Some development partners, Save the Children International (SCI) and Action Against Hunger (ACF) have called on the federal and state governments to deepen social protection interventions for inclusive and sustainable development.

The partners made the call in Abuja on Wednesday, at the close out of the Expanding Social Protection for Inclusive Development (ESPID) project.

The project was implemented between 2021 and Sept. 2024 by SCI and ACF, with funding from the United Kingdom’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

Mr Victor Ogharanduku, Senior Social Protection Advisor, SCI, who spoke on behalf of the development partners, described social protection as an intervention that bridged the gap between the rich and the poor.

Speaking on the key achievements of ESPID, Ogharanduku explained that the project was designed to contribute to the reduction of multidimensional poverty in Nigeria, stressing the need for sustainability.

He said that the 4.7 million pounds (about N10.4 billion) projec
t, focused on supporting increased government delivery of effective social protection programmes.

He added that the project was equally designed to support citizens’ participation in the design and implementation of social protection programmes.

He said that the project implemented in Kaduna, Jigawa, Zamfara, Kano states and at the federal level, was built on the successes for the FCDO-funded Child Grant Development Programme.

He added that the project had provided technical assistance, capacity building, policy advocacy, and evidence generation to support the development and implementation of social protection policies, laws, programmes and systems.

Ogharanduku identified some of the key achievements of the ESPID project at the federal level as the revision of the National Social Protection Policy and guidelines for the institutionalisation of State Operation and Coordination Unit.

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Others he said were update of the social protection regis
ter to address disability concerns, development of gender-based violence referral directory and improved data management, monitoring and evaluation systems for social protection.

At the state level, the senior social protection advisor said that the ESPID project supported the development of key policy and legal framework in Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano and Zamfara states.

He identified some of the policies and legal framework as the social protection policy, social security laws and bills, fiscal space analysis, youths’ graduation programme, financing strategy and Managing Information system for social protection.

Also established, according to him, are social protection agencies, while a health insurance strategic plan and old age pension scheme among others were developed.

He equally said that the project also worked with civil society organisations, media and community members to enhance awareness and improve transparency and accountability of social protection interventions.

‘At the national level, these ef
forts culminated in the registration of the Network for Social Protection Advocacy in Nigeria (NSPAN), including the development of a five-year strategic plan, 2025 to 2030,’ he added.

Ogharanduku, however, said that in spite of the successes, the project was challenged by inadequate funding, weak systems, short life span of the project as well as poor coordination and no institutionalisation of social protection programmes.

He said that to achieve more results, there was the need to build adaptability into longer-term programmes, put legal and administrative framework in place, and improve public financing among others.

Acknowledging the project support, NSPAN National Coordinator, Dr Taiwo Benson, said that the network was established with support from the ESPID project.

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‘The project improved our capacity in advocacy, budget tracking, resource mobilisation, including the development of a strategic plan.

‘We will collaborate wit
h our state chapters to sustain the expansion of social protection services that provide a life of dignity for residents of the country,’ he said.

Similarly, Mr Abdullahi Usman, National President, Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, stressed the need for a more inclusive approach to social protection.

Usman emphasised that the rights and needs of persons with disabilities must be fully integrated into all aspects of social protection programmes.

‘This will ensure that no one is left behind,’ he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria