Gautier Mignot, the European Union (EU) ambassador to Nigeria, says the organisation has provided the country with €13 million to expand its social protection system.
Mignot spoke in Abuja on Thursday during the launch of the sustainable social protection system in Nigeria.
The EU ambassador said the funding would support the expansion and digitalisation of the national social register as part of the project, which would be implemented by the United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
“It will include improved mechanisms to create a strong, responsive system that serves as a tool for policy planning toward poverty reduction, while also being interoperable with other related databases,” he said.
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“We are fully aware of the importance of social protection in addressing poverty, empowering individuals, fostering social inclusion, and promoting resilience in the face of emergencies.”
He said Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, has a significant portion of its population living in extreme poverty.
Mignot said governments at all levels have been working diligently, with support from international partners, to address these critical issues by mobilising some of the country’s resources for poverty reduction.
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While noting that much still needed to be done, he called for the establishment of a comprehensive national social register to identify the poor and ensure they qualify for social protection allowances.
Abubakar Bagudu, minister of budget and economic planning, lauded the EU’s support for the sustainable and innovative social protection programme (EU-SUSI) in Nigeria.
He said the programme would help strengthen gaps in the social protection register and improve community resilience in states like Adamawa, Abia, Benue, Borno, Kebbi, Oyo, and Sokoto.
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