The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), with support from the European Union (EU) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), has begun reviewing Nigeria’s National Social Register (NSR) and social protection policies at both federal and state levels. The aim is to ensure these systems better support poor and vulnerable people in four states.
UNICEF, through EU funding and collaboration with ILO, is implementing a project called “Supporting Sustainable Social Protection Systems in Nigeria” (SUSI). The project is being carried out in Benue, Abia, Oyo, and Sokoto States.
Speaking to journalists in Makurdi during a stakeholder meeting, Mrs. Juliet Chiluwe, UNICEF’s Chief of Field Office in Enugu, said UNICEF had engaged the Economic Policy Research Institute (EPRI) to conduct the reviews.
She explained that the main goal is to assess and improve the National Social Register to make it more accurate and efficient in identifying poor and vulnerable groups. These groups include displaced people, persons with disabilities, women, and children affected by conflicts or natural disasters like floods.
“This review will help build a stronger and more inclusive social protection system in Nigeria and in these project states,” Chiluwe said. “It will improve service delivery to the poor, especially in Benue, where 75% of the population faces multiple deprivations, including those living in IDP camps.”
She added that the review would also look at both national and state social protection policies to help the government and its partners strengthen systems that are fair, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of vulnerable populations, especially children.
Chiluwe thanked the EU, development partners, and Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, for their support and for creating an enabling environment for the project. She also appreciated stakeholders for their ongoing efforts to build a stronger social protection system in the state.
Catherina Bollig, a representative of EPRI, said UNICEF engaged their institute to assess both the state’s social protection policy and the National Social Register. The goal, she said, is to ensure that these policies are practical and effective in addressing challenges during implementation.
Bollig mentioned that EPRI will be holding interviews with officials from different Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in Benue to understand their perspectives on how the social register and policies can work better.
Jerome Andohor, Director General of the Budget and Planning Commission, said Benue was chosen as a pilot state because of its high poverty rate. “We have about a 32.9% poverty rate in Benue. Across Nigeria, about 133 million people are living in multidimensional poverty,” he said.
“In Benue, there are 1.7 million people listed in the social register, which translates to around 496,000 Poor and Vulnerable Households (PVHs),” Andohor explained.
He stressed that Benue is very important because it is the country’s food basket. “If we allow this many people to remain in poverty, it will affect the entire nation. That is why this project is focusing on Benue. The goal is to align our policies and social register with national standards to make them work effectively,” he added.
