Policymakers call for incremental annual investment in social sector in N/East
No fewer than 120 policymakers drawn from the six North Eastern States of Bauchi, Yobe, Borno, Taraba, Adamawa and Gombe have validated the need for incremental annual budgetary allocation to the social sector in the North East in order to address identified gaps in Education, Health, Social Protection, Nutrition and WASH sectors.
The policymakers made the call via a communique at the end of 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 and supported by UNICEF in Gombe.
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The dialogue was organized in response to the need for better Budget outcomes to improve Service Delivery in the key thematic sectors.
Some of the key issues identified include high mortality rate especially in new-born and still-birth due to human resource gaps, low investment and funding, burden of malnutrition, severe child food poverty, low iron and folic acid supplementation, and increasing household poverty
Other identified gaps include challenges with data management which lead to poor planning and Ineffective service delivery, the prevailing economic situation in the country which exacerbates poverty especially among women and children in the region, the rate of Out-of-School Children, low learning outcomes in the region and weak multi-sectoral buy-in and coordination in social service delivery outcomes for women and children.
In order to holistically address the identified gaps and challenges the policymakers recommended the following actions;
1. Government should make a commitment by increasing budgetary allocations and release by at least 2% annually to the social sector.
2. Increase investment in human resources for health and upgrade of health facilities and investment in nutrition through matching funds for Nutrition Funding.
3. Strengthening of the States Bureau of Statistics, EMIS Offices and National Health Demographic Survey (NDHIS).
4. Improve family support and empowerment through Conditional Cash Transfer, Farm inputs subsidy, soft loans to women, enrollment of poor and vulnerable into the contributory health care scheme, free education, second chance education etc. 5. Establishment of directorates/agencies for Out of School Children and scaling up of
foundational literacy and numeracy.
6. Strengthening of multi-sectoral buy-in and coordination in social service delivery outcomes for women and children.
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