By Auwal Ahmad Umar

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has mobilised journalists in Bauchi, Gombe and Plateau states to strengthen advocacy for increased public investment in children, urging the media to make children’s welfare a major issue in government policies and the 2027 electoral discourse.

The agency said journalists have a critical responsibility to scrutinise public budgets, expose funding gaps and demand accountability to ensure that government commitments translate into improved education, healthcare, nutrition and protection for children.

The UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Bauchi, Dr Nuzhat Rafiq, represented by UNICEF Education Specialist, Abdulrahman Ibrahim Ado, made the call on Monday during a one-day media dialogue on public financing for children in Bauchi.

Ms Rafiq said the media could influence government policies and help ensure that children and women receive adequate attention in public decision-making.

“Journalists play a very important role in helping us achieve our goals in different sectors of children and women’s welfare,” she said.

She urged journalists to use the 2027 election cycle to question political candidates about their plans to tackle challenges confronting vulnerable children and women.

UNICEF identified out-of-school children, malnutrition, inadequate healthcare facilities and limited access to water, sanitation and hygiene among the challenges requiring urgent government attention.

The UNICEF Social Policy Specialist, Yusuf Auta, said investment in children should begin from conception, stressing that mothers and newborns deserve access to safe and conducive healthcare facilities.

He urged journalists to go beyond reporting budget allocations by tracking the release and utilisation of funds and examining the results achieved.

“After the budgetary allocations, how much has been released? After spending, what is the result? That is where real progress is assessed,” Mr Auta said.

He expressed concern that budgetary allocations often give greater attention to adults despite children aged between zero and 18 years constituting more than 51 per cent of the population.

Also speaking, the Managing Director of Bauchi State Radio Corporation, Umar Muhammad Shira, described the media as an important partner in promoting the rights, health and welfare of children.

He urged journalists to combine responsible reporting, investigative journalism and public enlightenment to expose funding shortfalls, amplify the voices of vulnerable children and hold duty-bearers accountable.

“Every child deserves access to quality and affordable healthcare, regardless of their location or family background,” Mr Shira said.

He described investment in children’s health as an investment in the future, saying adequate financing could help build a healthier, stronger and more productive generation.

Speaking on how the media can strengthen advocacy around public financing, Ali Madina Dankumo, a lecturer in the Department of Economics and Development Studies at the Federal University of Kashere, urged journalists to connect budget figures with the realities children face in their communities.

Mr Dankumo said reporters should investigate whether inadequate financing was contributing to shortages of drugs, insufficient health workers, poorly equipped primary healthcare centres, overcrowded classrooms and poor learning outcomes.

He also called for greater reporting on nutrition and child protection financing, including programmes addressing malnutrition, birth registration, child marriage, child labour, trafficking, violence and abuse.

Mr Dankumo urged journalists covering the 2027 elections to demand specific and measurable commitments from political candidates instead of accepting broad promises.

He said journalists should ask candidates how much they would allocate to education and healthcare, how many teachers they would recruit, how they would address out-of-school children and how citizens would monitor public spending.

“Don’t follow the money alone, but also follow the child,” he said.

He encouraged media practitioners to combine budget data with the experiences of children, parents, teachers, health workers and communities to demonstrate how public financing decisions affect children.

The dialogue ultimately called for stronger media advocacy to make investment in children a political and public priority, particularly as Nigeria approaches the 2027 elections.

It also emphasised the need for journalists to move beyond announcing government allocations and instead investigate whether funds are released, properly spent and reflected in better services and outcomes for children.