The Federal Government has unveiled a $1 billion Household Prosperity and Economic Social Protection Project (HOPE-SP) to reposition humanitarian interventions and move vulnerable Nigerians from temporary palliatives to sustainable economic support.
The initiative was launched on Wednesday by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja, under the theme, “From Palliatives to Pathways.”
The ministry said HOPE-SP is aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s social protection and humanitarian response systems while improving the identification, targeting and support of vulnerable households.
Speaking as the special guest of honour, First Lady Oluremi Tinubu commended the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Bernard Doro, and his team for pursuing reforms designed to transform humanitarian assistance from short-term relief into sustainable pathways to recovery, empowerment and self-reliance.
She said the new initiatives would enhance the government’s ability to identify and support vulnerable households while improving coordination across humanitarian and poverty-reduction programmes.
According to her, the reforms would also facilitate shock-responsive assistance, greater accountability and measurable outcomes in government interventions.
Doro described the launch as a major shift in the Federal Government’s approach to humanitarian intervention, with vulnerable households placed at the centre of its programmes.
He said the reform would tackle fragmentation, duplication and the proliferation of multiple, uncoordinated beneficiary registries.
The minister said the government plans to establish a unified national framework connecting identification, needs assessment, targeted intervention, protection, empowerment, poverty graduation and sustainable growth.
A key component of the reform is the One Humanitarian, One Poverty Response System (OHOPRS), which Doro said would integrate humanitarian response, social protection and poverty-reduction programmes under a coordinated national structure.
He said the system would be driven by unified registries, digital delivery platforms, improved financing, stronger institutions, enhanced accountability and real-time intelligence.
Other initiatives unveiled alongside HOPE-SP include the Emergency Shock-Responsive Cash Transfer, the FMHAPR Ministerial Blueprint and the Humanitarian First Magazine.
The ministry said the magazine would chronicle the experiences of beneficiaries and document the impact of government interventions.
The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Olubunmi Olusanya, said the initiatives would further strengthen coordination and accountability in the delivery of humanitarian and poverty-reduction programmes.
“The ultimate measure of success would be the tangible difference made in the lives of vulnerable Nigerians,” Olusanya said.
Goodwill messages were delivered by Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum on behalf of governors and sub-national governments, as well as Minister of Budget and Economic Planning Abubakar Bagudu, former Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs Yusuf Tanko Sununu, the European Union, the World Bank and other development partners.
The stakeholders commended the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s social protection and humanitarian response architecture.
The event also featured a cultural performance by the Irigwe New Wave Dance Troupe from Plateau State.
