The Yobe State government has earmarked N400 million as counterpart funding to boost child nutrition and has approved an extension of maternity leave for female civil servants from three to six months.
Chairman of the House Committee on Health, Kachalla Maina, disclosed this during an advocacy visit by the Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) to the State House of Assembly on Wednesday.
According to him, N300 million has already been released to the State Primary Health Care Management Board, while the balance of N100 million will come through the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
Speaker of the House, Chiroma Mashio, assured that directives would be issued for the prompt release of the balance to UNICEF as the state’s counterpart fund. He also confirmed that the Head of Service would be instructed to implement the new six-month maternity leave policy across the state’s public service.
In the same vein, Permanent Secretary of the Civil Service, Idi Kilos, said the government would provide feedback after consultations with the Head of Service. Similarly, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Hamid Babi, pledged continuous collaboration with CS-SUNN to strengthen nutrition policies.
CS-SUNN State Coordinator, Tanimu Salifu, who led the advocacy team, commended the Yobe government for its consistent commitment and support toward improving child nutrition
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