By Omoyeni Ojeifo
The Federal Government says it is targeting 7.6 million vulnerable households nationwide under a new shock-responsive cash-transfer programme aimed at cushioning economic shocks and strengthening social protection.
In an interview monitored by PersecondNews on Channels TV on Wednesday, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Dr. Bernard Doro revealed that the new intervention accompanies a wide-ranging reform of the nation’s social protection framework.
“One major aspect of what we have done today is to unveil what we call the One Humanitarian, One Poverty Response System,” he said.
Doro noted that the new approach seeks to address fragmentation among existing interventions by creating stronger coordination between programmes and implementing institutions.
“With the new reforms, it brings coordination and brings everything together, so that the programmes and interventions start talking to one another.”
He added that the government intends to use the new architecture to move beyond repeated emergency assistance towards a structured pathway for reducing poverty.
“What we want to do is a deliberate strategy on how we reduce poverty, so we are not just looking at what we do as a recurrent cycle of relief,” he added.
The minister emphasized that beneficiaries would be identified through a unified system and followed through different stages, allowing government to determine their progress over time.
“We have a system in place where we want to deliberately track Nigerians out of poverty, and once we identify an individual, we track them through a process.”
According to Doro, the reform would also improve coordination among federal, state and local governments, while strengthening collaboration with international development partners.
“We want to synergise and bring everything together, avoid duplication and inefficiencies, and make sure that every kobo we invest actually goes directly to the last mile.”
The minister stressed that government’s previous cash-transfer interventions had already reached millions of households, while acknowledging that the latest available multidimensional poverty data dates to 2022.
“We have done over N600 billion in cash transfers to support vulnerable Nigerians within three years, and we have reached slightly over 10 million households.”
He noted that the ministry is commissioning a review of the existing poverty figures to provide a more current assessment of the country’s poverty situation.
“The data we are currently using is a figure of 2022, and we are commissioning a review of those figures.”
The minister added that the government is also working to address food insecurity through targeted interventions, particularly in areas affected by conflict and other humanitarian challenges.
He noted: “We have a food and nutrition intervention that has been implemented across 10 northern states, and we are monitoring the situation for further intervention.”
Doro said the Federal Government remained committed to reducing poverty by combining immediate relief with longer-term interventions that help vulnerable Nigerians build sustainable livelihoods.