Education, relevant tool to discourage early child marriage – UNICEF
By Awayi Kuje
Education
Keffi (Nasarawa State), Dec.13, 2018 (NAN) The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Thursday that giving proper education to children, especially to female wards, was capable of preventing early child marriage in the country.
Dr Zakari Adams, the Chief of Field Office, UNICEF, Kaduna, stated this in Keffi, Nasarawa State, during the three-day capacity building for 30 participants (UNICEF partners) on Result Based Management (RBM).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the three-day training is organized by UNICEF in collaboration with NOA in Niger for partners from Nasarawa and Niger states.
Adams, who said that education is the right of every child, appealed to parents, government and other stakeholders to provide good education for their female wards in order to discourage early marriage among girls for the overall development of the country.
He explained that the aim of the training was to equip participants with skills that would enable them achieve result-based in the places of their primary assignment towards tackling the plight of women and children.
Adams said that UNICEF was committed to addressing the challenges facing women and children in Nigeria in order to improve on their health status and standard of living, hence the need for the training.
“UNICEF is focusing on families, we have regard for that and we have been committed with the government to create awareness with regard to the children’s rights.
“Parents should ensure that their children are protected and are not put under unnecessary violence. Children are sent to school rather than being out of school.
“Issue of early marriage especially by female children should be discouHraged. So any person who marries below the age of 18 years according to the UN standard is regarded as early marriage.
“But unfortunately, some girls have been submitted to early marriage and this resulting to huge consequences in terms of their health and their education. It is important issues that our families, our people are facing.
“So to tackle such, school can be a very relevant means to prevent early child marriage as taking daughters to school can prevent them from marrying the man early,” Adams said.
He added that development of any society depended upon the quality of education that was given to the girl child.
According to him, education remained the best legacy parents and government could bequeath any child.
Also speaking, Mr Stanley Garuba, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, UNICEF Kaduna Field Office, who is a facilitator, who spoke on the topic titled “Human Rights Based Approach to Programme (HRBAP), tasked the participants on productivity and results in their places of primary assignment.
“The Result Based Management is applicable at every level, whatever we plan, let’s focus on result based as applied to women and children because this is basically UNICEF focus,” he said.
NAN reports that the training brought together 15 participants from Nasarawa and Niger states respectively drawn from different ministries in which Mr Rabiu Musa, Communication Officer of UNICEF, Kaduna was also on ground.(NAN)
AKW/AO/MST
Edited by Angela Okisor/Muhammad Suleiman Tola