Sokoto govt pledges N500m for nutrition, 6-month maternity leave
From Bashir Rabe Mani in Sokoto
The Sokoto State Government has pledged to release N500 million as counterpart funding for the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF), and to implement six-month paid maternity leave for civil servants in the state.
The Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Dr Bashir Achida, represented by the Director of Economic Planning, Alhaji Sani Abdullahi, stated this on Thursday in Sokoto at a Breakfast Meeting with Key Stakeholders and Political Office Holders on nutrition.
Dr Achida said, “This meeting is aimed at strengthening nutrition at the state level and, by extension, providing a lasting solution to malnutrition across our domain.”
He noted that while recent reports show a decline in malnutrition indices, more efforts are still needed.
“Food security and malnutrition remain a great concern to the state. That is why both government and partners are doing their best to provide solutions,” he said.
The Commissioner also commended development partners including CS-SUNN, UNICEF and others for their support through trainings, logistics and interventions to improve nutrition in the state.
Also speaking, the Team Lead, Partnership and Collaboration, Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria, CS-SUNN, Alhaji Shuaibu Musa Kafin-Gana, said Sokoto had recorded remarkable progress in reducing child stunting.
Citing the 2018 NDHS, he said 54.8 per cent of children under five in Sokoto were stunted.
“From that 2018 to the 2023-2024 NDHS, the result placed Sokoto State at 42.8 percent. Look at the reduction in just five years. This is highly commendable,” he said.
Kafin-Gana, however, expressed concern over other indicators. According to him, only 10 per cent of women of childbearing age in Sokoto deliver in hospitals or clinics, while 55 per cent of women and 60 per cent of children under five are anaemic.
He said the last time Sokoto released funds to UNICEF under the CNF was in 2024 with N100 million, and that Gov. Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto had pledged N500 million for 2025 as a matching grant.
“That does not see the light of day yet. But during our advocacy, it was confirmed that it was not negligence, maybe due to lack of follow-up by stakeholders
” The government promised that before the end of the year, the N500 million will be released,” he said.
Kafin-Gana explained that once the state releases the N500 million, UNICEF would match it, bringing the total to N1 billion for procurement of Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation for pregnant women and children.
He stressed the need for accountability in the distribution of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food, RUTF, and other commodities, urging civil society and the media to track and report any diversion.
“We are all stakeholders. If accountability suffers, government will not be happy to release a single kobo to any partner.
“A single media person can help the state by exposing any misuse,” he said.
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