President Bola Tinubu has unveiled five landmark social and development programmes worth about 3.05 billion dollars to accelerate poverty reduction, strengthen community resilience and deepen investment in human capital.
Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, inaugurated the programmes yesterday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The initiatives comprise the Nigeria Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Additional Financing (NG-CARES AF) and the Solutions for Internally Displaced and Host Communities (SOLID). Others are; the Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity (HOPE-GOV, HOPE-PHC and HOPE-EDU).
The President said: “This is not just a set of programmes; these are promises kept. Today, we act on our pledge by protecting the vulnerable, empowering communities and building the human capital that will carry Nigeria forward”. According to him, the programmes formed a single national strategy to translate recent macroeconomic gains into improved livelihoods through investments in livelihoods, healthcare, education, social protection and support for displaced communities.
Tinubu further said NG-CARES would receive about 1.25 billion dollars in additional World Bank financing to support smallholder farmers and small businesses, while SOLID would deploy 300 million dollars to assist internally displaced persons and host communities.
According to him, the 1.5 billion-dollar HOPE package would strengthen primary healthcare, foundational education, teacher support and governance reforms in public education nationwide. “These five programmes are one coordinated national strategy for poverty reduction, human capital development and community resilience”, he stated.
President Tinubu said Nigeria’s economic reforms had strengthened the foundation for inclusive growth, citing rising foreign reserves, declining inflation and improved economic performance. “These are not abstract figures; they are the foundation for the next phase of our national development”.
He added that expanded cash transfers had reached 15 million vulnerable households, and urged federal, state and local governments, development partners and implementing agencies to ensure effective implementation, stressing that delivery and accountability would determine the programmes’ success.
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, described the interventions as a whole-of-government response to poverty, the cost-of-living crisis and human capital challenges. “These programmes represent another milestone in translating the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda into concrete interventions that directly touch the lives of poor and vulnerable Nigerians”, Bagudu said.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, said the 570 million-dollar HOPE-PHC programme would improve primary healthcare services for about 40 million Nigerians, especially women, children and adolescents. According to him, the programme would reduce maternal and under-five mortality, strengthen primary healthcare facilities and improve service delivery through performance-based financing.
World Bank Country Director, Matthew Verghis, said the programmes demonstrated that Nigeria’s greatest asset remained its people, adding that the institution would continue supporting reforms that improve education, healthcare and social protection.
The event was witnessed by governors, ministers, development partners, top government officials and stakeholders from the relevant sectors.
