On 26 May, (foreground) girls use their new school supplies during a class in an informal learning centre in a UNICEF-supported safe space for children in the Dalori camp for internally displaced people, in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri in Borno State. The UNICEF logo is visible on a folder that one girl is holding.
At end May 2015 in Nigeria, 15.5 million people, including 7.3 million children, are affected by the continuing crisis in the countryís north-eastern region. More than 1.3 million Nigerians in the three states affected ñ Adamawa, Yobe and Borno ñ have fled their homes as a result of violence and attacks by Boko Haram insurgents that have escalated since the beginning of 2015. Many of the displaced, most of whom are children and women, are sheltering in host communities that have limited resources, and in formal and informal camps. All are in urgent need of basic supplies, health and nutrition services, and critical water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) support to prevent the spread of disease. An estimated 200,000 people have also fled to neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and the Niger, further straining already vulnerable communities. The impact of the crisis on children and women is of particular concern. Many of them have lost their homes and belongings ñ escaping with only the clothing they were wearing; and some have walked for days ñ or even weeks ñ to find refuge. Many children in the region have been traumatized and are in need of psychosocial support. They have witnessed violence and atrocities, including seeing parents and siblings slaughtered by Boko Haram insurgents; and have been exposed to or have experienced violence and brutality. Their homes have been burned and their schools have been damaged or destroyed during the attacks. The insurgency has also created a larger humanitarian crisis in the region. UNICEF is working with the Government and other partners, including other United Nations organizations, to provide basic assi
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Monday said about 57 per cent of Nigerian children under the age of five years don’t have birth certificates.
The child protection specialist in charge of UNICEF Zone A Field office, Enugu, Victor Atuchukwu, stated this in Awka during the training of 75 health workers from selected health facilities in the 21 local government areas of Anambra State.
He said, “It is the right of every child to have a birth certificate, but many parents did not consider it important. Without birth certificate, time would come when the child would discover that he or she had no official record of vital information.”
The Director of the National Population Commission in the state, Joachim Ulasi, who noted that the commission did not have enough man power for birth registration, said, “We just have 148 registration centres, comprising 21 controllers who are deputy chief registrars for the 21 local government areas. If they are removed from the 148, we are left with 127, which are located in health facilities throughout Anambra State. This number is not enough. We have 181 autonomous communities and we need at least one centre in each community while the large communities should have two or more.”
Ulasi, however, added that NPC had concluded plans to digitalise the birth registration exercise in the state.
