FG Unveils $1bn Social Protection Scheme For Vulnerable Nigerians

.First Lady: Programme’ll upgrade vulnerable households to self sufficiency

.Stresses govt’s economic reforms have effect on several households

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

The Federal Government has launched a $1 billion social protection programme aimed at upgrading vulnerable Nigerians from dependence on temporary palliatives to sustainable pathways of economic empowerment and self-reliance.
The scheme, known as the Household Prosperity and Empowerment Social Protection Project (HOPE-SP), was launched on Wednesday at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja, alongside four other initiatives meant to strengthen Nigeria’s humanitarian response and poverty reduction architecture.
The four other initiatives are the One-Humanitarian-One Poverty Response System (OHOPRS), the Emergency Cash Transfer Programme, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction Ministerial Blueprint and the Humanity First Magazine.
In his remarks, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, said the new initiatives marked the establishment of a new national architecture for humanitarian intervention and social protection, with government shifting its emphasis from reactive palliatives to proactive empowerment.
He said while President Boa Tinubu administration’s economic reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidy and unification of the foreign exchange market, had improved investor confidence and strengthened government revenues, attention must also be directed at protecting Nigerians from economic shocks and providing sustainable routes out of poverty.
According to him, government’s objective is to move from reactive relief to anticipatory social protection and from merely managing poverty to reducing it.
He identified fragmentation as one of the major weaknesses of existing social intervention programmes, noting that initiatives across ministries, departments, agencies and different levels of government often operated independently.
The Minister said the situation had created duplication, with some beneficiaries accessing multiple interventions while other vulnerable Nigerians received none.
Doro said the new approach would consequently shift the focus from programmes to households and from simply counting the number of beneficiaries to measuring the actual impact of interventions.
Under the new architecture, he explained, vulnerable households would be identified, their needs assessed and appropriate interventions provided, after which they would be tracked through a “poverty graduation pathway” towards economic inclusion and self-reliance.
The system, he added, would be supported by unified data, digital delivery infrastructure, new financing arrangements and real-time poverty intelligence, while strengthening collaboration among the federal, state and local governments as well as development partners.
Delivering a keynote address on the occasion with the theme “From Palliatives to Pathways,” wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, said the initiatives represented a great move towards improving the lives of vulnerable individuals, families and communities nationwide.
She stressed that though the five initiatives perform different functions, they share the common objective of improving the wellbeing of Nigerians, particularly those facing economic and social vulnerabilities.
Mrs Tinubu added that the programmes were particularly significant against the backdrop of the far-reaching economic reforms being implemented by the government of President Bola Tinubu to strengthen the economy and establish a foundation for sustainable growth and shared prosperity.
According to her, while the reforms are being implemented, government and other stakeholders need to know that many Nigerian families still face challenges and require support.
Her words: “Under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, our nation is implementing far-reaching reforms to strengthen the economy, lay a solid foundation for sustainable growth, and shared prosperity.
“As these reforms continue to take effect, we must recognize that, given the size of our population and available resources, many families still face challenges and require our collective support”.
HOPE-SP, she explained is an important intervention designed to strengthen the process of identifying vulnerable households, understanding their peculiar needs and providing appropriate assistance.
Mrs Tinubu explained that rather than merely providing temporary relief, the social intervention scheme would combine immediate stabilisation assistance with interventions capable of putting affected households on a path towards recovery and economic independence.
“The first initiative, the Household Prosperity and Empowerment Social Protection Project, is an important step toward strengthening how to identify and respond to vulnerable households facing various challenges by listening to their specific needs before taking action.
“It is designed to provide immediate stabilization assistance while placing the households on a pathway to recovery, empowerment and self-reliance.”
She explained that the One-Humanitarian-One Poverty Response System would provide a coordinated national mechanism for responding to humanitarian emergencies, delivering social protection and tackling poverty.
Mrs Tinubu said the scheme was expected to eliminate duplication among government interventions while maintaining unified national registries through which poor and vulnerable households could be identified, supported and tracked as they progress towards prosperity.
She also said the Emergency Cash Transfer Programme would provide rapid financial assistance to households confronted by economic shocks, while the Ministerial Blueprint would translate the humanitarian and poverty reduction priorities of the Renewed Hope Agenda into measurable actions.
According to her, effective planning and accountability must remain central to the delivery of government services to Nigerians.
The First Lady also described the Humanity First Magazine as a significant component of the initiatives because it would document the experiences of citizens whose lives have been transformed through government interventions.
She lauded the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction and officials of the ministry for developing the initiatives.
Mrs Tinubu said the programmes were capable of transforming Nigeria’s humanitarian interventions from temporary assistance into sustainable mechanisms for building resilience and prosperity.
“I commend the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Bernard M. Doro and his team for these initiatives that will transform our humanitarian endeavours from temporary assistance to lasting pathways that promote resilience, self-reliance, prosperity and a dignified life for every Nigerian,” the First Lady further stated.
Also speaking, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, said effective social protection required a whole-of-government approach involving the federal, state and local governments as well as other stakeholders.
Bagudu said the administration’s ambition to build a $1 trillion economy by 2030 must be accompanied by deliberate efforts to ensure that prosperity and economic opportunities reach Nigerians at the grassroots.
He highlighted the administration’s ward development initiative covering the country’s 8,809 wards, saying it was designed to identify the factors driving poverty and exclusion at community level and turn the wards into centres of prosperity and inclusion.
According to him, government was also increasing budgetary attention to peace, security and critical elements of social protection to prevent hardworking Nigerians from slipping into poverty as a consequence of domestic and global economic shocks.
The Mnister noted that international developments, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict and instability in the Middle East, had consequences for households and economies around the world, making effective social safety nets increasingly important.
Bagudu said Nigeria already had significant resources and programmes devoted to social protection and poverty eradication, including a World Bank portfolio of about $6 billion, but stressed that better coordination was required to maximise their impact.
He argued that the challenge was not necessarily the absence of resources but ensuring that available resources and programmes at federal, state and local levels were properly aligned and efficiently deployed.
On his part, Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno state, commended the Federal Government for the social protection initiative, describing it as an important intervention in addressing vulnerability among Nigerians.
Zulum, whose state has experienced prolonged humanitarian challenges arising from insurgency, stressed the importance of tackling the root causes of insecurity and instability, particularly poverty and social inequality.
According to him, sustainable peace and security required interventions that went beyond immediate humanitarian assistance to address the underlying conditions that expose individuals and communities to vulnerability.