The Chief of Early Child Development, United Nations Children’s
Education Fund (UNICEF), Pia Britto has revealed that more than 86.7
million children under the age of seven had spent their entire lives in
conflict zones, putting their brain development at risk.
Britto stated that during the first seven years of life, a child’s
brain has the potential to activate 1,000 brain cells every second. Each
one of those cells, known as neurons, has the power to connect to
another 10,000 neurons thousands of times per second.
This was contained in a news release made available to Journalists in Abuja.
According to the release, “Brain connections serve as the building
blocks of a child’s future, defining their health, emotional well-being
and ability to learn.
“Children living in conflict are often exposed to extreme trauma,
putting them at risk of living in a state of toxic stress, a condition
that inhibits brain cell connections — with significant life-long
consequences to their cognitive, social and physical development.
“In addition to the immediate physical threats that children in
crises face, they are also at risk of deep-rooted emotional scars,”
UNICEF Chief of Early Child Development Pia Britto said.
UNICEF figures show that globally one in 11 children aged six or
younger had spent the most critical period of brain development growing
up in conflict.
“Conflict robs children of their safety, family and friends, play and
routine. Yet these are all elements of childhood that give children the
best possible chance of developing fully and learning effectively,
enabling them to contribute to their economies and societies, and
building strong and safe communities when they reach adulthood.
“That is why we need to invest more to provide children and
caregivers with critical supplies and services including learning
materials, psychosocial support, and safe, child-friendly spaces that
can help restore a sense of childhood in the midst of conflict.”
“A child is born with 253 million functioning neurons, but whether
the brain reaches its full adult capacity of around one billion
connectable neurons depends in large part on early childhood
development. This includes breastfeeding and early nutrition, early
stimulation by caregivers, early learning opportunities and a chance to
grow and play in a safe and healthy environment.
“As part of our response in humanitarian emergencies and protracted
crises, UNICEF works to keep children in child-friendly environments,
providing emergency kits with learning and play materials. The emergency
kits have supported more than 800,000 children living in emergency
contexts in the past year alone”, he regretted.