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By:Abdullahi Inuwa
United Nations Children Funds (UNICEF) in partnership Katsina state government have integrated Qur’anic schools into the formal education system which had strengthen the educational growth.
Mr Rahama Farah, the Chief of UNICEF Field Office Kano, disclosed this during the celebration of the 2025 World Children’s Day, held in Kano.
The exercise, organised in collaboration with the Kano State Radio Corporation, also witnessed the unveiling of the Nigerian Child 2025 report.
According to Farah, the integration of the Qur’anic schools had contributed towards the reduction of out-of-school children in Katsina, supporting more than 50,000 children.
Farah added, “We also worked with the state government to register the children and put the names of their families into the social register so that they can get some support.
“This is also aimed to assist them while they are making that transition from Tsangaya to public schools. In spite of this, about 300,000 children are still out of school in Katsina.”
He said that UNICEF has been working with the Kano, Katsina and Jigawa Governments to address the challenges affecting children as highlighted in the Nigerian Child 2025 report.
He further said, “And I am proud to announce that progress in being recorded, let me share with you some of the progress made:
“In Katsina State, UNICEF’s collaboration has resulted in increased investment by the government in addressing severe acute malnutrition.
“This has resulted in the government contributing more than N1 million for the procurement of Ready-to-Use-Therapeutic Foods (RUTF) under the Child Nutrition Match Fund (CNF).”
According to Farah, Local Governments Chairmen in Katsina State were also investing one per cent of their total budgets to nutrition in all the 34 LGAs of the state.
“With UNICEF’s support, Katsina had recently attained the status of Open Defecation Free (ODF) status, and became the 2nd state in Nigeria after Jigawa to achieve this result,” he said.
Farah added that under the Child Protection, the Katsina State Government and UNICEF were implementing a massive birth registration programme to ensure that every child has a birth certificate.
According to him, the certificate will confer them a legal identity as prescribed by Article-7 of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child to which Nigeria is a signatory.
“UNICEF in collaboration the Katsina government, is also addressing Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV), against children, including child marriage, through community-driven interventions,” Farah said.
He added that Nigeria’s children are full of promise, but millions are being left behind by failing systems, deepening poverty, and widening inequalities.
Unveiling the “Nigerian Child 2025” Report, Farah urged journalists and development partners that the day was not just for celebration but for reflection and urgent action.
“Today, we celebrate our most precious gift from God — our children,” Farah said. “But the evidence before us shows we are not doing nearly enough to secure their future.”
” Malnutrition figures remain alarming;
Katsina 64.6 per cent, Kano 51.9 per cent and Jigawa 55.7 per cent.
“These are not just statistics,” Farah stressed. “They are the lived realities of children whose dreams are fading before they begin.” he noted.
He stressed the need for more efforts o. vaccination of children especially in rural areas, reversing out of school, trapped by crowded classrooms, insecurity, and poverty and menace child marriage persists across the North, with more than half of rural girls married before 18.
” Nigeria has made progress but progress alone cannot save our children, We need united, sustained action from government, partners, communities, and the media.
” As the world celebrates its youngest citizens today, UNICEF’s message echoes loud and clear across Nigeria’s children deserve a better future and the time to secure it is near future.
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