UNICEF Equips Abia Workers with Medium Term Budgeting Skills, Encourages State to Deepen Transparency

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia


The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has embarked on training of Abia State personnel drawn from four focal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) involved in programme budgeting to enable the state improve on its level of transparency.

The capacity building programme is a component of the EU-funded Supporting Sustainability Social Protection System Initiative(SUSI) in Abia, which UNICEF is implementing.

UNICEF is supporting the development of medium term sector strategies (MTSS) for Health, Education, WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) and Social Protection sectors for Abia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.

Speaking with journalists on the sidelines of the five-day capacity building workshop, which ended  weekend, the UNICEF Lead Consultant, Professor Frances Obafemi, commended Abia for its enthusiasm to deepen the culture of transparency in governance.

“Abia has continued to operate a transparent budgetary system and is also willing to improve on its transparency,” she said.

According to her, Abia’s “passion in making sure budgeting is transparent shows they’re willing to improve on their transparency,” hence, UNICEF was willing to assist the state achieve the goal.

Obafemi explained that “before now, budgeting has been an online ministry basis, but we’re changing, making budgeting programmes and activities move further” and the need to build the capacity of relevant MDAs in the various states.

She stated that in preparing the MDAs for programme-based budgeting various steps were taken including teaching them how to prepare medium term expenditure which had been done in Aba in September 2025.

“The second leg,” Obafemi noted, “is to prepare the process of medium term sectoral strategy” targeting the personnel of the four focal ministries.

“Though Abia State government is very enthusiastic in ensuring transparency in its budgeting system, our focus is on these sectors,” she stated.

The Social Policy Officer of UNICEF, Enugu Office, Dr. Victor Chima, noted that Abia has been cooperating with the EU and UNICEF to implement the project that would ensure transparency in state’s budgeting.

He said that “before now, states would budget based on needs” but with the coming of UNICEF to help them strengthen the social protection system, accountability and transparency would become a feature of Abia’s budgetary system.

The SUSI project which commenced from 2025 would end in 2027 across the 10 states, including Abia, selected for the implementation.