ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN

About six percent of children under age 18 in Nigeria have one or both parents deceased and are considered orphans. Overall, 9 percent of children are orphans or are vulnerable due to illnesses among adult household members.

Until recently, the response in Nigeria to the crisis of orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) brought about by HIV/AIDS and other causes were largely driven by communities, with this extended family system providing care and support for affected children.

However, the needs of OVCs often overwhelm the capacity of the community to care for them, and government response has not been commensurate with the magnitude of the problem.

We ranked the states in this regards based on the following:

• Prevalance
• Socioeconomic Status
• Support