Nigeria loses $8.9bn in one year to violence against children – UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said the estimated economic value that Nigeria lost due to some selected health consequences of violence against children in 2014 amounted to $8.9bn which represents 1.58 percent of the country’s GDP.

Child Protection Specialist at UNICEF, Maryam Enyiazu, disclosed this in Enugu on Tuesday at the opening of a workshop on “Social Work Professional Bill” organized by the Ministry of Information and Culture and Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development (FMWASD) in partnership with UNICEF.

She said a research they carried out showed that the total loss of earnings attributable to Violence Against Children (VAC) was $6.1billion accounting to for 1.07 percent of Nigeria’s GDP.

She said the estimate expenditure on child protection services by federal and state governments on average in 2014 and 2015 is estimated at 0.31 percent while a 0.1 increase in expenditure would contribute to 40 percent in service provision at state level. She noted that child protection right is costly for the society.

While calling for the assenting of the bill on social work profession, she said, social welfare workforce is critical to achieving the SDGs.

Enyiazu added that social workers create protective environment for healthy development and well being by tackling poverty, reducing discrimination, promoting social justice among others.