By Husaini Yero The Wife of the Executive Governor of Zamfara State has appealed to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Of...
By Husaini Yero
The Wife of the Executive Governor of Zamfara State has appealed to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to scale up their support for women and children in the state, particularly in the areas of primary healthcare, maternal and child nutrition, girls’ education, and access to water, sanitation and hygiene facilities.
She made the appeal during a visit by a joint delegation from the FCDO and UNICEF, where she acknowledged the longstanding partnership between Zamfara State and the development organisations. She recalled the successful implementation of the Child Development Grant Programme (CDGP) between 2013 and 2019, which she said played a significant role in tackling poverty, hunger and malnutrition among vulnerable households in the state.
The First Lady stressed the need to strengthen primary healthcare systems to improve maternal and child health outcomes, promote exclusive breastfeeding and enhance infant and young child nutrition. She also called for intensified efforts to reduce the number of out-of-school children, especially girls, and to improve access to education across the state. According to her, expanding access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities, particularly in girls’ schools and rural communities, remains critical to improving overall wellbeing.
She commended UNICEF for its collaboration in establishing the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) in the state and for supporting the expansion of birth registration services across local government areas. She noted that such interventions have helped protect vulnerable groups and strengthen institutional response mechanisms.
Highlighting some of her office’s previous interventions, she said menstrual hygiene kits had been distributed to girls in secondary schools, while 5,000 pairs of footwear and school bags were provided to pupils to support their education. She also acknowledged the receipt of 35 School-in-a-Box kits from UNICEF to enhance teaching and learning in emergency settings.
Reaffirming the commitment of the Zamfara State Government to human capital development, the First Lady said the administration remains determined to strengthen partnerships with development organisations to improve the wellbeing of women and children.
In his remarks, the Chief of UNICEF’s Sokoto Field Office, Mr. Michael Juma, said the delegation was in the state to assess the level of progress recorded under the ongoing Multi-Sectoral Integrated Resilience Programme being implemented in Birnin Magaji, Tsafe, Bakura, Bungudu and Shinkafi local government areas.
He explained that the programme focuses on nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as child protection. According to him, the visit was aimed at identifying progress made so far, examining challenges and deepening collaboration with the state government to ensure successful implementation.
Mr. Juma commended the First Lady for what he described as her unwavering support for vulnerable groups, particularly in the areas of child rights protection, women’s empowerment, education and healthcare development. He assured that UNICEF would continue to work closely with her office to achieve the set objectives.
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