RAJAB 11, 1429 A.H.
MONDAY JULY 14 2008
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FG plans scholarship for orphans, vulnerable children
From KABIRU YUSUF, Abuja
Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has said that for any nation to make an appreciable impact on growth, it must plan for the effective development and integration of children who are leaders of tomorrow.
“Where a significant percentage of children are orphans and vulnerable, it is difficult for them to live a life of purpose and this is dangerous to the system”, he added.
Dr. Jonathan stated this at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, when he received briefing from the minister of women affairs and social development, Hajiya Saudatu Usman Bugudu and the Director General, National Action Committee on AIDS (NACA), Professor Babatunde Oshotimehin, on National Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Scholarship.
The vice president who commended the OVC Scholarship initiative assured of federal government’s participation and partnership with the private sector to ensure success.
He said that if today’s children do not have access to proper education and good health, the future of the country will be bleak.
According to the vice president, this initiative will be more successful if it is private sector driven but with the active support of government. This, he said, is in view of the fact that private enterprises are generally more successful than public enterprises.
He therefore urged private individuals and organizations to contribute to the success of this effort.
Earlier, the honourable minister of women affairs and social development, Hajiya Saudatu Usman Bungudu, said that the OVC Scholarship initiative was borne out of deep concern to effectively tackle the OVC phenomenon/problem , which is on the increase both in Nigeria and globally; “In Nigeria with an estimated population of 6.9million children under 18 years, about 7million were orphans in the year 2003.
Out of this figure, about 1.5million lost one or both parents due to HIV/AIDS and it is expected that 8.2million children would be orphans by the year 2010,” she added.
Continuing, Hajiya Bungudu said that the ministry had developed a five year costed National Plan of Action (NPA) which was launched in 2007 in response to issues of orphans and vulnerable children.
She, therefore, called on the federal government to invest maximally towards a conducive and enabling environment for the betterment of our children, adding: “Our children need to be protected against child abuse, exploitation and neglect today and given rights to education, health, recreation and participation in discussions that affect them.”
In his presentation, the director general, National Action Committee on AIDS (NACA), Professor Oshotimehin, revealed that HIV prevalence in Nigeria stands at 4.4% and put the number of AIDS orphans at 1.8million.
He said that the goal of the scholarship initiative is to provide OVCs with opportunities and resources to live full, self-actualised and independent lives and ensure that they are integrated rather than alienated from society.
