The Federal Government has assured citizens of its untiring efforts to take children off the streets in Nigeria and ensure they are given the proper care they deserve
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, disaster management and social development, gave these assurances in a statement as Nigeria joins other countries of the world to mark the 2023 International day for street children in Abuja
April 12 is the annual commemoration of the International day of street children.
It is set aside to give voice to children that live on the streets drawing attention to the need to respect their rights.
The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development is collaborating with the “Young Ambassadors against drug abuse” initiative to this year’s day for the first time in Nigeria
This is with a promise to continue to work to improve the lives of the vulnerable children
The representative of the Minister who spoke at the commemoration, says the School alternate programme was initiated by the Ministry to address the lack of access to quality education these children are faced with
This is indeed important considering how far meeting the rights of these children can transform their lives especially as Nigeria has one of the highest number of street children with figures going into millions
Aliyah was just 10 years old when she had to flee Bama, Borno State with her mum due to the insurgency.
While recounting her experience with TVC, she spoke about the vices she saw as she lived on the streets of Abuja with her mother for 3 years, begging for survival
Now that she has been taken out of the street by a kind Nigerian and sponsored through school through an NGO, she wants Government to give more attention to street children across the country.
