By Ademola Adeleye
The Executive Director of the Centre for Communication and Social Impact (CCSI), Babafunke Fagbemi has called for more protection and strengthening of the social determinants of health for children in Nigeria.
In a statement released in Abuja to mark the 2022, Children’s Day in Nigeria, Fagbemi noted with concern that children who are among the most vulnerable demography in Nigeria have been bearing the brunt of insecurity and infrastructural deficit while they make up the larger percentage of the population in the Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP) camp in the country.
Fagbemi said, “As we mark the World Children’s Day in Nigeria, CCSI is calling for more efforts from governments and stakeholders to ensure that we give a better deal to our children, the future of our nation. By this, we are asking that insecurity, which has displaced several thousands of people in the Northeast and northwest, including a large percentage of children must be brought under control.
“Also, the army of out-of-school children in Nigeria which is estimated to be 10.5 million children- according to UNICEF in its January 2022 report- must be taken back to the classrooms and prepared to become productive and responsible citizens of Nigeria in future.”
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She also noted that the plights of the children in various IDP camps remains a source of concern to every citizen and stakeholder adding that adequate provisions must be made to ensure these children are educated and they have access to a functional healthcare system.
“ According to UNICEF, sixty percent of the estimated 1.9 million displaced persons in Nigeria are children with many of them living in unhealthy and unsafe environments without access to basic infrastructures and education. Many of these children have been victims of sexual harassment and molestations.
“CCSI commends President Muhammadu Buhari on his commitment to ending insecurity and ensuring Nigerian children have access to basic education, however, we would like to ask that policies must be intentional about addressing these challenges.
“CCSI’s work revolves around providing children the opportunity to maximize their potential and give these precious ones a voice. Children are a force to reckon with as they serve as formidable agents of change, and we learn so much from the way they view the world. At CCSI, we are intentional at making sure we protect all children from harm and showcase their beauty, intelligence and charm,” Fagbemi said.
About CCSI
The Centre for Communication and Social Impact (CCSI) specializes in providing overarching expertise for communication strategy design and supports the implementation of strategic behavioral change communication interventions and social marketing campaigns. For the past 14 years, CCSI has demonstrated excellence in the field of strategic communications, implementing the demand generation (DG) component of over forty (40) impactful health and non-health-related projects.
CCSI’s work is grounded in research and science, strengthened by partnerships, and focused on building the capacity of individuals, communities, and countries to succeed. The success of her behavioral context-specific interventions lies in the effective application of human-centered design and behavioral economic concepts, understanding of communication science and theories, and application of relevant frameworks to move audiences along the spectrum of behavior change.
