The Niger State Government has awarded free health insurance scheme to no fewer than 1,000 vulnerable children.

The wife of the Niger State governor, Fatima Umaru Bago announced the gesture during a stakeholders engagement forum and official commissioning of At-Risk Children Programme Office,held at Women Development Center Minna, recently.

Fatima Bago noted that government had already set aside Twenty Million Naira to implement the health insurance scheme for the children.

Bago who is also the Chairperson, Advisory Board of At-Risk Children Programme said government was aware of the growing challenges, children out of school,youth living on the margins of society are neglected, adding that ARC-P had provided a comprehensive, strategic and sustainable pathway to address these challenges and build resilience in rural communities.

She urged stakeholders across every sector and level of society to key into the programme.

Fatima Bago added”.Your collaboration is crucial, your experience is needed,your network are valuable and your commitment is non-negotiable, let us harmonize our efforts,let us close the gaps,let us take ARC-P into our homes,our streets,our farms,our classrooms,our health centres,our places of worship and into the hearts of our people”Fatima said.

She lauded governor Bago for his unwavering commitment to the welfare of the most vulnerable in the society, given them strength and legitimacy.

Commissioner for Planning Commission,Niger State,Mustafa Ndajiwa,who is overseeing the activities of the agency,stated that the At-Risk Children Programme is a life line of a holistic and multi sectorial intervention design to restore dignity, hope to at risk children through education, skill acquisition, psycho-social and community integration.

Ndajiwa said the stakeholders engagement reflects that lasting impact can not be achieve in silence, adding that it requires collaborations between government and development partners, civil society, traditional institution as well as private sector, assuring that every child in Niger State regardless of background or circumstances can strive.

Niger State Coordinator, At-Risk Children Programme, ARC-P, Aisha Umar Tafida Bago III,had revealed that ARC-P was aimed at addressing the conditions faced by vulnerable children in the society, stressing that many of children were out of school, living on the street without family care, exposing them to alot of risk.

Tafida maintained that her agency offered a holistic approach to safe guard the right of the vulnerable children,their welfare,and thereby mitigating them to strive on their own.

Aisha further explained that ARC-P is a federal government initiative, noting that Niger State was the only state across the 36 states of the country implementing At-Risk Children Programme which distinguished the testimony to the visionary leadership of governor Muhammad Umaru Bago.

The representatives of Emir of Lapai,Alhaji Umar Tafida Bago III,Emir of Minna, Alhaji Farouk Umar Bahago, as well as partners in their separate goodwill messages advised government at all levels to as a matter of urgency address the issue of out of school children across the country.