Nigeria

One in five children in Nigeria dies before their fifth birthday and nearly 2 million children have lost one or both parents to an AIDS-related disease.  Nigeria also spends less per head on healthcare than almost any other African country (Save the Children) and clinics are often in a bad state of disrepair, with a lack of basic equipment or enough qualified staff.  In some districts fewer than 1% of children are immunised against diseases like malaria, the biggest killer in Nigeria, causing around 30% childhood deaths per year (DfID).

There are other dangers for children in Nigeria such as child trafficking, child labour and prostitution. There is also growing concern for children branded ‘witches and wizards’ who are ostracised from their communities and often tortured to extract a confession, or cure them of their ‘possession’. In November 2008 a documentary by Channel 4 and a charity called Stepping Stone Nigeria highlighted the plight of these children and brought them to international attention.