The Federal Government has launched a $1 billion Household Prosperity and Empowerment Social Protection Project (HOPE-SP), aimed at helping vulnerable Nigerians move from temporary government assistance to sustainable economic independence.
The programme was unveiled on Wednesday at the State House Banquet Hall in Abuja by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, alongside four other initiatives designed to strengthen Nigeria’s humanitarian response and poverty-reduction efforts.
The initiatives include the One-Humanitarian-One Poverty Response System (OHOPRS), Emergency Cash Transfer Programme, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction Ministerial Blueprint, and the Humanity First Magazine.
Speaking at the event, Mrs Tinubu said the initiatives were designed to improve the welfare of vulnerable individuals, families and communities while supporting the government’s broader economic reforms.
With the theme, “From Palliatives to Pathways,” the First Lady said the HOPE-SP would provide immediate support to vulnerable households while helping them transition towards recovery, empowerment and self-reliance.
She explained that the programme would identify vulnerable households, assess their specific needs and provide targeted interventions rather than relying solely on temporary relief.
According to her, the government’s economic reforms are intended to create the foundation for sustainable growth and shared prosperity, but many households still require support as the reforms take effect.
The First Lady commended the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Bernard Doro, and his team for developing the initiatives, saying they would help transform humanitarian interventions from temporary assistance into sustainable pathways to resilience and prosperity.
Doro, in his remarks, described the initiatives as the beginning of a new national framework for humanitarian intervention and social protection.
He said the government was moving away from reactive palliatives towards proactive social protection, with emphasis on helping vulnerable households escape poverty permanently.
The minister identified fragmentation among government intervention programmes as a major challenge, noting that different ministries, departments and agencies often operated separate databases and intervention systems.
He said the new framework would focus on households rather than simply counting beneficiaries, with vulnerable families identified, their needs assessed and appropriate interventions provided.
Under the system, beneficiaries would be monitored through a “poverty graduation pathway” designed to take them from initial assistance to economic inclusion and eventual self-reliance.
Doro said the system would be supported by unified data, digital infrastructure, improved financing mechanisms and real-time poverty intelligence.
He disclosed that existing databases would be integrated into a unified platform anchored on the National Social Register, which currently contains about 20 million households.
The platform would enable government to track beneficiaries from identification and intervention through their eventual exit from the social protection system and transition into a growth register.
He also announced plans for a National Poverty Intelligence Lab, stressing that the success of government interventions would be measured by the number of households protected, economically included and lifted out of poverty rather than the quantity of relief materials distributed.
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, said effective social protection required collaboration among the federal, state and local governments as well as development partners.
Bagudu said the administration’s ambition to build a $1 trillion economy by 2030 must be matched with deliberate measures to ensure that economic opportunities reach Nigerians at the grassroots.
He highlighted the government’s ward development initiative covering 8,809 wards across the country, saying it would help identify the causes of poverty and exclusion at the community level.
The minister also noted that Nigeria already had substantial resources and programmes dedicated to social protection, including a World Bank portfolio estimated at about $6 billion.
He, however, stressed that stronger coordination was needed to ensure that available resources were efficiently deployed and that interventions reached those who needed them most.
Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum welcomed the initiative, describing it as important to addressing vulnerability and the root causes of insecurity.
Zulum stressed that sustainable peace required more than emergency humanitarian assistance, arguing that poverty, inequality and other socioeconomic challenges must also be addressed.
He congratulated the Federal Government and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction on the launch of the new programmes.
