Nigeria is home to some 62 million children under the age of 15 and it is estimated that 20 million of those children suffer from malnutrition with 41 million overall living in poverty, despite Nigeria potentially being one of the world's richest nations due to its oil reserves.

One in five of all children die before their fifth birthday, HIV/AIDS affects three out of every hundred citizens and there are nearly ten million orphans in the country out of a total population of some 158 million.

Only around 1% of Nigerian children are immunised against basic childhood illness, and, due to corruption and incompetence, the Nigerian government spends less on healthcare per capita than virtually any other country in Africa. You can help when your sponsor a child in Nigeria:

www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk
www.sponsorachildnigeria.org

There are also some other charities who work with communities in Nigeria:

www.steppingstonesnigeria.org
www.actionaid.org.uk
www.oxfam.org.uk

If you work with children in Nigeria tell us about your work here.