Nation
1.1m Nigerians May Die If Investment Deficit Continues In N’East, UNDP Alerts
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says the conflict in the North-East could amount to the loss of 1.1million Nigerian lives by 2030 if the current investment deficit in development is not addressed.
The more than one decade of insurgency has directly resulted in the deaths of approximately 35,000 people and the destruction of several private and public property.
A new UNDP report warned that indirect deaths, including disease and hunger resulting from the conflict’s physical and economic destruction, already far outnumber those from direct causes.
The study, “Assessing the Impact of Conflict on Development” noted that critical aspects of development, including Gross Domestic Product (GDP), poverty, malnutrition, infant mortality, education, water availability and sanitation, may not return to pre-conflict levels even by 2030.
The findings show that for each casualty caused directly by insurgency, an additional nine people, mostly children, have lost their lives due to a lack of food and resources.
Consequently, at least 90 percent of conflict-attributable deaths are of children under the age of five.
The report regretted that the physical and economic destruction caused by the insurgency dismantled fragile health and food systems.
It said below 60 percent of health facilities in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states are fully functional, while a quarter is either completely destroyed or non-functional.
1.8million Nigerians, according to the UN body, are displaced in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states, with the vast majority located in Borno.
Also, 1.8million students were out-of-school in 2020.
UNDP observed Nigeria has made great strides in stabilizing some areas of the region, and called for additional investment from national and international stakeholders.
The UNDP Resident Representative, Mohamed Yahya, said, “Without continued investment in development as a long-term solution, the protracted conflict in North-East Nigeria will continue to impact other parts of the country and the entire Sahel region”.
The official said funds are invested not only on life-saving and humanitarian needs but also on mid-and long-term development priorities to Nigeria to help achieve the SDGs and attain the AU 2063.
The Alliance Française Port Harcourt in conjunction with the Embassy of France Nigeria over the weekend joined the globe to campaign against the 2025 gender- based violence (GBV) with the theme: “16 Days of Activism Against Gender- Based Voice”
The event which took place at the event Hall of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt was in collaboration with the Female in Gaming Network, ( FIGN) and partnership with Nexal a body that seeks to promote online safety and responsible digital behaviour.
The Tide reports that the project which was aimed at promoting digital safety and girls inclusion in Gaming, with the initiative tagged ‘Gameover Gender- Base Violence’was part of the global campaign against gender- based Violence.
The activity which experienced a flavour of festivity was full of fun and excitements as participants took part in tournaments on popular digital games such as Mario kart and EAFC 25, with an intent to creating safer and more inclusive digital spaces.
The Director of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt, Mrs Marina Lacal said that these activities were designed to encourage inclusion of girls, team work and fair play on online gaming spaces, saying that the gaming world reflects these inequalities, where female players are often under represented.
According to her the main objectives of the initiative was to provide a supportive environment for girls and female in gaming network.
“GameOverGBV” is a project created to reshape this landscape by offering an innovative inclusiveness of girls on online digital Gaming community and digital environments that provide opportunities for creativity, learning and connection, but also fight against Gender-Based Violence Digital Gaming,”she said
She however, explained that the Digital Game, sport competitions, was launched to strengthen social and digital skills through games, workshops, and raise awareness among all young participants about respect, equality and digital citizenship.
The Tide News reports that in Port Harcourt, the competition brought together 100 young participants from three major universities: University of Port Harcourt, ( UNIPORT),Ignatius Ajuru University of Education(IAUE) and Rivers State University (RSU)as well as students from four selected secondary schools, Oginigba comprehensive Secondary.School, Vine lnternational, Virgo predicanda lnternational, and Excellent Montessori Secondary school.
“This is an approach where girls and boys can learn, play and collaborate in a more respectful and safe space for young women, while ensuring a safe, enjoyable and respectful digital environment. It also expose young women to cyberbullying, exclusion, sexist comments and online hate,” Mrs. Lacal said.
Earlier, a game developer Sophia Nei and her. team had engaged participants in an interactive session with the theme: “Can Video Games Be Safe Spaces For Girls?”
However, Mrs Nei and her team educated the girls on the benefits and violence on online digital gaming and urged them ( participants)to learn to say ‘No’ to Online hate, sexist and cyber bullying, while encouraging them(students) to stand up for themselves by reporting such issues to the appropriate authority.
Highlight of the competition was the awarding of prizes to winners by the Director of Alliance Française, Mrs Marina Lacal.
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