The Nigerian government has reached a significant milestone in its efforts to combat poverty and provide social protection services, with plans to target 16 million of the country\u2019s most vulnerable citizens. This announcement comes on the heels of a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which revealed that approximately 90 million Nigerians, or about 42% of the population, live in poverty.<\/p>\n
Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, Nigeria\u2019s Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, shared the country\u2019s achievements during the World Bank’s launch of the \u201cState of Social Protection Report 2025: The 2-Billion-Person Challenge\u201d on Monday. The report highlighted that two billion people in low-income and middle-income countries are either inadequately covered or entirely missed by social protection systems, a gap Nigeria is actively addressing.<\/p>\n
Addressing Poverty with Social Protection Services<\/strong><\/p>\n Yilwatda discussed Nigeria’s efforts to alleviate poverty through social protection services, citing the country\u2019s ongoing initiatives to help the nation\u2019s poorest populations. According to the minister, \u201cWe are targeting 16 million out of the 90 million poor Nigerians, which is a significant achievement for the country.\u201d<\/p>\n He noted that a majority of the country\u2019s impoverished population resides in rural areas. In fact, 68% of the vulnerable people receiving aid under the government\u2019s social protection schemes are from rural communities, while the remaining 32% come from urban areas.<\/p>\n A Decade of Progress in Social Protection<\/strong><\/p>\n Nigeria\u2019s social protection journey began in 2015, with the World Bank\u2019s support for the establishment of the country’s social protection system. Initially, Nigeria had no formal social register. However, by today, the country has compiled a database of 71 million individuals on its social register, which forms the foundation for all its social services.<\/p>\n \u201cThis social register has been key in ensuring financial inclusion, particularly for those in remote communities,\u201d said Yilwatda. He highlighted that the development of bank accounts and digital wallets for beneficiaries has significantly contributed to the growth of fintech services in the country. This development has deepened access to financial services, providing new opportunities for young people to engage with technology and boost income in rural areas.<\/p>\n Expanding Cash Transfers and Reaching More Households<\/strong><\/p>\n Yilwatda also discussed the growth of Nigeria\u2019s conditional cash transfer program, which has expanded rapidly since its inception. The program began with only two million households, covering less than 10 million individuals. Today, it has grown to reach 15 million households, benefiting over 60 million people.<\/p>\n He emphasized that 65% of the household leaders receiving aid are women, a group that faces a disproportionate risk of poverty. By targeting women, the government has significantly improved financial inclusion for women in rural communities.<\/p>\n Tackling Education and Youth Empowerment<\/strong><\/p>\n The Nigerian government is also using social protection mechanisms to address educational challenges, particularly the issue of out-of-school children. Yilwatda shared that the government\u2019s school feeding program, which helps ensure that children receive at least one meal a day at school, has grown from serving five million pupils three years ago to 9.6 million today. The program is now set to expand further to reach 11 million children in public primary schools across the country, with additional support from state governments.<\/p>\n To improve transparency and traceability, the government is leveraging digital infrastructure to create digital identities for beneficiaries. Through geo-tagging, the government aims to improve its response times and increase the transparency of its social protection services, ensuring that resources reach the intended individuals and communities.<\/p>\n Collaboration with the Private Sector for Job Creation<\/strong><\/p>\n Yilwatda also spoke about the government\u2019s collaboration with the private sector to create job opportunities for Nigeria\u2019s youth. The government has launched the \u201cSkill-to-Wealth\u201d program, in partnership with the World Bank and other development institutions, to help young Nigerians develop skills that will enable them to contribute to the country\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are working with the private sector to raise funds that will support social services and create jobs for our young population,\u201d the minister said, emphasizing the need to integrate Nigeria\u2019s youth into the workforce and boost economic growth.<\/p>\n Broader Social Protection Initiatives<\/strong><\/p>\n In addition to cash transfers and school feeding programs, Nigeria\u2019s social protection strategy includes a wide range of initiatives. These include pension schemes for workers, the Nigeria Social Trust Fund for protecting workers affected by job-related injuries or deaths, and the Industrial Training Fund, which provides skills training and job placement services for young people.<\/p>\n Yilwatda concluded by stating that the country\u2019s approach to social protection is rooted in data-driven decision-making, ensuring that the government can effectively target and support those most in need. He also reiterated the importance of the collaboration between the federal government, state governments, and the private sector in the fight against poverty.<\/p>\n Nigeria\u2019s commitment to social protection services has made it a leader in the region in terms of poverty reduction and social welfare, and the government remains focused on expanding these services to reach even more vulnerable citizens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Nigerian government has reached a significant milestone in its efforts to combat poverty and provide social protection services, with plans to target 16 million of the country\u2019s most vulnerable citizens. This announcement comes on the heels of a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which revealed that approximately 90 million Nigerians, or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Nigeria targets 16 million vulnerable citizens with social protection services, enhancing financial inclusion, job creation, and youth empowerment.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7527"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7527"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7531,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7527\/revisions\/7531"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}