THE United Nations Children’s Fund says that over half a million children in Oyo are poor and deprived of basic social services like health, nutrition, water, and education, and there is an urgent need to do more to ensure that the rights of every child are fulfilled.
UNICEF’s Chief of Lagos Field Office, Ms. Celine Lafoucriere, made this disclosure at the advocacy dialogue by the UNICEF Lagos office in collaboration with the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, involving accounting officers in the UNICEF line MDAs and other relevant stakeholders’ policymakers in Ibadan.
According to her, the 2022 multidimensional child poverty report had ranked Oyo State’s incidence of monetary child poverty at 13.2 percent and multidimensional child deprivations at 33.0 percent; these figures are among the highest in Southwestern Nigeria.
She declared, “Now this may sound like very small percentages. But in actual numbers, it’s among the highest in the southwest of Nigeria. It translates into over half a million children who are poor and deprived and are unable to access basic social services, which in UNICEF we translate as children’s basic human rights.
“You’d agree with me that there’s an urgent need to do more together towards realising every right of every child in Oyo State.”
Ms. Lafoucriere said the advocacy meeting was another occasion to further strengthen the partnership between UNICEF and Oyo State in accelerating development for the citizens of Oyo State, particularly children, which account for about 3.5 million of the state’s population.
She declared that prioritising children, adolescents, and young people‘s wellbeing ensures them a fair chance to live better and safer lives, including lifting them out of poverty and expanding access to basic social services like health, nutrition, sanitation, water, and education.
Ms. Lafoucriere said expectations from the advocacy dialogue would include evidence-based and demand-driven investments that focus on achieving greater results for children; annual plans and budgets that are informed by state development plans; and prompt release of counterpart funding for activities supported by development partners.
“The government’s commitments will be visible in improved budget allocation, release, and implementation for child-focused intervention across the board, as well as overall improvement in budget, credibility, and accountability,” she added.
Head of Service of Oyo State, Mrs. Olubunmi Oni, said it is worrisome that over half a million children in Oyo are poor and deprived, but a lot of efforts are ongoing to stem this unsavoury trend in society.
Mrs Oni, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Service Matters, in the office of the head of service, Mr. Paul Oyekunle, commended the collaborative effort of UNICEF in ensuring the betterment of the lives of children and other vulnerable members of society and pledged the government’s commitment to fulfilling the rights of every child.
Mr Muhammad Okorie, the programme and social policy manager for the UNICEF Lagos field office, said in a remark, that the advocacy meeting with accounting officers in the UNICEF line MDAs and other relevant stakeholders’ policymakers focused on ensuring realistic and timely release of budgets that have a more measurable impact on the lives of women and children.
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