…Deliver Lifeline Support for Health, Nutrition, Social Protection

By Musa Ubandawaki, Sokoto

SOKOTO — The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in partnership with the European Union, has launched an initiative to enroll 250,000 poor and vulnerable residents of Sokoto State into the state’s social register this year under the EU-SUSI (Supporting Sustainable Social Protection System in Nigeria) project.

The programme aims to close gaps in the National Social Register and provide disadvantaged households with access to life-saving health, nutrition, and welfare support.

UNICEF Country Representative, Mrs. Wafah Sa’id, announced the plan during the formal handover of ICT equipment to Sokoto State Deputy Governor, Engr. Idris Muhammad Gobir, at Government House, Sokoto. The equipment, procured through the EU-SUSI project, will support a mass community enrollment drive across all 23 local government areas.

According to Sa’id, the exercise will cover more than 3,000 communities and settlements previously excluded from the National Social Register. “This exercise is about giving the poorest and most vulnerable Sokoto citizens a voice, dignity, and access to opportunities that can change their lives,” she said.

To support the rollout, UNICEF donated 200 computer tablets, 200 power banks, three laptops, and thousands of maternal kits (“mamakits”) for safe childbirth and immunisation. Sa’id also commended the Sokoto State Government for allocating ₦500 million to nutrition supplies, which UNICEF has pledged to match, effectively doubling resources for combating malnutrition.

She stressed that nutrition remains the foundation of early childhood development, noting: “Seventy-five per cent of brain development occurs in the first two years of life, making investment in child nutrition a moral and developmental imperative.”

Sa’id further acknowledged Sokoto’s increased health budget—from 6.5 to nearly 10 per cent—but urged greater efforts to address the high number of out-of-school children, describing education as “the surest pathway out of poverty.”

Receiving the equipment on behalf of the state government, Deputy Governor Gobir hailed the intervention as transformative. “This support is not just about equipment or figures—it is about the lives of our poorest people, the mothers who need safe deliveries, the children who need food and education, and the families who deserve a chance at dignity. Sokoto will not fail in this responsibility,” he said.

The EU-SUSI project, a partnership between UNICEF, the European Union, and Nigerian states, is considered a major step in strengthening social protection. With Sokoto’s enrollment drive, the state is positioned to expand access to essential services, build resilience, and invest in a healthier, better-educated generation.