North-West Governors Commit 2% Budget Allocation as FG, UN and UNICEF Lead Fresh Investment Drive Against Poverty
By Ayeeshat J. Ahmad Kano correspondent
The Seven North-West states governors have committed to allocating two per cent of their annual budgets to child-focused social protection programmes as the Federal Government, the United Nations, UNICEF and other development partners intensified efforts to mobilise sustainable financing to tackle multidimensional poverty across the region.
The commitment was announced on Tuesday during the North-West Governors’ Forum (NWGF) title High-Level Policy Dialogue on Reducing Multidimensional Poverty through Scaled Social Protection Systems and Innovative Financing held at the Kano State Government House.
Representing Vice President Kashim Shettima, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration had made social protection a key pillar of the Renewed Hope Agenda to protect vulnerable Nigerians from poverty, conflict, climate shocks and economic hardship.
“We must move from scattered interventions to durable systems, with a credible social register, transparent payment system, efficient delivery mechanism and financing model that can survive political cycles,” he said.
Shettima noted that more than eight million children in the North-West are out of school, while maternal mortality, child malnutrition and poor access to healthcare continue to threaten the future of millions of families.
He commended the North-West Governors’ Forum, the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, the European Union, UNICEF, the International Labour Organisation, the World Bank and other development partners for supporting the Universal Child Benefit initiative.
According to him, predictable support for children between ages zero and 12 could help improve school enrolment, nutrition and healthcare while reducing child labour and early marriage.
Speaking on behalf of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, Kano State Deputy Governor Murtala Sulen Garo described social protection as an investment in human dignity, economic growth and social stability rather than a welfare programme.
He thanked the United Nations and UNICEF for supporting humanitarian and child development interventions in the state, stressing that governments must invest in human capital to move citizens from dependency to productivity.
“Today’s forum provides an opportunity to forge stronger partnerships and place poverty reduction at the centre of governance and development,” he said.
Also speaking, the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, said adequate financing, proper planning, budget monitoring and sustained investments were critical to achieving meaningful results in the region.
UNICEF Country Representative Wafaa Saeed Abdelatef said the biggest challenge facing the North-West was not lack of talent but lack of opportunities, noting that children in the region possess enormous potential if given access to quality education, healthcare, water and sanitation services.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, governors of Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states adopted the Renewed Hope Child Support Programme as a regional framework for reducing multidimensional poverty and improving human capital development.
The governors resolved to establish dedicated child support budget lines, allocate not less than two per cent of their annual budgets to social protection, access Federal Government financing windows and mobilise additional resources from development partners, development finance institutions, philanthropists and the private sector.
They also agreed to promote Islamic social finance instruments such as Zakat and Waqf and explore innovative financing mechanisms to support long-term investments in child development.
Under a six-month action plan for social protection beginning in July, the states pledged to re-enrol 781,200 out-of-school children, provide nutrition support to 781,200 malnourished children, enrol over 1.1 million vulnerable children in health insurance schemes and expand immunisation and maternal healthcare services.
Pulse Time Nigeria reports that the dialogue attracted ministers, ambassadors, deputy governors, traditional rulers, civil society groups and international partners aimed at lifting millions of vulnerable households out of poverty across the North-West