From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna
To address the myriad of challenges confronting children in Kaduna State and accelerate the implementation of the law, concerning Child welfare, an activist has said it is imperative to give those that are directly affected a platform that empowered them to amplify their voices by inaugurating a children’s parliament in the state.
The Head of Leadership, Governance & Advocacy of the Coalition of Associations for Leadership, Peace, Empowerment & Development (CALPED)) Usuf Ishaku Goje stated this in a statement made available to the media in Kaduna yesterday.
Goje said, according to the National Bureau of Statistics 2022 MPI Survey, multidimensional poverty by age group between 0 to 17 years is 4.3 million.
The State he disclosed is also among the four States in Nigeria with over one-quarter of poor children under 5. Currently, there are about 660,000 out-of-school children in the State.
“ UNICEF during a recent visit to the Executive Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani, said 60% of children suffer from acute malnutrition in the State. Not to forget the children that suffer from insecurity and sexual violence.
“The above data should cause sleepless nights for any well-meaning administration. More so, for a State that has a high dependency rate with 49% of its population under 14 years old. Also, despite the passage of the Child Welfare and Protection Law, 2018, there is much to be achieved in terms of its implementation.
