THE United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said Kano State lost 143 under-five children annually to poor welfare.
UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Rahama Rihood Farah, made the remark while highlighting that children in the state faced severe deprivations, including widespread poverty, malnutrition, low school attendance, and inadequate immunisation coverage.
“In Kano State, we have nearly 6.5 million children, and about 143 children under five years of age die every year before reaching their fifth birthday. That’s an under-five mortality rate of 143 per 1,000 live births,” he said.
Farah revealed that nearly 2.9 million children in the state were not fully immunised, with 60 per cent lacking access to essential vaccines, leaving them vulnerable to life-threatening yet preventable diseases.
He further disclosed that four million children in the state were affected by multidimensional poverty, while over three million lived in monetary poverty.
“Alarmingly, 35 per cent of children of school age — about 2.3 million are not attending school,” he said.
While acknowledging the state government’s efforts to improve child welfare, Farah criticised the social sector’s funding.
While calling on stakeholders to urgently prioritise children’s needs in Kano State development plans, he warned that the future of the state depended on the investments made in its youngest generation.
“If we don’t have human capital that is trained, healthy and technically equipped, how do we expect to contribute meaningfully to future economic development?” he asked.
Farah also described the malnutrition crisis in Kano as deeply concerning, revealing that 4.7 million children aged six to 23 months did not receive the minimum acceptable diet, resulting in over three million children being stunted across the state.
“Chronic malnutrition is a serious long-term issue. Even when these children get to school, many of them cannot learn effectively due to poor early development,” he said.
Media reports indicate that as of 2024, UNICEF said 69.2 per cent of children in the state were classified as being multi-dimensionally poor.
This alarming statistic highlights the depth of child poverty in Kano State, where most children face multiple deprivations affecting their well-being, including limited access to education, healthcare, nutrition, and adequate shelter.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.