17.5million Nigerian children are orphans

 No fewer than 17.5million Nigerian children are orphans, vulnerable  and in need of adequate care and support.     

The state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Social Development and Gender Empowerment, Mrs. Fola Richie-Adewusi, who disclosed this in Ado Ekiti during  a two-day sensitization workshop organized by her ministry in collaboration with the Ekiti State AIDS Control Agency (EKSACA) and the World Bank, solicited greater support for them.

Mrs. Richie-Adewusi reiterated the commitment of the Governor Kayode Fayemi-led administration to the welfare and development of all citizens, particularly women and children whom she described as the most vulnerable in the society.

The commissioner who spoke through the permanent secretary in the Ministry, Mrs. Peju Babafemi lamented that the ravaging effects of HIV/AIDS, which she described as one of the greatest challenges facing humanity, have devastated families as most people are either infected or affected by the virus.     

She highlighted the criteria  identify for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) to include lack of access to basic education, food, shelter, health care and children raised in householdsheaded by women or living with someone who is chronically ill.          According to her, the 2008 Situation Analysis and Needs Assessment of OVC conducted by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Abuja revealed that 17.5million Nigerian children were OVC while the report of the survey conducted across the 16 Local Government Areas of state in 2012 rated 43.5% of Ekiti children as OVC.         

Culled from The Sun