Isaac Anumihe, Fred Ezeh and Joseph Inokotong, Abuja
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has disclosed that, on the average, deaths and disability resulting from acts of violence against children, costs Nigeria N1.42 trillion annually.
According to the report, the amount is equivalent to 1.6 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Unveiling the report in Abuja, yesterday, the UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Mohammed Fall, who spoke on the financial benchmark on child protection services and the economic burden of violence against children, pointed out that it is important for Nigeria to pay more attention to the issue of child protection in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
He called for strong and comprehensive child protection system in order to address the challenge.
A breakdown of the N1.42 trillion shows that the cost of physical violence against children alone accounted for N1.01 trillion, while the report stated that 52 per cent of boys and 50 per cent of girls in Nigeria are victims of physical violence prior to the age of 18.
Sexual violence against children in Nigeria stands at N307 billion, out of the N1.42 trillion and 11 per cent of boys and 25 per cent of girls were victims of sexual violence before the age of 18.
The balance of N91 billion was the cost of emotional violence suffered by children in Nigeria, noting that 20 per cent of boys and 17 per cent of girls in Nigeria were victims of emotional violence prior to the age of 18.
Fall said the current budgetary expenditure on child protection at present is low, as it is less than 0.5 per cent of Nigeria’s total expenditure.
He said: “Currently, government expenditures cover mainly responsive child protection services, thereby neglecting the importance of essential preventive measures like domestication of the Child Rights Act in all 36 states, ensuring universal access to birth registration centre, giving identity to each child and raising awareness of child abuse.
“To implement a comprehensive child protection system with a strong legal foundation, the report not only calls for a re-allocation of only 0.1 per cent of Nigeria’s budget to child protection services but, also, importantly highlights the necessity of adequate release of funds during the fiscal year.”