Bauchi/Maiduguri — United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF), one of the leading foreign non-governmental support organizations in Nigeria, has expressed displeasure on the poor commitment of state governments especially in the Northern Nigeria on alleviating the health-related problems of women and children.

The trend, UNICEF said, however, does not deter it from achieving its obligation to women and children especially in the areas of supports for child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS._

According to UNICEF, most of the northern states, including the North Central, North East and North West, have accorded it their goodwill as partners, but have not been forthcoming in the area of counterpart funding to advance core projects that touch the wellbeing of their people.

The NGO however hailed the government of Jigawa State for supporting financially and morally to demonstrate its concerns and commitment to the wellbeing and good health of women and children in the state; while other states like Borno and others have been blacklisted as not being in good shape in implementing bilateral agreements, or redeeming commitments to counterpart funding.

Speaking at a mid-year press conference organised for journalists in the northern Nigeria in Bauchi, the Chief of D Field Office (DFO), Ms Edele Thebaud, said the problem of lack of support for UNICEF is not restricted to states like Borno alone but very much peculiar to most governments of the states under its zonal office, DFO.

The chief of DFO gave a graphic presentation of the achievements of UNICEF in the 10 states under the zone which include Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba and Yobe states.

She said despite all odds, the NGO has so far fared well in its current year's budget for the ongoing four years programme of cooperation with the Federal Government signed in 2009 and expected to elapse in 2012.

According to Thebaud, "So far the NGO in the D Field Office, Bauchi has from January to July achieved 50 per cent implementation of its over £15.9 million (about N3.7 billion) budget for the 10 states in the areas of supports for child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS even as it is very much to achieve its target of 100 per cent implementation before the year runs out."

It was also observed that Borno State is a 45 per cent contributor to the six cases of poliomyelitis recorded in Nigeria this year, a development which journalists suggest might not be unconnected with the unwillingness of the state's government to redeem its commitments to health-related issues in the state.

But the D Field chief insisted that the problem of counterpart funding is not only restricted to Borno State but all other focal states except Jigawa.

"The problem is not really particular to Borno State but to all the 10 states; we actually acknowledge that there is the goodwill from the governments of those states ....however there is one issue that we are still having problems with - the financial commitments to the cooperation. It is not particular to Borno State but to all the 10 states. "We have the problems of timely release of government counterpart funding that will facilitate the scaling up of the activities which will in a way express the capacity of those state governments to take up and be in charge of the country programme itself at the end of the day. And this, unfortunately, is a manifestation of their commitments; because financial commitments in this cooperation express readiness of partners to tackle the problems of children and women in Nigeria.

"We enjoy goodwill of government, we have signed commitments on paper but very often we don't see the realisation of those commitments", said the UNICEF Chief for D-Field.

Part of the achievements of UNICEF within the months under review include 85 per cent immunization of children against polio; achieving reduced cases of non-compliance and reduced cases of polio, supporting 487 female teacher trainees with scholarship to bridge-up differences in male female teachers in Bauchi State; establishment of Integrated Quranic education centres with 80 member coordinating committee for Borno, Bauchi, Gombe and Yobe states; as well as providing facilities that guarantee over 336,500 persons access to safe drinking water through 180 water points in the 10 focal states, among others.