We can end child poverty – Osinbajo

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo says child poverty can end in Nigeria if there is a convergence of political, religious and cultural resources.

He said this Friday while speaking at the presentation of the Situation Analysis of Children in Nigeria (SITAn) Document at Transcorp Hotel, Abuja.

The event was jointly organized by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, UNICEF, other collaborating Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and development partners.

“I believe that we can in this decade permanently end child poverty in Nigeria. The key task is to converge the political, religious and cultural wills to the resolution of this existential challenge. We must not rest until the future of every child in Nigeria is guaranteed,” he said.

He stressed that access to education, especially for the girl child, quality healthcare, and improved nutrition, among others were part of necessary measures to improve child welfare nationwide.

The vice president added that “sustainable solutions to these challenges require an interplay between poverty reduction, the digital economy, health and employment, and a multi-stakeholder approach to tackling them.”

Prof. Osinbajo also underscored the need to increase children-focused interventions, especially where challenges of insecurity persisted.

He said the intervention had not been completed as long one child was still in deprivation or at risk due to severe and acute malnutrition, early marriages, recruitment into armed conflict, lack of access to safe drinking water and hygiene, sexual and gender-based violence, exploitation, as well as lack of access to health and other rights.