“Budget with the Child in Mind: UNICEF Calls for Domestic Accountability in Nigeria”
By Jonathan | June 18, 2025
Why UNICEF Is Urging Budget Accountability Now
UNICEF has consistently raised the alarm: Nigeria spends far too little on children’s essential services like health and education, and too much of the budget process lacks transparency. Their message is clear—foreign aid is unpredictable and unsustainable, so domestic accountability and strategic budgeting must be a priority.
The Hard Numbers
Only about 13% of Nigeria’s public spending is directed toward social sectors like health, education, and protection—far below global benchmarks.
Federal allocations to health have dropped below 15%, while education receives less than 15–20%, failing to meet even low-end international targets.
What UNICEF Is Doing
Child-Centric Budgeting Tools
UNICEF helped embed technical advisors within the Federal Budget Office to offer real-time data and promote child-gender-sensitive budgeting. These advisors trained over 680 state officials and contributed to a public finance system for children.
Digital Platforms & Advocacy
UNICEF worked with partners like NESG and BudgIt to create a digital platform enabling scenario analysis of public spending and budgeting methods that respect children’s needs.
Pilot Programs in States
Lagos State received support to implement child-focused budget codes to track expenditure for children aged 0–18, marking a shift toward performance-based budgeting.
Why This Matters
Local Ownership of Child Welfare: Relying primarily on foreign aid undermines national accountability and sustainability.
Improved Service Delivery: With earmarked funds for health, nutrition, education, and protection, children’s services become more reliable and expanded.
Transparency & Trust: Public finance reforms increase civic trust and reduce misallocation—no more opaque budgeting that fails the majority.
Real-World Impact and Challenges
UNICEF’s “Public Finance for Every Child” initiative led to the inclusion of human capital development in Nigeria’s Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) for the first time.
Through PHC workshops and MoUs, UNICEF has emphasized better resource use in states like Zamfara, urging them to allocate 15–20% of budgets to health and education.
Yet significant barriers remain: many states still lag behind funding targets, and high poverty limits budget flexibility.
What Needs to Happen Next
Scaling child-centric budgeting across all states, not just pilots.
Boosting Budget Allocations: States must hit ≥15% for health and ≥20% for education.
Mandating Transparency: All programs targeting children need clear, public budget lines.
Deepening Advocacy: NGOs and citizens should push for legislative backing and better procurement oversight.
Conclusion
UNICEF’s call isn’t just about more numbers—it’s about rethinking budgeting with children at the center. It champions sustainable finance, accountability, and transparency to ensure every child has access to basic services. Nigeria can no longer treat aid with complacency—the future demands action now.
