UNICEF, ECHO partner on life-saving programme for Nigerian children in conflict regions

By Esenvosa Izah

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) has inaugurated a programme to expedite life-saving responses for children in Nigeria’s conflict affected North-East region.

UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Ms Cristian Munduate, in a statement on Monday said the programme include delivering essential nutrition, sanitation, and hygiene supplies.

Munduate said the aim of the  initiative was to uplift the lives of nearly 88,000 people, including nearly 50,000 severely acute malnourished children.

“Children and women in North-East Nigeria need not continue being deprived of fundamental survival services.

“We must work relentlessly to eradicate wasting and prevent needless deaths among the country’s most disadvantaged individuals.

“We are profoundly grateful for ECHO’s support, which will enable us to reach the most vulnerable children.

“This means fewer deaths and more healthy children. It also ensures that our clinics will consistently have essential medications and micronutrients to enhance child survival rates, “ she said.

The representative said that the new collaboration between the two agencies targeted those living in crowded camps for displaced persons and conflict-stricken locations throughout the region.

According to her, the innovative programme will extend the use of the mid-upper arm circumference approach—an easily applied method for assessing children’s malnutrition status—to a greater number of vulnerable infants and young children.

 

“Additionally, it will empower mothers and caregivers to identify wasting in their children.

 

“Slated to run for one year, this programme will prioritise supporting both nutrition and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sectors, enabling partner organisations to coordinate effectively and deliver vital supplies swiftly, particularly in crisis-prone locations,”  Munduate said.

 

(NAN)