The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday flagged off the Climate Resilient Infrastructure for Basic Services (CRIBS II) project in Gombe State, aimed at building safer schools and primary healthcare facilities capable of withstanding the growing impacts of climate change.
Speaking during the official launch at the office of the Deputy Governor, Chief of UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Nuzhat Rafique, commended Gombe State for its strong performance in education and child-focused interventions, noting that no facility allocation was withdrawn from the state under the project.
“The many states lost their facilities. But as we know, Gombe is always showing the best results. We requested that Gombe’s facilities be retained, and basically under Bauchi and Gombe, the numbers remained the same. Nothing was deducted,” she said.
Rafique described climate change as an immediate reality already affecting schools and healthcare systems across Nigeria.
“Climate change is not the future now; it is the present. You can see the heat waves, sandstorms, rainstorms, flooding and changing weather patterns. I have seen roofs blown off after storms,” she stated.
She explained that the CRIBS initiative was designed to provide climate-resilient schools and healthcare centres where children could learn safely and mothers could access quality healthcare services in dignified conditions.
“We don’t want mothers to deliver in unsafe environments. We want children to learn in safe schools. This project is about keeping our next generation safe, healthy and able to grow to their best potential,” she added.
The UNICEF chief stressed that the success of the intervention would depend on collective ownership by government officials, community leaders, school authorities and contractors.
“When construction is going on, the most important thing is that it is completed on time and with quality. We don’t want walls collapsing or roofs blown off after storms,” she warned.
She also urged the Gombe State Government to scale up the CRIBS standards across all schools and healthcare facilities in the state once the pilot phase is completed.
“These 14 facilities should serve as a model for the entire state. The patients should be safe, the students should be safe, and the workers should be safe,” Rafique said.
UNICEF Education Specialist, Ibrahim Ado, said the project would focus on education, healthcare and WASH services as part of efforts to strengthen climate adaptation in public infrastructure.
“We have seen how climate change is affecting learning. Think about classrooms with over 250 learners under extreme heat. Can teachers effectively teach? Can students effectively learn?” he queried.
According to him, lessons from the first phase of CRIBS implemented in Kano and Jigawa states informed improvements introduced in the second phase in Gombe.
He explained that five Local Government Areas in Gombe were selected based on key indicators including high numbers of out-of-school children, maternal and child health priorities, existing UNICEF interventions and areas with urgent service delivery gaps.
Addressing the gathering, Gombe State Deputy Governor, Manassah Jatau, assured UNICEF of the state government’s commitment to sustaining the partnership and addressing identified gaps in schools and healthcare facilities.
“We are always ready to learn and improve on the gaps,” he said.
Jatau recalled how the government responded swiftly after UNICEF raised concerns over the condition of school roofs during an earlier visit.
“You told me the schools looked good outside, but the roofs were bad. Immediately, we took action. All schools now undergo building maintenance,” he said.
The deputy governor praised UNICEF for adapting to emerging climate realities.
“You are moving with time. Any organisation that cannot adapt will eventually go into extinction. Climate challenges are changing and we must respond accordingly,” he stated.
He also disclosed that the state government was working on measures to improve water supply across Gombe State through partnerships with Moroccan experts.
On transparency and accountability, Jatau urged contractors handling the projects to publicly display details of each contract, including cost, scope and completion timeline.
“In Pakistan, for every contract, the contractor’s name, project cost, duration and scope of work are displayed openly. If people don’t know the scope of work, how can they monitor it?” he asked.
He added, “The problem we have in Nigeria today is that we protect contractors too much.”
