It has been stressed that social protection plays a critical role in human capital development by providing safety nets that ensure access to essential services such as education, health, and nutrition.
It was further stressed that effective social protection systems contribute to economic stability, poverty reduction, and inclusive growth, laying a strong foundation for the overall development of the country.
These are contained in a communiqué issued at the end of a one-day meeting of the Social Protection Cross-Learning SPECS-2024 Summit held in Abuja on Friday with the theme: Social Protection Towards Human Capital Development.
The 3rd Edition of the Social Protection Cross-Learning Summit (SPECS-2024) was convened in Abuja, bringing together key stakeholders from federal and state governments, development partners, and civil society.
The summit was organised by the Federal Ministry of Finance in collaboration with the Social Protection Development Partner Group (DPG), reflecting the shared commitment to enhancing social protection systems to foster sustainable human capital development in Nigeria.
The Summit acknowledges the significant achievements of federal and state governments in the realm of social protection.
The adoption of Social Protection Policies, the development of a single registry, the adoption of the National Health Insurance Authority Act with its provision for the Vulnerable Group Fund, the cash transfer initiative of N25,000 monthly over a three-month period to cushion the impact of fuel subsidy removal, and the establishment of Social Protection Councils in several states are commendable milestones that demonstrate a growing commitment to social protection.
Also, SPECS provides a crucial platform for stakeholders to deliberate on effective social protection delivery, with this year’s summit focused on three critical areas: increasing coverage, improving coordination, and ensuring adequate financing of social protection systems.
The action points in the communiqué cut across the sub-themes, offering a comprehensive approach to strengthening social protection in Nigeria.
The Federal Government of 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 of relevant stakeholders, including the Social Protection Development Partner Group, the following agreed action points from this summit:
The coverage of SPECS is to resume and improve the delivery of the National Homegrown School Feeding Programme to ensure that children, particularly from vulnerable households, receive nutritious meals that support their education and health.
It is also to introduce a Universal Child Benefit to provide financial support to all children, reduce childhood poverty, promote equitable development opportunities, and accelerate access to basic social services, including health and education.
SPECS is to extend social protection to workers in the informal economy, including farmers, to enhance their resilience and economic stability.
Accelerate the implementation of the existing cash transfer programme to mitigate the impact of current inflationary pressures and limit the exacerbation of poverty and vulnerability.
Expand the social register in collaboration with state governments to ensure that the poor and vulnerable in all LGAs are captured, which will help towards the effective planning and design of a robust and inclusive social protection programme across states.
Promote women’s empowerment through scaling up ‘cash plus’ approaches to tackle gender inequality and shift harmful and discriminatory gender norms.
The coordination is to establish a Social Protection Council as provided for by the National Social Protection Policy. This council will oversee and coordinate social protection initiatives across different sectors and levels of government, ensuring cohesive and efficient delivery of services.
Develop a robust and interoperable Management Information System (MIS) to improve the delivery and monitoring of social protection programmes. This system will facilitate enhanced data sharing and integration across the various social protection schemes.
Reinforce the Secretariat Function with adequate human resources allocated to support the functioning of the social protection team in the office of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy.
This includes hiring and developing the capacity of personnel to manage and coordinate the implementation of social protection policies and programmes effectively.
The financing aspect of SPECS is to increase allocations to social protection by 2 per cent to ensure adequate funding for expanding and sustaining social protection initiatives.
Introduce a specific budget code for social protection to streamline and monitor financial flows dedicated to social protection programmes, ensuring transparency and accountability.
Strengthen partnerships and collaboration with development partners to secure financial support for social protection programmes through innovative and sustainable strategies.
It was concluded that the SPECS-2024 summit has underscored the importance of a comprehensive and integrated approach to social protection in Nigeria.
The action points outlined in this communiqué will shape the social protection agenda in the country for the next two years.
The outcome was endorsed by Ms. Cristian Munduate, UNICEF Representative, Co-Lead Social Protection Development Partner Group; Ms. Samuela Isopi, EU Ambassador in Nigeria, Co-Lead Social Protection Development Partner Group; and Mr. Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy.
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