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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Nigeria is a signatory to both the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the OAU Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. The inception of an elected democratic government in May 1999, after nearly one and half decades of continuous military rule, has placed the issue of human rights, especially the rights of children and women, at the forefront of national concern. The country was represented at the World Summit for Children by a very strong delegation led by the then vice-president. The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), upon return from the summit, pledged firm commitment to the goals of the summit and ensured the preparation of a National Programme of Action (NPA) as stipulated by paragraphs 33 and 34 of the World Declaration.
The principal studies/surveys used to prepare the End-Decade Assessment were three major surveys in the 1990s - the Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 1990, the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 1995 and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 1999. Each of these surveys collected data on a wide number of indicators from a nationally representative sample of households.
Upon return from the WSC in 1990, the FGN established a National Child Welfare Committee in the then Ministry of Culture and Social Welfare in February 1991 to formulate a national framework for implementing the goals of the WSC. The Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified in 1991. This document has now been simplified and translated into the three major Nigerian languages. Issues concerning the CRC was also propagated through all relevant government agencies including ministries, schools as well as NGOs.
Under the WSC goals, IMR and U5MR were expected to decline by one third between 1990 and 2000. Data from both the 1990 NDHS and the 1999 MICS showed that IMR rose from 91 per thousand in 1990 to 105 per thousand in 1999. Unlike IMR, U5MR recorded a modest decline between 1990 and 1999. The WSC set a goal of 100% immunization coverage for all vaccine-preventable diseases. Immunization coverage improved for DPT, poliomyelitis, measles and tuberculosis between the 1990 NDHS and the 1995 MICS after which there was a decline in the 1999 MICS. Since the WSC in 1990, a number of positive developments have taken place in the nation’s health care system. The National Policy on health which has PHC as its cornerstone was launched in 1989, a year prior to the WSC. In the 1990s, Nigeria joined other countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America in adopting and implementing the Bamako Initiative. To improve the decline in immunization coverage, the National Program on Immunization (NPI) Agency was created. Nigeria has taken the lead in the sub-continent in mobilizing resources to ensure polio virus transmission is stopped by 2002 and the eradication of the virus is certified by 2005. President Obasanjo has succeeded Nelson Mandela as chairman of the Committee on a Polio Free Africa.
In the 1990’s, HIV/AIDS emerged as a major threat to the health status, socio-economic conditions and security of the nation. Data from the sentinel site surveillance system showed that HIV sero-prevalence among antenatal care clients increased from 1.2% in 1991 to 5.4% in 1999. The campaign against AIDS is being led personally by the President and has been carried to the various arms of government and opinion leaders. Concerning water and basic sanitation, 54% of the population has access to safe drinking water. A new National Water Supply and Sanitation Policy was adopted early in 2000 by the Federal Government of Nigeria. Progress on nutrition was assessed from the indicators of under-five malnutrition, breast feeding, salt iodization, and vitamin A supplementation. While review of the trends over the 1990’s suggests that none of the end-decade goals of overcoming childhood malnutrition had been successfully met, some progress has been made. Some notable achievements by the government in tackling malnutrition include: a demonstrated commitment to poverty alleviation; the continued implementation of the BFHI and also launching of a National Breast Feeding Policy in 1997. Others are the inauguration of a National Committee on Food and Nutrition (NCFN) in 1993; the approval of a National Policy on Food and Nutrition in 1998 and the distribution of Vitamin A supplements nationwide.
The maternal mortality rate (MMR) is a good indicator of the gender disparity and inequality in relation to access to health care. Data from the 1999 MICS indicated that MMR showed a marked improvement from 1000 per 100,000 in 1990 to 704 per 100,000 in 1999, reflecting a 30% reduction. The total fertility rate has declined slightly from 6.0 per woman in 1990 to 5.2 per woman in 1999. The proportion of women aged 15-49 years attended at least once during pregnancy by skilled health personnel recorded a marked decline from 59% to 36% between 1990 and 1999. Since the WSC in 1990, government has shown a lot of commitment to improving the situation of women through allocation of more funds to women issues. The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Youth Development was established in 1995 with State Ministries for Women at state levels and Women Development Units at local government levels. More recently in July 2000, a National Policy on Women was adopted.
Besides being a signatory to the CRC, Nigeria, quite recently, also endorsed at the Dakar World Education Forum (April 2000) a Declaration which, among other things, sets as one of its goals “expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children”. Since 1987, the country, has been paying considerable attention to early childhood education as a basis for the healthy growth and all-round development of every citizen. The strong official support which the Early Child Care and Development initiative has received in Nigeria has led to some significant changes. Work towards these achievements was enhanced by assistance from local NGOs, the private sector (grant from Bernard Van Leer Foundation -BVLF) and the international donor community (UNICEF, UNDP and UNESCO). With the re-launching of the Universal Basic Education programme in September 1999, the present civilian administration has signalled its intention to overcome the policy somersaults and a lack of political will which were the key factors that stalled the takeoff of the programme in 1992 as earlier planned. On another positive note, there has been much greater awareness all over the country of the value of non-formal education.
To improve the rights and welfare of the children who may be especially disadvantaged a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and ILO.
The response to the increasing knowledge of external trafficking has been encouraging. A number of NGOs and religious bodies have started responding to the problem. For example, in Benin City, Edo State, a coalition has emerged between a religious NGO (Sisters of Mercy), the Association of Catholic Lawyers and the African Women Empowerment Group (AWEG) to find solutions to the problem. There are current initiatives to foster conflict resolution mechanisms in communities by NGOs such as: the African Refugee Foundation (ARF), Federation of International Women Lawyers (FIDA), Space 2000, the USAID/Office of Transitional Initiatives and Academic Associates Peace Works. There are also initiatives by the Centre for African Peace Initiatives and the proposed ECOWAS Child Protection Unit to enhance the protection rights of children and women during communal conflicts.
Among the WSC goals is the need for signatories to work for common measures for the protection of the environment. Although housing has continued to pose a problem to Nigerians (especially those in urban areas), a marked achievement was recorded for the period between 1990 and 1999. Solid waste management remained a problem in the 1990s. Open dumping or burning of solid waste with the attendant hazards was common. Another important source of pollution of the land and surface water has been the indiscriminate use of agro-chemicals. Also of concern is the issue of indiscriminate disposal of toxic industrial wastes from textile, pharmaceutical, petroleum, paint and leather industries. Pollution of the environment from oil spills in the Niger Delta areas has also created serious environmental problems in the area. A number of institutional arrangements have been put in place to address national environmental problems. A Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) was established in 1988 through decree 58, which was further amended in 1992. A National Environmental Policy formulated in 1989 has since been revised in 1999. A National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has been established whose mandate covers such natural disasters as floods, fires and erosion.
Past efforts of government to reduce the high level of poverty in the country have been through the activities of various ministries and agencies. Between 1990 and now, the following agencies of government were established to combat poverty: National Board of Community Banks (1991), National Primary Health Care Development Agency (1992), National Commission for Mass Literacy (1997) and Family Economic Advancement Program (1997). Other agencies established prior to 1990 but whose activities continued in the 1990’s included: Agriculture Development Projects, National Directorate of Employment, Population Activities Fund Agency and the People’s Bank of Nigeria. Government has also recently established a Poverty Alleviation Program.
The lessons learnt over the decade as well as future plans of action are further discussed in the report.
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END- DECADE REVIEW (EDR) REPORT
NATIONAL REPORT ON FOLLOW-UP TO THE WORLD SUMMIT FOR CHILDREN
NIGERIA
Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Youth Development, Abuja, Nigeria
December 2000
23
End-Decade Review Report, Nigeria. 2000
TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE
List of Acronyms 3
A. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 4
B. PROCESS ESTABLISHED FOR THE END – DECADE
REVIEW (EDR) 5
C. ACTIONS TAKEN AT NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEVELS 6
D. SPECIFIC ACTION FOR CHILD SURVIVAL , PROTECTION AND
DEVELOPMENT 7
a. Dissemination and promotion of the ratification of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child 7
b. Combating childhood diseases 8
c. Overcoming malnutrition 11
d. Enhancing the status of girls and women 12
e. Ensuring support for parents and other care-givers in nurturing and
Caring for children 13
f. Ensuring priority for early childhood development 15
g. Ensuring special attention to children living under especially
difficult circumstances 17
h. Ensuring special protection of children in armed conflict 18
i. Preventing the degradation of the environment 18
j. Addressing poverty and debt 19
E. LESSONS LEARNT 20
F. FUTURE ACTION 22
G. REFERENCES 23
LIST OF ACRONYMS
ANCANPPCAN / Ante Natal Care
African Network on the Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse and Neglect
ARF / African Refugee Foundation
ARI / Acute Respiratory Infections
AWEG / African Women Empowerment Group
BFHI / Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative
BVLF / Bernard van Leer Foundation
CBO / Community-based organization
CLO / Civil Liberties Organization
CRIB
CRC
CSPD / Child Rights Implementation Bureau
Convention on the Rights of the Child
Child Survival Protection and Development
ECE
ECOWAS / Early Childhood Education
Economic Community of West African States
EDR / End-Decade Review
FGN
GCC / Federal Government of Nigeria
Government Counterpart Contribution
IMC / Inter-Ministerial Committee
IMR / Infant Mortality Rate
IPEC / International Programme for Elimination of Child Labour
MICS / Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey
MMR / Maternal Mortality Rate
MOU / Memorandum of Understanding
NCFN / National Committee on Food and Nutrition
NCRIC / National Child Rights Implementation Committee
NCW / National Commission of Women
NDHS / Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey
NEMA
NIGEP / National Emergency Management Agency
Nigerian Guinea worm Eradication Programme
NGO / Non-governmental organization
NID
NMS / National Immunization Day
National Micro-nutrient Survey
NPA / National Plan of Action
NPC / National Planning Commission
NPHCDA / National primary Health Care Development Agency
NPI / National Programme of Immunization
OAU
ORT / Organization of African Unity
Oral Rehydration Therapy
PHC / Primary Health Care
PONC / Progress of the Nigerian Child
U5MR / Under-five Mortality Rate
UBE / Universal Basic Education
WSC / World Summit for Children
A. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
With a current estimated population of 124 million, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the most populous black nation in the world. The population is distributed among more than 250 ethnic nationalities with diverse social and cultural characteristics. Nigeria operates a federal system of government consisting of a federal administration at the capital while the rest of the country is divided into 36 states and 774 local government areas. The mono-cultural nature of the economy, which is dependent primarily on crude oil exports, has rendered it highly vulnerable to price fluctuations in the global oil market. The decline in international oil prices, which commenced in the early 1980’s, continued to prevail in the 1990’s. The consequent reduction in foreign exchange earnings and the introduction of the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) coupled with the heavy debt burden (when 40% of the nation’s resources had to be diverted to the payment of debts) obviously impacted on social sector spending during the 1990’s. This in turn affected the progress that could have been made in the areas of health, nutrition, environment, education, child protection and gender equity.
Nigeria is a signatory to both the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the OAU Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. The inception of an elected democratic government in May 1999, after nearly one and half decades of continuous military rule, has placed the issue of human rights, especially the rights of children and women, at the forefront of national concern. This end-decade review of the progress made towards achieving the goals set at the World Summit for Children (WSC) in 1990 is therefore being undertaken at an important time in the history of the country. It is intended that the findings will be useful in setting a new agenda for the welfare of children and women in the twenty-first century.
The country was represented at the World Summit for Children by a very strong delegation led by the then vice-president. The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), upon return from the summit, pledged firm commitment to the goals of the summit and ensured the preparation of a National Programme of Action (NPA) as stipulated by paragraphs 33 and 34 of the World Declaration. The NPA was prepared in parallel with FGN’s National Perspective Plan. It therefore represented Nigeria’s Social Sector Agenda for action for its children. In that respect, it constituted the benchmark against which the political commitments and promises made to its children could be assessed as the nation approached the year 2000.