Worried that many Nigerian children are sliding into child poverty, social policy and economy experts have urged political leaders to prioritise children’s welfare in their public finance planning to help stem the situation.

Speaking in Yola, Adamawa State, during a media dialogue on Public Financing for Children, the state government, partnering with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), stressed that adequate public financing is critical to improving children’s access to education, healthcare, nutrition, water and sanitation, and protection services.

Also, the UNICEF Education Specialist, Abdurrahman Ado, told journalists that the political season offers the media an important opportunity to engage policymakers and aspiring candidates on their plans for children.

Noting that UNICEF alone cannot solve all the challenges confronting children, Ado urged the government to commit more resources to health, nutrition and social policy while ensuring that approved funds were duly released and utilised on time.

According to him, evidence-based reporting would enable the media to expose gaps between government promises, budgetary allocations and actual implementation, thereby strengthening accountability.

Also, a social policy expert with UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Yusuf Auta, listed the challenges facing children as malnutrition, inadequate care, insecurity and a general lack of welfare, among others.

Equally, the UNICEF Chief of Field in Bauchi, Dr Nuzhat Raphique, urged the media to engage political candidates on their plans to advance the welfare of children as the nation approaches electioneering campaigns for the 2027 elections.

For his part, Dr Ali Dankumo of the Department of Economics and Development Studies, Federal University of Kashere, Gombe State, urged the media to speak for the voiceless children, stating that their welfare matters in the country’s growth and development.

According to Dankumo, the media should begin advocacy for child welfare and ask critical questions on sustainable plans to cater for the needs of the children as politicians develop their blueprints. He said the country cannot be comfortable with increasing the number of out-of-school children in the quest for prosperity and development.

Earlier, a speaker, Ambros Frama, urged journalists to use the election campaigns to place children’s issues at the centre of political discussions.

Similarly, Benjamin Shido-Ikwu of the Federal University, Kashere, identified the consequences of inadequate financing on children to include shortage of teachers and learning materials, overcrowded and unsafe classrooms, limited healthcare services, inadequate drugs and health workers, poor immunisation coverage and increased vulnerability to malnutrition.