Social Protection: UNICEF Wants Abia LG Chairmen to Play Lead Role in Policy Initiatives, Financing

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

Following the launch of the EU-funded SUSI project in Abia, the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund(UNICEF) has embarked on the sensitisation of the local government area chairmen to make them drive the social protection system.

UNICEF,  the implementing partner of the project, wants the 17 Mayors of Abia LGAs to brace up to play the leading role in implementation of the social protection project beginning from the grassroots.

It is envisaged the implementation and financing of Abia’s social protection system would start from the LGAs and to ensure its sustainability the LGA chairmen are expected to always capture the financing in the annual budgets.

At a sensitisation meeting held with the 17 Abia LGA Mayors in Umuahia, UNICEF officials stressed the Council  Chairmen were expected to play a vital role in building a Sustainable Social Protection System.

UNICEF, the implementing partner of the project, is partnering the state government and the LGAs to initiate and build a system that caters for all Abia citizens, especially the vulnerable ones.

Speaking with journalists at the sideline of the workshop, Fridah Karimi Mwirigi, Chief, Field Office Enugu, said that social protection initiatives have been going on at the LGAs for generations.

However, she stated there was need to systemise such interventions and ensure inclusion of persons not yet captured in the social register.

“It is a system building initiative. We’re partnering (state) government and at the local government area level, she said, adding there would be a monitoring team and a task force to ensure a seamless implementation.

Mwirigi stated “there’s commitment” on the part of UNICEF, EU and ILO to help Abia build a sustainable social security system hence everything needed to make the project a success is being done.

She said that mapping up of vulnerable households in Abia has been done while hard and soft components of needed to ensure  accurate gathering and storage of data have been provided for the state.

The Enugu Field Office Chief dismissed the possibility of social protection system being eroded in future due to political influences, insisting that “it is not political”.

According to her, when the system has been built and it gets to the level of sustenance “it will speak for itself and people will love it” thereby making it difficult for it to be scrapped through a political decision.

Already Abia has captured over 250,000 households in its social register and still counting as the register is being expanded to include those yet to be captured.

The UNICEF Social Policy Officer, Dr. Victor Chima, said development partners were also supporting the legal framework to domesticate social protection to ensure sustainability and financing.

He said that EU was supporting expansion of social register in Abia and coordinating the mechanism, adding that a multi-sectoral team and working group were involved in the implementation.

The mayors of Abia in their various contributions during the workshop expressed their readiness to contribute to the policies and programmes that are contextual to the state in building a sustainable social security system.