The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Wednesday deplored the alleged diversion of nutritional supplements in some communities in Sokoto State.
UNICEF Head of Field Office for Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States Micheal Juma expressed his concerns during the quarterly meeting of policy makers held on Wednesday in Sokoto.
Mr. Juma urged community members and health sector stakeholders to intensify vigilance against the diversion of nutritional supplements prepared in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that UNICEF organized the meeting in collaboration with the Sokoto State Government to discuss activities, successes and challenges and offer solutions to persistent challenges.
Mr. Juma, represented by Abraham Mahama, noted that the nutritional supplements were provided by donors and distributed to health care centres in different communities with the aim of improving the lives of malnourished children.
He regretted that some bad elements in the system colluded with the traders and sold the supplements to undesirable people.
She stressed that the supplements were openly sold in the markets. During an investigation at the designated stores, UNICEF found that staff were filling the supplement boxes with stones and other objects to cover up their nefarious acts, she said.
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Mr. Juma also urged the Sokoto government to join other states in appointing a Statistician General to expedite the collection, prudence, preservation and dissemination of data in line with modern trends.
She highlighted that most of the state's key indicators, such as antenatal care, immunization, mortality rates, health-seeking behaviors and social behavior change, were showing very poor performance.
According to him, the indices regarding healthcare infrastructure, power and water supply, competent health personnel and service providers who lack trust from customers are not encouraging in the state.
In his presentation, UNICEF Social Protection Specialist Isa Ibrahim outlined the performance of the 2024 state budget. He listed areas that need to be aligned, such as the nutrition sector, which recorded zero allocation. He also mentioned areas that recorded high capital expenditure but had a lower impact on citizens.
Mr. Ibrahim also supported Mr. Juma's call for the appointment of a substantive Statistician-General in the state to leverage prudence and accessibility of data using standard systems, stressing that the absence of a Statistician-General creates a vacuum and gap that needs to be bridged.
She explained that the objectives of the quarterly meeting included raising awareness among stakeholders about activities, promoting greater inclusion of children in policies, prioritizing joint partnerships, promoting optimal use of data and budget performance.
Earlier, the Deputy Governor of Sokoto State, Idris Gobir, assured the government of maximum support to all donor agencies and described the presentations as a wake-up call to government officials to rectify the anomalies.
Balarabe Kadadi, state Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, said interventions by UNICEF and other donors were instrumental in addressing the state's challenges.
Mr. Kadadi noted that collaborations remained critical to improving service efficiency and ensuring value for money in budget formulation and execution.
(YAYA)