The United Nations Children’s Funds (UNICEF) has urged Zamfara Government to increase the proposed budgetary allocations of health and education sectors to between 15 and 20 percent in the 2025 budget.
The Chief of Field, UNICEF Sokoto Office, Dr Michael Juma made the appeal in a statement issued in Gusau on Monday by the UNICEF Social Policy Specialist, MrIsah Ibrahim.
Ibrahim quoted Juma as making the comment at the ongoing annual town hall meeting with stakeholders to generate citizens’ input organised by the state Ministry for Budget and Economic Planning in collaboration with UNICEF.
“The UNICEF has urged Zamfara government to increase the proposed budgetary allocation to health and education sectors in its 2025 appropriation.
“The budget for education and health sectors in 2024 was between seven and 12 per cent, we want it to increase to about 15 to 20 percent in the proposed 2025 budget,” he pleaded.
Juma said the need for the increase became necessary so as to meet the health and education needs of children in the state.
“Education should be given priority in the state, considering the high number of out-of-school children in the state,” he suggested.
Juma lamented that six out of 10 children in the state were out-of-school, according to a survey released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in 2021.
He noted that Zamfara “is one of the states where children are experiencing multiple and overlapping deprivation of their fundamental basic rights.”
He appealed to Gov. DaudaLawal to include health workers and teachers’ recruitment in the 2025 budget of the state.
“UNICEF thanked Gov. Lawal for releasing more than N1 billion as UNICEF counterpart funding for the year 2024.
“We commend the state government for its investment to children related interventions in the 2024 budget,” he added.
He also called for the establishment of additional girls’ focal primary schools to enable more girls to achieve their potential and become more productive to society.