yesterday, exonerated homes of Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) from
involvement in child factory, and rather blamed maternity homes and other
homes as culprits in the child factory business.
Speaking through its Communication Officer, Media and External Relations,
Blessing Ejiofor, UNICEF said no government organ or international agency
had criminalized TBAs as responsible for child sales, saying TBAs have
become part and parcel of society especially at the rural level, hence,
they should be trained and educated on best practices, rather than being
falsely accused.
Ejiofor, who was on a tour to Delta from the UNICEF office in Lagos, and
was hosted to a media interactive session in Asaba, Delta State capital,
said women visit the TBAs for various reasons and since they can’t be
barred from operations, it becomes imperative to assist them in the best
way possible.
Fielding questions from journalists, she noted that quite a number of
women are successfully delivered at TBAs but condemned giving birth to
children without birth registration, adding that birth registration was
the first right of children.
She stated that UNICEF, as an international agency, has no constitutional
right to take up the job of government and its agencies in any tier of
government, but that the international agency supports government to build
institutions to support better living for children.
She observed that even though the Children Right Bill had been signed into
law, cultural and religious differences still exist in many societies,
hence child marriage and other obnoxious acts prohibited by the Child
Right Law are still being carried out in local communities.
According to her, “we, at UNICEF, are so passionate about children’s
rights, anything that concerns children” saying for the wellbeing of
children, media organizations should hold policy makers accountable for
the rights of children being trampled on.
She called on media organizations to give audience to children so that
they could voice their views over issues of national, social and economic
significance.
“UNICEF is about children. We are mothers of children. From pregnancy to
delivery, we are involved. We are involved also in upbringing of children
because children are our focal point in our daily activities at UNICEF”,
she said.