Kaduna Govt. Captures 195,289 Poor, Vulnerable Households

The Kaduna State Government Said on Tuesday it had so far captured 195,289 Poor and Vulnerable Households (PVHHs) into its Social Register.
Mr Biya Dogon, Head of Operations, State Operations Coordinating Unit (SOCU), Planning and Budget Commission, made this known at a two-day Media Roundtable in Zaria to enlist media support on social protection.
The meeting was organised by Save the Children International in partnership with Kaduna Social Protection Accountability Coalition (KADSPAC) and the Office of the Focal Person, Social Investment Programme, Kaduna State.
Dogon said that SOCU was saddled with the responsibility of generating and maintaining the Social Register of Poor and Vulnerable Households in the state.
He explained that the register was being generated through a comprehensive process known as Community Based Targeting (CBT), where the community defines poverty and identifies those that should be captured in the register.
He said that the CBT process began in 2017 in nine pilot Local Government Areas (LGAs), three from each Senatorial Zone, Ikara, Kubau, Lere, Birnin Gwari, Chikun, Kajuru, Kachia, Kauru and Sanga.
“However, in May 2020, the process was scaled-up to the remaining fourteen LGAs, thus covering the entire state.
“So far, a total of 170,575 PVHHs have been captured in the nine pilot LGAs and 24,714 PVHHs in the 14 additional LGAs as at Aug. 17.
“This amounted to 195,289 PVHHs captured in the social register.The data generated by SOCU is mined by the current Federal Government Cash Transfer programme and is also made available for other intervention.
“We are excited to be collaborating with civil society organisations to ensure wider acceptance of the register to help the government in planning and stakeholders for some form of intervention”.
Also speaking, Mr Mohammed Adam, the Special Assistant to Hajiya Hafsat Baba, Commissioner, Ministry of Human Services and Social Development, said that partnership with the media would ensure citizens participation in government programmes.
Adam said the state government in partnership with the Federal Government was implementing social protection interventions to meet the needs of poor and vulnerable people  and ensure that no one was left behind.
He identified some of the programmes to include Kaduna Start-up Entrepreneurship Programme (KADSTEP), Free Maternal Nutrition and Child Healthcare, Pension and Gratuity Benefits to Government Employees, and financial inclusion.
“Others are National Programme on Immunisation, National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), Need for Power (N-POWER), National Cash Transfer Programme (NCTP), Second Chance Education Programme, Rehabilitation and Skills Acquisition Training for People with Disabilities. There are equally Kaduna State Women Empowerment Fund (KADSWEF), Student Scholarship Scheme, Basic Apprenticeship Training (BATCs), Free and Compulsory Basic and Secondary Education, and Low-Income Housing Programme. Effective media engagement will, therefore, help create the needed awareness on the programmes and ensure citizens participation and ownership,”.