The United Nation Children Fund has expressed concern over daily increase of Nigerian Children living in poverty.
Speaking in Gombe at the Northeast East Zonal Policy Dialogue on social budgeting for Children, the Chief of Field Office Bauchi, Mr Muhammed Kamfut wants governors in the region to allocate more funds for children development.
He explained that Nigeria’s population is estimated at above 205.9 million, with 49.5 percent (102 million) being children aged 0-17 years noting that children in Nigeria are disproportionately affected by poverty due to their vulnerable status in society.
He added that despite the global urgency to address poverty, children have often been overlooked in poverty reduction initiatives.
According to him the 2020 report on Multidimensional Child Poverty Analysis supported by UNICEF Nigeria, over 47 million children, or approximately 47.4 percent of Nigerian children, live in households with incomes below the national poverty line of 137,430 Naira per year (based on the 2019 exchange rate).
“Distinguished Commissioners and Partners, you would agree with me that this dialogue is very important to support and advocate to the Government for the well-being of children and the population at large.” He said
He is optimistic that at the end of the dialogue, all actors will contribute immensely to the full realization of children’s rights through, among other things, the improved budgeting and funding of child responsive interventions which will alleviate poverty which is a major barrier to realizing the rights of all children.
“I am hopeful that we will achieve many targets of the Sustainable Development Goals, including ending preventable child deaths, ensuring quality basic education for all children,and protecting children from all forms of violence if we make a concerted effort.”
“It is my firm belief that this dialogue would effectively secure your commitment to domestic investment for children, system strengthening, capacity building and raising awareness about the deprived status of our children living in poverty taking the actions needed by all State and non-state actors to lift children out of poverty. ”
“Northeastern Nigeria, given the right policies and commitment, has huge resources to ensure children grow up free from poverty, deprivation, and exclusion.” He said
Declaring the workshop open, the Deputy Governor of Gombe State, Manasseh Jatau, emphasized that leaders have a responsibility to ensure children’s well-being, as they cannot prepare budgets for themselves. He encouraged the meeting to come up with resolutions to change the negative trend of poverty and deprivation for children across the six states.
The policy dialogue aims to support and advocate for children’s well-being and rights, with a focus on social budgeting for child-sensitive sectors in the 2025 budgets of Adamawa, Taraba, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe, and Borno states.
