By Kazeem Biriowo
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) to fight child rights abuse and child poverty in Nigeria
NESG Chairman Niyi Yusuf in his opening remarks in Abuja, explained that the goal of signing the MoU is to support the government’s initiatives to address issues affecting children and tackle poverty in the nation.
He further said that the MOU is intended to help Nigeria achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in the areas of education, health, and other child rights concerns.
The partnership aims to interact with and promote a child-centered approach to development in Nigeria at the highest policy levels.
According to him, “From the Nigerian and NESG perspectives our view is that the Nigerian children actually represent the greatest assets to this country.
“We keep saying that our children are the leaders of tomorrow and so it’s important that we must invest and plant the seeds to ensure that these children truly become the leaders of tomorrow.”
He noted that in the Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) released in 2022, two thirds of Nigerian children were multi dimensionally poor which means they lacked access to health, education and income.
Also, he stated that more than 50 per cent of the children of poor people have poor early childhood development.
In the NESG Chairman’s words: “So, if a child suffers any negative growth in early childhood, you are laying a not so good foundation for tomorrow and for us at the NESG.
“Our focus is always to promote the modernisation of the Nigerian economy to one that is sustainable, globally competitive and has and promotes shared prosperity.
“We believe that urgent action is required to ensure that we do the right things to promote the development of our children and for those children to then become the leaders, consumers and workforce of tomorrow.”
Yusuf said the collaboration would help bring the best of the Nigerian business community, policy advocacy groups and also the average professionals together, stating that this is to ensure that deliberate steps are taken across the nation to protect children’s rights.
Also, the Country Representative of UNICEF, Christian Munduate, said that talking about children’s rights means ensuring that everybody who is not a child has a responsibility to children from where they are.
“Parents need to take care of their children; families need to have a strong network; communities have to build enabling environments.
“We all play a critical role to put once and for all children at the centre of the agenda in Nigeria. They have been poor. And why do you say nothing about them?”
Munduate also disclosed that 54 per cent of Nigerian children still faced multidimensional poverty, “meaning lack of either water or sanitation.
She also revealed that, “13 million children have moderate malnutrition, meaning that the child who was not properly fed in their first years of life has a deficiency not only in physical growth and is limited in its intellectual development.”
She, however, said that correcting the situation required a lot of commitment from all Nigerians.
Munduate added that NESG was one of the organisations in the country that proposed social and public policies for the country and embraced a powerful network of civil society organisations and private sector.
“UNICEF’s partnership with the organisation would enhance the promotion of child rights in the country”.
“UNICEF is dedicated to protecting children’s rights in Nigeria and worldwide and helping them build a strong foundation for their future”.
“Our partnership with NESG highlights the urgency of realising this goal and will coordinate efforts to achieve child rights protection in Nigeria through effective public policies,” she added.
