As Lawmakers, UNICEF pledge assist
By Chioma Obinna
On the World Youngsters’s Day Coverage Dialogue on the Lagos State Home of Meeting, kids from public colleges shared heartfelt tales of starvation, illness, overcrowded school rooms, and unsafe water—tales that instantly shifted the room right into a second of urgency and reflection.
Fourteen-year-old Ms. Ogbeide Esther spoke by trembling emotion as she described classmates lacking college as a result of their mother and father can’t afford medical payments.
“Some kids come to high school hungry as a result of there isn’t any meals at residence,” she stated softly. “We’d like well being centres in our communities. we will’t stay with an empty abdomen.”
Her phrases moved lawmakers, Hon. Stella Foluke Oshafile assured the youngsters that their wants weren’t favours however rights.
“These are important wants you must have,” she stated, promising that their issues would information ongoing funds selections.
Tomison Otolorin added her voice to the plea, highlighting how poor vitamin weakens kids every day. “Most kids don’t eat good protein and it makes them sick,” she stated. “We have to be cautious the place we purchase meals as a result of soiled locations could make us in poor health. Eat wholesome, keep wholesome, stay wholesome.”
Their emotional testimonies set the stage for the broader discussions that adopted, the place UNICEF officers and lawmakers outlined Lagos State’s efforts and commitments towards defending kids’s rights.
Lagos State has emerged as a nationwide chief in little one rights, with lawmakers and UNICEF officers committing to substantial investments in well being, schooling, and little one safety.
Talking on the World Youngsters’s Day Coverage Dialogue on the Home of Meeting Advanced, Alausa, Ikeja, UNICEF Lagos Discipline Workplace Chief, Celine Lafoucriere, described Lagos’ strategy as “modern,” noting that the state is the primary in Nigeria to undertake a single funds code monitoring all expenditures on kids and moms—a mannequin now being studied by different states. Lagos additionally boasts the very best start registration charge within the nation at 94 p.c, guaranteeing most kids are seen in planning and funding.
Throughout the dialogue, kids shared firsthand accounts of the challenges they face—tales that grounded the coverage dialogue in lived actuality. Fourteen-year-old Ms. Ogbeide Esther spoke about insufficient healthcare and starvation skilled by many college students. Equally, Tomison Otolorin highlighted vitamin issues, explaining that “most kids don’t eat good protein, and soiled meals environments may cause illness.”
As a part of their advocacy, the youngsters additionally addressed the necessity for extra equitable budgeting. Oluwaferanmi Sulaimon, talking on funds rights for kids, appealed to the lawmakers: “We ask you to recollect us when planning budgets… We’re not asking for something additional—simply our justifiable share. If you put money into us at this time, you might be constructing a greater future.”
In response, Hon. Abiodun Orekoya, Chairman of the Home Committee on Youth and Social Improvement, acknowledged the issues however emphasised ongoing progress. “There could also be little lapses, however we’re getting higher,” he stated. “You may see that your colleges are enhancing.”
Oluwaferanmi’s plea additionally drew a direct response from Hon. Rauf, who burdened the twin accountability of presidency and kids. “We’ve got a job that can assist you, particularly in hygiene and schooling,” he stated. “No matter the federal government does for you, be sure you additionally shine by your personal efforts.”
As well as, Teni Odulate raised issues about water and sanitation in colleges: “Some kids wake early to fetch water as a result of nothing comes from their faucets. Some bogs are soiled, and women can’t change safely. We’d like necessary water upkeep checks.”
Globally, little one rights are beneath menace. Funding cuts may lead to 4.5 million extra little one deaths by 2030 and 6 million extra kids out of college by 2026, UNICEF warned. Over 200 million kids need assistance, however sources are disappearing—making Lagos’ proactive strategy all of the extra pressing.
“Each little one you put money into turns into a more healthy, smarter, extra productive grownup,” Lafoucriere stated. “Lagos is proving that when governments prioritize kids, it units a basis for sustainable growth.”
Representing the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, Majority Chief Hon. Noheem Adams outlined concrete legislative actions, together with the institution of a standalone College of Medication to strengthen the healthcare workforce. “We’re increasing hospitals and first well being centres, however infrastructure is meaningless with out certified personnel,” he stated.
Adams additionally reaffirmed Lagos’ dedication to security, pledging elevated safety round colleges, and emphasised ongoing instructor coaching, classroom enlargement, and insurance policies addressing out-of-school kids.
The youngsters’s appeals for higher school rooms, trendy studying instruments, digital entry, and hygiene services strengthened the lawmakers’ resolve, with many describing the testimonies as a wake-up name.
Esther urged extra group well being centres, whereas Teniola known as for digital studying and improved college safety.
Highlighting the youngsters’s voices, UNICEF burdened that rights to well being, schooling, safety, clear water, and to be heard are non-negotiable, not privileges. The company additionally urged lawmakers to translate pledges into seen actions, equivalent to repairing colleges, increasing digital studying, and creating house for kids’s enter in coverage selections.
With Nigeria’s youth inhabitants anticipated to develop dramatically by 2030, Lagos’ strategic investments in kids’s well being, schooling, and safety place the state as a mannequin for others nationwide—demonstrating that child-focused coverage is central to long-term prosperity.
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