Child Right Act: SCI lauds partnership with media

William Attah, Gombe

Save the Children International (SCI) has described its partnership with the media as a rewarding and beneficial venture that has drawn Government’s attention to the plight of the Nigerian children.

Mr. Akpan Effiiong, Interim Project Manager, Towards Ending Child Marriage (TECM), stated however that the efforts of the media has to be sustained or even redoubled so that the recently passed child right law in Katsina State is fully implemented.

He stated this at the opening of a training for media working group for Journalists drawn from Gombe and Katsina States where he also tasked the Gombe team to hold their steam until the law is passed in Gombe State.

The Child Right Bill is currently in the Gombe State House of Assembly after it was sent to them as an executive bill by the State Governor, Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya. It has passed through first and second reading and committed to the House committee on women affairs as well as the committee on Judiciary.

Mr. Akpan said the domestication of of the Child Right Law in Gombe and Katsina States is so dear to SCI due to the challenges children face which has practically made it impossible for most of these children, especially the girls, to attain their full potential in life.

He said the TECM project seeks to pursue the domestication as well as full implementation of the Child Right Law, fight against different forms of Child abuse and ensure that children have unhindered access to quality education.

According to him, in achieving these goals, the media has an important role to play adding, “due to the sensitive nature of child marriage, TECM is majorly evidence based advocacy to engage opinion leaders, change as well as decision makers”.

The goal of TECM among many others, Mr. Akpan added is to ” accelerate national agenda to end child marriage, influence Government in Gombe and Katsina States to develop and own strategies to end child marriage “.