Children’s Day: When will violence against children, rights denial end?

Have you ever imagined the world without children? Now imagine a world with children and devoid of happiness; plagued with suffering and violence, abuse, rape and denial of several rights and privileges that should position them to take over the world when they are being called upon.

One of the greatest inhumanities of the world today is children-related. Education, nutrition, health denials are some of the shortcomings of the world, particularly in developing countries where the right of the child has been infringed.

For instance, according to statistics found on the United Nations Children Fund website (https://www.unicef.org/sowc2014/numbers), In Somalia, 49 per cent of children between five and 14 years old are involved in child labour; four per cent of the poorest Tanzanians are registered at birth, compared with 56 per cent of the richest; In Sierra Leone, one in five children die before age 5; In Chad, for every 100 boys who gain entry to secondary school, only 44 girls do; In half the countries with available data, more than 80 per cent of children 2–14 years old have been subjected to violent discipline.

Every May 27, the world gathers to mark the Children’s Day, the theme of this year (2018) in Nigeria is ‘Creating Safe Spaces for Children: Our Collective Responsibility.’

UNICEF Nigeria Deputy Representatives, Isiye Ndombi, in a statement on whose responsibilities is it to create safe spaces for children, explained that Nigeria was the first country among the West African sub-region and the ninth country in the world to conduct the Violence Against Children survey in 2014.

Ndombi added that in September 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari launched a Year of Action to End Violence Against Children and called on all Nigerians to join this battle. He renewed his commitment in October 2016 by launching a long-term campaign, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, to End Violence Against Children by 2030.

The Presidential Campaign has been translated into a national modelling programme, spearheaded by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, to strengthen child protection systems.

“Nine states have rolled out this programme, and we at UNICEF see potentials for other states to follow. We are also seeing a promising increase in the number children that have received support after having reported violence against them.

“Nigeria was the first country in the West African sub-region and the ninth country in the world to conduct the Violence Against Children survey in 2014.

“The survey provided the first nationally representative data on the prevalence of sexual, physical, and emotional violence among children in Nigeria.

“The findings, released at the end of 2015, highlighted that millions of Nigerian children are suffering violence every year and most are suffering in silence. Six out of 10 children will suffer some form of emotional, physical or sexual violence before they reach the age of 18. Many of them encounter violence over and over. Yet, less than five per cent of the children that seek help receive support. This was a clear call for the government at all levels to act to end violence against children,” he said.

Also speaking about malnutrition in children, Mrs Tabitha Osunsanya, a nutritionist, pointed out that exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months is still a challenge for nursing mothers.

“Most parents don’t practise exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, which puts babies at risk of childhood illness like diarrhea and pneumonia and result in severe malnutrition. Illiteracy has also been associated with malnutrition as the rate of malnutrition is higher among illiterate mothers.

Furthermore, Mrs Osunsanya explained that stunting and wasting are both forms of under nutrition (broadly called malnutrition) which are common in children due to the high nutrients requirement necessary for growth.

“Wasting, which is also called ‘Marasmus’ result from inadequate intake of protein and energy dense foods which leads to loss of muscle mass while stunting is a form of chronic malnutrition that reflects long term malnutrition which may not affect the weight of a child but result in low height for age.

“In Africa, 59 million children under 5 years are stunted while 14 million are wasted according to a World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) and World Bank Group 2016 supported reports.

“It was also reported that 75 per cent of all wasted children live in lower or middle income countries. In Nigeria, six million children are stunted (37 per cent) while 18 per cent are wasted where more than half of the children are stunted.

A multiple Indicated Cluster Survey (MICS) made available by UNICEF for children of school age out of school in 2016/2017 revealed that primary and secondary school dropout rate is highest in Oyo and Osun states among the Nigeria’s southwest states.

Also, primary school completion rate is also said to be low and dropping in Oyo State, Nigeria, and education or lack of it by parents is one of the major reasons a child’s right and responsibility is abused.

Mrs Osunsanya, however, stated that government has a lot to do to show commitment and responsibility as regards protecting the rights of children.

“The government can enforce the law that forbids teenage marriage in the northern part of Nigeria, which to a great extent, contributes to malnutrition in children.

The government can improve on the Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme, which has already started in the north. They can improve on the foods served at the IDP areas in the north to ensure optimal growth of children.

“The government can also increase the maternity leave of mothers to six months as it is in developed countries and probably consider to give nursing fathers leave too to take care of their babies also. Creating job opportunities will also help those in lower line of socioeconomic status, which, by extension, would provide means of education to the children.

UNICEF submitted that violence against children can and must be prevented. Change can only happen by tackling the issue from all angles and at all levels.

“This includes developing protective laws and policies, promoting services, targeting programmes at those who most need them, and raising awareness to promote social change. Everyone has a role to play,” Ndombi said.