Nigeria’s Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, has taken on a crucial role as the Chairperson for the ECOWAS Inter-Ministerial Committee on Social Protection in West Africa.
This significant responsibility was granted approval by Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, who holds the position of Chairman of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government.
At the conclusion of the hybrid inter-ministerial meeting in Banjul, the Republic of Gambia, Dr. Edu emphasized the pressing need for the private sector to join hands with development partners in the regional social protection framework. She stressed the urgency of taking action now.
Dr. Edu highlighted the importance of collaboration among member countries within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to achieve comprehensive social protection in the sub-region.
She asserted that social protection is not a privilege but a fundamental human right, underscoring its role as a stabilizing force during crises.
The minister underscored the significance of adopting the ECOWAS regional social protection framework to tackle humanitarian and poverty challenges in West Africa.
She noted that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed significant gaps in social protection, with only around 17% of the population receiving some form of social protection benefits.
Turning attention to Nigeria’s initiatives, Dr. Edu acknowledged the country’s strides in addressing social protection issues at the national level.
She highlighted Nigeria’s implementation of one of the continent’s largest social protection interventions, covering 15 million households and 61 million individuals through conditional cash transfers.
Dr. Edu explained that Nigeria has developed policies, structures, and programs to enhance social protection, citing the existence of a National Policy on Social Protection and other related policies.
She also mentioned the establishment of a Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation Trust Fund to mobilize resources for social protection interventions.
The minister emphasized the necessity of the Social Protection Framework for West Africa, intending to provide guidelines and principles to ECOWAS and member states in designing and delivering social protection interventions.
The framework aims to address issues such as financing, coverage, climate risk, and informality in the economies of member states.
During the closing ceremony of the ECOWAS Regional Session, Muhammad Jallow, the Vice President of the Gambia, commended the commitment of member states to social protection.
He highlighted the framework’s objectives, including addressing challenges such as financing, coverage, climate risk, and the informality of economies in the region.
Jallow advocated for the integration of social protection into annual budgets, citing The Gambia’s recent international social protection conference on accelerating financinqg for increased coverage and reach.
