By; MATTHEW UKACHUNWA, Lagos United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is pressing for bugetary planning and spendings that truly align with the
By; MATTHEW UKACHUNWA, Lagos
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is pressing for bugetary planning and spendings that truly align with the rights of every child.
UNICEF is mounting the pressure because, according to it, millions of Nigerian children remain deprived of basic human rights.
Chief of UNICEF Field Office for South West Nigeria, Celine Lafoucriere, made the proposal at a Media Dialogue on Public Spending for Children’s Rights.
The event was organized in Lagos by Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget in collaboration with UNICEF to commemorate year 2025 Day of the African Child (DAC).
“Today”, according to Lafoucriere, “millions of Nigerian children are still navigating life without access to basic clean water, nutrition, healthcare, education and/or safety.
“Despite the fact that access to public services is a basic right for children cast in the United Nations Convention of the Right of the Child, adopted by the UN in 1989, and ratified by Nigeria on 21 March 1991, millions of Nigerian children remain deprived of these basic human rights.”
The UNICEF chief expressed dissatisfaction that public policy, planning and spending at the present time remain largely insufficient for the Nigerian government to uphold its social contract with the Nigerian population and fully ensure that every child’s rights are respected.
Though Lafoucriere conceded that progress has been made over the years with marginal percentage increases in budget, she pointed out that “yet, real spending in favour of children’s rights across all social sectors is still grossly insufficient, largely inefficiently used, and quite poorly tracked.”
She observed that public investment decisions are more often than not taking place in the absence of disaggregated data, leading to inadequate attrition.
“As a result, the health, education, WASH, and protection sectors do not get the financial investment they require to save all children and leave no one behind,” Lafoucriere highlighted.
She stressed that the goal of UNICEF is to see that every money spent reaches children and provides them with the basic public services they are entitled to.
The UNICEF chief said, “Today, we mark the Day of the African Child – a day born out of courage…a reminder of the school children in Soweto, South Africa who stood up in 1976 and paid the ultimate price in asking for a better chance.
“Nearly 50 years after that incident, children across Africa, including here in Lagos, are still asking for a better chance.”
On the occasion, Orojimi Olufemi, Director of Budget, Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning & Budget, made a presentation titled: “Lagos State Government Planning and Spending on Child’s Right – The Journey So Far.”
The director said that the state government’s investment and expenditure towards children and their rights has continued to increase from year to year.
“The state remains committed to the protection of the child and this is demonstrated in its budget and actual year expenditure,” Olufemi declared.
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