The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says  it is re-introducing its partnership with the Kwara Government in line with its  implementation strategy and programme document for 2018 to 2022.

Speaking during the UNICEF and Kwara partnership meeting on Tuesday in Ilorin, Dr Zakari Adam, the Chief of Field Office, UNICEF, Kaduna,  said the organisation was in the state to obtain presentations  about various problems affecting children in the state after it left  in 2013.

According to him, the UNICEF Field Office in  Kaduna has the mandate to support programming in Kwara, Kaduna, Nassarawa and Niger states.

UNICEF, he said, was  meeting with  various stakeholders in Kwara so as to have an overview of the situation of women and children  as well as the existing programming priorities by the implementing partners.

He pointed out that the key programming areas of focus would  be in health and HIV, water sanitation and hygiene, nutrition, basic education, child protection and social policy.

Adam explained that the role of UNICEF was  not to replace state and government responsibilities  but to assist and complement them.

He also said that inspite of  efforts by the humanitarian organisation  to help women and children globally, it also has its  own challenges such as dearth of  resources and long distance operation.

Speaking earlier, Alhaji Wasiu Odewale, the Commissioner for  Planning and Economic Development in Kwara, said the state was  ready to partner with UNICEF again in support of various programmes  targeted at children’s welfare.

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He expressed optimism that the two-day meeting with UNICEF would help in ascertaining  the “ challenges and identifying directions that can bring interventions to areas needed.’’

The commissioner, however,  identified lack of counterpart funding to assist donor agencies as a  factor hampering efforts to sustain their efforts in the state.

He observed that  Kwara  had  not done well in that regard, adding that this was an opportunity for the state to access funding in order to assist and complement efforts by UNICEF.

Also speaking, Mr Tayo Oyelowo, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, commended UNICEF for its age-long assistance and intervention programmes in the area of health.

He said the previous  exit of UNICEF  from  Kwara was due to the perception that the state had achieved impressive indices, with such  intervention programmes diverted to other states in need of assistance.

Oyelowo, however,  disclosed that the situation was not as rosy as it appeared  and the state had been battling its challenges.

He said that with UNICEF’s  presence, there was  hope of a turn-around in the state as  the organisation was renowned  for capacity building.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that representatives of the Ministries  of Health, Education, Water Resources, Planning and Economic Development, Justice and  Women Affairs as well as the  National Orientation Agency were at the meeting.  (NAN)