Emir of Katsina Charity Shield Polo Tournament
Presentation by UNICEF Deputy Representative, Dr. Maman Sidikou at the closing of the Emir of Katsina Charity Shield Polo Tournament on 8th June 2008. His Royal Highness, the Emir of Kano Two things make me happy as I stand before you this evening. One was watching the children compete yesterday for the UNICEF Cup and the second the great honour that for the third year in a row UNICEF is a beneficiary of this great tournament, we are thrilled to be associated with your event. Our congratulations go to the winners and to all the participants of this charity shield. Such an occasion is not only a wonderful opportunity to raise funds for the cause of children, but it is also an opportunity to advocate and inform people about children’s issues in Nigeria. We are grateful for the funds we received last year from this tournament and will presently send you a detailed account of how the fund was used in our HIV/AIDS programme. I commend you for the children’s competition tagged the “UNICEF cup”. By that competition you have made a bold statement and endorsed the children’s right to play. This also is a fundamental right of children as enshrined both in the conventions on the rights of the child and the Child’s Rights Act. It was a joy to watch the children play yesterday. I hope you will make the UNICEF Cup an annual event and expand opportunities to all children especially the less privileged ones. The United Nations Children’s Fund is mandated to further the rights and improve the lives of children in over 160 countries worldwide. However, we receive no funding from the United Nations. UNICEF has to raise all its income from Governments, International Funds and Programmes and the Private Sector every year and this is why this event is so important to us. It is now three years since UNICEF launched a campaign under the slogan, Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS campaign. This is a major initiative for us and all our partners working to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic as it affects children. As you may know, Nigeria now has a five-year national plan of action for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). About 1.8 million children are orphaned by HIV-AIDS in Nigeria today. With the spread of HIV-AIDS, the number of orphans is expected to increase rapidly in the coming years to 8.2 million by 2010. So the tournament comes in a very timely manner to support these current efforts to raise awareness on the plight of children infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. We are now more than two decades into the pandemic and AIDS is still perceived as a problem mainly for adults. Children are the missing face of HIV/AIDS. They are missing from the statistics, they are missing the basic services and information they need to live healthy lives and they are missing their parents and becoming orphaned. Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS aims at putting children at the very top of the HIV/AIDS agenda in Nigeria and across the world. UNICEF and its partners are joining together in this effort for the next five years and beyond to ensure that children, adolescents and young people are protected, cared for, supported and receive treatment for HIV/AIDS. This campaign is especially important for Nigeria, which has the third largest population of people living with HIV/AIDS in the world. Over four per cent of Nigerians are HIV positive. With the current population growth rate, the potential devastation to this country without effective action will be enormous. UNICEF and its partners call on every part of our society to join in this campaign to support Nigeria’s efforts to ensure that this is the last generation of children to bear the burden of the virus. Everyone here today can do something to help those who are affected. Just by attending this event, you have helped, as a portion of the proceeds will go to the campaign. Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS is a call to action for all members of society to stop and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria and beyond. We must all act together in order to make a difference to the lives of our children, to prevent them from contracting HIV, to protect them from the burden the virus puts on their lives and their families, and to provide care and support for those who are affected. We will continue to work with the Government at all levels, the religious and traditional leaders and the private sector in Nigeria to raise awareness and provide funding. The opportunity exists to prevent the massive spread of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. Every day, 1,000 Nigerians will contract HIV and another 800 will die of AIDS and related diseases, and a significant number of these are children. This is a serious situation. To change it, we must Unite for Children and Unite against AIDS. On behalf of UNICEF I would like to thank the organizers of the Emir of Katsina Charity Shield Tournament for their generous contribution to this campaign for children. They are demonstrating that there are many ways one can contribute to the well-being of children in Nigeria. Their contribution will go a long way to support the work of UNICEF.
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