The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) government and partners have begun a two-day evidence-based state-level consultation to shape its 2028–2032 country programme, bringing together Enablers from the three Field Office focus states to identify priority child development interventions.

The consultation focuses on Identify, validate, and prioritise critical child rights deprivations with partners, and examine how these
manifest across sectors in Benue, Enugu and Cross River States for the 2028–2032 Country Programme.

Speaking at the opening on Wednesday in Enugu, UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Enugu, Juliet Chiluwe, described the exercise as the first step towards developing UNICEF’s next country programme for Nigeria.

Chiluwe, represented by the Planning and Monitoring Specialist, UNICEF Enugu Field Office, Maureen Zubie – Okolo said the Country Programme Document (CPD) serves as the overarching strategic framework that guides UNICEF’s support to the Government of Nigeria in advancing the rights and well-being of children and women.

She said UNICEF Nigeria is in the process of developing a CPD for the cycle (2028-2032) that will be co-created with partners at the national and Sub-national levels, towards ensuring alignment of UNICEF’s child rights agenda with the priorities of the government, hence its alignment with Global and National plans, including the African Agenda, UNICEF Strategic Plan (2026-2029), and the National Development Plan.

“The CPD Planning process has four critical phases; Evidence Synthesis, Prioritization, Theory of Change (ToC) and Results Resources Plan. We are currently in the Evidence Synthesis and Theory of Change phase, with consultations happening at National and Sub-National Levels,” she said..

Chiluwe said building on lessons from the 2023–2027 programme cycle and guided by updated evidence and stakeholder consultations, the 2028–2032 Country Programme will reflect the major shifts in context, financing, and institutional reform and will also prioritize transformative strategies that deliver impact at scale—through policy advocacy, systems strengthening, and multisectoral partnerships—while also remaining adaptive to future shocks and uncertainties.

She said UNICEF Enugu Field Office is therefore convening consultations with partners from the priority states to review the Evidence synthesis with a view to identifying and prioritizing the key deprivations and violations against children in the region, followed by the identification of barriers and bottlenecks and the selection of the right solutions for impact at scale.

According to her, the Health, WASH, Nutrition, Education, Child Protection, Social Policy, Social and Behaviour Change (SBC), and Communication, Advocacy and Partnerships (CAP) sections held consultations to identify and prioritize key deprivations, barriers, and bottlenecks affecting children.

The UNICEF Enugu Chief of Field Office said that while CAP is a cross-cutting function that supports the achievement of all programme outcomes under the next UNICEF Nigeria Country Programme Document (CPD), it plays a critical role in providing the communication, evidence generation, advocacy, resource mobilization, and partnership support needed to accelerate results for children.

“Specifically, today’s consultation with the CAP section is expected to provide an additional opportunity to identify strategic entry points for amplifying the child rights agenda across the region and to strengthen collaboration in advancing equitable outcomes for every child,” she said.

Chiluwe said the programme would be built on evidence and contributions from stakeholders to ensure interventions address realities confronting children across the participating states.

She said participants were not merely attending the consultation but helping determine priorities that would guide UNICEF’s work between 2028 and 2032.

She said participants’ experiences, local knowledge and field data would strengthen national evidence and guide future investments for children.

The Executive Secretary, Enugu State Economic Planning Commission, Nnanyelugo Dan Onyishi, described the consultation as timely for reviewing progress and shaping future development priorities.

Mr Onyishi appreciated UNICEF for its longstanding partnership in supporting health, nutrition, education, child protection, water, sanitation and social policy programmes.

He reaffirmed the Enugu State Government’s commitment to evidence-based planning, collaborative partnerships and sustainable development outcomes for children.

The Executive Secretary urged participants to contribute practical ideas and technical expertise to ensure identified priorities reflect community realities and children’s needs.

He said evidence gathered during the consultation would influence programme priorities, funding decisions, staffing requirements and future interventions.