The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has called on the 27 local government chairmen in Jigawa State to take urgent action to improve the lives of children, highlighting that 89.4% of children in the state experience monetary poverty while 85.6% are multi-dimensionally poor.
The appeal was made by Mr. Rahama Rihood Mohammed Farah, Chief of the UNICEF Field Office in Kano, represented by Micheal Banda, during the launch and dissemination of the Jigawa General Household Survey at the Government House in Dutse on Tuesday.
Farah commended the Jigawa State Government for its commitment to improving child welfare, stressing the need for data-driven decision-making.
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“It is a sobering reality that 89.4% of children in Jigawa State experience monetary poverty, while 85.6% are multidimensionally poor, facing deprivations in at least three critical areas, including health, education, nutrition, water sanitation, shelter, access to information, and child protection,” he said.
He urged local government chairmen to prioritise measures such as increased budgetary allocations for child-specific programmes in health, education, and social protection.
UNICEF also called for the passage of the revised social protection bill into law and an expansion of birth registration for children under five, aiming to increase the current rate by at least 30%.
“Strengthening collective efforts and putting in place measures that ensure the utilisation of local government data for planning and decision-making are crucial steps towards reducing child poverty in Jigawa,” he added.
