Signing of the UNICEF 2025–2027 rolling workplan

I'm delighted to welcome you to this significant event, marking the signing of the UNICEF 2025-2027 Rolling Workplan which was jointly developed by the UNICEF Field Office Kano in collaboration with the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of the Katsina State Government, and as part of the ongoing implementation of the Federal Government of Nigeria/UNICEF Country Programme of Cooperation 2023-2027. This partnership underscores our shared commitment to improving the lives of children and families in Katsina State. Improving Education As we embark on this new workplan, I want to emphasize our focus on enhancing child education. We recognize the critical role education plays in shaping the future of our children and our state. Our administration has prioritized investments in education, aiming to increase access to quality learning opportunities for all. The government has invested over N120 billion in education, constructing 160 classrooms, 81 boreholes, and 46 toilets, as well as rehabilitating 258 classroom. Other key areas include teacher training and

support, science and technical education, Girl child education, scholarships and awards, tertiary education and youth empowerment Human Capital Development: We initiated residency training programs in Family Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology (O&G), and Pediatrics, alongside foreign scholarships for medical students. We are also investing in our Medical College in Umar Musa Yar’adua University where our students are currently in 300 level and we hope to successfully graduate our first set of locally trained Doctors in the next 4 years. This will greatly improve retention of doctors in our state as over 16,000 Doctors are said to have exited the country in the last 6 years Equipment and Supplies: We secured 10 containers of medical supplies worth $10 million from the World Medical Relief Headquarters, which includes MRI equipment, CT scans, and other essential medical tools. In addition, we have established

a cloud-based Electronic Health Record (EHR) system to enhance

transparency and accessibility of medical records in our secondary Health facilities.

Additionally, we have installed a biometric data capturing machines in all the 34 Comprehensive Health Centres to reverse the ugly trend of perineal lateness and absenteeism by PHC workers. This technology clocks-in and out, PHC workers as they report to work in the morning and as they leave in the evening. This ensured real-time tracking of staff attendance.

Infrastructure: We have upgraded and renovated 158 PHC facilities with provision of medical equipment, water supply, VIP Latrine, solar lightening, staff quarters and tricycle ambulances. We have approved additional 102 PHC facilities for revitalization for the year 2025. This is in our quest to have one fully functional PHC per ward across the state.

Immunization Efforts: We have distributed 361 motorcycles for Routine Immunization in collaboration with GAVI and UNICEF, demonstrating our resolve to ensure vaccines reach every corner of the state.

5. Malnutrition and Public Health: My administration has committed over ₦500 million in counterpart funding to UNICEF for the management of acute malnutrition.

Collaboration with UNICEF I express my sincere appreciation to UNICEF for their continued support and collaboration. This partnership will enable us to leverage expertise and resources to drive meaningful change in our state.

Moving Forward As we sign this workplan, we're taking a significant step towards improving the lives of our children and families. I look forward to working closely with UNICEF and other stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of our shared goals. Thank you.