From:Femi Oyelola in Kaduna
The Kaduna State Government has pledged commitment to increasing budget releases and utilization for nutrition programming to also work to extend paid maternity leave from three to six months and to formulate a legal framework for its implementation.
Senior government officials made the commitments when the National Secretariat of the Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) led advocacy visited different Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) from Monday, 17th to Wednesday, 19th of 2025.
The advocacy visits, which also had the State Nutrition Committee members and the media, were supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
CS-SUNN is implementing the UNICEF partnership project known as “Increased Investment in Nutrition to Scale Up Quality Nutrition Services in 19 States.
Responding to the demands made by the team, Kaduna State Commissioner for Planning and Budget Commission (PBC), Mukhtar Ahmed, pledged that the state will make nutrition budget release a priority because of the importance it attached to saving the lives of babies and their mothers.
He said the state governor has the political will to drive the required change in the health and other sectors.
According to him, the Kaduna State government has not reneged in its commitment to health and education in the last 10 years, which clearly shows that the political will is there and that the MDAs will do their part to ensure the funds are made available for implementation.
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