At least 83% of the beneficiaries of the Nigerian government’s cash transfer programme, financed by an $800 million World Bank loan, reside in urban areas.
According to a document on the National Social Safety Net Program Scaling Up Project (NASSP-SU) obtained from the World Bank website, more than three million poor and vulnerable families received cash transfers as of May 2024.
This total includes 700,000 rural households and 2.5 million urban households, indicating a much larger number of beneficiaries in urban areas.
Document text: “Progress was slower than expected because of this Due to the delay in announcing the project’s effectiveness and the National Assembly’s approval of the external borrowing plan Start of project activities (October 2023).
“Since its inception, about 30 million beneficiaries have been covered by the social safety net About three million poor and vulnerable households received cash transfers in response to shocks as of May 2024. Of these beneficiaries, 700,000 families were from rural areas and about 2.5 million were affected families. From urban areas Regions. 1,652 urban areas were covered by the targeting system developed under the project.
“Furthermore it, A planned digital payment delivery mechanism has been put in place, using direct processing to directly deliver remittances To the beneficiaries’ accounts or wallets. Recently, the National Social Register (NSR) was merged with the National Register Identification Number (NIN) to further enhance the targeting system.“
Cash transfers reached about 20% of the household target
To mitigate the effect Reforms, especially the abolition of fuel subsidies, For the poor and vulnerable, the government announced support programs in October 2023Which include Temporary cash transfer program for poor and vulnerable families.
under this program, The government plans to reach 15 million families with 75,000 naira per family available In three-month installments of N25,000 each.
The government decided to take advantage of the NASSP-SU project To finance the rollout of the cash transfer program and strengthen the safety net delivery platform while laying the foundation For future shock response programmes.
However, although the government targeted 15 million families, only about three million families benefited from the cash transfer programme, representing about 20% of the target.
High project risk
The World Bank has classified the project as high risk, and the task force recommended that the project should be suspended for field activities with the team working with the government to conduct a root cause analysis and prepare a corrective action plan for safeguards.
The document noted: “Overall environmental and social performance is considered moderately satisfactory, and the overall risk rating remains valid substantial. An Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) has been developed to mitigate the risks envisaged under the project Prepared and disclosed in-country and on the World Bank’s external website.
“There were two fatal accidents involving project staff registered. One of the project employees returning from field activities was involved in a traffic accident, as was another project employee He was killed in his home by suspected armed bandits. The project reported another road accident involving a project employee during a field exercise resulting in leg injuries.
“The task force recommended that the project suspend field activities and work with the government to immediately conduct a root cause analysis and prepare a safeguards corrective action plan. The project has begun preparing a security risk assessment and management plan that will advise on appropriate measures to be used by project actors and stakeholders to mitigate Security risks The team will continue to monitor these risks closely with the government to ensure the safety and well-being of all employees and stakeholders.