Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Bauchi Field Office, has organised a capacity-building training programme for 25 young people in Bauchi State on child-focused budgeting and advocacy, with a call on governments at all levels to place children’s needs at the heart of national development by prioritising child-focused budgetary allocations.

This was as the U-Reporters, who participated in the training, pledged to advocate more actively for child-friendly budgeting to enhance the lives of children and young people in Bauchi State.

THISDAY observed that U-Report is UNICEF’s community for young people and by young people, where they can raise their voices on issues that matter to them, get trusted information, and take action in their communities.

Active in more than 90 countries, U-Report uses digital technologies and real-time insights to shape policies and decisions in communities, countries, and around the world, working side-by-side with young people every step of the way.

During the training session for U-Reporters on child-sensitive budgeting held at Hazibal Suites Bauchi yesterday, the Social Policy Specialist at the UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Dr. Yusuf Auta, in a paper presentation titled: ‘Concept of Child-Focused Budgeting’, emphasised that budgets are the most powerful tools available to governments to invest in children and reduce poverty and inequality.

According to him, “Budgeting or children is not just a financial decision; it is a moral and social responsibility, which ensures the delivery of essential services like quality education, healthcare, nutrition, safe drinking water, and social welfare to every child.”

He explained that child-sensitive budgeting involves creating frameworks that ensure efficient and transparent allocation of resources to benefit children, saying this will minimize transaction costs, avoiding leakages, and ensuring that funds reach children promptly.

Auta also explained that budgeting with children in mind requires strong political will, and the active participation of children or their representatives in the budget planning, monitoring, and implementation processes.

The UNICEF Social Policy Specialist further emphasised the need for budget transparency, calling for public access to budget documents to verify that allocations align with the needs and rights of children.

Auta expressed concern over the widespread multidimensional poverty affecting Nigerian children, which continues to hinder the realisation of basic child rights such as access to adequate nutrition, education, healthcare, security, and social protection.

Also speaking, the representative of the state Ministry of Budget, Economic Planning, and Multilateral Coordination, Alhaji Abubakar Sadeeq Usman, highlighted that the state budget belongs to the citizens as it contains provisions for good governance.

He explained that the training session was aimed at equipping participants, who are young people and leaders of tomorrow, with essential knowledge of budget planning and execution.

Usman stressed the importance of young people’s voices in ensuring equitable budget proposals, especially in allocating more resources to child-focused sectors.

He also assured participants that the ministry’s door remains open to receiving complaints and inputs to develop a widely accepted and effective state budget.

In her presentation, the session facilitator, Mrs. Sophie Safratu Bako, explained that a budget is essentially a plan for the allocation, expenditure, and control of a country’s financial resources over a year.

According to her, in Nigeria, the processing of the annual budget encompasses all sectors of human development by enhancing good governance.

She outlined the government’s budget objectives, which include investing in key areas such as education, health, security, and infrastructure; ensuring economic stability by regulating inflation and reducing unemployment, addressing inequality by supporting vulnerable groups; and promoting public accountability and transparency to foster national development.

Bako, therefore, encouraged the young advocates to raise their voices during budget planning, stressing that their involvement can help prioritise children and youth sectors, and ensure effective monitoring of expenditures for sustainable development.

In his opening remarks, UNICEF Bauchi Field Office Communications Officer, Opeyemi Olagunju, emphasized the crucial roles young advocates play in influencing resource allocation for children and youths.

He encouraged U-Reporters to actively promote good governance and advocate for increased investment in child-sensitive sectors.

The U-Reporters, who participated in the training and spoke, pledged to champion child-friendly budgeting to enhance the lives of children and young people in the state.

Abraham Jeremiah Kassam, U Reporter and participant, who spoke to THISDAY in an interview, said: “We are now more informed on why the government should include young people in the government budgeting. We will advocate for resource allocation towards child-centred sectors.”

According to Kassam, a student of ATBU, Bauchi, “The training has exposed us, young advocates how budgeting is done, the roles we can play as young people in mobilising stakeholders to prioritise child and young people sensitive sectors in budgeting.”

Another participant and U Reporter, Miss Kaothar Abdulwahab, declared that: “We are going to advocate for the voiceless children. We will be their voice and champion the course on improving resource allocation to child and young people focused sectors.”

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