The Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget (MEPB) has partnered United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to train officers in the state’s local governments.
The training centred on budgeting to meet needs of vulnerable children and women in communities.
Its aim is to strengthen the capacity of officers in adopting child centered, gender sensitive and inclusive planning and budgeting as a path toward addressing social and economic issues.
This is contained in a communique issued on Wednesday in Lagos, following a five-day capacity-building workshop.
The workshop was for Heads of Departments (HODs) of Economic Planning and Budget in the States’ 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), from March 4 to March 8.
The communique was signed by the Communique Committee, Chairman, Mr Giwa Olufemi, and Secretary, Mr Jimoh Nurudeen.
The five-day workshop had as its theme, “Importance of Adopting Medium Term Sector Strategy (MTSS) and Lagos State Development Plan (LSDP) 2052 in LGAs/LCDAs of Lagos State”.
The Permanent Secretary, MEPB, Mr Obajomo Amodu, according to the communique, said that the workshop was designed to upscale the skills of the HODs.
According to him, it is in preparation for Programme-based Budgeting (PBB) and the application of MTSS to ensure that LGAs align their long-term plans with LSDP 2052.
“Participants are expected to be more intentional in creating and prioritising budget lines specifically for addressing monetary and multidimensional poverty issues affecting vulnerable populations in the MTSS.
“Also to prioritise annual budgets and to create awareness of the critical importance of planning and budgeting for children and women,” Amodu said.
The Social Policy Officer, UNICEF Lagos Field Office, Ms Hope Oduma, described the government’s plans as quantitative expressions of its vision and goals.
Oduma also commended the government for its determination to provide financial resources to ensure that appropriate programmes were put in place and incorporated into the budgetary framework.
“The plans and budgetary frameworks can only be realistic when appropriate data is available, and the government has a system for knowledge management, which happens to be one of the priorities outlined by the Lagos State government in the LSDP,” she said.
The Social Policy Manager, UNICEF, Lagos Field Office, Mr Muhammad Okorie, said UNICEF has a mandate to advocate for the protection and fulfillment of the rights of every child.
Okorie said that the organisation also ensured that children’s basic needs were met and opportunities were provided for them to reach their full potential.
“This can only be achieved when children are prioritised in plans with sufficient budget allocations at all levels of government which includes the local governments.
“The workshop has touched on data and evidence on the situation of children and women in the state, including the role of social protection and public financial management in addressing gaps identified.
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“UNICEF is committed, therefore, to supporting the state through the process of addressing the gaps.
“This is to ensure that every child in the state is reached regardless of their socioeconomic status, religious belief, geographical location, and any other factor that can socially exclude or disenfranchise a child,” Okorie said. (NAN)
