The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has launched a Climate Resilient Infrastructure for Basic Services (CRIBS II) project in Katsina State aimed at strengthening 24 primary healthcare centres and schools against the growing effects of climate change.
The initiative, funded by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), is being implemented across Charanchi, Mai’adua, Mani, and Dutsi Local Government Areas.
Speaking at the state-level inception meeting held in Katsina on Tuesday, UNICEF Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Specialist at the Kano Field Office, Uba Lawal, said the project is designed to retrofit public infrastructure to withstand climate-related challenges.
He explained that the intervention focuses on ensuring continuity of essential services in schools and healthcare facilities, even during extreme weather events.
“This project is about retrofitting and rehabilitating water and sanitation facilities so that schools can continue to provide learning opportunities and healthcare facilities can continue to deliver essential services, even in the event of floods, heat stress, drought or windstorms,” Lawal said.
He noted that the first phase of implementation in Katsina will cover only the four selected local government areas, where the 24 beneficiary schools and health facilities are located.
According to him, the initiative will upgrade water and sanitation systems in targeted facilities to make them more resilient while improving access to safe learning environments and healthcare delivery.
Lawal disclosed that similar interventions had earlier been carried out in Kano and Jigawa States, where 84 facilities benefited during the first phase of the programme, including 55 in Kano and 29 in Jigawa.
He added that while additional rehabilitation works were ongoing in Jigawa, Katsina is now part of the expanded rollout strategy aimed at increasing coverage across more communities.
He also stressed that contractors and project supervisors would work closely with government officials to ensure transparency and effective implementation, noting that renovation plans would be displayed at each participating facility for monitoring purposes.
Lawal further urged governments and local communities to adopt stronger climate adaptation strategies, warning that the impacts of climate change require urgent and sustained action to protect vulnerable populations, especially children.
The CRIBS II project is expected to improve resilience in basic service delivery systems and reduce disruptions caused by flooding, heat stress, drought, and other climate-related hazards in the affected communities.
