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Tag: UNICEF

  • Emir urges UNICEF to use traditional institutions in implementing programmes

    Emir urges UNICEF to use traditional institutions in implementing programmes

    The Emir of Dass in Bauchi State, Alhaji Usman Othman has urged UNICEF to make use of traditional institutions for proper dissemination of its programmes.

    Othman, also a first class emir made the call in Bauchi at a meeting aimed at addressing health and education related issues between the traditional rulers in the state and UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Ms Christian Munduate.

    He said that this was because the people, especially in the Northern part of the country revere the traditional leaders as they had so much trust in them.

    The royal father stressed the need for the participants to chart a way forward in tackling challenges on maternal health, child survival and out-of-school children.

    “Looking at the successes achieved by UNICEF after collaborating with traditional institutions, there came an initiative to expand the scope of the activities.

    “We have six emirs across the 20 local government areas in the state, and next in the line of hierarchy are the District Heads who do supervise the village heads and the village heads also supervise the Ward Heads who oversee the cluster of households at the grassroots.

    “You could see the chain of communication from top to bottom and bottom up approach, and this trust between the traditional institutions and the people in the community is so much that they do accept and agree to whatever we introduce to them.

    “They have that trust that we can’t do anything that will be against their wish and that will destroy their lives or their means of livelihood.

    “So, if you come to the north here, whatever you want to introduce, any new innovation that you have, it’s much easier to follow this channel of communications to our people than going alone to execute whatever you feel like doing,” he said.

    Responding, Munduate said it was good to heard, learnt and understood the actual situation from the traditional leaders in the state.

    She, however, assured them of UNICEF technical support, adding that each Emirate Council would have comprehensive reports of the locations of every school and primary healthcare facility in their domains.

    According to her, this will help in identifying whether there are enough teachers and health workers in the facilities to enable the UN agency to come through collaboration with the state government in addressing the anomalies.

  • Pele – Passing of Perpetual Legend – By Ikeddy ISIGUZO

    Pele – Passing of Perpetual Legend – By Ikeddy ISIGUZO

    By Ikeddy ISIGUZO

    Pele as humanity knows him was an exceptional human being that put his precocity to use extending the fringes of football from a round object to an object of sounds, sights, sizzling sensations, more shapes, and shades.

    He was Brazilian but belonged to humanity. He played football in the previous century, across three decades, yet people discuss him as if it was yesterday.

    Few have impacted humanity like Pelé with seeming little efforts of playing football. He excelled in things he did.

    We started seeing him as immortal. After 82 years, nobody seems to have had enough of Pelé. He was a permanent presence in football.

    Pelé did more for football than anyone could. Debates about his place in game are a waste of time and tome.

    Three World Cup titles, the first at 17, and rounding up his World Cup career at 29 with the victory at the 1970 World Cup are exceptional. Pelé missed full participation in the 1966 World Cup to injuries from vicious tackles from Bulgarians and Portuguese. Brazil without him was miserable in the competition.

    “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do,” Pelé said. He worked hard beating the horrors of global racism to walk into hearts with forbidden beliefs on colour.

    Recent debates on football’s GOAT may just be another way of diminishing his wondrous football works to enthrone another. Otherwise how can a three-time World Cup winner be compared with someone who won once or has never won?

    Way back in 1961, at 21, the Brazilian parliament had passed a law that declared Pelé a national asset. No foreign club could sign him on. The law was responsible for Pelé not playing professional football in Europe.

    The legend never played in the Olympic Games too, but in 1999, he was one of nine sports people that the International Olympic Committee, IOC, named him the Athlete of the Century on votes National Olympic Committees all over the world cast.

    Why Pelé? Why not boxing legend Muhammed Ali, who as Cassius Clay at 18 won the heavyweight gold in boxing at the 1960 Olympics in Tokyo? Those at the apogee of world sports, not just football, could not be wrong. Football was one of 35 sports on the Olympic programme by 1999.

    Pelé crystallised his place in football for decades. His investments in and commitments to football were beyond the World Cup pitches in Switzerland, Chile, England, and Mexico. He cared for football. He cared for people.

    The experiment that planted football firmly in the United States of America and popularised it, centred on Pele. Former American Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger flew all the way to Brazil to invite Pelé to play in the American league. Does anyone of substance have such high octane interventions for Nigerian sports?

    After his retirement in 1974, Pelé signed a three-year $7 million contract in 1975 with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League and to promote the game in the United States. He drew the best of the era out of retirement to play in America. Pelé retired in 1977 after leading the Cosmos to the league championship.

    “Football has lost the greatest in its history today – and I have lost a unique friend. Pelé had three hearts: for football, for his family, for all people. He was one who played with the stars and always stayed grounded,” said Franz Beckenbauer, 77, one of those Pelé attracted to Cosmos New York.

    No player went round the world for football more than Pelé. He visited Nigeria twice with his club Santos in January 1969, playing against the Green Eagles in a 2-2 draw and against Mid-West All Stars at the opening of the Ogbe Stadium, Benin City, at the instance of Sam Ogbemudia. Santos won 2-1 but fans were unhappy that Pelé did not score.

    This was the visit that generated the fable that Pelé stopped the Civil War in Nigeria for fans from both sides to watch him play. He did not. By the time of Pelé’s visit, the war was in Biafran territory and too far away for anyone in Biafra to have crossed to Benin City or Lagos to watch Pelé.

    Another visit in 1976 when he was to hold a series of clinics was marred by the 13 February coup that killed General Murtala Mohammed, the Head of State.

    Pelé in figures –

    Won three World Cup titles with Brazil in 1958, 1962 and 1970 – the only player to have won the World Cup thrice.

    Youngest-ever player to win the World Cup trophy at 17, the record stands 64 years on.

    Scored 757 goals in 812 official matches for club and country, a record that stood for decades until Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo eclipsed his tally.

    Brazil’s Football Association, CBF, and Santos say Pelé scored a total of 1,283 goals in 1,367 matches while FIFA puts the figure at 1,281 goals in 1,366 games.

    Netted 77 goals in 92 official matches for Brazil – the country’s all-time leading goal scorer, alongside Neymar, who netted his 77th goal in the 2022 World Cup.

    Scored 12 goals in World Cups.

    Registered six assists at Mexico 1970 – a record for one World Cup.

    Pelé is the youngest scorer, youngest hat-trick scorer, youngest final player and youngest final scorer in World Cup history.

    Pele became the second man to score in four World Cups in 1970. West Germany’s Uwe Seeler pipped him to the record by merely three minutes.

    Scored 92 hat-tricks across official and unofficial games.

    Scored 127 goals for Santos in 1959, thought to be the most goals scored by a club player in one calendar year.

    Finished as Santos’ top scorer with 643 goals in 659 competitive matches.

    Won Brazil’s Serie A six times with Santos (1961-1965 and 1968).

    “My name is Ronald Reagan, I’m the President of the United States of America. But you don’t need to introduce yourself, because everyone knows who Pele is.”

    “To watch him play was to watch the delight of a child combined with the extraordinary grace of a man in full,” said Nelson Mandela who Pelé greatly admired.

    Kings, Queens, Presidents, Popes knew Pelé. He still had those for people who he touched, signing autographs, and taking hundreds of pictures everywhere he went with fans who never believed he was that humble and accessible.

    “Even the sky was crying,” was how a Brazilian newspaper captured Pelé’s 1977 final career appearance in a friendly between New York Cosmos and Santos.

    Pelé’s works with UNICEF, FIFA, United Nations enlisted the frontiers of football in combatting poverty, illiteracy, health, food crises. He set up his own foundation to extend the reaches of his humanitarian efforts.

    Adieu, Pelé you brought flourish, colours, smiles, styles, and strengths that have outlived you to football. There will not be another Pelé, soon.

     

    Ikeddy ISIGUZO, a major commentator on minor issues

  • Measuring the regions by data – By Carl Umegboro

    Measuring the regions by data – By Carl Umegboro

    By Carl Umegboro

    The uncertainty ravaging the country which must have given every well-meaning citizen a deep concern could be addressed, prevented in future if requisite actions can be timely invoked by governments and the privileged class as social responsibility. Many people often misinterpret the predicaments in different ways except a minor fraction that sensitively take it from the angle of protracted oversights on education particularly on early childhood education which is the starting point in a child’s life and also a key foundational tool of the Nigerian Educational System. The fallouts have continued to manifest ubiquitously.

    Thus, due to the alarming security situation in the country, the percentage of children of primary school age not attending any form of education across the regions merits a discourse. According to the MISC (Multiple Instructor Survey Cluster) 2021 report, the percentage of the 6 respective geopolitical zones in the country stand as follows; North Central – 21.0%; North East – 49.5%; North West – 40.2%; South East – 9.1%; South South – 4.6%; and South West – 6.2%. Taking it down to the state, Imo state has 0.6% to beat the record of out-of-school children of primary school age in 2021 nationwide while Bauchi recorded 60.8% as highest.

    Practically, this is the face of the future of the country vis-à-vis security, industrialization, economic growth including the gross domestic products (GDP). The figures unfalteringly explain the rationale of the United Nations’ focus by aggressive interventions in the northern region through United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) with support from concerned funding partners around the world. Incontrovertibly, their big hearts have been changing the narratives, touching lives. With sustained support, without a doubt, the target will be met.

    Interestingly, the percentage of out-of-school children of primary school age in Imo state according to the MICS (2021) report is reassuring.  Possibly, the laudable social responsibility by Rochas Okorocha through education empowerment schemes for the helpless citizens counting over 18 years contributed to the record. Rochas Foundation, from records, has sponsored over 25,000 children and produced over 6000 graduates in various fields of discipline nationwide. The public spirit is a step in the right direction. Imagine if the moneybags particularly APC and PDP presidential aspirants that procured nomination forms at N100 Million and N40 Million each respectively had shown similar concerns to underprivileged children in their respective domains. Sadly, about 90% of them didn’t have up to a million naira before engaging in public service.

    Ideally, the affluent can characteristically adopt one or two indigent children within neighbourhood or from the orphanages, not necessarily physical adoption but by upkeep including on education. In Niger State, the Emir of Agaie, Alhaji Yusuf Nuhu is a good example in the fight against underage girls’ marriage and in promoting girls’ education in his space and little capacity. This is noteworthy perhaps some are eager but either ill-advised or have misplaced priorities. Until the population of indigent children is significantly reduced by including them into plans as a social responsibility, a thriving society will remain abstract.

    Similarly, the 8 years administration of Peter Obi as Anambra State governor is remarkable as he prioritized education, uniquely devised a policy to personally, routinely visit public schools (primary and secondary) for unannounced inspections, and recorded good results. In fact, he monitored schools personally, provided handsets for every head boy and head girl in all public schools across the state for direct communication for situation reports. Unfortunately, his successor, Willie Obiano failed to sustain the momentum. Education is a critical sector in every society, and therefore good policies should subsist as templates. However, the present Anambra governor, Chukwuma Soludo is seemingly, aggressively remedying the oversight.

    An African-American Muslim minister and leader in the civil rights movement and supporter of Black nationalism, Malcolm X (1925 – 1965) said, “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today”. Suffice to say that wherever adequate attention is not paid to education particularly from the early stage, the society is sitting on a powder keg; a volatile state. Today is the future of the yesteryears when the leadership class failed to give a priority to education. And absurdly, nothing meaningful was actually given a priority except looting and self-enrichment with impunity at the detriment of the helpless masses.

    For instance, in the All Progressives Congress (APC) government with aggressive mantra on the ‘fight against corruption’, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmad Idris was indicted for fraud to the tune of N109 Billion. There are many allegations of corruption like the nonaccountability of the nation’s crude oil. It is absurd if the country doesn’t have an effective account on a major nation’s commodity. Also, the former chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu was removed from office over alleged financial scandals, but seemingly, it has been swept under the carpet. This is a country where a serving Chief Justice of Nigeria was docked over allegations of corruption.

    In the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) camp, allegations of corruption are also huge. A moment ago, its national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu was accused of corruptly receiving a bribery sum of one billion naira, from an aspirant. This is not one million, but a million into one thousand places.  And he remains recalcitrant to vacate the office. What a country! It must be noted that registered political parties are public institutions and therefore must display integrity and decorum. Seemingly, the two largest political parties are in a superiority contest for corruption.

    The country so far, is apparently run as a criminal enterprise, with many young persons forced into crimes for survival, sadly a society where religion is always pushed to the extreme. Ideally, a model for ‘making’ or raising people is not far away. Okorocha has through his foundation (private pocket) salvaged, inspired many people through scholarship schemes in education and produced thousands of graduates from all nooks and cranny of the nation – north and south. This is how to build or make people. The duo of Okorocha and Emir of Agaie deserves emulation on passion for indigent and helpless children.

     

    Umegboro, a public affairs analyst and social advocate writes through umegborocarl@gmail.com              [08173184542-sms only]

  • Ukraine war pushed 4m children into poverty – UNICEF

    Ukraine war pushed 4m children into poverty – UNICEF

    The war in Ukraine and rising inflation have pushed an additional four million children across eastern Europe and Central Asia into poverty.

    The United Nations Children’s agency UNICEF said in a report released on Monday.

    The figure, representing a 19 per cent increase since 2021, showed that children were “bearing the heaviest burden” of the conflict, UNICEF said.

    The study includes data from 22 countries in the region. The impact of the war has been particularly severe for children in Russia and Ukraine.

    In Russia, an additional 2.8 million children live in households below the poverty line, according to the study.
    In Ukraine, half a million additional children were living in poverty, followed by Romania with an additional 110,000 children.

    The UNICEF warned that sharp increase could result in an additional 4,500 children dying before their first birthdays.

    Regional director for Europe and Central Asia Afshan Khan said the economic consequences of the war were having a devastating impact on children.

    “Children all over the region are being swept up in this war’s terrible wake. “If we don’t support these children and families now, the steep rise in child poverty will almost certainly result in lost lives, lost learning, and lost futures.”

    One in three children born and raised in poverty will live their adult lives in poverty, leading to an intergenerational cycle of hardship and deprivation, the study noted.

    “We have to protect and expand social support for vulnerable families before the situation gets any worse,” Khan said.

  • Child Marriage: A cause for concern – By Carl Umegboro

    Child Marriage: A cause for concern – By Carl Umegboro

    By Carl Umegboro

    The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) carried out in 2021 by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) as part of the Global MICS Programme in Nigeria, and International Multi-Purpose Household Survey Programme for supporting countries in collecting data on children and women is practically expedient. MICS measures key indicators that allow countries to generate data for use in policies, programmes, national development plans, and to monitor progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) alongside other internationally approved obligations.

    The technical support by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and governments’ funding alongside financial grants from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Gavi (The Vaccine Alliance) and UNICEF which facilitated the survey cannot be overemphasized. The pensiveness, teamwork is a profound one and demands sustainability considering the inestimable value of the task. For emphasis, children are the future of every society, and for any oversights on children today, the society is booked for grave consequences in tomorrows, for example the life-threatening mayhem, insecurity predominant in the country today.

    On the other hand, women build the nation. Dr James Kwegyir-Aggrey, an intellectual and missionary said, “If you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a family, nation and society”. This measures the reasons UNICEF pays robust attention on girls’ welfare, prioritizes girls’ education bearing in mind its impacts to the society at large. UNICEF upholds that when you have healthy, well-educated and emancipated women, these women in turn rear healthy, well-educated and emancipated children.

    To summarize it, the then Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan once said, “To educate girls is to reduce poverty”. Thus, across the world, girls’ wellbeing is a priority. Regrettably, child marriage poses a great threat against this popular demand in some climates including Nigeria.

    In the MICS Phase 6 (2021) report released in August, 2022, a finding gloomily reveals that the percentage of girls that married before the age of 15 stands at 6.4% and 17.7% respectively in urban and rural areas with Northeast (21.2%) and Northwest (25.1%) leading. By state, Katsina tops with 34.2%, followed by Jigawa (33.3%), Bauchi (33.0%), Zamfara, (24.6%), and Kano (23.6%). Imo state grasps the least with 1.0%. However, at a media dialogue in Port Harcourt, Rivers State recently, the UNICEF ‘Chief of M4R’ (Measurement for Results), Claes Johanson firmly emphasized that UN target is to achieve a zero-child marriage far and wide.

    Now, to meet the target, a legal reform is important as the major challenge to accomplishing the plan is subsistence of diverse legal regimes on ‘child marriage’ in the country thereby encouraging people to choose the one that suits their individual desires. For instance, while the Child Rights Act in Article 1 defines a child as a person below the age of 18, the Nigeria’s Criminal Code (Laws of the Federation, FRN) in Section 362 only proscribes abduction of girls under 16 arguably same as child marriage. Ditto to Section 218 of the Criminal Code which prohibits carnal ties with a girl of below 13 as unlawful.

    Then again, the Penal Code applicable in Northern Nigeria in Section 282 (1) approves child marriage after age of 14. In fact, a sign of ‘puberty’ is the threshold in determining the capacity of a girl to marry in the north, and not age. To worsen the situation, no state in the federation is bound to adopt the CRA (Child Right Act) on account that an Act is a federal law, except the Federal Capital Territory alone, and therefore, states that have adopted it as their CRL (Child Rights Law) did so by discretion. Divergence in federal and state legislations on child marriage is a critical issue that must be addressed. The reason is that a child in the FCT remains a child in the north, south, everywhere, and should be treated alike. There’s a necessity for consensus, and therefore direly demands the attention of policymakers.

    Unequivocally, marriage before the age of 18 is a violation of human rights, regardless it remains a reality for many children. The right to ‘free and full consent’ is recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with the understanding that a consent cannot be ‘free and full’ when one of the parties is a minor, and not sufficiently mature (lacks capacity) to make an informed decision about a life partner. In the SDGs, child marriage is notorious as a harmful practice which the world should aim to eliminate by the year 2030.

    No doubt, underprivileged parents encourage the marriage of their daughters while they are still children hoping the marriage will bring fortunes and social benefits. But in actual fact, child marriage compromises the development of girls and often result in early pregnancy and social isolation, with little education and poor vocational training reinforcing the gendered nature of poverty. Obviously, child marriage does more harm than good to a life of a girl. Apart from exposing girls to health hazards, it robs them of the opportunity to gain education, ultimately renders them unemployable, and mostly enslaves them to become liabilities.

    The benefits of good and sound education for girls cannot be overemphasized as it produces educated women who in turn ensures sound education for their children. Economic empowerment of girls/women makes them independent and confident, and positions them adequately to contribute to economic growth of a nation. Many female high-fliers around the world including Tolulope Sarah Arotile, the first-ever female combat helicopter pilot in the Nigerian Airforce who unfortunately died by a car accident on 14th July, 2020 at age 24 attests to this. What a great loss to the female world and society at large. May her soul rest in peace.

    Suffice to say that through a quality education to girls, many would also turn out to become high achievers in diverse vocations the societies will be proud of. Furthermore, for a healthy life of a family, an educated woman understands the importance of hygiene, nutrition and health much more than uneducated women.

    According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), “education and poverty eradication are inextricably bound”. Thus, ensuring that girls complete primary and secondary education (likewise boys); a target of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a prerequisite for combating poverty, empowering women, economic growth, protecting children from hazardous and exploitative labour and sexual exploitation. Thus, a brainstorm to collectively, uniformly get rid of child marriage now is imperative as it has no justification.

     

    Umegboro, a public affairs analyst and social advocate writes via umegborocarl@gmail.com  [08173184542 – sms only]

  • UNICEF, IHS Nigeria partner to expand access to oxygen for pneumonia, COVID-19 patients

    UNICEF, IHS Nigeria partner to expand access to oxygen for pneumonia, COVID-19 patients

    UNICEF and IHS Nigeria, a subsidiary of IHS Towers, announce an 18-month partnership to help strengthen oxygen supply in hospitals for the treatment of pneumonia, COVID-19 and other hypoxemia disorders, particularly in newborn babies and pregnant women. This partnership aims to further support the Federal Ministry of Health in meeting demands for effective oxygen therapy in Nigeria.

    IHS Nigeria has been a UNICEF partner since 2019. Under this new collaboration, oxygen plants will be installed in health facilities and incorporated into state-specific oxygen resilience plans, including training healthcare workers on the safe administration of oxygen. The partnership covers Ogun, Oyo, Kano, Bauchi, Kaduna, Ebonyi, Cross Rivers, and Rivers states.

    Oxygen is a life-saving medical gas used to treat respiratory illnesses and support various healthcare provisions such as emergency obstetric care, surgery, and anaesthesia. It is critical to improving health outcomes and reducing mortality due to pneumonia by 35%, yet, seldom available and often expensive. In Nigeria, over 120,000 children die each year due to hypoxemia.

    “With limited access to supplemental oxygen, the line between life and death is blurred for critically ill patients with pneumonia and severe COVID-19 symptoms. This situation is, unfortunately, the reality for many,” said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Nigeria Representative.

    “At UNICEF, we value our strong partnership with IHS Nigeria. It is only through joint efforts and the support of trusted partners like IHS Nigeria that we can deliver robust healthcare and advance other sustainable development goals to all Nigerians,’’ said Peter Hawkins.

    Mohamad Darwish, CEO IHS Nigeria, said, “We are delighted to be contributing further to the provision of healthcare in Nigeria. When we read about the number of deaths in Nigeria that could be avoided by making oxygen available, such projects become a must-do rather than an option.

    “By working collaboratively, we believe we can help improve the health and well-being of our communities and thereby express a very small token of appreciation to our beloved country and the communities that host us. We also hope this partnership will encourage others in the private sector to contribute to the delivery of vital healthcare for women and children across Nigeria”.

  • Airtel gives digital nod to the African child – By Okoh Aihe

    Airtel gives digital nod to the African child – By Okoh Aihe

    Having been very fortunate at a point in life to be a pioneer staff in birthing the Research and Development Department of a major parastatal, with a brief to work closely with tertiary institutions and fund their research works that could foster major developments and innovation in the tech sector, I saw first hand the deplorable state and helplessness of some of our universities.

    I do not want to talk of understaffing, which was prevalent. I do not want to talk of the physical infrastructure, which was in a sorry state in nearly all the institutions visited. Each environment painted the metaphor of gloom, especially if you were fortunate to attend a Nigerian university in the 80s, when some of us had a real good time. And we thought we were suffering!

    In the midst of such dinginess our young ones looked happy, always very excited in trying to prove a point. Some did and really earned my respect. The lecturers, may God reward them for their steadfastness and resilience for developing the thick skin to work in, sometimes, extremely unpleasant environments.

    A friend who heard my story alerted me that the secondary schools were not any better, and that it was indeed a miracle that they could still provide candidates for the tertiary institutions. Stories from my alma mater and one other school where I had taught for two years before heading to the university, were enough to depress me – schools not having teachers and communities having to fund the provision of contract teachers or the enrolment figures of students really plunging to a depressing low. Since then it has been every man for himself, people coming together to scrounge for funds in order to facilitate some activities in these institutions.

    I was really, therefore, quite excited when I chanced on materials on a multimillion dollar partnership between Airtel Africa and UNICEF to scale up education across the continent. A page out of the Airtel Africa Sustainability Plan reveals that between 2021 and 2027, the organisation will spend $57m to spark digital learning across the continent. In Nigeria alone over 10,000 students are expected to benefit, from Lagos to Kano, and beyond. Twelve other countries will benefit from this windfall.

    A little drop in the ocean? No! Don’t be unkind to a good heart. The education sector in Nigeria is in serious crisis. Nothing exemplifies this better than the universities that have been shut for nearly six months. The strike counters say that an academic year has been lost. But it is more than that – the health of the students, the loss to the nation in terms of their contributions to socio-economic growth and the rot of disused infrastructure that are already in a very bad state. Airtel comes with a breather to a sector in desperate need of help. Although this comes at the junior level, I want to admit here that I fully subscribe to the aphorism, catch them young.

    A statement in the company’s website credits Airtel Africa, a leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services in the continent, as the first African private sector partner to make a multimillion-dollar commitment to ‘Reimagine Education’, a global initiative launched by UNICEF in 2020, calling for public and private sector investment in digital learning  as an essential service for every child and young person across the globe.

    Pursuing a continental corporate social responsibility programme to give some disadvantaged African children quality education that will prepare them for life’s competition and struggles, Airtel pulled out the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) which, in brief, states as follows: Ensuring lifelong learning opportunities for all, from early childhood to adult education; Ensuring equity, inclusion and gender equality; Ensuring effective learning and the acquisition of relevant knowledge, skills and competencies; and Ensuring the relevance of learning, in terms of vocational and technical skills for decent work as well as for global citizenship in a plural and interconnected world.

    Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Africa, Mr Olusegun Ogunsanya, says Airtel Africa is a business that is driven by the purpose to transform lives. “Our goal is to transform the lives of over one million children through education by 2027. We will achieve this through programmes and partnerships to connect schools to the internet, provide access to quality learning content and support the schools most in need,” Airtel stated in the document as an education goal.

    UNICEF estimates that by 2055, Africa will be home to one billion children under the age of 18, making Africa’s child population larger than any other continent. While in most parts of the world a large number of this demographic can drive economic growth and transformation, the case of Africa where youth unemployment rates are between 54 and 70 per cent, is unfortunately not so.

    Added to the above is the World Bank’s ‘learning poverty rate’ – the inability to read or understand a simple text by the age of 10, in sub-Saharan Africa, which stands at nearly 87 per cent, a situation that has obviously been compounded by COVID-19 pandemic which nearly saw 90 per cent of learners across Airtel African market drop out of formal education.

    Airtel says the situation is critical and must be addressed immediately to ensure that by 2030, 288 million people will not reach the age of 18 without basic proficiency levels in reading. The organisation is addressing this exploding problem through three focus areas, namely: Partnerships, Connectivity for education, ‘Adopt a School’ programme. “Where network services exist, we will work with schools to ensure they have the equipment necessary to connect to the internet,” Airtel says.

    “Digital learning is the gateway to equipping young people with the right skills  – skills that will support them to transition from learning to earning. We are delighted that Airtel Nigeria shares in this vision, and is helping to drive the process of scaling up internet connectivity for school children in Nigeria,” said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Nigeria Representative.

    Formal education in Nigeria is facing overwhelming challenges. Insecurity is buffeting nearly all the zones of the country and in particular zones, education has been portrayed as haram, making it something forbidden. For this wrong headed appropriation of ignorance apropos modern education, a large number of children have been driven out of school.

    It is difficult to state who is doing more harm to education – Boko Haram (western education is forbidden) or the politician. The position of the former is well known but the politicians, in spite of their manifest avowal for quality education, a majority build classes, where they build at all, without chairs and teachers. What you see from the outside is a beautiful building without anything inside, a complete shell, like a body without a soul.

    The future of Nigeria’s children hangs on a perilous balance. While I want to formally thank Airtel for going above business to give a digital nod to the African child, I want to observe that the education sector in the country deserves a declaration of a state of emergency. University students have been at home for months while the politicians are campaigning for another term in office. In some parts of the North, education is not happening at all. And at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), schools have to be short hurriedly as part of the security measures to prevent attacks. How low can this country really sink?

    This nation needs the support of development partners to rejuvenate the education sector. And this is urgent. Those whose future was lubricated by the wealth of the nation should not lacerate the future of Nigerian children and youths with their fossilised reasoning and clueless approach to setting development goals for a world beyond the precincts of circumscribed imaginations. It is strength of character to admit failure and recalibrate for a better future.

    As a reliable development partner, Airtel has pledged to lift the Nigerian child from digital slum with a large financial vote. Other corporate bodies should be encouraged to throw in their little bit.

  • UNICEF reacts to rescue of over 50 abducted children in Ondo

    UNICEF reacts to rescue of over 50 abducted children in Ondo

    The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has commended the rescue of more than 50 children abducted and held against their will in Ondo State.

    UNICEF made this known in a statement made available to newsmen by UNICEF Nigeria Representative, Peter Hawkins in Abuja on Sunday.

    “Children should not be targets of violence in whatever guise.

    “Violence against children is condemnable and we call on the governments to redouble efforts to protect children against all forms of violence.

    ”A society’s health is measured by how it treats it’s children,” he said.

    Recall that the police in Ondo State had found and rescued children allegedly being held by a Church at its premises in Ondo town, Ondo State.

    The Public Relations Officer of Police Command in the state, Mrs Funmilayo Odunlami,  had told journalists that no fewer than 77 people, mostly children were rescued in a case of suspected abduction from the Whole Bible Deliverance Church in Ondo Town, Ondo state.

  • Ukraine invasion: Neighbouring countries struggle with refugees’ influx

    Ukraine invasion: Neighbouring countries struggle with refugees’ influx

    UN humanitarians have warned that the exodus of millions of Ukrainians from their country following the Russian invasion could overwhelm neighbouring countries.

    The head of UN Children Fund (UNICEF) on Wednesday expressed her horror over the reported destruction of a maternity hospital in the stricken coastal city of Mariupol, which has been under heavy bombardment for days.

    Till date, more than 2.2 million people have fled Ukraine according to UN refugee agency (UNHCR), most have found shelter in Poland and more than 200,000 have reached Hungary.

    Slovakia has taken in more than 150,000 people from its embattled neighbour since Feb. 24, when Russian forces began shelling and bombarding Ukrainian cities.

    In a phone call with Polish President, Andrzej Duda, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he appreciated the welcome extended there, to more than one million refugees from Ukraine.

    The UN chief “told the President that he will do everything possible to mobilise the whole of the UN system, in coordination with UNHCR, to support Poland’s generosity,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters in New York.

    He said Guterres was thankful for the “immense generosity and solidarity shown by all countries” bordering Ukraine.

    As part of his overall mediation efforts to try and end the fighting in Ukraine, the UN chief also spoke on Wednesday afternoon with German Chancellor Olaf Schultz, and Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign and security policy High Representative.

    Latest estimates from UN aid agencies suggest that four million refugees are likely by the end of the war, which represents about 10 per cent of Ukraine’s population.

    The development follows news alerts on Wednesday that a Russian strike on a children’s hospital and maternity ward in the stricken city of Mariupol, had left children buried under the rubble, according to Ukrainian officials.

    The bombing has not been independently verified, but Dujarric said the UN was urgently investigating the “shocking” reports.

    He reiterated the UN’s call for an immediate halt to attacks on healthcare, hospitals, health-workers and ambulances, reminding that “none of these, should ever be a target.”

    Any attacks on healthcare, are a clear violation of International Humanitarian Law.

    In a tweet, Guterres described reports of the attack as “horrific”, noting that civilians were paying “the highest price, for a war that has nothing to do with them. This senseless violence must stop.”

    In a statement, UNICEF chief, Catherine Russell, said she was “horrified by the reported attack…an attack which reportedly left young children and women in labour, buried beneath the rubble of destroyed buildings.

    “We do not yet know the number of casualties but fear the worst.”

    “This attack, if confirmed, underscores the horrific toll this war is exacting on Ukraine’s children and families” she added. “In less than two weeks, at least 37 children have been killed and 50 injured, while more than one million children have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries.

    According to UNICEF chief, this attack, if confirmed, underscores the horrific toll this war is exacting on Ukraine’s children and families.

    “Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure – including hospitals, water and sanitation systems and schools – are unconscionable and must stop immediately.

    “UNICEF renews its call for an immediate ceasefire and urges all parties to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect children from harm, and to ensure that humanitarian actors can safely and quickly reach children in need.”

    Briefing journalists in Geneva, World Health Organisation chief, Tedros Ghebreyesus said that so far, WHO has verified 18 attacks on health facilities, health workers and ambulances amidst Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including 10 deaths and 16 injuries.

    “These attacks deprive whole communities of health care,” he said.

    “So far, WHO has delivered 81 metric tons of supplies, and WHO is establishing a pipeline of supplies for health facilities throughout Ukraine, especially in the most affected areas,’’ he said.

    The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Wednesday it has helped almost 100 so-called Third Country Nationals (TCNs), stranded in Ukraine during the Russian attack, to return home.

    They include 77 Tunisians, forced to flee to Romania and Poland; three Lebanese nationals, and 17 Ghanaian students. Seven other students leave for Ghana on Thursday.

    IOM said that around 109,000 TCNs have fled Ukraine since the war began, as the agency collaborates with States, embassies, border authorities, and other partners, to help them return.

    In addition to supporting returns, IOM provided pre-departure medical assistance, food, COVID-19 testing, Personal Protective Equipment and much-needed ground transportation to the points of departure.

  • GenU 9JA to deliver connectivity, skills, and job opportunities to young Nigerians by 2030

    GenU 9JA to deliver connectivity, skills, and job opportunities to young Nigerians by 2030

    Young people and leaders from across Nigeria’s public and private sectors met in Lagos this week to assess progress towards a bold plan to deliver job-related skills and livelihood opportunities to 20 million youths by 2030.

    GenU 9JA, launched by the Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on 27 July 2021, has already made important headway in providing, connectivity, digital skills and job opportunities to over 300,000 Nigerian youths.

    With over 65 million young people aged 10 – 24, Nigeria has one of the largest youth populations in the world, representing an extraordinary opportunity for development and growth. Given that the youth unemployment rate currently stands at 37 per cent in Nigeria, GenU 9JA has set ambitious objectives to equip 20 million young Nigerians, including those in underserved rural and peri-urban communities, with access to data, digital learning, job-related skills, and livelihood opportunities by 2030.

    “Young people are a tremendous resource for Nigeria, and we can help realize their potential by listening to their challenges and empowering them to find the solutions,” said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Nigeria Representative. “Nigeria’s huge youth population represents a great economic potential that guarantees a sure return on investment. They also have the right to fulfil their potential and their dreams. If we get it right in Nigeria, it will make a huge difference for the African continent as a whole.”

    With over 20 implementing partners currently onboard GenU 9JA, millions of Nigerian school children and youth will be connected to the internet and have access to digital learning. They will also have access to individualized learning pathways, social impact tasks, and livelihood opportunities through the “Youth Agency Market Place,” #YOMA.

    “This initiative is especially important to us at the Tony Elumelu Foundation, as the core of our work revolves around empowering young Africans,” said Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, CEO of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Africa’s leading philanthropic organization. “We remain committed to doing this because we know that the future of Africa rests in the hands of young people, and we want to keep playing a key part in shaping Africa’s future. We are proud to be part of this historic transformation in the lives of 20 million Nigerian boys and girls. The possibility for growth is truly unlimited when a large percentage of young people are well prepared to fulfil their dreams.”