Date: 2019-12-10

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Kwara State Government on Monday rolled out their key activities towards achieving development in the critical sectors in the state for 2020.

The activities were drawn from the plenary reflections of sectoral teams, constituted at the 2019 End of Year Review and Planning Meeting of the UNICEF and Kwara Government.

Dr Zakari Adam, Chief of Kaduna Field Office of UNICEF, said the objective of the meeting was to question what the funding agency had achieved in terms of cooperation with the Kwara government.

This, he said, was to identify challenges in the course of its 2019 activities with a view to avoiding such challenges in 2020.

"The objective is to know if we have achieved any result. If yes, which one can we put forward as the more important result?

"If partially, what is going to be our arrangement to complete what is remaining; and if nothing was achieved, or if we are faced with some challenges, what are we going to put in place to ensure we don't face similar challenges in 2020," he said.

The UNICEF boss expressed delight with the outcome of the exercise, saying that sectoral groups were able to agree on the way forward in education, nutrition, health and HIV as well as communication for development among others.

He also applauded the media participation in the review and planning exercise, rather than merely coming to cover the event.

"The (media) partnership should not be about coming to report the meeting alone but having you as part of our reflections.

"Even your views, aspirations and the way media people communicate are needed.

"The media has this capacity to develop clear participation from crowd, community and grassroots," he said.

Meanwhile, Alhaji Shuaib Akanbi, Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, commended UNICEF for coming back to the state after some years of lack of intervention.

Akanbi assured the agency of the state government's cooperation at ensuring that the state is moved forward in the critical areas of interest to UNICEF.

He expressed optimism that UNICEF would soon help to restore the lost benefits of the state.

Mrs Memunat Adams, Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry Information and Communications, pledged that the state would not default in its responsibilities at ensuring a smooth partnership with the agency.