UK, UNICEF Execute £19m Education, Health Projects In Jigawa, Kano
By: Ahmed Aminu, Dutse
A total of eleven climate-resilient health and education facilities provided by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), have been handed over to Jigawa State Government on Tuesday.
The projects were part of efforts to strengthen essential services against floods, droughts and extreme heat in the state.
The projects were executed under the Climate Resilient Infrastructure for Basic Services (CRIBS) programme in Dutse, Kafin-Hausa and Birniwa local government areas of the state.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony in Chamo, Dutse LGA, the FCDO Development Director, Ms. Cynthia Rowe, disclosed that the UK government has committed £19 million to the CRIBS programme in Jigawa and Kano states.
“This initiative is safeguarding 39 primary healthcare centres and 45 schools against the growing risks of climate change floods, droughts, and extreme heat,” Rowe said.
She described Nigeria as ranking second globally in climate-related risks to children, stressing that the intervention would protect access to health and education services.
She commended Jigawa state government’s commitment to human development and pledged that the FCDO would continue to expand its interventions in the state.
According to her, the facilities provided were scalable and community-owned models capable of saving lives and securing children’s learning for the future.
On her part, UNICEF Country Representative, Wafaa Saeed, lauded Jigawa for becoming the first state in Nigeria to attain and maintain open defecation-free status.
She also acknowledged the state’s significant progress in polio eradication, saying, “Jigawa has achieved more than 60 per cent in polio eradication, and UNICEF is committed to working with the government to ensure 100 per cent eradication by the end of the year.”
She further assured that UNICEF would intensify efforts in tackling the problem of out-of-school children in the state.
In his remarks, Governor Umar Namadi described the projects as a strategic response to Jigawa’s vulnerability to perennial floods and rainstorms, which often damage public infrastructure.
“The remodeled, climate-resilient infrastructure will serve as a model, and we promise to monitor its efficiency and scale it up to other local governments to achieve greater cost savings, sustainable service delivery, and a reduction in environmental degradation,” the governor stated.
He noted that the Chamo Primary Healthcare Centre and Primary School, built in the 1960s, have undergone several renovations but never witnessed the scale of improvement being delivered under the CRIBS programme.
The Syndicate reports that the event was attended by the representative of the Minister of Health, Dr. Okara Dogara, officials from the National Sector-Wide Approach Coordination, SWAP, the Lafiya-UK Programme National Team Leader, Dr. Usman Gwarzo, and Senior Technical Lead, Dr. Hassana Hussaini Adamu.
