Sokoto Renews Commitment to Social Protection
Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto
The Sokoto State government is prioritising social protection, with the Commissioner of Budget and Economic Planning, Dr. Abubakar Muhammad Zayyana, emphasising its importance at a validation workshop on the review of the Sokoto State Social Protection Policy.
The workshop, organised by the State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning in collaboration with the European Union, ILO, and UNICEF, aimed to revise the policy to address challenges like insecurity, poverty, and vulnerability.
Dr. Zayyana highlighted the state’s efforts to reduce poverty and social risk, despite facing banditry, cattle rustling, and kidnapping. He hoped the meeting would produce a revised policy draft to achieve the desired goals.
The policy aims to harness social protection interventions to achieve Governor Ahmad Aliyu’s administration mission to reduce poverty and vulnerability.
The Commissioner appreciated the European Union and UNICEF for their support.
The Special Adviser on SOCHEMA, Alhaji Ahmad Rufa’i Abubakar, also acknowledged their support, emphasizing the need for stakeholder collaboration.
UNICEF’s Chief of Sokoto Field Office, Mr. Michael Juma, noted significant improvements in Sokoto State’s social protection, including increased budget allocations to health, education, and women and children empowerment programs.
UNICEF is ready to support the Sokoto state government in meeting children’s needs and urged participants to provide recommendations to improve the Social Protection Policy document.
The policy will be presented to the State Executive Council for review and adoption to address household vulnerability.
Participants, including Permanent Secretaries and Directors, highlighted the importance of authentic data from the state social register in addressing social protection challenges.
