Difficult health challenges can be overcome through leadership, community engagement, partnership — UNICEF
From Bashir Rabe Mani in Sokoto
Nigeria’s certification as free of wild polio virus in 2020 demonstrated
that even difficult public health challenges can be overcome through leadership, community engagement, and partnership.
Our Correspondent in Sokoto reports that Catherine Russell, Executive Director, Head of UNICEF globally, disclosed this on Friday in Sokoto when she paid a courtesy call on Gov. Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, represented by his Deputy, Engr. Idris Muhammad Gobir.
She said, “Today, our task is to protect these gains by ensuring that every child receives routine immunization, every missed child is reached, and surveillance remains strong.
“Excellency, it is a pleasure to visit Sokoto.
Sokoto has one of the country’s youngest populations and a critical role in Nigeria’s human capital transformation.
“I very much appreciate our longstanding partnership and our commitment to you in delivering results.
“What I saw today was the digital village,
where I saw literacy, vocational training, life skills, and I also saw the primary health care center, where they were doing routine immunization and nutrition screening.
“It was really both fantastic projects,
and I’m very grateful that UNICEF is able to work with the government to support them.”
According to her, UNICEF believes Sokoto has the potential to become a national example of how political leadership,
and translate into measurable improvements for children.
Russell continued, “You welcome the opportunity to work with your government to document, showcase, and elevate Sokoto’s successes nationally and internationally,
enabling other states to learn your experience.
“Together, we believe that Sokoto can eliminate the remaining immunization gaps and become one of Nigeria’s strongest examples of political commitment to child survival.
“I also saw in action your government’s clear vision on health, education, and skills for children.
“Every investment that helps a child learn, builds human capital,.and in long-term economic growth.
“I welcome the state’s investments in these critical areas. UNICEF stands ready to continue supporting the government to strengthen systems, improve service delivery, generate evidence that guides smarter investments.
“Rather than focusing on individual programs, we look forward to deepening a strategic partnership that helps accelerate measurable improvements across all child outcomes.
“Your administration has already put important policy reforms in place.
UNICEF remains your trusted partner to translate this vision into results.
“Together, we can build on this momentum and position Sokoto as an example of how political leadership can contribute to Nigeria’s future prosperity.
Thank you very much for your leadership
and for your continued partnership.
Thank you.
“Thank you very much for your leadership and partnership with UNICEF.
Thank you.”
Responding, Gov. Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, commended UNICEF for choosing Sokoto State as one of the states to be visited during the Executive Director’s Mission to Nigeria.
He added, “I also love to express our profound gratitude to UNICEF for
various interventions provided in our dear state aimed at improving health conditions of our children.
“Since our assumptions of office,
we have paid greater attention to improving the health condition
of our pregnant mothers
and their children through free medical care programmes, renovation of all our health facilities across the state,
as well as provision of a conducive teaching and learning environment in our schools.
“Similarly, we have also recruited over 1,500 nurses and midwives
who have since been posted to our rural facilities.
“Equally we have recruited 2,440 community health extension workers
to be deployed to our primary health centers, all in our attempt to provide healthcare services to those staff of our rural populace.”
Gov. Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto stated that the state government has also provided potable drinking water to our rural communities and even the metropolitan areas through completion of some major water streams and drilling of boreholes in different locations to complement the state’s main waterworks.”
The Governor added that his administration to state is working in collaboration with deployment partners such as UNICEF, PLAN International International and Save the Child,
among others.
He added, “Under our collaboration with UNICEF, we succeeded in establishing 10 integrated Quranic schools in 10 local government areas, 100 in order to address the demands of out-of-school children, established two child-friendly centers in collaboration with UNICEF.
Gov. Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto also said his administration has established Sikil Occupation Centers for Al-Majiri and out-of-school children, graduated 2,720 trained Al-Majiris and out-of-school children, with a starter up packs, among others.
The Governor acknowledged the UNICEF’s technical and financial support,
especially to initiatives supported by the European Union under the SARA programme and in collaboration with the UNFPA.
He added, “This partnership has enabled Sokoto State to develop and implement strategic policies, operational plans, and interventions aimed at drastically reducing maternal mortality,
newborn mortality, infant mortality, and preventable childhood illness.
“We remain sincerely grateful for those involvement and interventions.
In furtherance of our commitment
to strengthening the education sector.
“This is especially on out-of-school children sector, Sokoto State has consistently aligned its educational priorities with those of the federal government in development and implementations of policies
aimed at reducing poverty among vulnerable groups so far.
*We have renovated many primary and first, schools across the state,
and have also supported hundreds of girls to pursue Western education through AGILE projects.”
He told rhe Executive Director that
Sokoto is one of the states with security challenges affecting schools and health care facilities.
He added, “this troubling situation,
would severely undermine our commitment to ensuring that every child and mother has access to a natural environment in which facilities have been destroyed or set ablaze during attacks on communities throughout Sokoto State.
“In the light of that, i wish to request for additional infrastructural development
of health and educational infrastructure.”
