By Nkechinyere Ewa
UNICEF’s Chief of Field Services in Nigeria, Judith Léveillé, on Friday led a high-level delegation to Ebonyi State, urging stronger and faster action to improve the welfare of children across the state.
Léveillé met with Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, members of the State Executive Council at the Governor’s Office, where discussions focused on child rights, health, nutrition, birth registration, water and sanitation.
Describing the meeting as productive, Léveillé said she was impressed by the governor’s commitment to children and UNICEF’s partnership with the state.“We had a very fruitful dialogue on advancing the situation of children in Ebonyi, especially in health, nutrition, birth registration, water and sanitation. I found the governor extremely committed to ensuring that children get the best start in life,” she said.
Léveillé explained that she oversees UNICEF’s seven field offices and emergency unit in Nigeria, noting that the organisation has supported Ebonyi State in the last two years to strengthen child-focused programmes.
She highlighted progress in birth registration, noting that Ebonyi records about 600 births daily, and commended the state’s collaboration with the National Population Commission, ALGON, NIMC and Barn Forte Technology Limited to expand electronic registration.
In the health sector, UNICEF commended efforts to strengthen routine immunization, including support for cold chain equipment, the Abakaliki cold store and the provision of an oxygen plant. Léveillé also drew attention to the ongoing Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) being conducted across the state to track child rights and human capital development.
Despite the progress, UNICEF raised concern over child nutrition, revealing that about one-third of children under five in Ebonyi are stunted, while over 417,000 children suffer from anemia.
Léveillé commended Governor Nwifuru for committing ₦150 million to the Child Nutrition Fund, a contribution matched by UNICEF, describing it as a critical step toward preventing stunting among children aged six to 23 months.
She further called for sustained funding for birth registration, six-month maternity leave for working mothers, increased investment in Maternal and Child Health Weeks, expanded deworming and breastfeeding sensitization, improved access to skilled birth attendants, and intensified efforts to reach over 10,000 unvaccinated children in the state.
On sanitation, UNICEF expressed concern that over 2.5 million people in Ebonyi still practice open defecation, urging the state to work toward becoming Open Defecation-Free, beginning at the local government level.
Responding, Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru reaffirmed the state government’s readiness to partner with UNICEF, stressing that child immunization remains a top priority.
He urged local government chairmen to ensure that all children are immunized and called on UNICEF to intensify sensitization on exclusive breastfeeding across the state.