The positive input of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and civil society organizations in actualizing the true benefit of investing in social protection policies has been identified as a critical step responsible for improving the quality of life.
The Social Policy Specialist UNICEF Kano Field Office, Fatimah Musa stated this during a presentation on Child Financing in Social Social Sectors, at a 3-day joint state capacity building on social accountability and advocacy workshop initiative for Civil Societies Organisations, organized by the State Ministry of Planning and Budget Kano and Katsina State, in collaboration with UNICEF Kano Field Office.
Fatimah Musa said that it is necessary to invest in the lives of children because it is their right to access the basic requirement of their development.
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Musa reiterated that there is a need for Civil Societies to reach out to the Government and advocate for more interventions in the Social Protection space across line MDAs as ways to ensure implementation of budgetary allocations.
“You see we should invest in children because it is their right and this results in improved human capital development.
This step strengthens resilience, peace, security, better citizenship, mental development among other key benefits”, Social Policy Specialist.
Fatimah Musa added that a child who is below the age of 18 has the right to necessities of life, which if deprived will remain poor and unable to achieve his or her potentials.
“Education, health, nutrition, water and sanitation, housing, child protection and access to information are considered as important indicators which if the child is deprived of 3 out of these is considered to be poor according to the MODA report.
Fatimah Musa called on Civil Societies to do the needful and approach policymakers to implement the social protection policies and child budgeted allocations across social sectors.
Speaking in his presentation, UNICEF Planning and Monitoring Specialist Kano Field Office, Ibrahim Ibrahim highlights the benefits of evidence based advocacy and result based reporting as one of the effective ways to hold policy and decision makers accountable on their performances.
Speaking earlier on the journey of Social Protection in Kano, the Chairman of the platform Malam Salisu Ibrahim said the state members reach the success stage through the engagement of all the stakeholders and the media.
Salisu emphasizes the role of the actors and nonactors as the key area that other states need to work together to record similar success stories.
“For Kano, the change of Government affected our journey, but we are still working with the coordinating Ministry of Budget and Planning on the passage of the social protection bill and soon the bill will be sent to the house of assembly for passage into law ” Chairman Kano Social Protection Platform.
In his remark, the resource person for the training workshop, Engr Yusuf Yahaya said the aim is to build the capacity of Civil Societies and other key stakeholders in social accountability to engage in an advocacy demanding child financing.
“Our expectation are for the CSOs and other key stakeholders that have been trained to go back to their various states and begin to demand social accountability and service delivery to citizens by Government and other Public Officers,” Engr Yusuf Yahaya.
