Northeastern Stakeholders Urge Governors to Prioritize Child-Centered Budgets
By Umar Ahmad
Stakeholders responsible for budgeting in six Northeastern states have urged their governors to prioritize women and children by allocating sufficient funds to child-sensitive sectors.
This call was made during a panel discussion held in Gombe State as part of the Northeast States Strategic Policy Dialogue on Social Budgeting for Child-Sensitive Sectors, organised by UNICEF.
The stakeholders, including commissioners of budget and planning, permanent secretaries, and directors from key ministries, emphasised the need for state budgets to reflect issues of child rights.
They argued that addressing child poverty and challenges affecting women and children, the most vulnerable groups in Nigeria, requires targeted budgeting.
Speaking at the event, the Bauchi Field Office Communications Officer for UNICEF, Opeyemi Olagunju, reiterated UNICEF’s commitment to supporting initiatives that enhance access to better living conditions for women and children, in line with global conventions.
“UNICEF is ever ready to support any move that will increase access for women and children to good living in line with the relevant conventions,” Olagunju said.
The stakeholders from Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe states, along with UNICEF specialists, agreed that adequately funding child-sensitive sectors, including education, health, nutrition, and WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene), would secure a better future for both the region and the country.
They also stressed the importance of domesticating the social protection policy in their respective states. “Domestication of the social protection policy will assist in reducing child abuse and neglect to the barest level,” they noted.
However, the panellists expressed concerns over the full implementation of the social protection policy, urging stakeholders in child protection to ensure its domestication and enforcement.
They expressed optimism that addressing child-sensitive sectors in the budget, alongside the timely release of funds, would help tackle issues like insecurity and the Almajiri and out-of-school children crises.
The stakeholders further called on the governors to support child-focused proposals from relevant ministries, emphasising that each ministry plays a critical role in the growth and development of children, despite having different areas of focus.
