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  • Over 3.6m Nigerians in need of water, sanitation, hygiene services – UNICEF

    Over 3.6m Nigerians in need of water, sanitation, hygiene services – UNICEF

    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.

    “ 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.

  • Over 25,000 babies will be born in Nigeria on New Year’s Day

    An estimated 25,685 babies will be born in Nigeria on New Year’s Day, UNICEF said today, with Nigerian babies making up 6.5 percent of the estimated 395,072 babies born on New Year’s Day globally.

    Within Africa, Nigerian babies will account for almost 40 percent of all those born in West and Central Africa, and more than 23 percent of those born in sub-Saharan Africa.

    Globally, over half of the world’s births are estimated to take place in just eight countries, including Nigeria:

    At current life expectancy rates, a child born in Nigeria today is likely to live only to the year 2074 – 55 years of age. A child born today in Denmark is likely to live until the 22nd century.

    Only children born in three countries today have a lower life expectancy than that of Nigerian children: Central African Republic, Chad and Sierra Leone.

    “We can and must do more to ensure that children born in Nigeria survive their first day of life – and are able to survive and thrive for many months and years to come,” said Pernille Ironside, UNICEF Nigeria’s Acting Representative.

    Globally in 2017, about 1 million babies died the day they were born, and 2.5 million in just their first month of life.

    In Nigeria, each year, about 262,000 babies die at birth, the world’s second highest national total, while every day in Nigeria, 257 babies die within their first month of life.

    Among these children, most died from preventable causes such as premature birth, complications during delivery, and infections like sepsis and pneumonia, a violation of their basic right to survival.

    “In Nigeria today, only one out of every three babies is delivered in a health centre, decreasing a newborn baby’s chance of survival,” said Pernille Ironside. “This is just one of the issues that need to be addressed in order to improve the chances of survival of those babies born today and every day.”

    “This New Year Day, let’s all make a resolution to fulfill every right of every child, starting with the right to survive,” said Pernille Ironside. “We can save millions of babies if we invest in training and equipping local health workers so that every newborn is born into a safe pair of hands.”

    2019 also marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which UNICEF will be commemorating with worldwide events throughout the year. Under the Convention, governments committed to, among other things, taking measures to save every child by providing good quality health care.

    Over the past three decades, the world has seen remarkable progress in child survival, cutting the number of children worldwide who die before their fifth birthday by more than half. But there has been slower progress for newborns. Babies dying in the first month account for 47 per cent of all deaths among children under five.

    UNICEF’s Every Child Alive campaign calls for immediate investment to deliver affordable, quality health care solutions for every mother and newborn. These include a steady supply of clean water and electricity at health facilities, the presence of a skilled health attendant during birth, ample supplies and medicines to prevent and treat complications during pregnancy, delivery and birth, and empowered adolescent girls and women who can demand better quality of health services.

     

  • World fails to protect children in conflict – UNICEF

    World fails to protect children in conflict – UNICEF

    The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says the future of millions of children living in countries affected by armed conflict are at risk as warring parties continue to commit grave violations against them.

    Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF Director of Emergency Programmes, who disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, lamented that world leaders has failed to hold perpetrators accountable in spite of these violations, among other crimes.

    “Children living in conflict zones around the world have continued to suffer through extreme levels of violence over the past 12 months and the world has continued to fail them.

    “For too long, parties to conflict have been committing atrocities with near-total impunity and it is only getting worse. Much more can and must be done to protect and assist children,” Fontaine said.

    He noted that children living in countries at war have been under direct attack, been used as human shields, killed, maimed or recruited to fight.

    Fontaine specifically noted that rape, forced marriage and abduction have become standard tactics in conflicts from Syria to Yemen and from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to Nigeria, South Sudan and Myanmar over the course of 2018:

    According to him, in Afghanistan, violence and bloodshed remain a daily occurrence with some 5,000 children killed or maimed within the first three quarters of 2018, equal to all of 2017 and children making up 89 per cent of civilian casualties from explosive remnants of war.

    He further noted “In northeast Nigeria, armed groups, including Boko Haram factions, continue to target girls who are raped, forced to become wives of fighters or used as ‘human bombs.

    “In February, the group abducted 110 girls and one boy from a technical college in Dapchi, Yobe State, while most of the children have since been released, five girls died and one is still being held captive as a slave.

    “Cameroon has seen an escalation of the conflict in the North-West and South-West regions with schools, students and teachers often coming under attack.

    “In November, more than 80 people, including many children, were abducted from a school in Nkwen, in the north-west of the country and released a few days later.

    “A total of 93 villages have allegedly been partially or totally burned due to conflict in the areas with many children experiencing extreme levels of violence.

    “In the Central African Republic, a dramatic resurgence in fighting has enveloped much of the country, with two out of three children in need of humanitarian assistance,” he noted.

    The director also noted that in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, inter-ethnic violence and clashes between security forces and armed groups in the Great Kasai-region and eastern provinces of Tanganyika, South Kivu, North Kivu and Ituri had a devastating impact on children.

    Fontaine lamented that the response to the ongoing Ebola outbreak has been seriously hindered by violence and instability in eastern DRC, adding that an estimated 4.2 million children are at risk of Severe Acute Malnutrition Malnutrition (SAM).

    He observed that the situation was compounded by violations of children’s rights, including forced recruitment by armed groups and sexual abuse.

    He further noted that in Lake Chad basin, ongoing conflict, displacement and attacks on schools, teachers and other education facilities have put the education of 3.5 million children at risk.

    “Today in northeast Nigeria, the Lake region of Chad, extreme north of Cameroon and Diffa region of Niger, at least 1,041 schools are closed or non-functional due to violence, fear of attacks, or unrest, affecting nearly 445,000 children.

    “A recent surge in violence in the border region between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger has left 1,478 schools closed.

    “In Iraq, even as fighting has largely subsided, four children were killed in November in the north of the country when the truck they were travelling to school came under attack.

    “Children and families returning to their homes in areas previously impacted by heavy violence continue to be exposed to the danger of unexploded ordnance. Thousands of families remain displaced and face additional threats of freezing winter temperatures and flash floods.

    “In Somalia, more than 1,800 children were recruited by parties to the conflict in the first nine months of the year, with 1,278 children abducted.

    “In Syria, between January and September, the UN verified the killing of 870 children, highest number ever in the first nine months of any year since the start of the conflict in 2011.

    “Attacks continued throughout the year, including the killing of 30 children in the eastern village of Al Shafa in November.

    “In Yemen, the UN has verified 1,427 children killed in attacks, including an ‘unconscionable’ attack on a school bus in Sa’ada. Schools and hospitals have come under frequent attack or used for military purposes, denying children access to their right to education and health care, “he said.

    Fontaine similarly observed that recent surge in violence in the border region between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger has left 1,478 schools closed.

    According to him, in Myanmar, the UN continues to receive reports of ongoing violations of the rights of Rohingya remaining in northern Rakhine State, which include allegations of killings, disappearances and arbitrary arrests.

    He lamented the widespread restrictions on the rights to freedom of movement and barriers to access health and education including in central Rakhine State.

    He however emphasised that ensuring children have access to quality education and other essential services would avert a ‘lost generation’ of Rohingya children; otherwise they will lack the skills they need to contribute to society.

    The UNICEF director therefore called on all warring parties to abide by their obligations under international law to immediately end violations against children and the targeting of civilian infrastructure, including schools, hospitals and water infrastructure.

    The organisation, according to him, also urged states with influence over parties to conflict to use that influence to protect children.

    “Much more needs to be done to prevent wars and to end the many disastrous armed conflicts devastating children’s lives. Yet even as wars continue, we must never accept attacks against children.

    “We must hold warring parties to their obligation to protect children. Otherwise, it is children, their families and their communities who will continue to suffer the devastating consequences, for now and for years to come,” Fontaine said.

     

  • Boko Haram: Army makes U-turn, lifts ‘suspension’ of UNICEF activities in North-east

    A few hours after it announced an indefinite suspension of UNICEF activities in the North-east, the Nigerian Army has reversed its decision.

    Recall that the army on Friday afternoon announced the suspension, accusing the UN agency of acts that encourage Boko Haram terrorism.

    UNICEF is one of the several international organisations working to assist victims of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-east.

    The army did not provide any evidence of its accusations and did not state if it had the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari to take such decision. A presidential aide also avoided speaking on Mr Buhari’s role in the saga, simply saying a meeting would be held between the army and UNICEF to resolve the controversy.

    In a statement signed by the Deputy Director Public Relations, Onyema Nwachukwu, late on Friday, the army said the meeting had been held.

    It was Mr Nwachukwu who also signed the statement announcing the suspension, which was condemned by prominent rights group, Amnesty International.

    In his second statement, the colonel said the army changed its decision after the intervention of “concerned Nigerians.”

    “Sequel to intervention by well meaning and concerned Nigerians over the recent suspension of UNICEF,” the army said.

    “The Theatre Command Operation LAFIYA DOLE convened and held an emergency meeting with representatives of UNICEF this evening.

    According to the statement, the army urged UNICEF to ensure they share information with relevant authorities whenever induction or training of new staff is being conducted in the theatre.

    During the meeting, the Theatre Command admonished the representatives of the organization to desist from activities inimical to Nigeria’s national security and capable of undermining ongoing fight against terrorism and insurgency.

    “The Command also urged UNICEF representatives to ensure they share information with relevant authorities whenever induction or training of new staff is being conducted in the theatre.

    “Consequently, after extensive deliberations on the need to seek modalities to work harmoniously with the security agencies in the theatre of operation, the Theatre Command has henceforth lifted the three months suspension earlier imposed on UNICEF activities in North Eastern Nigeria.”

  • Boko Haram: Military suspends UNICEF activities in North-East indefinitely

    The Nigerian Army has said it is suspending the operations of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund in the North-East theatre until further notice.

    The Theatre Command, Operation Lafiya Dole, which coordinates the Boko Haram anti-insurgency war in the North-East, stated this in a release by its spokesperson, Col Onyema Nwachukwu, alleging that UNICEF had shifted from “its duty of catering to the wellbeing of children and the vulnerable through humanitarian activities and now engages in training selected persons for clandestine activities.”

    The Operation Lafiya Dole Command claimed on Friday that UNICEF was “sabotaging the counter-terrorism efforts” of troops through “spurious and unconfirmed allegations bordering on alleged violations of human rights by the military.”

    Nwachukwu said, “It is baffling to note that some of these organisations have been playing the terrorists’ script with the aim to continue demoralising the troops who are doing so much to protect the lives of victims of Boko Haram terrorism and safeguard them from wanton destruction of property and means of livelihood.

    “Consequently, the Theatre Command is suspending the operations of UNICEF in the North-East theatre until further notice.

    “This has become inevitable since the organisation has abdicated its primary duty of catering for the wellbeing of children and the vulnerable through humanitarian activities and now engages in training selected persons for clandestine activities to continue sabotaging the counter-terrorism efforts.

    “The Theatre Command will not tolerate this kind of sabotage from any individual, group of persons or organisation.

    “We call on all Non-Governmental Organisations and members of humanitarian agencies to keep to their legitimate norms in the discharge of their acclaimed humanitarian duties.”

    The UNICEF had yet to officially react to the military’s release.

  • 30m babies on the brink of death – UN-backed report

    30m babies on the brink of death – UN-backed report

    Nearly 30 million babies are born too soon, too small or become sick, requiring specialised care to survive beyond the first month of life, according to a new UN-backed report.

    The report: ‘Survive and Thrive: Transforming care for every small and sick newborn’, was released by a global coalition that includes the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organisation (WHO).

    UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Omar Abdi said: “When it comes to babies and their mothers, the right care at the right time in the right place can make all the difference.

    “Yet, millions of small and sick babies and women are dying every year because they simply do not receive the quality care that is their right, and our collective responsibility.”

    The report found that babies with complications from being born premature, or suffering brain injury during childbirth, severe bacterial infection or jaundice, risk death and disability.

    Furthermore, the financial and psychological toll on their families can effect their cognitive, linguistic and emotional development, it stated.

    “For every mother and baby, a healthy start from pregnancy through childbirth and the first months after birth is essential,” said Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Deputy Director General for Programmes at WHO.

    Swaminathan lauded universal health coverage to ensure that everyone, including newborns, has access to the health services they need, regardless of the ability to pay.

    “Progress on newborn healthcare is a win-win situation: it saves lives and is critical for early child development thus impacting on families, society, and future generations,” she added.

    The report said some 2.5 million newborns died in 2017, mostly from preventable causes; nearly two-thirds were premature, adding should these babies survive, they often face chronic diseases or developmental delays.

    Figures disclosed that an estimated one million small and sick newborns survived each year with a long-term disability.

    “The good news is that these babies can live without major complications if smarter strategies are employed, such as providing team care for both mother and baby through labour, birth and beyond, to catch problems and issues early.

    “The report projects optimistically, that the lives of 2.9 million women, stillborns and newborns in 81 countries can be saved by 2030.”

    The report said for the world to achieve the global target of quality healthcare for all, newborn services must be transformed, adding however, without rapid progress, some countries will not meet this target for another 11 decades.

    The report recommended providing 24-hour and seven-day inpatient care for newborns, and instituting partnerships between families and trained nurses for hands-on care.

    It recommended teaching parents and families effective baby care to reduce stress, help babies gain weight and allow their brains to develop correctly, adding, country policies should include quality health care and a lifelong investment for those born small or sick.

    According to it, just 20 cents per person can save two of every three newborns in low- and middle-income countries by 2030.

    The report spelt out that it was time for all countries to put in place the legislative, medical, human and financial resources to ensure the highest standard of health care, guaranteed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

  • Armed groups threaten every child in CAR, UNICEF warns

    Armed groups threaten every child in CAR, UNICEF warns

    The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that deteriorating crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR) has left practically every child needing protection from armed groups.

    UNICEF, in a new study, expressed worry that armed groups now control four-fifths of the country’s territory, five years into the latest civil conflict to hit the country.

    The report, ‘Crisis in the Central African Republic: In a neglected emergency, children need aid, protection – and a future’, finds that life has become harsher and more dangerous for children.

    The UN children’s agency said thousands were trapped within armed groups, with thousands more, subject to sexual violence.

    Beyond the direct threats associated with the conflict, the country is suffering from a severe humanitarian crisis, with 1.5 million children now require humanitarian assistance, an increase of 300,000 since 2016.

    Over 43,000 children below five years old are projected to face an extremely high risk of death due to severe acute malnutrition next year, and one in four children is either displaced or a refugee.

    In addition, the number of attacks against aid-workers has more than quadrupled, from 67 incidents in all of 2017, to 294 in just the first eight and a half months of 2018.

    “This crisis is taking place in one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world, and one of the most dangerous for humanitarian workers.

    “Conditions for children are desperate,” said Christine Muhigana, UNICEF’s Representative in the country.

    Civilians bear the brunt of the armed conflict in CAR, which is driven largely by fighting between a dozen or so armed groups over cattle routes and lands rich in diamonds, gold and uranium.

    The warring parties attack health and education facilities and their staff, together with mosques and churches, as well as sites where displaced people have taken shelter, UNICEF said.

    Consequently, almost 643,000 people – at least half of whom are children – were displaced across CAR, and over 573,000 had sought refuge in neighbouring countries as of September.

    Displaced children are being hit by a malnutrition crisis, many with extremely limited access to health care, safe water and sanitation and – for children forced into the bush – conditions are even more dire.

    CAR has the world’s second-highest newborn death rate and maternal mortality ratio, fewer than three out of five children make it through primary school, and almost half the population has no access to clean water.

    The country ranks 188 out of 189 countries on the UN’s Human Development Index, a composite indicator measuring life expectancy, income and education.

    In spite of the difficult and dangerous conditions in which its staff are operating, UNICEF said it was working to reach children in desperate need, in a variety of ways.

    These include providing lifesaving food to 890,000 women and children to stave off malnutrition, immunising children from deadly disease, providing emergency education and recreation, and aiding the recovery of children brutalised by armed groups.

    Notwithstanding the major upsurge in fighting and displacement, only 44 per cent of UNICEF’s $56.5 million funding appeal for 2018 had been met as of the end of October.

    “The children of the Central African Republic have been abandoned for too long. They need attention and help now, and they will need it for the long run,” Muhigana said.

  • 360,000 adolescents expected to die of AIDS by 2030 – UNICEF

    360,000 adolescents expected to die of AIDS by 2030 – UNICEF

    Some 360,000 adolescents are expected to die of AIDS by 2030 if investment in HIV prevention is not ramped up, according to a UNICEF report released on Thursday.

    The figures show the world is “off track’’ in its goal to end AIDS among children by 2030, UNICEF’s executive director, Henrietta Fore, said.

    Projections show there will be a decline in the number of children and young people infected with HIV and dying from AIDS-related causes.

    But the UN children’s fund warned progress is notably slower among adolescents – defined by the UN as those between ages 10 and 19.

    For example, AIDS-related deaths are projected to decrease by 57 per cent among children below the age of 14 by 2030, compared with 35 per cent among those aged 15 to 19 years.

    “Programmes to prevent HIV transmission from mothers to babies are paying off but haven’t gone far enough.

    “Programmes to treat the virus and prevent it from spreading among older children are nowhere near where they should be,’’ Fore said.

    The report blames slow progress in preventing HIV among young children, along with a failure to address structural and behavioural drivers of the epidemic.

    For example, many young people do not know they have HIV, and those who do often fail to stick to their treatment plans.

    UNICEF is pushing for more family-centred testing and diagnostic technologies, as well as targeted outreach programmes and a greater use of digital platforms to improve knowledge of HIV among adolescents.

     

  • UNICEF calls for leaders to re-commit to child survival

    UNICEF today called on global leaders to commit to doing more to fulfil children’s rights, as the world marked International World Children’s Day.

    The call came with a global request asking individual to sign a global online petition asking for ‘children to be put back on the agenda.’

    “We want to build a world where every child is in school, safe from harm and can fulfil their potential – and nowhere is this more true than in Nigeria,” said Mohamed Fall, UNICEF’s Representative in Nigeria.

    “A lot has been achieved – but there is still much to do to ensure that Nigerian children benefit from advances in child rights. At the moment, too many children are being left behind, and we need to reach them.”

    Nigeria has the world’s highest number of out-of-school children, and one of its highest rates of maternal, child and infant mortality. More than four million children are unimmunized and tens of millions of Nigerians still do not have access to clean water and proper sanitation, putting children’s health at risk.

    Diseases like pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria – combined with underlying malnutrition – are responsible for most of the deaths among infants and children in Nigeria.

    Nigeria’s burden of stunted growth among children is the second highest in the world, with 16.5 million affected, and the burden of severe acute malnutrition is high, with an estimated 2.6 million children severely acutely malnourished.

    “No matter where a child is born – whether into wealth or poverty – they and their parents have the same hopes and dreams for their future. And we owe it to all children to give them a fair chance to survive and fulfil those dreams,” said Mohamed Fall.

    “In partnership with the Nigerian Government, we are determined to ensure that stronger investment will yield progress for all children in education, health – including ensuring routine immunization for all, nutrition and child protection.”

    Nigerian children experience a wide range of abuses and harmful practices. An estimated 3 in 5 children have suffered one or more forms of violence before reaching 18, with over 70 per cent experiencing multiple incidents of violence.

    “This World Children’s Day, we must recommit to children – knowing that for Nigeria to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, we must invest in long-lasting institutional and community-based systems and policies for children’s survival, growth and development,” said Mohamed Fall.

    “Nigerian children have a huge role to play in the country’s national development. It is the generation of children growing up today who will take their place as Nigeria’s leaders tomorrow – and who will be able to take further – to really accelerate – the progress we make now.”

     

  • “Hauwa’s death has broken our hearts”

    The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), after receiving information indicating that Hauwa Liman has been killed by her captors in a despicable act of cruelty, says the death has broken the hearts of many.
    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports Hauwa is the second abducted health worker in Nigeria to be murdered in the last month.
    “A second health worker held hostage in Nigeria has been murdered. It’s utterly devastating that we have to write that sentence,” ICRC stated in confirmation of the death of Hauwa.
    “The news of Hauwa’s death has broken our hearts,” said ICRC’s Regional Director for Africa, Patricia Danzi.
    “We appealed for mercy and an end to such senseless murders. How can it be that two female health care workers were killed back-to-back? Nothing can justify this,” she lamented.
    Hauwa, 24, was full of life, becoming a midwife at an early age. People who knew her described her as a sociable, dynamic and enthusiastic woman who was much loved by family and friends. She was truly dedicated to her work helping vulnerable women in her family’s home area.
    Hauwa was abducted by Boko Haram insurgents in an attack in the north-eastern town of Rann on 01 March, together with Saifura Hussaini Ahmed Khorsa and Alice Loksha.
    Saifura was deliberately killed on 16 September, while Alice remains in captivity, along with Leah Sharibu, a 15-year-old student abducted by the group in a separate incident in February.
    Hauwa and Saifura worked in a health-care centre supported by the ICRC; Alice worked in a centre supported by UNICEF.
    The ICRC made sustained and committed efforts to secure the release of the three health-care workers, including a last-minute plea for mercy on Sunday to the Islamic State West Africa Province group, to no avail.
    “Hauwa and Saifura’s deaths are not only a tragedy for their families, but they will also be felt by thousands of people in Rann and other conflict-affected areas of north-east Nigeria where accessing health care remains a challenge. We urge the group holding Alice and Leah to release them safely,” said Danzi.