600m girls’ potentials disregarded globally –Unicef

The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) yesterday lamented that “limitless potentials” of about 600 million girls worldwide are being forgotten in all facets, including the international development agenda initiatives.

It said issues of gender inequality facing young girls in schools and other security areas should be brought to the front burner by leaders at various levels for them to benefit from targeted investments.

Unicef said this yesterday as the world marked International Day of the Girl Child, which is annually celebrated on October 11 to highlight gender inequality issues of the young girls.

This year’s celebration, according to the UN body, was tagged “The Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030.”

Unicef said in a statement to mark the day that: “There are nearly 600 million girls aged 10 to 19 in the world today, each with limitless individual potential, however they are disappearing from public awareness and the international development agenda.”

Also, the BringBackOurGirls movement in marking the day once again called on Federal Government to prioritize all its efforts towards protecting the rights of the Nigerian girl child, while investing in relevant actions needed for their empowerment.

The group made the demand yesterday in a statement signed by the group’s conveners Oby Ezekwesili, Hadiza Bala Usman as well as its spokesperson, Aisha Yesufu.

It said the event provided another opportunity for the Government of Nigeria, through relevant institutions, to prioritize all efforts geared towards protecting the rights of Nigerian girl child.