Background Information of UNICEF and Boko Haram

Chetachukwu Nwankwo

UNICEF:

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was established in 1946, located in New York City, USA. It is majorly concerned about protecting children’s rights in all ramifications so that they can maximise their full potential. The organisation believes that children’s healthy living begins from when they are foetuses; pregnant women are helped to get good anti-natal care before birth to reduce infant and maternal mortality rates. This is done to assist people because of a high poverty rate in Nigeria, especially in the North. Some pregnant women do not have access to a quality health facility. By implication, the organisation’s advocate encourages pregnant women to be granted access to a clean and safe environment. UNICEF educate parents, authorities, organisations and institutions on how to give children the best upbringing so that society can be safe. This article is developed with these questions in mind: What is the rationale for establishing UNICEF? What are the mandates of the organisation? How has Boko Haram impacted on UNICEFs’ support for children in the Northeast? What are the specific challenges posed by Boko Haram to UNICEF in Northeast Nigeria? Some of the services that UNICEF Nigeria render are:

       1. Health and HIV

UNICEF assist the government in health delivery to children. It conducts routine vaccination and immunisation programme for pregnant women and children. They have been doing this to tackle the poliovirus, measles, tuberculosis etc. Apart from this, since there is a prevalence of HIV in Nigeria, UNICEF antiretroviral (ART) therapy for infected children. According to UNICEF, Nigeria has the second-highest HIV/AIDS cases globally, with at least 190,950 people contracting it per year.

       2. Nutrition

A programme is dedicated to ensuring that an estimated 2 million children who suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) get good nutrition for healthy living under the UNICEF platform. This children protection organisation assists the federal government in implementing Food and Nutrition Action through infant and young child feeding (IYCF) interventions, micronutrient supplementation, and community management of acute malnutrition (CMAM). UNICEF also regularly advises nursing mothers to breastfeed their babies for more than six months.

       3. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene  

UNICEF believe that access to clean water, good hygiene and proper sanitation prevent water-borne diseases. To achieve this, provisions are put in place to provide sustainable and equitable water to strengthen the community cleaning system while discouraging open defecation.

       4. Education

The Education situation of children in Nigeria, especially in the North, is worrisome against sustainable development goal 4. To stem the tide of increasing out-of-school children, UNICEF supports children’s education right without any form of discrimination. Even though public primary education is free and compulsory in Nigeria, 10.5 million children are not in school. Only 47.7 and 47.3% of female children are enrolled in primary school in Northeast and Northwest, respectively. In the Northeast, the flashpoint of Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria not less than 2.8 million children need education emergencies due to the destruction of schools and educational facilities. According to UNICEF, an estimated 802 schools were closed down, 497 classrooms were wholly damaged, and 1,392 classrooms were reparably damaged.

         5. Children Protection

Protection of children against violence, abuse and all manners of inhuman treatment in homes, schools and communities at large is a crucial mandate of UNICEF. In Nigeria, six 6 out of 10 children in different places experience physical, emotional, and sexual abuse daily. Nigeria has the highest number (19.9 million) of females aged 15-49 years that have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). Also, Nigeria has the highest number of child marriages in Africa, with 23 million married children in rural areas. UNICEF lobbies the legislative and justice system to protect children. Protection is also done through collaboration with stakeholders, social welfare providers, federal, state and local government.

 Photo: UNICEF caregivers welcoming Children Suspected to be Victims of Kidnapping by Boko Haram

          6. Emergencies

UNICEF support the federal government in making humanitarian provisions available for people in time of artificial and natural disaster. Since 2009 when made-made disasters broke out in the Northeast, more than 20,000 people were killed, 1.7 million were displaced, and more than 4,000 people were abducted. UNICEF supports these children victims through primary education and materials, psychological support to children victims of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), quality water, sanitary and hygiene materials, and free health care and materials such as mosquito nets as well as vaccination against diseases.

Boko Haram:

Boko Haram is a terrorist organisation that has been active in Nigeria’s Northeast since 2009. The sect is a large violent fundamentalist cult in Nigeria that causes devastation. What has evolved into Boko Haram today has a striking resemblance to the Maitasine gang of the early 1970s, which Mohammed Marwa led. During this time, the Maitatsine gang engaged in violent riots that resulted in the indiscriminate loss of lives and property. Boko Haram is derived from the Hausa and Arabic words “Boko”, which means “western education” in Hausa and “Haram”, which means “sin/forbidden” in Arabic. By implication, the Boko Haram group believes that western education corrupts Muslim members and is therefore prohibited.

The sect’s activities were calm between 2001 and 2008, when Mohammed Yusuf, the sect’s head, and some of his members were assassinated in Maiduguri in 2009. After his death, the government began examining the sect’s operations, based on evidence that the movement was illegally accumulating weapons. Following the bombing of the United Nations Headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, in 2011, Boko Haram was labelled mainly a terrorist organisation by international actors. Again, the sect leader’s extrajudicial assassination prompted the gang to engage in pronounced violent operations (bombings of built-up areas, killing innocent individuals, and kidnapping for ransom) until 2021.

Since 2009, Boko Haram has killed thousands of people, destroyed billions of dollars worth of property, and forced millions of others to flee their homes in Nigeria’s northern regions. Apart from that, residents of communities have been evicted from their homes multiple times, while Boko Haram raises their flags as a display of territorial dominance, recently with Abubakar Shekau claiming leadership.

 

Photo: Picture of Abubakar Shekau (C) alongside other Boko Haram members

General Impact of Boko Haram Insurgency on UNICEF Children’s Human Security in Northeast Nigeria

Boko Haram’s operations in Nigeria have had a significant impact on virtually every aspect of children’s human security. Personal security, food security, health security, social security, and economic security were all harmed due to the violence. Boko Haram activities have caused the following:

Personal Insecurity: Most individuals in Nigeria, particularly children in the Northeast, now live in terror of being killed, raped, kidnapped, or molested at any time, which is against personal security. Some children and women were compelled to marry or become suicide bombers against their will. UNICEF keep decrying threat to the personal security of children in the Northeast. Boko Haram expose children to inhuman treatment of different dimensions.

Food Insecurity: Insurgent actions that drive farmers away from their land and damage their farm produce are the most prominent cause of food insecurity in northern Nigeria. As a result, most states in Northern Nigeria is a production and distribution of farm products are momentarily threatened. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, when Boko Haram increased its killings and bombings, nearly 1.5 million primarily farmers fled for their lives. This explains the rationale for growing malnourished children in the Northeast. It has also exacerbated UNICEF’s burden with increasing budget to cater for children in conflict-affected areas like Borno, Yobe, Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba and Adamawa.

Health Insecurity: Other symptoms of health insecurity in North-eastern Nigeria include post-traumatic stress, mental disorder, and challenging drug-related disorder, in addition to the deaths of thousands of individuals and severe injuries to bodily parts. In addition, the country is experiencing overcrowding in health institutions and wear and tear from medical devices. Boko Haram indiscriminately detonated bombs on health practitioners and facilities provided by the government and UNICEF, threatening access to decent health in the region, which is already in low supply. Children in Boko Haram affected region experience poor access to health facilities provided by both government and UNICEF.

Economic Insecurity: Nigeria faces life-threatening economic issues due to insecurity, despite multiple economic summits and reforms. Local and foreign investors are scared away by Boko Haram bombings in the Northeast and other parts. A World Investment Report (WIR) published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 2012 indicated that the local economy lost N1.33 trillion in foreign direct investment as a result of Boko Haram violence (FDI). Apart from agriculture, land and air transportation are two sectors of the economy through which the Northern states gain cash. Due to the ongoing violence in this part of Nigeria, inter-state and intra-state transportation has declined patronage.

The Challenge

UNICEF operation has been dramatically affected by the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. This is because the activities sect is characterised by destroying lives and properties. Northeast is the most affected region in the country. The UN children’s agency has the mandate to protect children’s rights to education, good health, social services, the dignity of human persons, and proper nutrition in times of peace and during emergencies. UNICEF recently lamented that expenditures and expectations out-space available resources at the organisation’s disposal.

Apart from this, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and children’s refugees are increasing. It was reported in 2021 that 5.1 million children need humanitarian assistance in Northeast Nigeria.

Below is a video of illustrating the displacement of persons and families (By Africanews)

However, UNICEF did not have the required financial capacity to face challenges posed by the Boko-Haram insurgency. The organisation reports that over 1.74 million children under the age of 5 are expected to suffer from malnourishment in Northeast Nigeria, with Yobe, Borno, and Adamawa having the highest figure. Malnutrition has led to 50% of Nigerian children’s stunted growth from 12 states in the North. According to UNICEF, out of 8.1 million children in need of support in Nigeria, the organisation can only reach 2.9 million children. Again, before UNICEF can give needed support to the children, US$230.7 million is required.

 

Photo: Map of Nigeria showing the level of attacks in different zones of the country   

Final Thoughts

UNICEF confirmed that Boko Haram Insurgency has multiple effects on children’s protection in various aspects of life. The sect deliberately kills people and destroy built-up areas in utter disregard for the consequences of their extremist conduct. Innocent children are often at the receiving end of this dastardly act. It is estimated that 20,000 children are displaced while 2 million suffer from malnutrition following the aftermath of the Boko Haram offensive against people and assets. Developmental infrastructures, including schools and hospitals, are destroyed in the Boko Haram attack. This debars children in the affection region of Nigeria from accessing primary education and health facilities against UNICEF mandates. This unfortunate development has affected UNICEF mandates’ effective and efficient delivery, particularly education and health care services. Each year, the children’s agency struggles to meet up financial burden caused by the destruction of necessary facilities and displacement of children. The maximum performance of UNICEF requires the government to devise rational means possible to end Boko Haram hostility reconstruct destroyed facilities in the Northeast. At the same time, all stakeholders should contribute their quota in funding and other support forms to protect children’s rights in Nigeria.

How My Conversation with UNICEF Could Help Me Developing My Career or Research Goals

A conversation with UNICEF will influence my career in caregiving and how my present skills could be honed to support the institution. In my research career, this event will help me build recommendations on how the organisation can thrive in the face of prominent financial logistics challenges. It will intensify my inquisitiveness to proffer solutions on how the organisation can adequately perform its functions in a conflict-ridden society such as the North-eastern region of Nigeria. Again, I will be glad to be a volunteer in publicising the organisation’s agendas.

 

 

Picture Sources:

https://tribuneonlineng.com/boko-haram-recruits-2000-children-unicef/

https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/press-releases/unicef-nigeria-welcomes-release-over-180-children-suspected-boko-haram-ties

https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/c50znx8v435t/boko-haram

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/5/7/boko-haram-attacks