• Time: 12:12 am
• Location: Nationawide

A large proportion of the Nigerian population lives below the poverty line. In view of this alarming fact, the Federal Government of Nigeria has partnered with the World Bank under a National Social Safety Nets Project (NASSP) to support the development of safety nets with the hope of reducing the number of vulnerable persons within the country.

The Government has prioritized social protection interventions as a key strategy towards reducing poverty and socio-economic vulnerabilities in the population. To implement NASSP, the Government has established a National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office (NASSCO) to coordinate existing social safety net programs at the Federal level, and a Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) under the National Social Investment Programmes to operate safety net transfers to targeted poor and vulnerable households across Nigeria.

Project Development Goal The project development goal of the CCT is to provide access to targeted transfers to poor and vulnerable households under an expanded national social safety nets system.

Programme Objectives To increase poor household consumption in the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT using the State’s Social Registry when selecting beneficiaries,

• To provide a safety net for the poorest households and encourage asset acquisition for poor households;
• To reduce the vulnerability of poor households and build their resilience to shocks;
• To improve health outcomes of poor Households (such as the reduction of child and maternal mortality and the incidence of malnutrition);
• To improve educational outcomes, such as school attendance, enrollment and completion rates;
• To promote the use of safe water and improve environmental awareness and concerns, sanitation, hygiene and management practices;
• To promote financial inclusion and stimulate productivity, thereby reducing poverty;
• To improve human capital development and increase livelihood.

Categories of Cash Transfers under the CCT

1. Conditional Cash Transfer: This transfer supports the poor and vulnerable to improve household consumption with the aim of reducing poverty and preventing the vulnerable from falling further into poverty and building resilience to withstand shock.
2. Top-up: The top-up transfer aims at responding to deficiencies in capacity and lack of investment in human capital. It creates an incentive for extreme poor households to invest in education, health and nutrition, environment and productivity.

Benefits:

• Monetary benefit of N5,000.00 per month per household and a top-up upon fulfillment of certain conditions.
• Capacity building to empower beneficiaries on life skills, entrepreneurial/ technical skills, financial inclusion and encouraging the formation of savings groups.
• Coaching and mentoring support to improve beneficiaries’ economic status and boost their income.

Eligibility

All States in Nigeria are eligible to participate in the program, subject to fulfilling certain conditions. All households identified as poor and vulnerable through a selection process designed by the National Social Registry, are eligible for Conditional Cash Transfers. Payments are, however, made to only those who fall below the proxy means test, having been identified as needy and deserving.

Eligible Households must have one or more of the following:

• Health

Pregnant woman who are registered and attend ante-natal and post- natal clinic Lactating mothers Children between 0-2 years.

• Education

Children between 6 and 18 years old

• Environment

Women between 18 and 40 years