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…As Enugu, UNICEF seek stronger partnership on education, child health, human development
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has commended the Peter Mbah Administration in Enugu State for consistently allocating over 33 per cent of the state’s budget to the education for three fiscal years.
UNICEF has also expressed readiness to strengthen its partnership with the Enugu State Government in education, child nutrition, healthcare and other areas of human development.
The UNICEF Nigeria Country Representative, Ms. Wafaa Saeed, stated these on Tuesday when she led a delegation of the organisation on a courtesy visit to the Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, at the Government House, Enugu.
Saeed commended the state government’s investment in education, describing it as an investment in the future of Enugu children.
She noted that while UNICEF had been advocating that governments devote between 15 and 20 per cent of their budgets to education, Enugu’s commitment of about 33 per cent demonstrated a stronger prioritisation of the sector.
“We appreciate what Enugu State has done. Almost one-third of the state’s budget is devoted to education, far and above the United Nations recommendation. It actually shows that ‘tomorrow is here’,” she said.
According to her, the level of investment by the state provides an opportunity for UNICEF to deepen its engagement with Enugu through the organisation’s global knowledge, experience and technical expertise.
“This is the kind of discussion we like to have. It’s not merely social services, but investment in the future,” Saeed said.
She added that UNICEF was prepared to work with the state government to scale up its interventions and ensure their sustainability, particularly in child nutrition and other areas of social development.
“With what you are doing in Enugu State, it will give us a different kind of partnership with the United Nations.
“The state has invested in child nutrition, and we can bring our knowledge and experience to explore other areas of investment and development in a partnership,” Saeed added.
The UNICEF County Representative said developments in Enugu could also provide an example of how investment in children and human development could contribute to the future of the African continent.
Responding, Governor Mbah said the state was looking forward to a practical partnership with UNICEF that would enable the government to draw from the organisation’s global experience and expertise in designing and implementing social-sector programmes.
Mbah said such collaboration would help the state avoid unnecessary trial and error while strengthening its human development interventions.
“Such partnership will help my state avoid trial and error because of UNICEF’s experience and expertise. We look forward to that experience,” the governor said.
He stressed that human development remained central to his administration’s development agenda, noting that economic growth could not be sustained if the social sector was neglected.
According to him, the state’s investment in education, healthcare and other social services is designed to prevent future poverty, underdevelopment and social crises.
“Human development is essential to us, and as much as we want to grow our economy, we do so without undermining human development. Social services are as important, if not more important, than the economic sector,” Mbah added.
He warned that failure to address social-sector challenges early could create broader social problems that would require greater resources to address in future.
The governor said the state’s education reforms were based on the recognition that the needs of children today were different from those of previous generations.
He said Enugu had therefore developed a 10-year Education Plan aimed at equipping children with relevant skills for the modern economy.
“The world of today is different from the world of 40 years ago, and to use the same methods and tools of 40 years ago to teach children of today will be a mismatch,” he said.
Mbah said the objective was to ensure that children acquired relevant skills that would make them employable and productive members of society, rather than becoming a burden on the state in the future.
He also highlighted the state’s focus on early childhood development, saying health screening and nutritional assessment were being integrated into the process of preparing children for formal education.
According to him, children are screened before admission into kindergarten so that those requiring medical attention can receive treatment and have their nutritional needs addressed before commencing school.
The governor said the state deliberately located its smart schools in rural communities as part of efforts to bridge the gap in access to quality education between urban and rural areas.
He explained that the government was using measurable indicators and data to assess the impact of its interventions, adding that available indicators showed that Enugu was performing above the national average in some areas.
Mbah, however, said the achievement would not make the government complacent, stressing the need for continuous improvement and the incorporation of local components into the state’s education strategy.
“We have measurable indicators, and data from organisations like yours help us to assess what we are doing. And we can say that we have indicators higher than the national average, but that will not make us complacent,” he said.
On healthcare, the governor acknowledged UNICEF’s interventions in some local government areas, particularly in efforts aimed at addressing infant and maternal mortality.
He said the state had identified rural healthcare as an area requiring significant transformation, leading to the construction of Type-2 Primary Healthcare Centres across 250 wards.
Mbah said the facilities were being equipped with solar power systems to ensure reliable electricity supply, noting UNICEF’s support in providing solar systems in some of the healthcare centres.
He also identified the renovation of rehabilitation and child-care facilities as another area where UNICEF could provide technical support to the state.
The governor said the state was interested in expanding collaboration with the organisation beyond existing interventions, particularly through the adoption of global best practices and technical expertise.
He further welcomed the UNICEF delegation to Enugu, describing the state as a historic, hospitable and cosmopolitan city with significant potential for tourism and development.
Mbah recalled that Enugu’s history was closely linked to the discovery of coal in the area in 1909 and its subsequent emergence as an important administrative and commercial centre.
He said the city’s historical significance, including its role as the capital of the former Eastern Region, had contributed to its cosmopolitan character and culture of hospitality.
The governor expressed optimism that the engagement with UNICEF would translate into deeper cooperation capable of strengthening the state’s investments in children, education, healthcare and broader human development.
The visit is expected to provide a platform for further discussions on areas of collaboration between UNICEF and the Enugu State Government, particularly in scaling up existing interventions and strengthening their sustainability.
