UNICEF, NOA engages services of religious leaders on child wellbeing
KANO (North-West, Nigeria) — The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) has engaged religious leaders in North-West states to promote child survival, development and wellbeing.
The one-day event, organised under the Faith for Life initiative, brought together religious leaders from the Northwest region.
Speaking at the event on Monday, the Chief of UNICEF Kano Field Office, Shafeeq Ur-Rehman, said the initiative was designed to leverage the influence of religious leaders.
Ur-Rehman said this will help in addressing critical social and health challenges affecting children and families.
He said religious leaders play an important role in shaping public opinion and influencing the behaviour of their followers.
“It is an initiative, Faith for Life, where we bring religious leaders together to talk about the social issues which the area is facing and how we can address them through religious messages by using platforms that are important to the community and their followers,” he said.
He identified some of the challenges facing the state as out-of-school children, low vaccination coverage, maternal mortality and infant mortality, among others.
“We are trying to orient the religious leaders. We have some research carried out together with the university.
“We want to update the religious leaders with the information and then encourage them to use their platforms for the betterment of vulnerable children, women and the community,” Ur-Rehman said.
Also speaking, the NOA Northwest Zonal Director, Hamisu Abubakar-Maiyere, said the essence of the gathering was to sensitise religious leaders on the Faith for Life handbook.
He said this will encourage them to return to their respective communities to preach its messages in local languages.
Abubakar-Maiyere said the religious leaders would be expected to promote messages on hygiene and sanitation, exclusive breastfeeding, antenatal care and the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of diseases, among other issues.
Earlier, a member of the National Technical Working Group for NOA/UNICEF, Adeyemo Samuel, urged the religious leaders to use their pulpits to disseminate the messages contained in the Faith for Life material to their followers in order to promote a healthy society.
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