of EMEKA OKONKWO in Abuja, Nigeria
Nigerian Office
abuja, (CAJ News) – The high and increasing level of poverty in Nigeria is leaving a lasting negative impact on children, especially girls.
The recent Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report issued by the National Bureau of Statistics puts the number of Nigerians living in poverty at 133 million out of a population of over 200 million.
Plan International, the children’s rights organization, has criticized the trends.
“The state of poverty shown by the MPI is alarming and requires serious attention from government at all levels,” said Charles Usie, Director of Plan International Nigeria.
The report painted a bleak picture not only of poverty, but also of its impact on children, their health, education and nutrition.
About 67.5 percent of children under the age of 18 are poor, and 70.1 percent of children under the age of five are poor.
Usie expressed concern that children’s education is among the hardest hit by poverty with 57.8 million school-age children (ages 6-15) and 29 percent of all school-age children they do not attend school.
The report indicated that 94 percent of these out-of-school children are poor.
“Their situation of being out of school is closely related to multidimensional poverty,” Usie said.
He lamented the blame-sharing by President Muhammadu Buhari’s federal government and state governments over poverty levels.
“Instead of distracting bickering over who is to blame, both the federal and state governments should spend time and energy addressing the issues raised by the report and reassure Nigerians that there are some serious and well thought out answers to the issues.” .
– CAJ News
