A National Situation Assessment and Analysis of the Nigerian Populace conducted in 2008 put the number of Orphans and Vulnerable Children in the country at 17.5 million. In that report, various challenges which these children face were identified as stigmatization, depression and the tendency to drop out of school, among other problems.
Respite however came Thursday, as the Minister, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina in collaboration with some of the Ministry’s development partners launched a Database System for Vulnerable Children in Nigeria known as the National OVC Management Information System (NOMIS).
According to the Minister, the importance of the Database System apart from the basics of gathering, storing and retrieving information, also include the capacity to disseminate critical information on children to Governments at all levels, the private sector, analysts, researchers, opinion holders, and decision makers.
Hajiya Maina said the Child Status Index (CSI) measures seven broad areas of a child’s wellbeing. These areas, she said, include food and nutrition, shelter and care, health, psychosocial support, protection, education and skills. She explained that these areas are used by Community Health Workers and Caregivers to monitor the physical, emotional, and situational wellbeing of orphans and vulnerable children.
“This therefore explains why one cannot be said to be over-emphasizing the importance this database is for the country. It will enable us take stock of our progress and bring to the fore, the challenges we must overcome. We have to renew our collective commitment to improve the human development status of Nigerians in general; and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as they affect our children, in particular”, the Minister stated.
While commending the contributions of USAID, FHI and GHAIN, Hajiya Maina said efforts would be made to translate the data into local languages and Pidgin English in order to have a wider reach and usage especially at the grassroots.
The Mission Director, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Dr. Ray Kirkland, who equally noted the alarming number of Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Nigeria, put at over 17 million, said his agency is committing over 35 million dollars such issues.
He said the country is in dire need of quality data for planning and decision making to make healthcare and social services work effectively.
Kirkland said “The fact that data have been captured and recorded on every child and family being served provides a sound basis for more effective planning and delivery of future services. The Electronic based platform of the database itself makes this data far more accessible than allowed by the current paper based system being used”.
He therefore expressed optimism that the electronic database system would contribute to better programming in the future and lead to significant improvement in the services provided to Nigerians Orphans and Vulnerable Children.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Alh. Idris Kuta observed that poor or non-availability of credible data poses great challenges to accessing reliable information for policy making or quality decision taking.
“This situation, no doubt, has left a vacuum in the coordination of our actions as policy makers and implementers”, Kuta noted.
Respite however came Thursday, as the Minister, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina in collaboration with some of the Ministry’s development partners launched a Database System for Vulnerable Children in Nigeria known as the National OVC Management Information System (NOMIS).
According to the Minister, the importance of the Database System apart from the basics of gathering, storing and retrieving information, also include the capacity to disseminate critical information on children to Governments at all levels, the private sector, analysts, researchers, opinion holders, and decision makers.
Hajiya Maina said the Child Status Index (CSI) measures seven broad areas of a child’s wellbeing. These areas, she said, include food and nutrition, shelter and care, health, psychosocial support, protection, education and skills. She explained that these areas are used by Community Health Workers and Caregivers to monitor the physical, emotional, and situational wellbeing of orphans and vulnerable children.
“This therefore explains why one cannot be said to be over-emphasizing the importance this database is for the country. It will enable us take stock of our progress and bring to the fore, the challenges we must overcome. We have to renew our collective commitment to improve the human development status of Nigerians in general; and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as they affect our children, in particular”, the Minister stated.
While commending the contributions of USAID, FHI and GHAIN, Hajiya Maina said efforts would be made to translate the data into local languages and Pidgin English in order to have a wider reach and usage especially at the grassroots.
The Mission Director, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Dr. Ray Kirkland, who equally noted the alarming number of Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Nigeria, put at over 17 million, said his agency is committing over 35 million dollars such issues.
He said the country is in dire need of quality data for planning and decision making to make healthcare and social services work effectively.
Kirkland said “The fact that data have been captured and recorded on every child and family being served provides a sound basis for more effective planning and delivery of future services. The Electronic based platform of the database itself makes this data far more accessible than allowed by the current paper based system being used”.
He therefore expressed optimism that the electronic database system would contribute to better programming in the future and lead to significant improvement in the services provided to Nigerians Orphans and Vulnerable Children.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Alh. Idris Kuta observed that poor or non-availability of credible data poses great challenges to accessing reliable information for policy making or quality decision taking.
“This situation, no doubt, has left a vacuum in the coordination of our actions as policy makers and implementers”, Kuta noted.
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