THE Anambra State government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have signed the 2010 Programme Implementation Agreement (PIA) worth N382,903,146 million for the joint funding of development programmes in the state.

Governor Peter Obi signed on behalf of the state government, while the Chief of Field Office, UNICEF A-Field Office, Enugu, Mrs Pelucy Ntambirweki, signed on behalf of the agency, at a ceremony held at the Government House, Awka, recently.

Under the programme, UNICEF and the state government would provide N191,451,573 each as counterpart funding for various projects in the health, education, social policy, advocacy and communication sectors of the state economy.

Speaking at the ceremony, the state Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Professor (Mrs) Chinyere Okunna, said “in 2009, our partnership with UNICEF yielded bountiful harvests through the ministries of health, education, information, women affairs and economic planning and budget.”

Mrs Ntambirweki, while congratulating Governor Obi on his re-election, urged him to intensify “effort to improve the delivery of services to children and women, particularly in the areas of health and nutrition, basic education, social protection and water, sanitation and hygiene.”

Governor Obi, in his remarks, pledged the continued support of his government to the UNICEF programmes, saying that the programmes would be fast-tracked to be able to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).