A Civil Society Group drawn from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria, working under the umbrella of the National Social Protection Forum (NSPF) has commended the Kano State Government’s commitment of 10% of its annual budget to funding the social protection programmes of the state.
The Civil Group disclosed this in a press statement issued during the week.
According to them, “The Kano State Government in line with the Federal Government roadmap recognises the increasing relevance of social protection in engendering citizens’ rights to a life of dignity and promoting human and economic development.
Further in the statement, NSPF stated that during the last decade in particular, and among developing countries, social protection has emerged as a viable policy framework employed globally to address poverty, social and economic vulnerabilities, inequality and exclusion, and other threats to sustainable development.
“The Kano State Social Protection Policy has been developed around critical policies and strategies for the revival and prosperity of the Kano state economy. The Social protection systems address the policy objectives by a mix of contributory schemes (social insurance) and non-contributory tax-financed benefits, including social assistance to improve the quality of life of citizens of Kano State.
They stresssed that this singular act of the Kano State Government will contribute in achieving the objectives of the state social protection policy which is:
- To determine and periodically review the social assistance envelope to support the poorest and the most vulnerable population (including children, women, the elderly and people living with disabilities) to achieve minimum acceptable standards of living and alleviate chronic poverty.
- To ensure that the uninsured are covered against adverse personal circumstances and life-cycle livelihood risks.
- The state government shall facilitate employment and promote livelihoods, ensure basic standards at work, and extant rights.
- To extend access to social care services through community-based outreaches for poor and vulnerable individuals, households, and groups. Kano state has 44 LGAs and the coverage of basic social services (health and education) has expanded in response to population expansion and the proliferation of IDPs.
- To strengthen social protection institutional framework and coordination for sustainable service delivery. The following measures shall apply to achieve the policy objective.
- To ensure the development of social protection law, SPP operational guidelines and the establishment of SP organisational framework.
The NSPF’s however, appeals to the Kano State Government that the priority and focus of the Kano state government should be guided by the signed Mutual Accountability Framework which contains the specific asks and support available to programmes that will support good governance, improvement in economic recovery and investment as well as reduce poverty through human capital development particularly in Health, Education and Social Protection.
They also appeal to all other state governments to make a similar commitment towards the design, coordination and implementation of social protection programmes in their states.
“Social protection is a veritable tool to bridge the gap of inequality and exclusion in our societies It protects against shocks and vulnerabilities by addressing and reducing poverty. It is a foundation for a life of dignity throughout the lifecycle” says NSPF.