The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says on Friday that prioritisation of children’s health and education is the key to unlocking Africa’s prosperity.

UNICEF Country Representative in Nigeria, Ms Cristian Munduate, stated this in Kaduna, at an event organised to commemorate the 2023 International Day of the African Child.

The event with the theme, “The Right of a Child in the Digital Environment” was held at Sheik Abubakar Gumi Primary School, Kaduna to commemorate the day with school children.

Munduate said that children must be supported to thrive and develop, to be able to contribute meaningfully to the development of Africa and Nigeria in particular.

According to her, this can be achieved when nations invest in children’s health and education for healthy growth and development.

She explained that the Nigerian Learning Passport (NLP), an online and offline platform was initiated to close learning poverty gap, by enabling quality and flexible learning.

She noted that a myriad of challenges had kept huge children out-of-school, noting that with access to devices under the NLP initiative, children would keep learning even while at home.

“We want to reach out to those children who unfortunately have not been to school and those whose learning abilities at their age are a bit harsh.

“The digital space has provided a good opportunity through the NLP for children to learn, grow and contribute to the development of their nation and Africa in general,” she said.