Ime Akpan, Lagos
A report launched by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the ministry of budget and national planning and the ministry of women affairs and social development has revealed that deaths and disability resulting from acts of violence against children, costs Nigeria N1.42 trillion annually, on the average.
The report released yesterday in Abuja by ministry of budget and national planning also put the economic impact of violence against children in Nigeria around 1.06 per cent of Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The figure, it said, was from the cumulative loss of earnings due to loss of productivity stemming from suffering associated with different degrees of violence, over time.
The report revealed that about half of the children surveyed experienced physical violence by parents, adult relatives, direct or indirect caregivers or community members, before they reached 18. It noted that the study might actually underestimate the economic burden of violence against children, as several serious consequences of such violence were not included, due to lack of data.
A breakdown of the N1.42 trillion shows that the cost of physical violence against children alone accounted for N1.01 trillion, while sexual violence against children in Nigeria accounted for N307 billion.
The report noted 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, while 11 per cent of boys and 25 per cent of girls were victims of sexual violence before the age of 18.
While the balance of N91 billion was the cost of emotional violence suffered by children in Nigeria, the report noted 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.
Speaking at the unveiling of the report, the UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Mohammed Fall, said 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.
He 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.
“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.
“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,” he added.
In his remarks, the permanent secretary in the ministry of budget and national planning, Mr. Olajide Odewale, said there was a great need for the federal government to curtail violence against children.
“The cost of inaction is high, when it comes to violence against children.“Violence affects children’s health, education and productivity. It is clear that we need to eliminate any form of violence against children from the moral and economic perspectives.
“The findings of this study point to the strong need for increased funding of interventions by government to reduce violence against children in Nigeria,” he said.
