The Katsina, Kano and Jigawa states are brainstorming on child friendly budgeting process to ensure children’s needs are adequately addressed.
It was a one-day event with the theme: “Strategic Policy Dialogue on Social Budgeting for Child-sensitive Sectors in Nigeria” held in Kaduna on Wednesday, July 24 under the chairmanship of Katsina State Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Hon. Bello Kagara.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Hon Kagara welcomed participants, saying the highly invaluable policy dialogue was organized for Kano, Jigawa and Katsina States.
He said the event couldn’t have come at a better time than now as Nigeria is faced with numerous challenges that have direct bearing on child malnourishment, poverty, hunger, various forms of child abuses among others, which makes the future of the Nigerian child bleak.
“Everyone in this hall is aware of the daunting challenges Nigeria is facing with regard to skyrocketing population due to propelling birth rate.
“This, coupled with poor financing for child-related services in education, healthcare, shelter, nutrition, etc. exposes children to the vagaries of life, characterized by hunger, malnutrition, illiteracy, violence and crimes. The list is endless.
“The imperative of today’s dialogue to us, as a community of states of friends, is to interact and forge a common front to tackle the above challenges head-on with a view to raising and preparing our children for a better tomorrow.
“The windows for achieving this feat are many, but all of the windows are anchored by adequate financing to children-sensitive sectors, where the government must be seen to take the lead in allocating sufficient budget for such services.
“This meeting should therefore be seen as a strategy forum for the states of Kano, Jigawa and Katsina to critically examine the commonalities that bind them together across culture and custom, tribe and religion, commerce and trade, challenges and opportunities, etc in order to map out workable strategies for investing in our children.
“This is with a view to assuring the socio economic future of the states. It is common knowledge that, investing in children is an investment for the future development of societies and nations.”
In her presentation titled: “Investing in Nigeria’s Children: Why?” the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Social Policy Specialist, Fatimah Muhammad, said it is a right of every child for, development and protection as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
She added that investing in children will boost economic development, increase productivity and development of human capital. “It strengthen resilience, peace, security and governance, better citizenship, mental development and limited corruption.”
While noting that budget is an important instrument at the disposal of governments to invest in children and influence income distribution and poverty; the Specialist said budgeting for children is therefore a deliberate act of addressing children’s issues both as a process and as an outcome.
Muhammad defined child friendly budget as that which recognizes the diversity and varying vulnerabilities of children in all parts of the country and accordingly develops responsive programmes and budgets.
Others she said include: “It creates a supportive framework for the efficient and transparent flow of resources that reach children on time whilst minimizing transactional costs and avoiding any leakages.
“It makes direct and meaningful budgetary resource allocations to programmes that benefit the child not only within the child welfare coordinating ministry, but also in all other ministries and institutions of government, among others,” she said.
According to her, whatever economic circumstances, the states are required to undertake all possible measures towards the circumstances of the rights of the child, paying special attention to the most disadvantaged groups.
