A clear indication of the need to increase child survival programs in Katsina State is that at least one in six children reportedly pass away before their fifth birthday.
With a state population estimated to be 9.64 million, with about 4.5 million of them children, this figure represents 159 per 1,000 live births.
Rahama Rihood Farah, the UNICEF Field Office’s chief, made this known on Tuesday during a media discussion on child-sensitive budgeting and planning organized by the UNICEF Kano Field Office in collaboration with the Katsina State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.
He claimed that despite all the efforts being made to improve the state’s children’s situation, the statistics do not flatter because only 41% of children have been fully immunized, leaving the majority at risk for preventable and life-threatening illnesses.
According to Farah, Katsina has three in four children (75.5%) who are multi-dimensionally poor and lack access to essential services like education, nutrition, and health.
He added that over 6 in 10 children (61.2%) are living in monetary poverty, severely restricting the household’s ability to meet their basic needs.
Further, according to the data, one-third of children (33.3%) are primary school dropouts, which will harm the state’s ability to grow economically and humanly.
The minimum acceptable diet, which is a major obstacle to healthy growth and brain development, is only offered to 23.4% of children between the ages of 6 and 23 months.
More than half (51.3%) of children under five are stunted, which suggests chronic malnutrition that has long-term effects on education, productivity, and health.
Over the years, Katsina State’s social sector has fallen behind. For instance, the approved budget for the social sector has declined between 2016 and 2020: It was: 38.57% in 2016, 36.4% in 2017, 17.8% in 2018, 12.98% in 2020.
The budget situation needs to be changed if we need to take action to address these alarming social indicators.
Children make up more than half of Katsina’s population, and investing in them for their health, nutrition, education, protection, and participation is not charity, but it is the most wise decision the state can make.
It is an investment in Katsina’s future workforce, it is an investment to break poverty cycles, foster resilience, and ensure long-term stability and prosperity.
The Child Rights Act domesticated in Katsina is a budgetary imperative as opposed to just a legal document. It needs to be carried out in a way that benefits the underprivileged.
Our top priority is to ensure that every child’s well-being, development, and protection are prioritized in Katsina State’s budgets and plans consciously, purposefully, and effectively,” he said.
