Participants at a Two-Day Engagement and Evidence Dissemination meeting from Benue, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, and Zamfara States, have endorsed Social Register being developed by states and Local Government with support from the Wold Bank and Federal Government as the main source of data to be used for any Social Protection Intervention programmes in the country.
This contained in communiqué after a meeting organized by Save the Children International (SCI) and Action Against Hunger (ACF) with support from the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the UKAid.
The communiqué urged states of the Federation to use the social register to inform evidence-based decision-making with regard to social protection programmes including social protection financing and financial management.
It calls on Federal and State governments to ensure sustainable financing of social protection in line with globally acceptable models for social protection programmes including innovative funding mechanisms, such as public-private partnerships and leveraging technology for more efficient resource mobilisation and effective allocation.
It also emphasised on the need for regular updates and expansion of the Social Register to capture emerging issues toward achieving a social protection sector that is inclusive, participatory, and accountable by employing social dialogue and community engagement.
Earlier, the Kaduna State Commissioner for Planning and Budget Commission, Alhaji Mukhtar Ahmed Monrovia said the Social register has captured 3.9m poor, vulnerable individuals across the 23 Local Government Areas of the State.
Alhaji Monrovia noted that the state governor Mallam Uba Sani will not discard the Social Register adding that a budget line for social protection will be prioritized in the 2024 budget to enable it to deliver on some of the identified programmes targeting at ameliorating the suffering of the poor and vulnerable residents.
In a speech, a Member of the Kano State House of Assembly representing Ungogo Constituency Aminu Sa’adu Ungogo hinted that the Kano State governor has given credence to the Register and was ready to make inputs into it for successful implementation of Social Protection Programmes in the State.
Participants at the 2-day meeting include representatives of the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), State Assembly Members, Hon. Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries, Directors, State Coordinators of the State Operations Coordinating Office (SOCUs) from Benue, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, and Zamfara, and Civil Society Organisations.
