Muhammad Garba
The United Nations Children Funds (UNICEF) has commended the Jigawa state government for allocating 30 percent of its 2024 budget which helped to reduce out-of-school children and improved the state education sector.
UNICEF Chief of Field Office Kano, Mr Rahma Rihood Mohammed Farah, gave the commendation while answering questions from newsmen during the annual review of UNICEF activities in the state particularly in the key areas of its intervention held in Dutse capital.
Mr. Farah who was represented by the Senior Education Manager of UNICEF Kano Field Office, Mr. Michael Banda said UNICEF in collaboration with Jigawa state has made significant progress in the area of Hygiene and Sanitation, Water supply, child nutrition, tackling high rates of maternal and child death in the state.
He also stated that in the year under review in collaboration with the state government, they succeeded in enrolling hundreds of out-of-school children back to formal classrooms.
According to UNICEF, the commitment of the Jigawa state government in allocating resources, and ensuring judicial use of it is yielding fruitful results and it is very encouraging.
“For 2025, UNICEF intervention will continue to focus on these key areas, with additional emphasis on supporting Jigawa to improve learning outcomes, particularly at the basic education level, enhance child immunization coverage, and sustain the achievement in tackling open defecation.
“Our review meeting involves key stakeholders from the intervention line ministries and agencies in the state with different desk officers from UNICEF as well as media and other critical stakeholders.
“We are happy with political will and since commitment demonstrated by the Jigawa state governor Malam Umar Namadi and another Government official in all our engagements throughout the year under review, this is very encouraging and we hope they will sustain the tempo.”
During the meeting, issues of policy and projects were discussed, and different submissions on how to improve education and ensure the program implementation avoids any complicity with good norms and culture of the society.
