Gov Yahaya calls for increased social budget for child-sensitive sectors
Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State has called for increased public allocation and expenditure towards social services especially child-sensitive sectors considering the place and relevance of children in national development.
The governor made the plea while opening a two day North-East Nigeria zonal policy dialogue on social budgeting for child sensitive sectors organized by Gombe State ministry of budget and economic planning, supported by UNICEF on Wednesday in Gombe.
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Governor Yahaya who was represented by his deputy Dr. Manassah Daniel Jatau reiterated the commitment of the state government to continue implementing policies that will enhance lives of the populace especially children and other vulnerable population.
He also called for the creation of a budget code for social protection in budgets at all levels for the sole purpose of social protection across all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) across the North Eastern States.
The governor noted that since the children cannot make budgets for themselves, it is incumbent for all stakeholders to rise up in their defence in order to ensure that they are carried along in government policies with a view to secure their future.
While thanking stakeholders for honouring the invitation, he challenged them to come up with workable solutions that will guarantee the future of children.
In his goodwill message, Mohammed Kamfut, Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Bauchi Field Office urged participants to chart a roadmap for adequate and sustainable financing of the social sectors in North East.
Kamfut who was represented by Dr Yusuf Auta noted that in the last three decades, global efforts have consistently aimed to honor commitments to children which include taking all necessary measures to safeguard and advance their rights, ensuring they have the resources to survive, develop, and thrive, as outlined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
“Since the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals at the turn of the Millennium, there has been
remarkable progress in reducing poverty and enhancing the living conditions of
millions of children and families.
“However, despite these advancements, many of the world’s poorest and most disadvantaged children continue to be left behind.Poverty infringes upon children’s human rights and perpetuates a relentless cycle of deprivation that is challenging to break without adequate support.
“It leads to numerous adverse outcomes for children, including hunger, malnutrition, poor health, and limited or no access to quality education and essential services. As children grow older and remain in poverty, the impact of these deprivations intensifies, further diminishing their opportunities to reach their full potential,” he said.
He noted that the dialogue has become imperative in view of the fact that
children have often been overlooked in poverty reduction initiatives adding that a 2020 report on Multidimensional Child Poverty Analysis supported by UNICEF Nigeria, indicated that 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.
In his welcome remarks, Gombe State commissioner of budget and economic planning Salihu Baba Alkali also charged the stakeholders to collectively chart a path to adequate and sustainable financing of the social sector at the Federal and State levels in Nigeria.
He noted that the dialogue seeks to provide an opportunity to generate ideas and share challenges and recommendations ahead of the forthcoming high-level National Policy Dialogue under the auspices of Network of Commissioners of Budget and Finance.
“In addition, the policy dialogue will help explore how states’ budget processes can lead to better budget outcomes and improved service delivery in the social sector.
“We are gathered here today to deliberate on social sector budgeting that will help explore how the states’ budget process can lead to better budget outcomes and improved service delivery in these sub-sectors (Health, Education, Women Affairs) etc. I trust, you will agree with me, that given the issues to be discussed, this dialogue is very timely.
“The effort you see today a is collaboration between Gombe State Government and UNICEF Bauchi Field Office in order to ensure the success of the North-East dialogue and to harness inputs from diverse stakeholder’s and to also exchange views on the pathway towards achieving annual increase in budgetary allocation to the social sector by at least 2 – 3%, which will increase
releases and utilisation.
“It is our hope that this dialogue can play a major role in the development of our region,” he said.
