Sokoto, UNICEF, Others Identify 249,523 Children For Intervention

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the Sokoto State government and relevant civil society organisations (CSOs), has identified over 249,523 children in need of urgent vulnerability intervention.

The initiative aims at addressing the critical needs of children, including 113,208 almajiris and 136,315 out-of-school adolescent girls through a comprehensive household survey and direct engagement with communities.

The programme is tackling issues such as lack of education, Gender-Based Violence (GBV), and other risks faced by these vulnerable groups, with the support of the Sultan of Sokoto’s committee on almajiri reform.

This was disclosed during a two-day media dialogue and field trip to address the issues of almajiris and out-of-school adolescent girls in Sokoto yesterday.

The dialogue was organised by the Child Rights Information Bureau (CRIB) of the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, in collaboration with UNICEF.

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UNICEF’s child protection specialist Pius Uwamanua also reported that over the past two years, a total of 16,625 children, comprising 7,521 girls and 9,104 boys, have received integrated case management services.

Additionally, he said individualised care plans were developed for each child through the Child Protection Information Management System (CPIMS).

He stated, “7,521 out-of-school adolescent girls were empowered with knowledge and life skills training, and comprehensive sexuality education to address harmful practices, including child marriage.

“3,000 almajiri boys and 1,700 out-of-school adolescent girls were identified for vocational skill acquisition, workforce readiness, and empowerment. Most were screened out based on being underage.”

The Chief of Field Office, UNICEF, Sokoto, Michael Juma, said the organisation currently has programmes in about eight local governments in Sokoto to address the issue of adolescents and out-of-school children in terms of acquiring the right skills to fit into the labor market.