The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reported that over 75 percent of children in Katsina State are living in poverty, experiencing multiple challenges that affect their health, education, and overall well-being.
According to UNICEF, the figure translates to nearly three out of every four children in the state who lack access to basic needs such as nutrition, health care, education, protection, and safe living conditions.
Speaking during a stakeholders’ engagement in Katsina, the Chief of UNICEF Kano Field Office, Rahama Farah, described the situation as alarming and called for urgent action by the state government and development partners.
He emphasized the need for child-sensitive budgeting and investment in critical sectors to reverse the trend.
Farah disclosed that about 51.3% of children under five in Katsina are stunted due to chronic malnutrition, while only 41% of children are fully immunized.
He further revealed that 61.2% of children in the state live in monetary poverty, 33.3% are out of primary school, and just 23.4% of children aged 6–23 months receive the minimum acceptable diet.
Equally disturbing is the child mortality rate in the state, as Farah noted that 159 out of every 1,000 children die before reaching their fifth birthday, approximately one in every six children.
UNICEF attributed the worsening conditions to declining investment in social sectors. It pointed out that the state’s budgetary allocation to education, health, nutrition, water, sanitation, and child protection has dropped from 38.6% in 2016 to just 13% by 2020.
The organization called on the Katsina State Government to prioritize child-sensitive budgeting in its planning and execution of policies, stressing that children should be at the center of all developmental efforts.
It urged the government to ensure that budget allocations are adequate, well-monitored, and transparently implemented to produce tangible results for children.
Responding to the concerns, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Zainab Abdulrashid, assured stakeholders that the 2026 state budget would include deliberate provisions for children.
She noted that efforts were already underway to build the capacity of planning officers to design and track budgets with children’s needs in focus.
