Hussaini Kafi in Kano
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday raised alarm over the plight of children in Katsina State, revealing that more than 70 per cent of the state’s 4.5 million children are multidimensionally poor—lacking access to essential services such as health, education, and adequate nutrition.
Speaking during a media dialogue on child-sensitive budgeting and planning in Katsina, Chief of UNICEF’s Kano Field Office, Mr. Rahama Farah, said, “Three in four children in Katsina are deprived in multiple ways. This is a crisis that demands urgent attention.”
Farah further disclosed that 51.3 per cent of children under five are stunted due to chronic malnutrition, while only 41 per cent are fully immunised.
He also revealed that one in six children in the state dies before the age of five.
“If we need to do something about these alarming social indicators, the budget situation must be reversed,” he added, urging increased investment in child-focused sectors for the state’s long-term development.
