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Abdulrazaq Mungadi, Gombe
The Bauchi Field Office of the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has assured its full support for Gombe and Plateau states in their efforts towards ending Violence Against Children (VAC).
The pledge followed a recent report which shows that on average, deaths and disability resulting from acts of violence against children costs Nigeria N1.42 trillion annually. This according to the international body is equivalent to 1.6 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The Officer in-charge, UNICEF Nigeria, Bauchi Field Office, Mr. Bhanu Pathak, spoke through Ladi Alabi, the fund’s Child Protection Specialist in the Bauchi Field Office.
The occasion was the launch of the UNICEF’s reports of financial benchmark and economic burden of violence against children in Nigeria for Plateau and Gombe states held yesterday in Jos, Plateau state.
Pathak explained that there was huge financial loss from the cumulative loss of earnings due to loss of productivity, stemming from suffering associated with different degrees of violence against children over time. He said that the launch of the two reports afforded UNICEF the opportunity to know first-hand, what it is putting into child protection as well as the high economic cost of violence against children in Nigeria.
