Damaturu – The Yobe government has assured the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) of its determination to pay the outstanding N160 million counterpart fund to improve the lives of children in the state.
The state Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam, gave the assurance on Thursday in Damaturu when Ms. Jean Gough, the UNICEF Country Representative to Nigeria paid him a courtesy visit.
Gaidam said Yobe government was committed to education, water, sanitation and primary healthcare to improve the development of children in the state.
“I want to assure you that we will settle the state and local government counterpart fund obligation of N160 million between September and October this year,’’ the governor said.
He added that the state and other development partners had successfully intervened in areas of water, sanitation and hygiene in some schools, markets and communities in Bade and Nguru local government areas of the state.
He said latrines were constructed in schools and VIP toilets were also constructed in other public places to check open defecation in communities.
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Earlier, the country representative had told the governor that UNICEF would provide N300 million to the state when the counterpart fund was paid.
She assured effective collaboration between partners and Yobe government to support children “and manage the stress from the insurgency to help them go back to school.’’
Gough then urged the Yobe government to invest in primary healthcare programmes to solve health challenges among children at very initial stage.
She said “70 per cent of the health problems can be addressed through functional primary healthcare programmes in the state.’’ (NAN)
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