The United Kingdom Government, in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has launched a £19 million programme to build climate-resilient schools and health facilities across seven Nigerian states, including Kano and Jigawa.
The initiative, called the Climate Resilient Infrastructure for Basic Services (CRIBS), is funded through the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) and aims to strengthen essential services against climate shocks such as floods, heatwaves, and storms.
Speaking during the commissioning of an upgraded primary school in Wangara and a primary health facility in Gofaro, Gezawa Local Government Area of Kano, UNICEF’s Country Representative in Nigeria, Wafaa Saeed, said the programme was designed to give children and families safe spaces to learn, grow, and access care.
She disclosed that since last year, UNICEF had upgraded 55 facilities in Kano and Jigawa—27 health centres and 28 schools—using climate-smart solutions such as improved natural ventilation, flood-resistant structures, and solar power systems.
“These changes mean cooler classrooms and clinics, reliable electricity, and services that continue even when the weather turns against us,” she said.
Cynthia Rowe, Development Director at the British High Commission in Nigeria, said the CRIBS project reflected the UK’s commitment to strengthening basic services in the country. She noted that the programme was developed in partnership with the Federal Government, World Bank, WHO, Sextant Foundation, JigSaw, and the UK Lafiya Programme.
Receiving the facilities on behalf of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, Kano’s Commissioner for Education, Ali Haruna Makoda, expressed appreciation to the donors and urged communities to protect the projects. He noted that the rehabilitated school, established in 1963 and serving nearly 4,000 pupils, was upgraded alongside the health centre at a combined cost of ₦200 million.
