No fewer than one million Urban Informal Workers captured are expected to benefit from the N30 billion Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) project, over the next six months.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq gave the hint in Abuja while declaring open the Two-Day on ‘Sensitisation Workshop on Effective Media Reporting of Humanitarian Sector’ organised for Media Correspondents and the Ministry’s Press Crew.

“The National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) which was established in 2016 has four components namely; the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP); N-Power, National Conditional Cash Transfer and the Government Enterprise Empowerment Programme (GEEP).

“Since inception, the programme has impacted positively on the lives of the poor and the vulnerable as millions of households have benefitted from these NSIP interventions in the last five years.

“The NSIP has been adjudged the largest social protection programme in Africa with huge resources earmarked annually to cause positive changes in the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable in the country. The NSIP is contributing significantly to poverty reduction and the expansion of the programme will contribute significantly to the realization of the National aspiration of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty by 2030.

“The National Home Grown School Feeding Programme is an important intervention designed to improve school enrolment and completion, stimulate agricultural production and create employment opportunities for the community. Over Eight Million Primary 1-3 Pupils in Public Schools are currently receiving one meal per day under the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme.

“In January 2021, President Buhari constituted the National Steering Committee (NSC) on Alternate School Feeding for the establishment of the Alternate School Program (ASP), an initiative to take teaching to
the children in non-formal schools. A Technical Working Group (TWG) was inaugurated in April 2021, to serve as a technical clearinghouse for the proper functioning of the NSC,” she noted.

While giving an update on the N-Power programme as a major component of the NSIP designed to stem the growing tide of poverty, unemployment and social insecurity in Nigeria, she noted that N-Power has “provided a temporary income-generating opportunity for 500,000 unemployed youths in the Batch A and B N-Power beneficiaries.”

On his part, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Bashir Nura Alkali explained that the aim of the workshop was to educate and sensitise participants on the mandate, programmes and activities of the Ministry as well as expose them on the concept of humanitarian response and how to effectively report the humanitarian sector. (Nigerian Tribune)

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