By Danjuma Williams (Gombe State Correspondent)
The European Union (EU) in conjunction with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says they are jointly providing community based psychosocial support to 5,129 out of school children in Borno State.
In a joint press statement, Cecile Tassin-Pelzer, EU's Head of Cooperation and Peter Hawkins, UNICEF's Representative in Nigeria, said the exercise which will take place in six Local Government Areas of the State, will also help in strengthening the well-being, resilience, literacy skills and self reliance of the children as well as improve their mental health.
The EU funded support project which is being implemented by UNICEF will help many children who continue to bear the brunt of a 12 year conflict in Northeast Nigeria.
The statement said the project will also support vulnerable children across Borno State with protection and health services, vocational and literacy skills, access to justice and security under a holistic humanitarian intervention that has so far provided 15,552 out of school children with vocational training.
About 1,610 out of school children will also benefit from a literacy and numeracy skills and 5,194 children enrolled into integrated Qur'anic schools across focus LGA's.
More than 300,000 children have been killed in the conflict while over one million have been displaced. A recent Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) needs assessment of conflict-affected children in north-east Nigeria revealed pervasive psychosocial distress manifesting as high levels of anxiety, suspiciousness, anger, aggressiveness, and hyper-vigilance.
According to Peter Hawkins, the scars of conflict are real and enduring for children in north-east Nigeria as many of them are falling victim to a conflict they did not start.
He warned that "Attacks against children must stop immediately. In the meantime, we are committed to working with our partners to provide psychosocial and other support to conflict-affected children so they can regain their childhood and restart their lives.’’
Stress and violence have been linked to poor brain development, depression and poor self-esteem, and children exposed to conflict and violence are at risk of long-term mental health and psychosocial issues.
EU's Head of Cooperation Cecile Tassin-Pelzer, also said, “Addressing the psychosocial well-being and development of children and teachers in conflict situations is an important part of re-establishing education provision and enabling children to re-enter schools safely.”
UNICEF uses psychosocial support to help conflict-affected children manage their emotions, solve problems, deal with crisis, and maintain healthy relationships.
The EU-funded programme in Borno State is a component of a three-year €10 million European Union Support to Early Recovery and Resilience package to support children, youths, and communities in Borno State.
Also included in the package is the provision of vocational skills and non-formal education to at least 25,000 young people, the construction and rehabilitation of learning centers and the strengthening of education management information systems. NNL.
