to only 25 per cent.  By comparison, in 1994, both Ghana and Nigeria had both exclusive breastfeeding rates of 7.4, but by 2013 Ghana had moved up to 63 per cent.

    Nigeria’s lack of progress in exclusive breastfeeding denies millions of newborns in Nigeria the benefits of breast milk. Research shows that an exclusively breastfed child is 14 times less likely to die in the first six months than a non-breastfed child and that breastfeeding drastically reduces deaths from acute respiratory infection and diarrhoea; two major child killer diseases.

    The National Food and Nutrition policy 2014- 2019 has a strong exclusive breastfeeding component and while UNICEF has welcomed the policy it urges the Government of Nigeria to include a budget line for nutrition in the health sector budget and a timely release of budget for immediate programming.

    UNICEF also commends the initiative of the wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, that was announced in July to address child malnutrition and recommends that exclusive breastfeeding should be a strong component of her initiative.

    “Lack of exclusive breastfeeding is implicated in the current high rate of child malnutrition in Nigeria,’ noted Jean Gough, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria. “Exclusive breastfeeding is free and breast milk is readily available, so exclusive breastfeeding should be our first strategy in fighting child malnutrition,’ she noted.

  • Gombe, UNICEF boost childcare

    A collaboration between the Gombe State government and the  United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has enhanced children’s health in the state.

    A presentation of the state Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development review done by Mr. Adamu Puma revealed that 656 persons in 41 Wards in four focal local governments of the  state have been trained and sensitised to monitor and respond to Violence Against Children (VAC) and Gender-Based Violence (GBV).

    He said, “To date 40 children victims accessed documented GBV and CP services for various abuses (Rape 12, other forms sexual abuses 5, drug abuse 6, child abandonment 7, trafficking 1, child force marriage 4, physical abuses 5, and quarter a number of children in conflict with the law.

    He said the December, 2015 meeting on VAC, GBV and peace building had started yielding dividends as over 60 religious/traditional and community leaders from four LGAs now have improved awareness of the various issues and commit actions to end VAC and GBV as well as promote the involvement of women in peace building initiatives in their various communities.

    Puma said the Child Protection Committees, CPC in each of the 41 Wards of the four focal LGAs were established in to support CP activities up to community/wards levels with the committees already enhancing the prospects of improved CP and GBV service delivery in the State.

    “The Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare and Child Protection Network (CPN) cum other Child Protection actors in the state are making concrete commitment to model Child Protection in the State and identify priority actions for improving CP.

    “This is as an output from participation at child protection system strengthening (CPSS) learning groups within the period under review,” he explained.

    He further stated that the advocacy to Gombe State House Assembly, Community/Religious Leaders, trade groups, women and other groups and the dialogue on the domestication of the Child Right Act (CRA) in the State have improved the awareness on the importance of domesticating the CRA.

    He said the efforts had also heightened the limited understanding of leaders on the provisions of CRA who are now ready to submit their positions with the view of harmonization meeting yet to be convened.

    The Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare and CPN cum other Child Protection actors in the State are making a concrete commitment to model Child Protection in the State and identify priority actions for improving CP. This is as an output from participation at child protection system strengthening (CPSS) learning groups within the period under review.

    Under the education sector review, Mrs Hannatu Atiku of the state Ministry of Education said UNICEF supports the education sector in Gombe through normal programming in five LGAs that include: Balanga, Dukku, Kwami, Nafada and Yamaltu Deba) and emergency programme executed in four LGAs of Akko, Gombe, Funakaye and Yamaltu-Deba

    She said the state’s Education Emergency Working Group through the support of Safe School Initiative (SSI) Project identified and enrolled 2,935 school aged IDPs children and enrolled them in schools at Dukku, Kwami, Nafada, Balanga and Yamaltu Deba LGAs

    She said the aim of the programme is to ensure that children of IDPs born in Gombe or brought into the state got or continued their education.

  • Tambuwal to honour agreement with UNICEF

    Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, has promised to honour all agreements with the United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) despite the dwindling economic situation in the country.

    Tambuwal, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Bashir Garba, said this on Thursday at a two-day mid-term review meeting on the progress of the joint UNICEF-State Government Annual Work Plan, 2016.

    “The state government has done a lot in so many areas of development despite the economic development of the country and surely will do more,” the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted the governor as saying at the forum.

    “Sokoto State government will not be left behind in ensuring that we meet the standard and requirements of the fund, for the overall development of the people.

    “We will do everything possible to see that our own counterpart fund as required by UNICEF meet the standard in all the sectors of the state.”

    Tambuwal described the partnership between the state government and the fund as “one of great honour,” assuring that the commitment of the state government is always assured.

    The governor commended UNICEF and all other developmental partners in the state for their continuous support for the development of the state and Nigeria at large.

  • UNICEF set to begin MNCH Week in Kebbi

    Kebbi State Ministry of Health in collaboration with UNICEF and partners are set to conduct a vigorous campaign to intensify already existing effort and strategies to prevent maternal, newborn and women of child bearing age death and illnesses in Kebbi State.

    The Kebbi State EU-UNICEF C4D Consultant, Mr. Idris Nagia said that Mother, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) week will be observed in Kebbi from 25th – 29th, July 2016.

    He said that the purpose of observing this week is to improve the mother & child health, increase awareness on MNCH interventions. During the five days, the following services will be provided for the under-5 children, pregnant women, and women of childbearing age: Vitamin A supplementation, deworming tablets, Nutrition screening (using Mid-Upper Arm Circumference; (MUAC), Immunization, Birth registration, Child Spacing and Health Promotion and Education (Counseling).

    Idris Nagia said that unfortunately Kebbi State stands among the states in the northwest where maternal mortality rate is very high, which is a major concern to the state government and partners. In taking solid steps to overcome this very critical issue, key stakeholders like the Traditional and Religious leaders, Schools, at both State and LGA levels have been fully sensitized and they have agreed to inform and educate their followers on the importance of the week long campaign and the need for men to grant women permission to access these  services. Health workers have been fully trained and kitted for optimal service delivery at all levels. Three health facilities per ward have been designated where women and children can access these services. He added that it is heartwarming that the State Government has fully keyed into these intervention with visible supports and total commitment.

  • Access Bank donates N10m to UNICEF

    Access Bank Group has donated N10 million to UNICEF. The fund will be used to support vulnerable children, orphans and internally displaced persons.

    The support is part of the bank’s continued support for UNICEF along with fifth Chukker as it hosted the ‘Access Bank Polo Day’ at the Guards Polo Club, Windsor, United Kingdom (U.K.) over the weekend.

    The yearly polo event is the climax to the high-profile Access Bank/UNICEF Charity Shield Polo tournament, which is in its ninth year and was chaired by the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II.

    Emir Sanusi II praised the bank for its support for the UNICEF campaign, children, orphans, displaced people and its drive for socio-economic development of the nation.

    Based in Kaduna, the event is the biggest charity polo tournament in Africa and stimulates support for the work of the UNICEF / Access Bank initiative across the African continent. The donation will also aid UNICEF in its campaign against HIV/AIDS among children.

    Access Bank’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Access Bank UK Limited,  Herbert Wigwe noted that the bank is supporting the Fifth Chukker UNICEF Initiative as a way of aiding the socio-economic development of the country.

  • Children in Nigeria’s northeast may die of malnutrition – UN

    Tens of thousands of children in northeast Nigeria will die of malnutrition this year unless they receive treatment soon, the United Nations said on Friday after reaching areas of the country previously cut off from aid by Boko Haram violence.

    Over the last year Nigeria’s army, aided by troops from neighbouring countries, recaptured most of the territory that was lost to the militant group, which has waged a seven-year insurgency aimed at creating an Islamic state in the northeast.

    “Improving security has enabled humanitarians to access areas that were previously cut off,” Reuters quoted Munir Safieldin, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Nigeria, as saying in a statement.

    “The conditions we are seeing there are devastating.”

    The conflict, which has killed more than 15,000 people and uprooted 2.4 million in Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon, has also pushed food insecurity and malnutrition to emergency levels in northeast Nigeria, according to the Nigerian government.

    More than a half a million people need urgent food aid, as the violence has hit farming, disrupted markets and driven up food prices, several UN agencies said in a joint statement.

    Almost 250,000 children under the age of five in Borno State will suffer from malnutrition this year, said Jean Gough, Nigeria representative for the UN children’s agency UNICEF.

    “Unless we reach these children with treatment, one in five of them will die,” she said. “We cannot allow that to happen.”

  • Children urged to speak out against violence

    Children urged to speak out against violence

    Children have been urged to speak out  whenever they are victims of any form of violence.

    Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Nigeria and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Jean Gough, who said this, noted that most children are ashamed, fear blame, feel they will not be believed or afraid speaking out would not help them.

    Speaking at the launch of the Cross River State Campaign to end Violence Against Children (VAC) in Calabar, yesterday, Gough who was represented by Chief of Child Protection Programme, UNICEF, Abuja, Rachel Harvey, encouraged the children not to feel that way but to come out and say what their problems are so they can get help.

    Her words,, “My message to children is if you suffer violence it is a problem, it is not okay; if you suffer violence, it is not your fault; if you suffer violence, it is the person who did this to you that should feel shame, not you; if you suffer violence, speak out. Do not suffer in silence.”

    Children, she said, suffer physical, emotional and sexual violence.

    She said it was unfortunate that six out of every 10 children, (about 10 million children) in the country suffer various forms of violence.

    According to her, it was significant the launch was being done on the International Day of the African Child and commended the Cross River State government for being the second state after Lagos to do so.

    Gough said the state was setting an example for others in the fight against violence against children.

    She said the society has duty to prevent the malaise.

    Speaker of the Children’s Parliament, Miss Karen Ojogu, described VAC as a tragedy that has lasted for too long, damaging the psyche of children and called for concerted efforts to end it.

    She said the interest of children should also be considered when issues about the are discussed.

    “Children are the leaders of tomorrow, so our little voices should also be heard. A child is a human being, and also has rights as every other human,” she said.

    Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs Stella Odey, said when children live in non-violent environments, they thrive with better learning and health outcomes and are able to maximize their potentials to be the best and grow into responsible adults who can contribute to the development of the society.

    Governor Ben Ayade, who was represented by his deputy, Prof Ivara Esu, who launched the campaign, pledged to always ensure that the rights of children will always be respected.

     

  • 2,300 children die of malnutrition annually – Federal Ministry of Health

    2,300 children die of malnutrition annually – Federal Ministry of Health

    The Federal Ministry of Health on Tuesday said 2,300 children below the age of five die of malnutrition annually in Nigeria.

    The Head of Nutrition in the Ministry, Dr Chris Isokpunwu disclosed this at a media dialogue on child malnutrition organised by UNICEF in Kano.

    Represented by Principal Nutrition Officer, Farayity Tokumbo, Isokpunwu said that 37 per cent of children in Nigeria were malnourished, 29 per cent underweight, 18 per cent wasting while only 17 per cent of them were exclusively breastfed.

    He said that the National Nutrition Survey in 2015 showed that 54 percent of children in the North-west were stunted followed by North-East with 42 percent.

    Isokpunwu disclosed that Kebbi state has the highest malnutrition rate with 61 per cent of children malnourished.

    The Nutritionist described the situation as sad and urged media practitioners to join the advocacy to ensure that mothers exclusively breastfed their children to check malnutrition.

    According to him, poverty, population, failure of governance, inadequate child and maternal health care and gender inequality are responsible for malnutrition in the country.

    He said that intervention like behavioral change, provision of Micro nutrients and deworming as well as complementary and therapeutic feeding must be introduced to curb malnutrition.

    “Mothers must imbibe exclusive breast feeding, provide right diet to their children and visit health care when necessary.

    “Food that contain vitamin A and iron must be provided for the children” he said.

    Mrs Rose Madu, Head of Child Rights information Bureau in the Federal Ministry of Information charged all levels of government to ensure that whatever that was budgeted for nutrition was released.

    Madu also tasked media to track budget implementation to ensure that money or resources earmarked for nutrition programme was used judiciously for such.