Gov Namadi seeks stronger UNICEF partnership to advance child welfare, social protection
By Ali Baba-Inuwa
Gov. Umar Namadi has called for deeper collaboration between the Jigawa State Government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to accelerate child welfare, social protection, and human development initiatives in the state.
The governor made the call on Friday while receiving the newly appointed chief of UNICEF Kano Field Office, Mr. Shafeeq Ur-Rehman, who paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Dutse, alongside members of his management team.
Welcoming the delegation, Governor Namadi congratulated Mr. Shafeeq Ur-Rehman on his appointment, describing it as coming at an important time for Jigawa State and the wider North-West region and reaffirming his administration’s commitment to policies and programmes that improve the lives of children, women, and vulnerable households across the state.
He acknowledged UNICEF’s longstanding contribution to the state’s development, stating that the partnership has evolved over more than three decades into a trusted collaboration focused on improving the well-being of children and women.
“For more than three decades, UNICEF has been an integral part of Jigawa State’s development journey. Since the creation of the state in 1991, this relationship has matured from programme assistance into a durable development partnership, defined by trust and a shared conviction that the progress of any society must be measured, in large part, by the condition of its children and women,” the governor said.
Namadi stated that the partnership has delivered significant progress in health and nutrition, basic education, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), child protection, social protection, and social policy. He explained that these interventions are fully aligned with the state’s development strategy, the Greater Jigawa Vision, and his administration’s 12-Point Agenda, which prioritizes inclusive policies and improved human development outcomes.
The governor noted that the visit followed the recently concluded North-West High-Level Policy Dialogue in Kano on “Reducing Multidimensional Poverty through Innovative Financing and Scaled Social Protection Systems,” coordinated by UNICEF under the auspices of the North-West Governors’ Forum.
He said the priorities emerging from the dialogue closely align with Jigawa State’s own development agenda, including reducing multidimensional poverty, expanding child-sensitive social protection, sustaining gains in child nutrition, returning out-of-school children to classrooms, strengthening early childhood education, improving primary healthcare and immunization, and expanding access to safe water and sanitation.
Namadi highlighted the progress already recorded by the state, saying that the 2023–2024 National Demographic and Health Survey indicated significant reductions in moderate and severe malnutrition, adding that the state’s home-grown MASAKI Nutrition Programme has increased the number of children transitioning from moderate acute malnutrition to nourished status from about 19,000 to over 43,000 between 2024 and 2025, while Jigawa has continued to maintain its Open Defecation Free (ODF) status, which was attained in 2023.
He also cited the impact of the state’s Back-to-School Initiative, which is helping hundreds of thousands of children return to school.
Reaffirming his administration’s commitment to sustaining these gains, the governor said the state would continue to strengthen coordination across ministries, departments, and agencies while working closely with development partners to translate policy priorities into practical results.
“Accordingly, we will continue to work with UNICEF and other partners to develop the institutional coordination and financial arrangements needed for the phased introduction of the Universal Child Grant under this initiative so that assistance is delivered with fairness, transparency, and sustainability,” Namadi stated.
Earlier in his remarks, the chief of the UNICEF Kano Field Office, Mr. Shafeeq Ur-Rehman, commended Governor Namadi for his leadership and the administration’s commitment to advancing child development in Jigawa State, noting that several innovations pioneered by the state have become models for other parts of the country.
“Your leadership has ensured that some of the critical initiatives that Jigawa State has taken are now being replicated in other states across the country,” he said.
He specifically praised Jigawa for becoming Nigeria’s first Open Defecation Free (ODF) state and for pioneering the MASAKI community-led nutrition project, which is now being adopted by other states.
He also acknowledged the state’s consistent counterpart funding for nutrition programmes, noting that UNICEF and its international partners have matched those contributions to sustain efforts to combat malnutrition.
Ur-Rehman reaffirmed UNICEF’s commitment to strengthening its partnership with Jigawa State, revealing that the organisation is already working with the state to ensure that priority issues affecting children are reflected in the next Government of Nigeria–UNICEF Country Programme (2028–2032).
