The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, have raised concerns over growing poverty among citizens, noting the need to strengthen the country’s social protection system.

This was contained in a communique jointly signed by the UNICEF Country Representative, Cristian Munduate, the EU Ambassador in Nigeria, Samuela Isopi, and Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun.
The communique is the product of resolutions reached at the end of the 3rd Edition of the Social Protection Cross Learning Summit held in Abuja on Friday.

The communique noted that as the most populous country in Africa, Nigeria faces significant challenges in human capital development, and deprivations in health, education, nutrition, water, hygiene, sanitation and child protection.
It called for a comprehensive and effective social protection strategy to alleviate the challenges.

“In response to these challenges, the Government of Nigeria introduced a cash transfer program, providing 25,000 Naira over a three-month period to poor and vulnerable households. This initiative aims to alleviate immediate economic pressures and mitigate the socio-economic impact of recent economic reforms.

“Our goal is to create a comprehensive support network that addresses the multifaceted needs of children and families, ultimately leading to improved outcomes in health, education, and overall well-being. We must work together to bridge gaps and strengthen coordination,” the communique said

Earlier, in his address, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of Economy, Edun, emphasized the importance of integrated social protection systems.

He said Nigeria is committed to ensuring access to social protection for all and removing the barriers that people face in accessing these services.
“As a result, the government is engaged to implement, with the support from relevant stakeholders, including the Social Protection Development Partner Group, the agreed action points from the summit,” he said.

On her part, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Munduate, on behalf of the Social Protection Development Partners Group, emphasised that “Social protection is crucial in realizing the rights of every child.
She advised that Child-sensitive social protection is key to ensuring that every child reaches their full potential,
“There is a need to ensure stronger linkages between social protection and essential social services with a focus on health, education and nutrition.

“Despite advancements, social protection coverage remains low, with only 7 per cent of children covered.“Coordination mechanisms are weak, leading to fragmentation and inefficiency.
“Therefore, the summit aims to generate actionable insights and foster collaboration among key players to enhance coverage, coordination, and financing of social protection interventions,” she said.

The Nigerian government, UNICEF, and partners reaffirmed their commitment to advancing social protection aligned with essential services for comprehensive support.
“The communique was signed to introduce Universal Child Benefit and increase public spending in social protection by 2 percent aiming to reduce multidimensional poverty and promote equitable development,”