UNICEF Harps On Pragmatic Approach Against Poverty

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has canvassed for a pragmatic approach to the review of the content and validation of the draft revised National Social Protection Policy.

The review was expected to accommodate some emerging issues on social protection and poverty alleviation in Nigeria which includes COVID-19, the emergence of urban poor, and shock responsiveness.

In her address yesterday at the Validation Workshop on the National Social Protection Policy organised by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning in Abuja, the acting chief of Social Policy, UNICEF Nigeria who represented UNICEF as the co-lead, International Development Partners Group on Social Protection, Temi Esteri Fet’era, stressed the need to be mindful of the new evidence, particularly on poverty.

Fet’era noted that children are about 50 per cent of Nigeria’s population, adding that the policy must be targeted at addressing their needs.

“We must keep their needs at the heart of what we are doing. We also need to balance our ambitions with the need to be pragmatic in how we are approaching the review of the policy narrative while validating the revised National Social Protection Policy” she said.

Speaking further, she said social protection goes beyond social transfers and meeting the immediate needs of people.

“It also refers to removing the financial barriers that actually constrain people from accessing essential social services such as health, nutrition and education for the most under resourced and marginalised populations across the country, which really could be anyone of us to varying degrees because we all have vulnerability to low income or being under-resourced depending on where we are at a given time,” she said.

She said social protection systems strengthening is a core part of the work of the development partners group, and a core focus for UNICEF programme in Nigeria.

“A lot has changed since the initial national social protection policy was approved in July 2017. COVID-19 has happened and is ongoing. The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development did not exist at that time, for instance.

“So, the essence of this policy review and its objective when we started was to keep in mind the emerging issues, the changes that have happened, and incorporate these changes in the national social protection policy so that we can have a more robust policy,” she added.