Nigeria loses N1.42trn to violence against children yearly – UN

Nigeria an estimated N1.42 trillion to violence against children yearly, according to a UNICEF report.

The report said the estimated economic value that Nigeria lost to some selected health consequences of violence against children in 2014 amounted to N849 billion for females and N570 billion for males. loses

It also stated that the cumulative loss of earnings as a result of the productivity loss across different types of violence against children was N967 billion, accounting for 1.7 percent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) adding that in spite of the huge economic loss, Nigeria’s financial Investment on Child Protection services per child daily is just N27.89 which represents 0.08 percent of total FG expenditure on public goods and services.

This was revealed at the launch of the Financial Benchmark and Economic Burden of Violence Against Children in Nigeria which is a survey of data of national violence against children in 2014, held on Thursday in Abuja jointly organized by the UNICEF and Federal Government.

Speaking at the launch, UNICEF country representative, Mohammed M. Fall called for increased investments in the protection of the Nigerian Child, with the ultimate goal of ensuring all Nigerians thrive in good health, human capital, and economic growth indices.

He said violence against children, in any form, not only has a lifelong impact on the child’s physical and psychological development but also results in diminished human capital, and to combat it a strong and comprehensive child protection system must be in place nationwide.

“This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, giving us an opportunity to join our collective efforts to protect children from violence, abuse and neglect. This includes a re-commitment to increase investment in child protection services,” he said.

Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Ifeoma Anagbogu who noted that the report revealed that about half of the Nigerian children surveyed experienced physical violence by parents, adult relatives, direct or indirect caregivers or community members before they reached 18.