UNICEF Unveils New Five-Year Child Development Plan for Kano, Jigawa, Katsina

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has commenced consultations with government officials and development partners in Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina states to develop the Federal Government of Nigeria/UNICEF Country Programme for 2028–2032, aimed at improving the lives of children across the three states.

Speaking during the consultation in Kano on Wednesday, the Chief of UNICEF’s Kano Field Office, Shafeeq Ur-Rehman, said the new five-year programme would focus on tackling emerging challenges affecting children, including climate change, insecurity, rapid urbanisation, and other socio-economic issues.

Ur-Rehman stressed that the initiative is designed to be collaborative rather than prescriptive, noting that UNICEF is engaging stakeholders to jointly develop practical and sustainable interventions.

“We are here to listen, to learn and to co-create—not to present predetermined solutions,” he said.

According to him, the new programme must be government-led, evidence-based, and integrated across key sectors such as education, healthcare, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), child protection, and social protection. He explained that the consultations are intended to identify the most pressing child rights challenges facing the three states and develop scalable solutions that can deliver measurable results over the next five years.

He also commended the governments of Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina for their continued commitment to improving child welfare and strengthening partnerships with UNICEF.

Representing the governments of the three states, the Acting Permanent Secretary of Kano State’s Ministry of Budget and Planning, Alhaji Abdulmumini Ajumawa, expressed appreciation to UNICEF for its longstanding support in promoting the well-being of children and vulnerable populations across the region.

Ajumawa described UNICEF as a reliable development partner that has played a vital role in strengthening healthcare, nutrition, education, WASH services, child protection, social policy, and emergency response systems. He noted that while the partnership has delivered significant progress in several development indicators, many critical challenges remain.

He identified child malnutrition, learning poverty, limited access to quality healthcare, inadequate water and sanitation services, child protection concerns, climate-related risks, and socio-economic inequalities as some of the major issues affecting children in the North-west.

According to him, although each of the three states has its own unique circumstances, the challenges are largely shared and require coordinated, multi-sectoral, and people-centred solutions. He urged participants to propose practical, innovative, and sustainable strategies that reflect the realities of their respective communities.

Ajumawa further emphasised the importance of aligning development partners’ interventions with government priorities and existing policy frameworks to strengthen institutional capacity, promote state ownership, and ensure the long-term sustainability of child-focused programmes.

The new Country Programme is expected to guide collaboration between UNICEF, the Federal Government, state governments, and development partners from 2028 to 2032, with the goal of improving health, education, nutrition, child protection, and overall development outcomes for millions of children across Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina states.