By Hadiza Musa
The Kano State Government, in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has adopted a budget-tagging initiative to improve the tracking of public spending on nutrition, social protection and child protection programs.
The Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Alhaji Musa Suleiman Shanono, disclosed this during a session on budget tagging for the three sectors in Dutse, Jigawa State, on Sunday.
Shanono, who was represented by the ministry’s Director of Planning, Alhaji Ismail Kabir, said the initiative would strengthen the capacity of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to monitor funding and programme implementation.
He explained that the state was currently consolidating its 2027 budget, although specific allocations for the programmes had yet to be determined.
“The process involves reviewing existing nutrition and social protection programmes in line with the National Chart of Accounts and creating a new budget code for child protection,” he said.
He called on UNICEF and other development partners to support the government’s efforts.
He urged them to coordinate their interventions with the Ministry of Budget and Planning to avoid duplication and ensure better use of available resources.
Shanono said the initiative would help direct resources towards addressing malnutrition, reducing poverty and protecting children’s rights.
Earlier, UNICEF Social Policy Specialist, Fatimah Musa, said the organisation was supporting the state government in improving budget coding and tagging for the three sectors.
She said the initiative would make it easier to identify how much the government allocates to the programmes, monitor spending and determine areas where additional funding is needed.
“The initiative will support evidence-based budgeting and ensure that public funds are used to improve the welfare of children and vulnerable households. UNICEF remains committed to working with the Kano State Government to improve outcomes for children and other vulnerable groups,” she said.
Also speaking, the Director-General of the Kano State Social Protection Agency, Fatima Abubakar, said the government remained committed to strengthening social protection through adequate funding and cooperation among relevant MDAs and development partners.
She said such efforts were necessary to reduce poverty and improve the living conditions of vulnerable residents.
A social protection expert, Salisu Yusuf, said the Ministry of Budget and Planning, with UNICEF’s support, had facilitated the creation of budget lines for programs targeting poor and vulnerable groups.
He said the initiative brought relevant MDAs together to mobilise resources for existing and proposed programmes.
Yusuf added that the state had also developed a Social Protection Policy and drafted a bill to establish a Social Protection Agency, with support from development partners and other stakeholders.
