The Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN) has called on state governments governments to domesticate the child rights act to protect children.
The association also called quality investment in children and ensure a fruitful life for them.
President of PAN, Prof. Olufemi Ogunrinde made the call in a statement in Kaduna to mark the world Children’s day 2023 with the theme; “Investing in our future means investing in our children”.
He said, “the average Nigerian child is still in a precarious situation, suffering from the brunt of the economic downturns, civil unrests, natural disasters, insecurity, and mismanagement of nation’s resources.”
He added that, “the Nigerian child continues to suffer from vicious cycle of extreme poverty, inequality, and disease”.
Ogunrinde lamented further that “a significant number of children still remains partially or even non-immunised at all. “In addition to the unacceptable numbers of children who die every second in Nigeria, psychosocial effects of social media misuse, child abuse and neglect remain rampant.”
He said, “On this special day, we want to especially thank parents for their love, care, and sacrifice. We urge for the continued support of fathers in the care, protection and upbringing of children”, the statement reads.
“This investment in our children is the best for our individual and collective future. “Investing in children requires multi-stakeholder dialogue as well as an integrated approach, pulling the different policy strands together to address the root-causes of the problems of children.
“We therefore call on all stakeholders to recommit to reinforcing child protection mechanisms through the passage and domestication of the child’s rights act by all governments in Nigeria, to facilitate learning for every child, including the girl child, in both formal and informal settings, to reach every child with basic shelter, healthcare including timely immunisation against diseases, clothing, portable water, and nutritious food.
“Specifically, we call on the Nigerian government to as a matter of urgency revive the school health programme and utilise it to reach every child with basic nutrition and immunisation for optimal growth and development.
“Every Nigerian child is an asset, resilient, talented, and with great aspirations for a great future.
“It is, therefore, our responsibility to give every Nigerian child the opportunity to grow into an adult that will be useful to himself and the society.
“Again, the success of our tomorrow lies in the universal quality health, universal quality basic education and end to hunger for every child.
“Finally, we want to remind our society that a child belongs to everyone and everybody and no child should be left behind regardless of his/her socio-economic background”.
