Katsina — Katsina State Department of Girl Child and Child Development has disclosed that no fewer than 61,495 adolescent girls are out-of-school across the 34 Local Government Areas of the state.
The Director of Child Welfare in the department, Yahanatu Abdullahi, disclosed this yesterday, at a two-day planning meeting with key partners and facilitators for the development of advocacy kits for REACH programme in the state.
REACH--Reaching and Empowering Girls in Northwest Nigeria--is a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) programme aimed at tackling out-of-school syndrome in Katsina and Sokoto states.
She said the department with support from UNICEF, had generated data of 226,087 Almajiri children living in Tsangaya and out-of-school adolescent girls across the 34 local government areas of the state.
According to her, "A total number of 148,252 children were verified and documented for case management, out of which 86,767 are Almajiri boys and 61,495 are out of school adolescent girls."
She stressed that the REACH programme would increase girls' knowledge, nutrition and menstrual hygiene as well as equip them with necessary skills to meaningfully participate in their economic future for the development of their communities.
The director added that the aims and objectives of the programme would not be achieved without the contributions and commitment of stakeholders hence the need for them to give the programme the needed attention.
In her presentation titled: 'Addressing Social and Gender Norms to Prevent Child Abuse, Child Marriage and Promote Child Protection Services', UNICEF Child Protection Manager, Emelia Allan, lamented the spate of out-of-school children in the state.
She, however said UNICEF, through the REACH programme, would address the menace of out-of-school children, child marriage and other related predicaments faced by children in Katsina and Sokoto states.
In Katsina, Allan explained that the programme would be implemented in Rimi, Katsina and Mani local government areas of the state in collaboration with the state government, community and religious leaders.
