SAVE THE NIGERIA CHILDREN

As the nation joins the rest of the world to mark another International Children’s Day today, it is imperative to note that over the years, the plight of the Nigerian child has continued to worsen. Beyond the public holiday and a few speeches that some public officials give on May 27 every year, there seems to be no concrete plan to change the ill fortune of the Nigerian child.

A report released recently by the United States-based organisation, Save the Children, indicate that about one million children die yearly in Nigeria. This represents about 10 per cent of the number of child-deaths globally. According to the ranking, Nigeria comes second only to India as the country with the highest number of children who lack access to adequate basic health care. In figures, this equates to about 16 million suffering children.

The situation is compounded by mass unemployment and poverty. About 90 per cent of the people live on less than $2 a day. Many families are so poor that they cannot afford balanced diets that can boost the immune system of their growing children. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, 65 per cent of Nigerians have insufficient access to the amount and variety of food that make for a healthy and productive life. The same ministry says 40 per cent of Nigerian children under five have stunted growth. It is estimated that 25 per cent of them die before the age of five.

Those who are lucky to escape hunger and food insecurity may not be too lucky to escape kidnappers, rapists and ritualists. And to show that the nation is not empowering its children for the new knowledge-driven world order, 45 per cent of school-age children are out of school. Yet, the Universal Basic Education programme was launched in 2000 with the aim of giving free and compulsory education to every child. Those out of school are hawking on the streets or engaged in other forms of child labour.

The worsening plight of the Nigerian child is largely attributable to poor governance and high birth rate, especially among the poor. In many parts of the world, children are given free medical treatment. In Nigeria, this is not the case. Even some states that claim to offer free treatment, patients stay for long hours unattended to. The government should be alive to its responsibilities since health is not a sector that can be solely handled by the private sector.

Local governments in particular have a greater responsibility in this regard. Being the government that is closer to the people, councils should go beyond paying salaries and sharing allocations. They should put in place dispensaries, health centres, and train health technologists to manage them. These facilities were there in the past.

All tiers of government should also go back to adequate training of health workers. The current situation where nursing schools, for instance, are being neglected does not augur well for the society. The government should also embark on enlightenment campaigns on birth control, first aid and other preventive health issues. This nation can afford one free meal per day for every school child if official graft is tamed.

On their parts, parents should limit themselves to the number of children they can adequately cater for. They should seek the assistance of medical personnel when their children fall sick. They should take immunisation of their children seriously as some diseases that have killed Nigerian children could have been prevented with simple immunisation. They should also keep their environments clean because most of the diseases that afflict children are as a result of poor hygiene. Sanitary inspectors should be engaged to counsel Nigerians on the need to always maintain a clean environment.

Beyond the government, churches, mosques and other non-governmental bodies should build health care centres to help in tackling some preventable diseases among children. Some have done it already, but there is need to do more. A nation that neglects the education and welfare of its children has no future.