FG Unveils N140 Billion Social Protection Plan to Tackle Poverty
• First Lady: programme will lift poor households to self sufficiency •Stresses govt’s economic reforms have telling effect on households Deji Elumoye in Abuja In a major push to cushion
The federal government has unveiled an N140 billion social protection programme aimed at lifting impoverished households to self-reliance, according to a statement from the First Lady. The scheme, called Household Prosperity and Empowerment Social Protection Project (HOPE-SP), is part of a broader strategy to move beyond temporary relief measures and promote sustainable livelihoods, economic empowerment, and self-sufficiency among vulnerable Nigerians.
The government's economic reforms, such as the removal of fuel subsidies and unification of the foreign exchange market, have boosted investor confidence and strengthened government revenues, but the focus must now shift towards protecting citizens from economic shocks and providing lasting solutions to poverty. Dr. Bernard Doro, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, highlighted the fragmentation and duplication that often occur among existing social intervention programmes, which have led to some beneficiaries receiving multiple interventions while others receive none.
He emphasized that the new approach would shift the emphasis from programmes to households and from counting beneficiaries to measuring the actual impact of interventions. The HOPE-SP project, along with four other initiatives, aims to create a new national architecture for humanitarian response and social protection, moving from reactive relief to anticipatory social protection.
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