ANON-GOVERNME-NTAL organisation, Hope Worldwide Nigeria

ANON-GOVERNME-NTAL organisation, Hope Worldwide Nigeria, in conjunction with other partners, has mobilised over 10,000 people for a walk through Lagos highways to draw attention to the plight of orphaned and vulnerable children in the society.

The Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is one disease that has placed the scientific world on its toes in terms of finding a vaccine to control its spread. To date, no vaccine has been discovered. Only drugs meant to manage it so that people living with it can live longer have been discovered. One very sad aftermath of the disease is the astronomical rise in the number of orphaned and vulnerable children in the society.

Statistics from the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development show that the number of orphaned and vulnerable children or OVC in Nigeria is 17.5 million. They live in deplorable conditions and are neglected, exploited and abused.

It is also estimated that 29 per cent of children between six and 17 years are engaged in child labour, 20.3 per cent are not regular in school, 15 per cent lack access to health facility, more than 20 per cent are without birth certificates and 17.8 per cent are victims of sexual abuse.

Again, about 40 per cent of street children in Nigeria have been trafficked, many of whom infected with HIV.

It is in view of these nerve-racking statistics that the Great HOPE Walk which marked its 10th anniversary recently embarked on a 10km walk to create awareness on the plight of the OVC in the country.

The walk, an initiative of HWWN and its partners, MTN Foundation, Coca-Cola Nigeria and the United States Aids for International Development (USAID), had as its theme “Support a Child; Build a Great Nation.”

The 2010 edition of this walk had 10,000 volunteers walking from Maryland Comprehensive College to Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere area of Lagos.

Mr. Olaoshebikan Clement, Chief Executive Officer, HWWN, who spoke at the stadium after the walk, painted a gloomy picture of OVC situation in the country.
He said: “Of every 1,000 children born in Nigeria, 230 will die before the age of five; over 50 per cent of these deaths are due to malnutrition.”

Continuing, he stressed that “6.4 per cent of children are dropping out of school due to early marriage; 3.8 per cent of children are not attending school as a result of trying to support their families; 49.6 per cent of children have had to work for money due to economic hardship; 20 per cent of young girls have been forced to have sexual intercourse; 13.7 per cent of orphans have been denied their inheritance rights; over 40 per cent of children do not have birth certificates; there are no resources specifically reserved for OVC in communities; yet about 51 per cent of our projected 140m population are children between the ages 0 and 17 years.”

On the way forward, the HOPE CEO recommended a full implementation of the Universal Basic Education Law, full scale-up of the Integrated Maternal Newborn and Child Health Strategy and the implementation of the Child Rights law.

Also speaking after the walk, Ms. Nonny Ugboma, Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation said as a socially responsible corporate citizen, the foundation has adopted 600 OVC in six states of the federation which are Kogi, Cross River, Gombe, Sokoto and Imo under the MTNF Children at Risk Empowerment Scheme (CARES) project in order to cater for their medical, social, psychological and nutritional needs.

She stressed that the Foundation is taking the position "because we believe in the future of these children. This is why we are passionate about this intervention. We urge everyone present here today to join the Foundation and its partner, HOPE Worldwide to affect the lives of orphans and vulnerable children in our midst and eradicate the stigma and suffering associated with losing one’s parents especially through HIV/AIDS."

Apart from addressing issues relating to the OVC, Ugboma stated that for the past five years, the Foundation’s partnership with HWWN has also led to MTNF Partners Against Malaria and AIDS in the Community (PAMAC) Project which has created HIV/AIDS awareness, provided six voluntary counseling and testing centres in six states, one each in the six geo-political zones in the country.

An analysis carried out in 2008 put children under this category at 17.5 million and this predicts a catastrophe for the future of Nigeria as more than half of Nigeria’s population is less than 40 years of age."

He further stated that this Great HOPE Walk is a call not just to protest the plight of the OVC in Nigeria but to look within our neighbourhood and pay attention to the children who fall under this category.

"It is a clarion call to be more sensitive to the needs of these children in our society and to help and support them however we can because if this condition continues to plague our society, the Nigerian economy and the Nigerian state as a whole will suffer the dire consequences," he added.

Also speaking, Kayode Owolabi of HWWN said this year’s agenda is a celebration of children who have benefitted from this programme and whose lives are better as a result of some initiatives such as this. It is also a celebration of HOPE’s successful partnerships with MTN, Coca-Cola and other such sponsors who have decided to positively impact their communities and societies.

"There is still a huge need out there. Our database has a total of just 8,660 children who are beneficiaries of HOPE Worldwide Nigeria’s initiatives. Each of them has a service number and they span 11 states of the federation. The services rendered to them include nutritional, educational and health, protection and enabling an issuance of birth certificates for those without."

HOPE Worldwide Nigeria has received USAID Green award which means that the activities of the organisation are clearly achieving stated objectives. It is also in recognition of the availability of necessary tools put in place to achieve result and most especially the presence of a good management system. Also in collaboration with MTN Foundation, HWWN provided 1,096 babies born to HIV-positive mothers with baby formula on a continuous basis of twice a week for a period of nine months.

This collaboration also has committed N63m in the last three years to provide replacement feeding for babies born to HIV-positive mothers who cannot breastfeed their babies to avoid transferring the virus to their children.

The walk also had in attendance other important dignitaries. Mrs. Irene Ubah, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Director, Coca-Cola Nigeria, Mr. Julius Ameh represented the Minister of Education, Prof. Rukkayat Ahmed; Emmanuel Attah represented Chief (Mrs) Oluremi Tinubu and Dr. Emmanuel Al-Hassan represented Prof. John Idoko, the Director-General of National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA).

The walk is also the culmination of community awareness creation that the organisation undertake at the end of every year which is aimed at supporting development, adaptation and review of policies toward improved quality of life for the children while also encouraging the affected children to aspire to be fulfilled individuals in life.