The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, UNICEF is partnering with media personalities to curb the challenges of changing the lives of children through information sharing, communication and behavioural change.
To do this, UNICEF in partnership with the Child Rights Information Bureau (CRIB) of Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Information and Culture organized a one-day partnership meeting with On-Air Media personalities in Abuja, Nigeria.
The objective of the meeting was to engage media personalities to disseminate well-defined priority key messages on health, education and the general well-being of children to a larger audience.
At the meeting, UNICEF’s Country Representative, Cristian Munduate said it has become imperative to partner with media personalities who work with radio to get timely information to people in rural areas.
“Nigeria is well known to have a common practice of using radio. They hear radio and this is why it is important the role that you as individuals and from the cooperate side of the different radio that you represent, the critical role that you have to play in the development of the country, in particular, the children”. She said
Ms Munduate said UNICEF was committed to providing information, documents, and resource persons to speak on issues relating to child development.
“It is not enough that we work in policies and laws which are important, yes. Plans that are important. Let us say we go as far as the countries implementing their plans but they have to have results. We need a citizen that knows what they are entitled to, mainly what children are entit led to” She said.
Responding to questions from the media personalities at the meeting, the Chief of Communication Advocacy and Partnership, Rajat Madhok said alongside providing the media with relevant data for dissemination, they will be taken into the field and given real-time access to information.
The event featured a short film on UNICEF’s work in Nigeria and future projections based on statistics from work already down.
The meeting correlates with “World Breastfeeding Week” which is celebrated from 1st -7th August and UNICEF is advocating for exclusive breastfeeding till a child turns two years.
Emmanuel Ukoh
