The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) yesterday raised concerns over a lack budgetary allocation for caring for children in Kano State.

According to the body, the state out of the state’s estimated 6.5 million children under 18 years, about 143,000 under five die each year before reaching their fifth birthday.

The Chief of UNICEF Field Office Kano Rahama Farah said this during a Media Dialogue on Child Sensitive Budgeting and Planning in Kano State.

He said nearly 6.5 million children, approximately 2.9 million children are not fully immunized, leaving them vulnerable to preventable and lifethreatening diseases.

He added that around 4 million children in Kano experience multidimessional poverty, lacking essential access to health, education, and nutrition services.

Farah said: “While approximately over 3 million children live in monetary poverty, with families severely limited in meeting basic needs, making the state having about 35 per cent of children at primary and JJS schooling age are not attending school (that is nearly 2.3 million children) are out of school.”