Daily Chronicle
Children living within the UNICEF Bauchi Field Office focused States of Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba and Plateau have started leveraging on the communication channels being provided by radio and TV stations to air their views on issues that concerns them.
This innovative approach is aimed at projecting their needs, challenges and recommendations to policy makers with a view to creating a more conducive environment to enable them reach their full potentials in life.
Under the innovative approach, Child participatory Radio and TV programmes are given priority, so as to enable the children air their views in their own dialects and understanding for the world to understand and act.
Through the initiative, children are now allowed to anchor segments of programmes, live and recorded, covering key areas of their development concerns such as nutrition, health, security, education, rights, social protection among others.
Giving more clarity on the new approach, a broadcast expert , who is coordinating the implementation of the new inclusive program, Umar Muhammad Shira, said that as long as all the media stations have their functional children desks, UNICEF is keying into existing programmes by way of enhancing the capacity of Producers to bring in creativity in their works so that, there will be more visibility reportage on key issues affecting the children.
Umar Shira stressed that, when properly reported, those at the helm of affairs like, policy makers will be tasked to also have a paradigm shift in areas of funding children development and welfare issues.
Shira, who also serves as the media engagement focal person, said that global attention, especially in the implementation of SDGs is shifted towards collaborative efforts by all the stakeholders as a workable strategy in pushing for better outcomes on the outlined and targeted goals.
He further emphasized that Media has a role to play in the areas of information dissemination, sensitization of the society and mobilization for positive action.
The Coordinator, charged media stations to see the partnership as a call to duty to offer their platforms for the survival and development of children while on her part, UNICEF promises to come in from time to time with little support to keep the flag flying in the best interest of the children.
He said that with the new approach, media stations are expected to encourage the children to directly participate in the programming so as to be able to expand their cognitive thinking in line with present circumstances of global attention to their flight and to speak for themselves.
He emphasized that Children are now being allowed to anchor programmes on Radio and TV stations as a concrete steps of speaking on behalf of the entire children in Nigeria.