General
Almost 385m Children Live In Extreme Poverty—Report
By Dipo Olowookere
A new analysis from the World Bank Group and the UNICEF has disclosed that children are more than twice as likely as adults to live in extreme poverty.
A focus on children finds that in 2013 19.5 per cent of children in developing countries were living in households that survived on an average of US$1.90 a day or less per person, compared to just 9.2 per cent of adults.
Globally, almost 385 million children were living in extreme poverty.
Children are disproportionately affected, as they make up around a third of the population studied, but half of the extreme poor. The youngest children are the most at risk – with more than one-fifth of children under the age of five in the developing world living in extremely poor households.
“Children are not only more likely to be living in extreme poverty; the effects of poverty are most damaging to children. They are the worst off of the worst off – and the youngest children are the worst off of all, because the deprivations they suffer affect the development of their bodies and their minds,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “It is shocking that half of all children in sub-Saharan Africa and one in five children in developing countries are growing up in extreme poverty. This not only limits their futures, it drags down their societies.”
The new analysis comes on the heels of the release of the World Bank Group’s new flagship study, Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2016: Taking on Inequality, which found that some 767 million people globally were living on less than $1.90 per day in 2013, half of them under the age of 18.
“The sheer number of children in extreme poverty points to a real need to invest specifically in the early years—in services such as pre-natal care for pregnant mothers, early childhood development programs, quality schooling, clean water, good sanitation, and universal health care,” said Ana Revenga, Senior Director, Poverty and Equity at the World Bank Group. “Improving these services, and ensuring that today’s children can access quality job opportunities when the time comes, is the only way to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty that is so widespread today.”
The global estimate of extreme child poverty is based on data from 89 countries, representing 83 per cent of the developing world’s population.
Sub-Saharan Africa has both the highest rates of children living in extreme poverty at just under 50 per cent, and the largest share of the world’s extremely poor children, at just over 50 per cent. South Asia has the second highest share at nearly 36 per cent—with over 30 per cent of extremely poor children living in India alone. More than four out of five children in extreme poverty live in rural areas.
In addition, the report reveals that even at higher thresholds, poverty also affects children disproportionately.
About 45 per cent of children are living in households subsisting on less than $3.10 a day per person, compared with nearly 27 per cent of adults.
UNICEF and the World Bank Group are calling on governments to:
Routinely measure child poverty at the national and subnational level and focus on children in national poverty reduction plans as part of efforts to end extreme poverty by 2030.
Strengthen child-sensitive social protection systems, including cash transfer programs that directly help poor families to pay for food, health care, education and other services that protect children from the impact of poverty and improve their chances of breaking the cycle in their own lives.
Prioritize investments in education, health, clean water, sanitation and infrastructure that benefit the poorest children, as well as those that help prevent people from falling back into poverty after setbacks like droughts, disease or economic instability.
Shape policy decisions so that economic growth benefits the poorest children.
UNICEF and the World Bank Group are working with partners to interrupt cycles of poverty and to promote early childhood development – with programs ranging from cash transfers, to nutrition, healthcare and education.
Ethiopia specific information:
– There are 13 million Ethiopian children who live in poor households, 2 million of whom live in extreme poverty.
– Children are more severely affected by poverty (32.4 per cent) and extreme poverty (5.2 per cent) than adults (29.6 per cent and 4.5 per cent, respectively).
– The poorest children are found in households whose head is employed in the informal sector. 13.1 per cent of these children live in extreme poverty.
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By Bon Peters
The Area 1 Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Port Harcourt, Rivers States, has expressed confidence in raking in higher earnings in 2025 after it generated about N200.6 billion in 2024.
A statement by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Oscar Ivara, a Superintendent of Customs, said last year’s revenue was higher than the N116.3 billion collected in 2023 by 72.41 per cent or N84.3 billion.
He quoted the Comptroller of the command, Mr Mustapha Hashim, as attributing “this impressive surplus” to the hard work, dedication, and operational improvements within the command, which he insisted have helped increase revenue while improving compliance with customs regulations.
He noted that the command’s strategic focus on enforcement operations and ensuring compliance with customs regulations have significantly contributed to the increase in revenue even as he applauded the improved monitoring systems, increased patrols, and enhanced collaboration with other enforcement agencies which he emphasized have played a critical role in curbing smuggling activities and improving revenue.
Continuing, Mr Hashim gave a breakdown of the 2024 revenue figures of the command to include N184.2 billion in the first quarter of 2024, with an estimated monthly collection of N15.4 billion, which he said was later reviewed upwards to N230.3 billion with monthly expected collection of N19.2 billion in the second to fourth quarters of the year.
The agency, however, reported an annual revenue target shortfall collection of about 13.04 per cent, which was largely attributed to the federal government’s food import waiver policy, introduced in July 2024, to mitigate Nigeria’s worsening food crisis.
“The presidential directive, which ended on December 31, 2024, gave waivers to essential food items such as wheat, maize, and grain, which are the major goods imported through the command,” he stated.
In the area of export activities, Mr Hashim posited that the command made notable strides in boosting revenue from agricultural products, which he referred to as a key indicator to Nigeria’s economic diversification.
“This focus has increased export facilitation and boosted the command’s contribution to national revenue,” he said.
He added that the total quantity of cargoes exported in the year 2024 was 17,352,817 metric tons with FOB at $1.5 billion, while the NESS paid was N2.9 billion for both oil and non-oil exports.
The statement also disclosed that a total of 289 ships called at the Area Command in 2024, with import tonnage comprised of bulk cargoes such as wheat, frozen fish, salt, oil well equipment, PMS, AGO, gypsum, bitumen and general cargoes which amounted to 4,080,654.198 metric tons and the duties collected from the bulk cargoes and excise factory contributed to the huge revenue collected in the command.
He said the feat was achieved by advocating full compliance of all customs regulations by ensuring maximum collection of customs duties, levies and payment of all unpaid assessment.
Mr Hashim said with the command’s focused approach, dedication and continued support from partners and stakeholders, the revenue generation, anti-smuggling and trade facilitation drive for 2025 will be effective, promising that the command would deploy all necessary tools to ensure seamless clearance operations this year.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Over 850 cars forfeited to the Nigerian government across various locations in Nigeria will be auctioned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), a statement from the agency has revealed.
The anti-money laundering organisation said the vehicle were seized by the government through court orders from persons involved in various financial crimes, including corruption, money laundering, and cybercrime.
The agency said the auction is in line with the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004, Public Procurement Act, 2007 and the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery & Management) Act, 2022.
It called on interested members of the public to participate in the auction, promising that the process will be transparent and fair.
The exercise will be conducted by the EFCC in partnership with appointed auctioneers in Lagos, Abuja, Benin City, Enugu, Ilorin, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, and Kano from January 20 to 27, 2025.
“The general public is hereby notified that the @officialEFCC through its appointed auctioneers will conduct e-Auction of the under listed vehicles that are subject of final Forfeiture orders in accordance with the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004, Public Procurement Act, 2007 and the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery & Management) Act, 2022,” the statement read.
Below are the cars to be auctioned by the EFCC;
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Four major roads are being rehabilitated by the Oyo State government to improve transportation infrastructure and enhance mobility.
The chairman of the Oyo State Road Maintenance Agency (OYSROMA), Mr Busoye Ogunlade, in a statement in Ibadan last Friday, said the roads should be completed in less than eight weeks.
The roads include Bashorun Oluwo-nla road, Agbowo road, Eleyele-Water road, and Zion plaza-Olusoji road.
“Work has commenced on some of these roads, as we speak. However, repairs on other roads will commence soon,” Mr Ogunlade said, advising commuters to follow temporary traffic diversions and cooperate with the ongoing construction efforts.
The OYSROMA chief said the ongoing rehabilitation was based on fund availability and the economic viability of those roads, noting that the move is in line with the commitment of the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde to make the state more attractive to both local and foreign investors.
“Governor Seyi Makinde has given us the mandate to rehabilitate roads across the State, and we have mobilized Engineers, through direct labour to these sites,” he said, adding that to make the exercise have the desired impact on the people, the agency has gone across all zones and picked critical roads that need rehabilitation across the state.
“This is borne out of the complaints we received during zonal town hall meetings from residents of the state. Our Engineers have swung into action and have taken measurements of critical roads,” he said.
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