By: Monday Munkaila, Gombe
Governors of the Six States of the North-East subregion have been urged to give priority to issues of women and children in their respective states by way of adequate budgetting for child sensitive sectors.
The call was made by Stakeholders in the affairs of budgetting in the Six States who stressed the importance of adequately capturing issues of child’s right in annual allocations.
The stakeholders made the submission on Thursday during a panel discussion at a two-day North-East Nigeria Zonal Policy Dialogue on Social Budgeting for Child Sensitive Sectors in Gombe.
During the panel discussions anchored by the UNICEF, Bauchi Field Office Communications Officer, Opeyemi Olagunju, the stakeholders from the Six States of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe as well as Specialist from the UNICEF, agreed that the annual allocations for child sensitive sectors will translate to a better future.
They particularly stressed that policies of education, health, nutrition (exclusive breastfeeding, good dieting) and WASH must be adequately provided and implemented for a healthy future.
Each of the discussants who included Commissioners and Permanent Secretaries, are of the opinion that States must go back to domesticate the Social protection policy and strengthen it.
They unanimously agreed that with domestication of the social protection policy, the negatives of child abuse most particularly neglect will be reduced to the barest minimum.
The Panelists however expressed fear about whole implementation of the social protection policy pleading with the relevant stakeholders in child protection issues to see to its domestication and implementation.
They expressed optimism that if child sensitive sectors are adequately captured in the budget and allocation promptly released, the problem of insecurity will reduce.
According to them, the Almajiri syndrome will be drastically taken care of just as the out of school children syndrome too will be addressed adequately.
The Panelists concluded by calling on the Governors of the Six States of the North-East subregion to support proposals on children issues from the relevant Ministries by not seeing such as duplication.
They stated that each MDAs has a specific role in the life of the child which are different from each but having same purpose of ensuring the growth and development of the child.
Opeyemi Olagunju while moderating the discussion, stressed that 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
