72% of Pupils in North-East Can’t Read Basic Text — UNICEF Raises Alarm

As Nigeria celebrated the 2025 Children’s Day, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) issued a sobering warning about the state of child welfare in the country’s conflict-hit North-East, revealing that 72 per cent of pupils who complete primary school in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states are unable to read simple text.

Speaking at a press conference in Maiduguri on Tuesday, Joseph Senesie, Chief of the UNICEF Maiduguri Field Office, described the situation as “alarming,” lamenting that millions of children across the region are still deprived of their most basic rights.

“Are we truly unlocking the potential of our children — our untapped treasures?” he asked. “Or are we allowing systemic neglect to rob them of their future?”

Senesie revealed that nearly two million children remain out of school in the North-East, while 12 local government areas in Borno and Yobe continue to report large numbers of unvaccinated children, leaving them vulnerable to preventable diseases.

He further noted that only 3 in 10 children in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe have had their births officially registered, a condition that denies them legal identity and excludes them from essential services such as healthcare, education, and social protection.

“Children in this region remain Nigeria’s greatest yet most neglected resource,” Senesie said, stressing that this year’s Children’s Day theme, Tapping the Untapped Natural Treasure, is a timely call to action.

Despite the troubling statistics, he acknowledged some progress made by state governments in improving children’s welfare. He highlighted the implementation of the Child Protection Law, open defecation-free declarations in five LGAs, and Borno State’s N100 million contribution to the Child Nutrition Fund. He also commended the recent inauguration of 27 Local Government Committees on Food and Nutrition as significant strides.

“These are commendable milestones that reflect leadership and political will,” he said. “But we must not rest. The work is far from over.”

Senesie called on government authorities, civil society organisations, and development partners to intensify efforts in addressing nutrition, immunisation, child protection, education, and sanitation gaps in the region.

He reaffirmed UNICEF’s commitment to supporting these goals, disclosing that in 2024 alone, nearly 600,000 children in the North-East were treated for severe acute malnutrition, 2.48 million under-five children received vitamin A supplements, and 1.2 million were immunised with the pentavalent vaccine.

Senesie also extended appreciation to UNICEF’s international partners — including BMZ (Germany), the UK’s FCDO, SIDA, the EU, Norway, Canada, GPE, and ECW — for their continued support in humanitarian efforts.

Concluding his address, he called on the media to continue amplifying the voices of children, describing journalists as not just observers, but “advocates, guardians, and change agents” in the fight to secure a better future for Nigeria’s most vulnerable.