The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is a landmark international human rights treaty that sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health, and cultural rights of every child, regardless of their race, religion, or abilities. Adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1989, it defines a child as any human being below the age of eighteen years, unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier. For midwives and healthcare providers in Nigeria, understanding this convention is essential because children are not merely property of their parents or passive recipients of charity. They are distinct human beings with inherent rights to dignity, survival, and development. The UNCRC shifts the focus of pediatric and maternity care from what adults decide is best to what legally guarantees the child's optimal well-being. Nigeria ratified this treaty in 1991 and later domesticated it through the Child Rights Act (CRA) of 2003, making its provisions legally binding across participating states.
The entire framework of the UNCRC rests upon four overarching pillars known as the core principles. Every article and policy regarding children must align with these foundational concepts:
Survival and development rights form the bedrock of immediate postpartum and neonatal midwifery practice. Under the UNCRC, governments and healthcare providers must combat infant mortality, ensure clean drinking water, provide adequate nutrition, and offer pre- and postnatal healthcare for mothers. For the newborn, this means immediate access to essential interventions such as thermal care, exclusive breastfeeding support, and routine immunizations. Midwives directly fulfill these rights when they champion immediate skin-to-skin contact, facilitate early initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of life, and administer prophylactic eye treatments or vitamin K. Denying a neonate basic life-saving medical care due to cultural myths or financial constraints constitutes a direct violation of their inherent right to survival.
Protection rights safeguard children from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury, abuse, neglect, maltreatment, or exploitation while in the care of parents, legal guardians, or medical staff. In clinical settings, midwives frequently encounter situations where protection rights are tested. Practices such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), child marriage, corporal punishment, and medical neglect are profound violations of these rights. Midwives have a legal and ethical duty to protect vulnerable neonates and children from harmful traditional practices. Furthermore, protection rights guarantee that hospitalized children are kept safe from hospital-acquired infections, unnecessary painful procedures, and separation from their parents unless it is explicitly required for their safety.
Participation rights ensure that children and adolescents are not treated as passive objects, but as active agents in their own lives. As children grow into adolescence, their capacity to make informed choices expands. Under the convention, adolescents have the right to seek, receive, and impart information, provided it does not harm others. In reproductive and maternal health clinics, midwives encounter pregnant adolescents who require confidential counseling, reproductive health education, and respectful care. Respecting participation means listening to young people, involving them in care plans, and respecting their developing autonomy while balancing parental guidance and safety.
Midwives are frontline advocates for maternal and child health. Beyond attending births, they serve as a bridge between vulnerable families and community health resources. Advocating for child rights involves educating parents on immunizations, challenging dangerous cultural practices through respectful dialogue, and reporting suspected child abuse or neglect to appropriate welfare authorities. Midwives must also advocate within healthcare institutions to ensure child-friendly services, such as allowing mothers to room-in with sick neonates and minimizing trauma during clinical procedures. Through courageous community engagement and clinical diligence, the midwife turns the written promises of the UNCRC into everyday reality for Nigerian children.