The Kano State Government, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), is strengthening budget tracking and accountability for nutrition, social protection and child protection programmes through a budget-tagging initiative.
The initiative is designed to help government agencies identify, track and monitor budgetary allocations and expenditure on programs targeting children and vulnerable households.
The Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Alhaji Musa Suleiman Shanono, disclosed this on Sunday during a budget-tagging session in Dutse, Jigawa State.
Shanono, represented by the ministry’s Director of Planning, Alhaji Ismail Kabir, said the exercise would strengthen the capacity of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to identify relevant budget lines, consolidate allocations and monitor spending and program implementation.
He said the state was consolidating its 2027 budget, including provisions for nutrition, social protection and child protection, although specific allocations for the sectors were yet to be determined.
According to him, the budget-tagging system would enable stakeholders to assess funding and implementation progress across the three sectors, both individually and collectively.
The commissioner acknowledged that limited resources constrained the government’s ability to address challenges in the sectors without external support. He therefore called on development partners, including UNICEF, to complement government efforts.
He also urged partners to coordinate their interventions with the ministry and clearly define their areas of specialisation to prevent duplication and ensure effective utilisation of available resources.
Shanono said the ministry was strengthening collaboration among relevant MDAs and development partners to improve program delivery.
He added that regular engagements were being held to assess progress, with preparations underway for a third-quarter review of nutrition and social protection programs.
Kabir said the budget-tagging exercise, supported by UNICEF, would ensure that relevant programs were clearly identified in the state budget, allowing for more targeted allocations to tackle malnutrition, reduce poverty and protect children’s rights.
He noted that the initiative would promote efficient resource allocation and improve the socio-economic well-being of residents.
Earlier, UNICEF Social Policy Specialist, Fatimah Musa, said the organization was supporting the state government’s budget coding and tagging initiative to improve the visibility and tracking of public resources allocated to the three sectors.
Musa explained that budget tagging would help the government determine funding levels, monitor expenditure, identify financing gaps and strengthen accountability for results.
She said the initiative would also promote evidence-based budgeting and ensure that public resources were directed towards improving children’s nutrition, protecting their rights and supporting vulnerable households.
She reaffirmed UNICEF’s commitment to working with the Kano State Government to deliver tangible results for children and other vulnerable groups.
Also speaking, the Director-General of the Kano State Social Protection Agency (KASPA), Fatima Abubakar, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening social protection programs to improve the living conditions of vulnerable residents.
Abubakar said the programs were aimed at reducing poverty and inequality, protecting vulnerable households and expanding access to essential support services for disadvantaged groups.
She stressed that effective implementation required adequate funding, appropriate budgetary allocations and stronger collaboration among relevant MDAs and development partners.
The KASPA director-general urged stakeholders to support efforts to strengthen social protection systems and ensure that interventions reached their intended beneficiaries across the state.
In a related contribution, social protection expert Salisu Yusuf said the Ministry of Budget and Planning, with support from UNICEF, had facilitated the creation of budget lines for social protection programs targeting poor and vulnerable groups.
He said the initiative brought together relevant MDAs to mobilise resources for existing and proposed interventions.
Yusuf added that the state had also developed a Social Protection Policy and drafted a bill to establish a Social Protection Agency, with support from ActionAid and other stakeholders.
He said the programs were intended to reduce poverty and inequality, improve living conditions, protect vulnerable groups and promote inclusive and sustainable development.
