Nigeria’s out-of-school children now 18.3 million, says UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has lamented that discrimination against children based on ethnicity, language, and religion is rife in countries across the world.

In a new report published ahead of the 2023 World Children’s Day, the UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell, said the denial of children’s rights showed the extent to which racism and discrimination impact their education, health, access to a registered birth, and a fair and equal justice system.

This, according to her, highlights widespread disparities among minority and ethnic groups across the world.

She said: “Systemic racism and discrimination put children at risk of deprivation and exclusion that can last a lifetime.

“This hurts us all. Protecting the rights of every child – whoever they are, wherever they come from – is the surest way to build a more peaceful, prosperous, and just world for everyone.”

Among the new findings, the report showed that children from marginalized ethnic, language, and religious groups in an analysis of 22 countries lag far behind their peers in reading skills.

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