On Monday, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, announced the commencement of conditional cash transfer to poor and vulnerable households in the country.
Amidst the COVID-19 crisis, an immediate cash transfer will be sent to vulnerable households in advance of two months following the lockdown order.
‘’Mr. President in his speech, directed that cash transfer will be given in advance of two months. This we have also done. We have directed the immediate cash transfer to the poorest and most vulnerable households in the country. We are aware that there are people who live on daily wages, so we are also going to look at those groups of people to see how we can get this food intervention to them in this period,’’ the minister said while addressing some journalists in Abuja.
Using a community-based targeting model, the ministry in collaboration with the World Bank will be funding about 11 million people.
The National Social Register of Poor and Vulnerable Household estimated 2,644,495 households and 11,045, 537 citizens as beneficiaries of the federal government palliatives. These numbers were recorded from 453 local governments and under 35 states.
These represent about 60 % of the country’s total local government and 7 % of it entire population
According to the Kaduna state Focal Person for Social Investment, Saude Amina Atoyebi, the cash transfers are not popular in the “social media space because the beneficiaries are not in the category of citizens who own smartphones.”
‘’The beneficiaries are identified via community-Based targeting. There are government officials at the state and local government levels who are trained to coordinate these activities. Summarily, they go to communities and villages in these LGAs, engage them and guide them towards identifying the poorest among them via Proxy Means Tests. E.g it could be that most have pit latrines but some don’t or some are old and disabled and unable to fend for themselves,” she said in a tweet.
The Focal person, who is currently overseeing the transfer process in Kaduna state pointed out that the cash transfer has been approved and will commence in Kaduna state this week.
“In Kaduna, the beneficiaries were identified by the World Bank poverty rankings of Local Governments. The poorest LGAs identified are Birnin- Gwari, Lere, Sanga, Kauru, Kachia. These were chosen as the pilot LGAs. Did this mean that other LGAs will not be reached? No. But the process is to conclude obtaining data in the Pilot LGs,’’ she added.
The conditional cash transfer will be made by the National cash transfer office using the data provided by the National Social Register. The register will help track those in need of relief supplies until the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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