The United Nations Children Fund’s (UNICEF) has disclosed that supplements meant for malnourished children in some communities in Sokoto State are being diverted and sold openly in markets by some bad elements in the system who connived with traders.
Penpushing reports that the United Nations Children Fund’s (UNICEF) Chief of Field Office in charge of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states, Micheal Juma made this known during the quarterly policymakers’ meeting held on Wednesday
The official of the fund lamented that during an investigation at the designated stores, United Nations Children Fund’s (UNICEF) discovered that personnel stocked cartons of supplements with stones and other objects to cover their nefarious acts
Penpushing further reports that Juma urged community members and stakeholders in the healthcare sector to intensify vigilance against the diversion of prepared nutrition supplements in the state to unintended persons.
The Chief of Field Office represented by Abraham Mahama urged the Sokoto government to join other states in appointing a Statistician General who would fastrack data collection, prudence, preservation and dissemination in line with modern trends.
Penpushing also reports that he highlighted that most of the state’s key indicators, such as antenatal care, immunisation, mortality rates, healthcare-seeking behaviours, and social behavioural change, portrayed very poor performance.
The United Nations Children Fund’s (UNICEF) official stated that indices on healthcare Infrastructure, power and water supply, competent healthcare workers, and client-untrusting service providers were not encouraging in the state.
Penpushing reports that the United Nations Children Fund’s (UNICEF) Social Protection Specialist, Isa Ibrahim, in his presentation addressed the state’s 2024 budget performance, and pointed out areas that need alignment, which include the nutrition sector with recorded zero allocation.
The Specialist equally mentioned areas that recorded high capital expenditure but had less impact on the citizens, and in same vein supported that call by Chief of Field Office for the appointment of a substantive Statistician-General in the state.
Penpushing further reports that he explained that the appointment is to harness data prudence and accessibility using standard systems, stressing that the absence of a Statistician-General creates a vacuum and gap that needs to be abridged.
The Social Protection Specialist explained that the objectives of the quarterly meeting comprised sensitising stakeholders on activities, advocating increased inclusion of children on policies, prioritising joint partnerships, advocating optimum data usage and budget performance.
Penpushing also reports that the Sokoto State Deputy Governor, Idris Gobir, earlier in his speech assured of the government’s maximum support to all donor agencies, describing the presentations as an awakening call to government officials to amend anomalies.
The Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Balarabe Kadadi, on his own part said United Nations Children Fund’s (UNICEF) and other donor interventions were critical toward addressing the state’s challenges, stressing that collaborations remained key to improving service efficiency and ensured value for money on budget formulation and implementation.
Penpushing reports that the meeting was organized by United Nations Children Fund’s (UNICEF) in collaboration with the Sokoto State Government to discuss activities, successes, and challenges and offer solutions to lingering challenges.
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