NEDC Targets Birth Registration, Child Healthcare With New Initiative

The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has applauded the Renewed Hope Baby Support (RHBS) programme. This national human capital infrastructure initiative aims to provide every Nigerian child with a structured identity, access to healthcare, and long-term financial opportunities.

He said the RHBS programme, initiated by the North East Development Commission (NEDC), aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration of 2026 as the Year of the Family and Social Protection, just as he lauded the Commission for taking proactive steps to translate the President’s vision into concrete action.

According to a statement by his spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, Senator Shettima disclosed this on Thursday when the management team of the NEDC, led by its Managing Director/CEO, Mohammed Goni Alkali, presented the RHBS programme execution framework to him at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

“As you are aware, Mr President has declared 2026 as the Year of the Family and Social Protection, with clear directives for implementation across all levels of government. I commend the NEDC for taking proactive steps to translate this vision into concrete action, particularly through the Renewed Hope Baby Support (RHBS) programme.

“The RHBS is a very timely and strategic initiative. It sits squarely within the North East Stabilisation and Development Masterplan, aligning perfectly with its three critical pillars: peaceful society, healthy citizens, and an educated populace,” he stated.

The Vice President demanded “seamless collaboration between the NEDC, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, and other relevant agencies to ensure the RHBS achieves maximum impact.”

By focusing on children and families, VP Shettima said the RHBS programme will deliver direct impact on the most vulnerable Nigerians, “while serving as an effective execution mechanism for Mr President’s social protection mandate.”

Describing the timing of the programme as auspicious, the Vice President noted that the RHBS “will serve as a strategic palliative that cushions the effects of necessary economic reforms in a dignified and structured manner.

“It demonstrates that while we implement difficult but essential policies, we remain deeply committed to the welfare of our people — especially the women and children of the North East,” he added.

The VP maintained that the RHBS will further position the NEDC as a key player in the actualisation of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the North East, even as he said, “This is the kind of focused, results-oriented intervention we expect from our Regional Development Commissions.”

He disclosed that, since the initiative is primarily designed for children, the Presidency will provide more details on the implementation and rollout strategy by 27 May 2026, in commemoration of Children’s Day.

Earlier in her presentation, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Regional Development and NEDC (Office of the Vice President), Dr Mariam Masha, explained that the RHBS programme is a national human capital infrastructure initiative.

She said while Nigeria records approximately 7.6 million births yearly, only “fewer than half are formally registered within the first year, resulting in millions of children beginning life outside national visibility and weakening long-term planning across education, health, economic, and social systems.”

According to her, the RHBS programme is designed to ensure that every Nigerian child enters life through a structured pathway that connects identity, healthcare participation, and long-term opportunity formation.

“RHBS is positioned as a structured national programme, not a traditional welfare intervention. It uses milestone-linked support to connect children from birth to formal systems of identity, health, and opportunity.

“The programme serves as the operational mechanism to translate the President’s directive placing Nigerian families at the centre of governance into measurable outcomes, with a strong focus on early childhood development,” she stated.

Dr Masha, however, stressed that the RHBS is not a social intervention but a structured national operating model for identity inclusion, developmental health participation, and long-term human capital development.

“The necessary infrastructure and political mandate already exist — what is now required is disciplined execution,” she noted.