Governor Namadi Seeks Stronger UNICEF Partnership to Advance Child Welfare, Social Protection

By Umar Idris Shuaibu

Governor Umar Namadi of Jigawa State has called for deeper collaboration between the state government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to oaccelerate child welfare, social protection and human development programmes across the state.

This was conveyed in a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Hamisu Mohammed Gumel, and made available to newsmen on Friday.

Governor Namadi made the call while receiving the newly appointed Chief of the UNICEF Kano Field Office, Mr. Shafeeq Ur-Rehman, who paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Dutse. Accompanying him was the Social Protection Specialist with the UNICEF Kano Field Office, Fatimah Musa, alongside other members of the UNICEF management team.

Welcoming the delegation, Governor Namadi congratulated Mr. Ur-Rehman on his appointment, describing it as timely for Jigawa State and the North-West region. He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to policies and programmes that improve the lives of children, women and vulnerable households across the state.

Read Also:

Kano reviews social protection gains, sets priorities for second half of 2026

The governor acknowledged UNICEF’s longstanding contribution to Jigawa’s development, noting that the partnership, which dates back to the creation of the state in 1991, has evolved 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.

Governor Namadi said the partnership has delivered significant progress in healthcare, nutrition, education, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), child protection, social protection and social policy, stressing that the interventions align with the state’s Greater Jigawa Vision and his administration’s 12-Point Agenda.

He noted that the visit came shortly after the North-West High-Level Policy Dialogue on “Reducing Multidimensional Poverty through Innovative Financing and Scaled Social Protection Systems,” coordinated by UNICEF under the auspices of the North-West Governors’ Forum in Kano.

According to the governor, the priorities emerging from the dialogue closely align with Jigawa State’s 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 immunisation, and expanding access to safe water and sanitation.

Highlighting the state’s achievements, Governor Namadi cited the 2023–2024 National Demographic and Health Survey, which recorded significant reductions in moderate and severe malnutrition across Jigawa State.

He disclosed that the state’s home-grown MASAKI Nutrition Programme increased the number of children recovering from moderate acute malnutrition from about 19,000 in 2024 to over 43,000 in 2025.

The governor further stated that Jigawa has maintained its status as Nigeria’s first Open Defecation Free (ODF) state since attaining the milestone in 2023, while the state’s Back-to-School Initiative has continued to return hundreds of thousands of children to classrooms.

Reaffirming his administration’s commitment to sustaining these gains, Governor Namadi said the state would continue strengthening coordination among ministries, departments and agencies while working closely with development partners to translate policy priorities into measurable development outcomes.

He also pledged that the state would continue collaborating with UNICEF and other stakeholders to establish the institutional coordination and financial framework needed for the phased implementation of the proposed Universal Child Grant to ensure fairness, transparency and sustainability.

Earlier, the Chief of the UNICEF Kano Field Office, Mr. Shafeeq Ur-Rehman, commended Governor Namadi for his visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to improving the welfare of children in Jigawa State, noting that several innovations introduced by the state have become models for other parts of Nigeria.

He particularly praised Jigawa for becoming Nigeria’s first Open Defecation Free (ODF) state and for pioneering the community-led MASAKI Nutrition Programme, which is now being replicated by other states.

Mr. Ur-Rehman also acknowledged the state government’s consistent counterpart funding for nutrition programmes, noting that UNICEF and its international partners have matched those contributions to strengthen efforts aimed at tackling malnutrition.

He reaffirmed UNICEF’s commitment to deepening its partnership with Jigawa State and disclosed that the organisation is already working with the state government to ensure that Jigawa’s development priorities are adequately reflected in the next Federal Government of Nigeria–UNICEF Country Programme Document (2028–2032).

Photo News: