By; MATTHEW UKACHUNWA, Lagos Chairmen of Oyo State Local Government Areas (LGAs) in collaboration with UNICEF have resolved that every local go
By; MATTHEW UKACHUNWA, Lagos
Chairmen of Oyo State Local Government Areas (LGAs) in collaboration with UNICEF have resolved that every local government will prioritize the realization of children’s rights in their respective planning and budgeting.
The resolution was contained in a communique issued at the end of a dialogue on “Child Rights Realization.”
Participants at the meeting include Oyo State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Other decisions taken at the meeting include the declaration that “Child’s rights realization is a constitutional matter and moral obligation at the local government level.”
The partners pointed out that current levels of deprivation affecting children in Oyo State have remained urgent and targeted actions.
“Immunization, nutrition, birth registration, school enrollment, retention and completion, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), prevention of harmful practices, including female genital mutilation (FGM), and access to social protection programmes will be tracked more closely,” participants at the dialogue agreed.
They tasked LGAs to strengthen child protection committees and local government committee for food and nutrition (LGCFN) in all their communities.
“Collaboration with State government, UNICEF and other stakeholders will be intensified,” the participants stressed.
They declared commitment to developing medium term plans with “costed operational framework” that is focused on children’s well-being.
The collaborators pledged to allocate and mobilize adequate resources for child-focused services and monitoring results in such areas as immunization, nutrition, birth registration, WASH, basic education, child protection with special focus on the “1st 1,000
days of life of every child.”
According to the communique made available on Thursday, increasing community awareness and implementation of children’s rights, as well as monitoring and evaluating implementation of community-based development programmes were prominent in the commitment of the collaborators.
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