Enugu Zonal Head, Social and Behavioural Change Specialist at United Nations Children’s Fund, (UNICEF), Dr Hillary Ozoh, has charged parents, faith based organization and traditional leaders to take the essential family practice of routine immunization, ante-natal care, exclusive breastfeeding, adequate complementary feeding, birth registration, water, sanitation, and hygiene while also eliminating open defecation to ensure the survival, wellbeing and healthy future for their children.
Ozoh charged the rural dwellers during the grand finale of the UNICEF-sponsored Community Engagement programs, which focus on social behavioral change activities in Isong Inyang, one of the five communities chosen for the program’s implementation in Akamkpa LGA, Cross River state.
The UN Envoy emphasized that as traditional leaders, religious figures, and parents gathered in significant numbers for the colourful event, “the survival of any society relies on its children, and we must take every possible step to guarantee the well-being of our future leaders, starting immediately.”
“UNICEF is here because we are interested in the well-being of your children and we cannot be more interested than you the parents and community leaders. So, I urged you to take action that will ensure that tomorrow will be better for them because if tomorrow is good, they will be strengthened and live healthy and the source of survival as a community would be guaranteed.
Stressing their pivotal roles in society, he explained, “You never know the importance of the roles you have played as leaders of this community and I must inform you that your commitment to this course was the reason the programme was implemented successfully as we celebrate today in this community.
“I am seeing a picture of Isong Inyang in five years time being completely transformed into a better community with prosperous children who are alive, healthy and thriving all over Nigeria and beyond.
In his remarks, the State Director of the National Orientation Agency, Deacon Ibor Otu, highlighted that since its inception in 1946, UNICEF has been dedicated to promoting the welfare of children. This initiative has recently been expanded to five communities; Awi, Mbarakom, Njagha Achang, Isong Inyang, and Uyanga in the Akamkpa Local Government Area with the aim of fostering positive social behavioral changes among rural residents.
Ibor characterized the program’s implementation as successful and called on stakeholders to commit to the life-saving initiatives for the welfare of their families and the community as a whole.
During their individual addresses, the Commissioner for Information, Dr. Erasmus Ekpang, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Henry Ayuk, the Director General of the Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Vivien Mesembe Otu, and the General Manager of the Rural Water Sanitation Agency, Chief Sunday Oko, praised UNICEF for being a reliable partner in Cross River State.
They pledged to work collaboratively to create a supportive environment for the execution of UNICEF’s beneficial programs aimed at the well-being of children and the safety of pregnant women.
Additionally, the Clan Head of Isong Inyang, Ntufam Paul Okon Ntui, informed the UNICEF team that a taskforce has been established in partnership with local government representatives to promote ongoing implementation in the village, particularly concerning Open Defecation, an issue the community still faces. He also requested support from the State Government and UNICEF to set up a health post in the community.
