UNICEF partners to launch support for sustainable social protection system in Benue State

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The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), has commenced the process of implementing a Support Sustainable Social Protection System in Benue State. The project, funded by the European Union, aims to cater to the vulnerable population in Nigeria, including children, the poorest of the poor, displaced persons, and people living with disabilities.

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The UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Enugu, Mrs Juliet Chiluwe, stated that the exercise will begin in four pilot states: Abia, Benue, Oyo, and Sokoto. “Through this support, UNICEF has commissioned the Economic Policy Research Institute to conduct two reviews: one of the National Social Registry and another of federal and state-level social protection policies,” she said.

The reviews aim to build a more resilient and inclusive social protection system in Nigeria, and the project states. “This process will strengthen the social protection system of the state and enhance service delivery to poor and vulnerable people in the state, including the 75% of the Benue State population who are multidimensionally poor, and for the Internally Displaced populations in the state,” Chiluwe added

A representative of the Economic Policy Research Institute, Katharina Bollig, said that UNICEF had hired their institute to review the state-level protection policy and the national social register to ensure that both policies can be implemented adequately. “The reviews will ultimately ensure that the National Social Register can be effectively used in the state for targeted social protection programmes,” she noted.

The Director General of the Budget and Planning Commission in Benue State, Jerome Andohor, said that Benue is a pilot state because of its high poverty rate. “We have about 32.9% in terms of poverty. It’s not too good a statistic,” he said, adding that the state has about 1.7 million individuals on the social register and about 496,000 poor and vulnerable households.

The project aims to provide concrete, actionable recommendations to improve the functionality, usability, and integration of the National Social Register across various programs and sectors. It also seeks to enhance the inclusivity, efficiency, and resilience of Nigeria’s social protection systems, with a special emphasis on child sensitivity and shock responsiveness.

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