The Honorable Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, has called on Nigerians to rise to the challenges of the times to ensure that we reassess our commitments to the promotion of the rights of the child.
she stated this in an address at the year 2021 national
children’s day celebration held at the Executive Hall, International Conference
Centre, Abuja On Thursday, 27th May 2021
she said it is another
May 27th which is a special day set aside by the Nigerian Government to
appreciate the great Children of this great country.
Adding that the 2021 theme for the celebration is “Effect of
COVID-19 Pandemic on the total wellbeing of the Nigerian Child: The way
Forward” The theme finds its relevance in the COVID-19 crisis which has
resulted in a child rights crisis. The effects and impact of the pandemic on
children are immediate and, if left unattended, may remain with us for long.
The minister further said “This is why as a Nation, we must rise to the challenges of the times to ensure that we reassess our commitments to the promotion of the rights of the child in line with the United Nations General Assembly Resolution and other Regional and Sub-Regional Declarations on the Rights of the Child to which Nigeria is a signatory to. It a time for stock-taking and assessment of the current challenges that affect our planning and implementation strategies given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on all facets of our national life.
she said in a Survey conducted by Save the Children on the
Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Children in West and Central Africa in 2020
indicate that 92% of surveyed households struggle to pay for food, health care,
rent, fuel, nutrition and other essential needs. While UNICEF also projected
that about 950 Nigerian Children could die every day from preventable causes
over the next 6 months as the COVID-19 Pandemic disrupt routine services and
threaten to weaken the health services.
Tallen further said, for this reason, the Federal Ministry
of Women Affairs is deliberately engaging a participatory approach that
aggregates the concerns and priorities of Nigerian children, while ensuring
that their human rights concerns are systematically protected. During the Media
briefing yesterday, a child called my attention to the fact that we must learn
some lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, so that we are always not taking
unawares by such occurrences. This means that we need to take into cognizance
the poorest of the poor children who do not have access to basic facilities in
the rural areas, nor have ever seen been exposed to any ICT facility. Imagine
how truncated their lives were with the lockdown measures put in place to curb
the rise of the pandemic.
Giving insight into the effects of the Covid 19 on children
she said, “although some of the effects of the pandemic will not be the same
for all children, a great number of children were affected in the following
areas; extreme poverty which led to school drop out for some children,
especially the girl child, hunger, malnutrition, increase in child mortality
and increase in many street children. Others are child battering, increased
violence against children as well an increase in Gender-Based Violence, while
others suffered from online child sexual exploitation as a result of online
learning that was introduced by schools during the lockdown. This development
affects children’s mental health, social development, safety, economic security
and protection and thus increased their vulnerability. The worst-hit were
children in IDP Camps and orphanages, street children as well as children
without parental care”.
Stating the efforts of
the Ministry of women affairs, the Honorable minister said “breaking into new
frontiers requires innovation and partnerships. To effectively deliver on the
multi-sectoral approaches needed to actualize the Ministry’s mandate, we
sincerely welcome the support of all our partners from the development and
donor community who have been tireless with us. Let me particularly thank
UNICEF, Save the Children, UN Women, UNDP, UNFPA and others who have helped us
to raise the bar in planning and programming for children. In the same vein, I
want to welcome new allies to join us in this task of adequately investing in
children, who represent our Nation's continuity. Government alone cannot do it,
so all hands must be on deck”.
Tallen also eulogized
the contributions of the governor and their wives. She said “I want to also
appreciate the efforts of the State Governors, their Wives for making our work
seemingly simple. You will agree with me that the challenges confronting
children are more noticeable in rural communities. Since children’s issues are
so vast that no one Ministry can handle all the components alone, I, therefore,
urge them to collaborate with all relevant stakeholders in their States to
upscale intervention programmes for children.
While extending her appreciation to civil societies
organizations she said “I want to specifically commend all our CSOs who
continue to support us in addressing the impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on
children through the provision of essential services. This is what effect
collaboration brings to the table and we must sustain it. In this regard, I
want to thank the Honourable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory
Administration, Mallam Mohammed Bello and the Honourable Minister of State, Dr
Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu for joining us in this milestone event in honour of our
children. This is indeed a sign of good things to come for Nigerian Children.
Tallen further said “Let me state here that for COVID-19, we
would have engaged in more robust outdoor activities, such as Match past, which
is associated with this event. Be that as it may, our lives will not be halted
by the pandemic. We have therefore resolved to continually appreciate the
potential of the Nigerian child and to constantly upscale and renew our
commitment to ensure that the Nigerian Child lives a more dignified life”.
Tallen also extolled the Contribution of Mr President, she
said “I want to thank our President for supporting all our advocacies in
creating an enabling environment for the Nigerian child to develop well in the
face of the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic as you will soon hear in his speech
to us all. In a few weeks, Mr President will again join us in the National
Policy Dialogue on Ending Violence Against Children in Nigeria hosted by the
Ministry with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the
World Health Organization (WHO).
She said the successes recorded by the Ministry since the
wake of COVID-19 are based on the availability of information on the negative
impact of Covid -19 on Children. This has led to the development and
implementation of programmes aimed at mitigating the impact of Covid-19 on
Children in Nigeria and we scale up on these. Some of which include:
Provision of nutritional support and medical outreach to
women and children in IDP Camp and Children Homes;
Distribution of palliatives to various households,
Orphanages, NGOs, CBOs and FBOs to mitigate the impact of Covid -19;
Advocacy Visits to the State Governor, Wives of State
Governors, Honourable Speakers of the State House of Assemblies, Traditional
and Religious Leaders to ensure the domestication of the Child Rights Act 2003
and VAPP Act 2015 throughout the Federation promote the wellbeing and welfare
of the Nigerian Child as it relates to the impact of Covid -19 Pandemic;
Distribution of diapers across the Primary Health Care
Centres, Orphanages and some IDP Camps with support from Procter and Gamble to
promote immunization, hygiene and sanitation, as well as general wellbeing of
the mother and child;
Distribution of school kits to ameliorate the impact of
Covid-19 on the education of children especially the boosting girl-child school
enrolment, retention and completion of her education;
Zonal Sensitization Seminars for Stakeholders in 18 States of
the Federation on the provisions of the Child Rights Act 2003, Ending Violence
Against Children and Promoting Girl Child Education.
The Honorable minister called for the proper upbringing of
children she said “We cannot allow evil-minded persons continue to inflict and
pose grave dangers to our children. If we do not provide an enabling
environment for children to grow as responsible adults, they will surely come
back to haunt us as miscreants. This is why mothers and fathers, as well as
caregivers, must rise to the challenges of proper nurturing and upbringing of
their children and wards”.
“As custodians of the
Child Rights Act (CRA), 2003, we will not grow weary of calling on the
remaining 12 States who are yet to domesticate the CRA to do, while also
monitoring the implementation levels in the States that have domesticated the
Act. The Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act 2015 is a great tool
in our advocacy for a just and egalitarian society where the Nigerian Child
will reach his/her full potential. As we speak only 18 States have domesticated
the VAPP Act, while some who have domesticated it are yet to gazette it to make
it Law. I, therefore, appeal to the State Governors to fast track the process
to ensure that perpetrators are brought to book to serve as a deterrent to
others”.
She said called on all
stakeholders that this year’s celebration is not just a tradition, but a
concrete step that must be taken to promote the survival, protection,
development and participation of the Nigerian Child, the future of this nation.
She emphasized that COVID -19 is not over yet and we should continue to observe
the government-approved protocols for our safety and the safety of our
children.
She called on children to be of good behaviour at all times, ensure that they take their education serious and obey constituted authorities at home and in schools.
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