By Asmau Ahmad
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has urged the Nigerian government to strengthen policy reforms that prioritise child-sensitive budgeting.
UNICEF Country Representative to Nigeria, Cristian Munduate, made the call during a plenary section at the 29th Nigeria Economic Summit in Abuja.
She advised the Federal Government to improve public spending on the social sector with a focus on child friendly programmes.
The UNICEF country representative also urged the Federal Government to strengthen the accountability framework and monitor mechanism elements of policy design and implementation.
According to Munduate, the time to act is now as the country’s social economic growth is tied to the well-being of its citizens.
“Investing in children is not just morally right but economically smart. Nigeria has the second highest child mortality rate in West Africa.
“Nearly 75 million children live in poverty, deprivation in child protection, deprivation in education and deprivation in healthcare. Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity but an act of justice,” she said.
