UNICEF Executive Board Delegates Visit Niger

Guy Digan: You’re watching UNICEF television.

Drums beating the message for a better future greeted UNICEF
executive board members. At a juvenile justice project in Niger’s
capital Niame. The six men delegation from UNICEF’s governing
body is in Niger to get an overview of programs underway in one
of the world’s poorest countries. At this center for young
offenders, delegates saw how Niger is implementing alternatives to
incarcerating minors in conflict with the law. Social workers offer
basic vocational and literacy skills and a future path on the right
side of the law.

Robert Hill: Many of these kids have had a very fragile background, so again
trying to build social interaction with peers so they can build a
network of people where they interact with and also start social
enterprise, social work and hopefully business. So to move them
away from crime we have to see UNICEF support that really looks
intrinsic.

Guy Digan: UNICEF is playing an instrumental role supporting the
establishment of juvenile courts in Niger and legislation allowing
judges to select community work to rehabilitate minors facing
prison sentences. The children who are imprisoned, Niger’s prison
authorities are beginning to create juvenile wards within prisons
and provide activities such as gardening and music.

Led by Robert Hill, permanent representative of Australia to the
UN, the delegation also discussed Niger’s progress towards
achieving millennium development goals with senior officials and
ministers. With the onset of a dry season and rising cost of grains,
board members travel to Nereid in the countries south for a first
hand impression of the program and the preventing malnutrition
and boosting child survival. Since Niger’s food and nutrition crisis
in 2005, UNICEF together with the government and NGO partners
have established some 900 feeding centers.

Nearly a million children have benefited from access to treatment
for moderate and severe acute malnutrition. An integrated health
center, mothers are receiving support to monitor their baby’s
growth and detect early signs of malnutrition. This mother is
thankful for the free help provided by health workers and says her
baby is in much better shape and is now putting on weight since
the service started. Gaining the support of traditional leaders is for
UNICEF in rural Niger. Particularly in raising awareness about
child survival and protection within communities, a special guest,
one of the most powerful traditional chiefs in the country,
delegates saw the culture of story telling is educating people about
HIV AIDS, immunization, birth registration and combating early
marriages.

The delegation prays the leadership to improve the wellbeing of
children in his community. Throughout their visit, UNICEF
executive board members have gained an insight into the enormous
challenges facing Niger. They’ve also seen the commitment of
communities and government to improve the lives of children and
women. As the significant decrease in the mortality of children
under 5 shows, progress is achievable in Niger. This is Guy Digan
reporting for UNICEF television, unite for children.