Animashaun Salman
The European Union has partnered with the Sokoto State Government to launch a new child-sensitive social protection model designed to improve targeting, data quality and access to essential services for vulnerable households across the state.
The initiative is funded through the €14 million Social Support for Social Inclusion programme and is being implemented by UNICEF and the International Labour Organisation to strengthen Nigeria’s social protection architecture.
Speaking at the launch in Sokoto on Wednesday, UNICEF Deputy Representative, Ms Rownak Khan, said Nigeria had made “important progress” in building social protection systems, but noted that child poverty remained “vast, widespread and deeply multidimensional.”
“What we see is not only monetary deprivation. A child may be out of school, lack access to healthcare, suffer poor nutrition, have no legal identity or be unvaccinated. These overlapping deprivations reinforce each other and have lifelong impacts that monetary measures alone cannot capture”, she said.
Under the new model, the National Social Register will incorporate expanded indicators on out-of-school children, nutrition, health insurance coverage, birth registration, zero-dose immunisation and vulnerability to shocks. Officials said the approach would improve planning, service delivery and grievance redress mechanisms, particularly in high-poverty local government areas.
“The deliberate focus on high-poverty LGAs and the improved grievance redress mechanism reflect a strong commitment to inclusive and shock-responsive systems,” Khan added, commending Sokoto State for piloting the initiative.
Sokoto State Governor, Ahmed Aliyu, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to pioneering innovations in social protection and pledged sustained support to ensure the success of the model.
UNICEF’s Chief of Field Office in Sokoto, Mr Michael Juma, said the rollout in the state would serve as a template for replication in other states, emphasising that community participation would help ensure no household remains “unseen or unreached.”
Also present at the launch were the EU’s Head of Cooperation in Nigeria, Mr Massimo De Luca, and the EU’s Head of Human Development, Ms Leila Ben Amor, who jointly underscored the EU’s commitment to improving outcomes for children and vulnerable families.
Development partners expressed confidence that the reforms would deliver measurable impact for children and households and contribute to a more resilient and inclusive social protection system in Nigeria.
Copyright PUNCH
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
Contact: health_wise@punchng.
