By Chinenye Anuforo
Six-year-old Amina should be in school, her days filled with the joy of learning and the laughter of friends. Instead, she spends her mornings in a dusty Lagos alley, her small frame weakened by persistent hunger, her future clouded by the lack of basic healthcare. Amina is just one of millions of Nigerian children silently bearing the devastating toll of insufficient investment in their well-being, a crisis that is not just a humanitarian tragedy, but an economic albatross costing the nation billions of dollars annually.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) sounded a critical alarm, urgently calling on the Nigerian government to significantly increase and strategically allocate investments in children’s well-being. They emphasised that such spending is not just a moral obligation, but a vital economic catalyst, a lifeline for children like Amina, and indeed, for Nigeria’s entire future.
Startling statistics showed that over 100 Nigerian children die every hour from preventable causes like malnutrition and inadequate access to basic healthcare. Despite these alarming figures, government spending on early childhood development remains woefully insufficient. A recent UNICEF report highlighted a disparity in sub-Saharan Africa, where governments spend 16 times more on adolescents than on children aged 0 to 5.
In Nigeria specifically, the 2023 national budget allocated a mere 7 per cent to health, significantly below the 15 per cent benchmark established by the Abuja Declaration. This underfunding has far-reaching consequences, extending beyond individual suffering to erode the nation’s human capital and economic potential.
Celine Lafoucriere, Chief of UNICEF’s South West Nigeria Field Office, stressed that “poorly allocated or inadequately implemented budgets often have minimal impact on intended beneficiaries.” She further argued, “Without data-driven planning, strong coordination, and accountability, public spending fails to improve children’s lives in any meaningful way.” Lafoucriere urged governments to prioritise investments that directly impact children’s well-being, moving beyond mere budgetary allocations to ensure fiscal accountability for Nigerian children’s rights.
The cost of neglecting Nigeria’s children is not merely humanitarian; it is an economic catastrophe. Previous studies highlighted the immense financial burden already being incurred: Violence Against Children: A 2019 report by UNICEF and the Federal Government estimated the economic impact of violence against children in Nigeria to be approximately US$6.1 billion, equivalent to about 1.07 per cent of the country’s GDP. This loss stems from reduced productivity due to impaired health, education, and overall well-being. Another landmark study revealed that the failure to address child marriage is costing Nigeria over US$10 billion annually, representing 2.43 per cent of the country’s GDP. This colossal sum is attributed to lost earnings for women who married as children (12 per cent lower earnings), the economic impact of increased mortality from pregnancy and childbirth complications among child brides (estimated at 3,489 deaths in 2019 alone), and child deaths from related issues (nearly 40,000 under-5 deaths). Child marriage also significantly decreases a girl’s likelihood of completing secondary or higher education by 23 per cent.
These figures represent tangible drains on the national economy, demonstrating that the cost of inaction is high, as noted by a source who spoke on condition of anonymity. The long-term consequences of child poverty manifest as security challenges, a shortage of skilled manpower in the future, a diminished international image, and increased rates of illiteracy and dependency.
Amidst the national challenge, Lagos State has emerged as a beacon of progress. Olufemi Orojimi, Director of Budget at the Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, announced the state’s introduction of a dedicated budget code to track every naira spent on children’s welfare. This innovative system, developed with UNICEF’s technical support, enables precise identification, tracking, documentation, and evaluation of child-related expenditures across various ministries, departments, and agencies.
“Today, in Lagos State, we are transparent. We are able to identify and assign codes whereby we can easily track the expenses when it comes to children,” Orojimi stated, highlighting a critical shift from pooled, untraceable general expenses. This initiative has brought greater transparency and accountability to child-focused budgeting, ensuring funds are more effectively channelled into essential services such as nutrition for vulnerable communities, expanded access to public education, and stronger child protection systems. Lagos State’s commitment is clear: “The state government’s investment and expenditure towards the child and its rights continue to increase on a year-on-year basis.”
Experts consistently underscore the significant economic returns generated by investing in child nutrition, healthcare, and education. The World Bank estimated that every dollar invested in reducing undernutrition yields an impressive $23 in economic benefits. Similarly, Nobel Laureate economist James Heckman’s research demonstrated that early childhood education investments produce returns of $7 to $11 for every dollar spent. These returns are not merely theoretical; they translate into a more productive workforce, reduced healthcare burdens, and lower crime rates.
Currently, an estimated 10 million Nigerian children are out of school, a critical gap that UNICEF and other development partners are striving to close through scaled-up early learning programmes, particularly in underserved communities, to boost future productivity. The lack of access to quality education traps individuals in cycles of poverty and limits the national talent pool.
While government programmes like the National Social Safety Nets Project (NASSP) have made strides, reaching over 1.9 million vulnerable households with vital support, UNICEF emphasised the urgent need for these efforts to be significantly expanded to meet Nigeria’s growing demographic and developmental challenges. Countries like Canada and Bangladesh serve as strong examples, demonstrating how prioritising child welfare can lead to measurable gains in both human development and economic performance.
Muhammad Okorie, Social Policy Manager at UNICEF, Lagos, underscored the critical link between resource insufficiency and systemic inefficiency. He stressed the concept of progressive realisation, urging governments to demonstrate incremental fulfilment of children’s rights over time, rather than using it as an excuse for delay.
“With one of the largest youth populations in the world, Nigeria stands at a critical juncture,” UNICEF stated. “The nation’s future prosperity depends on the choices made today. Every naira spent on children is a building block for a stronger, more inclusive economy.” The consequences of continued underfunding are clear: a less healthy, less educated, and less productive future generation, exacerbating poverty and instability.
UNICEF continues to advocate for Nigerian policymakers to adopt evidence-based strategies in the allocation and utilisation of funds for children’s programmes, emphasising that the returns, both socially and economically, are undeniable. Through multi-stakeholder partnerships, technical support, and advocacy, including embedding Technical Advisors within budget offices and developing digital policy analysis tools, UNICEF is working to influence increased public spending in social sector programmes towards children, aiming to transform Nigeria’s dire child poverty statistics into a brighter, more prosperous future for all. The message is clear: the true cost of neglect is far too high for Nigeria to bear.
