Nigerian Minister Edu emerges chairman, ECOWAS inter-ministerial committee on social protection

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, has emerged as the Chairman for the ECOWAS Inter-ministerial Committee on Social Protection in the West Africa Sub-region.

“Edu automatically becomes the chairman following the approval of the chairman of ECOWAS  Heads of State and Government and Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, “a statement on Monday by her Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Rasheed Zubair, explained.

In response to the latest developments, the minister emphasized the need for involvement from the private sector and development partners in the regional social protection framework, stating, “the time for action is now.”

During the closing session of the hybrid inter-ministerial meeting in Banjul, the capital of the Republic of Gambia, where the ECOWAS regional social protection framework and operational plan were adopted, Dr. Edu stressed the importance of member countries’ adoption and full implementation of the social protection framework. She asserted that this is crucial for addressing humanitarian and poverty challenges in West Africa.

Dr. Edu underscored the necessity for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member countries to collaborate in achieving maximum social protection in the sub-region. Describing the meeting as crucial and significant, she noted its potential to advance the initiatives of the ECOWAS Commission, with the support of partners, in establishing social protection instruments in the sub-sub-region. While virtually chairing the event, the minister argued that:

“Social Protection is a fundamental human right and should not be regarded as a privilege. It is a social and economic necessity that has proven to be a stabilizer in times of crises and shock, and it is meant to be provided throughout  life circle”

Dr. Edu highlighted that the COVID-19 pandemic brought to light significant gaps in global social protection, particularly in the West African sub-region, which ranks among the continents with the lowest social protection measures.

She revealed that records indicate the ECOWAS region has the lowest social protection coverage on the continent, with only around 17% of the population receiving some form of social protection benefits. Additionally, spending on social protection is notably low, with studies indicating that as little as 1% of the GDP of member States is allocated to social protection benefits, excluding health. This falls far short of international standards and is deemed unacceptable for West Africa.

Using Nigeria as an example, the Minister acknowledged that member states were making substantial efforts at the national level to address social protection issues by formulating policies and establishing structures and programs to reshape the narrative.

She said Nigeria is presently implementing one of the highest social protection interventions that covers 15 million households and, by extension, 61 million individuals through conditional cash transfers. This she said was the first of its magnitude and coverage in Africa by President Bola Tinubu, who is also the Chairman of ECOWAS, showing leadership in social protection within the region.

“Nigeria has a National Policy on Social Protection developed and other ancillary policies that will facilitate its operationalization, like the Cash and Voucher Assistance policy in Humanitarian context have equally been developed to guide actors in providing cash transfer assistance to the persons of concern in a humanitarian setting.

“Also in terms of structures, we have Several Agencies and parastatals dedicated to providing various social protection assistance to different categories of the population of Nigeria to lift millions out of poverty through different Social Investment and intervention programs under the watch of the ministry of humanitarian Affairs and poverty alleviation.

“All interventions including humanitarian interventions are now redesigned through the lenses of the Humanitarian- Development-Peace nexus to ensure sustainable response.”