Multidimensional Poverty: 45.9 Million Northwest Citizens In Multiple Deprivation, Governor’s
From Muhammad Kabir, Kano
The Northwest Governors Forum raises the the alarm and noted with great concern the region multidimensional poverty rate of 75.8 per cent compared to the national average of 63.0 per cent, representing approximately 45.9 million people living in multiple deprivations.
The Governor’s further noted that children bear the greatest burden of deprivation through poor access to education, healthcare, nutrition and social protection services.
They also acknowledged the efforts of Federal and State Governments, Development Partners, humanitarian agencies and other stakeholders in implementing interventions in education, healthcare, nutrition and social protection. However, we observed that the scale of deprivation continues to exceed existing programme coverage, leaving millions of vulnerable children unreached.
The Governor’s recognised that the Renewed Hope Child Support Programme, anchored on the Universal Child Benefit concept, provides a practical and scalable platform for identifying vulnerable children and systematically linking them to existing education, healthcare, nutrition and social protection services.
The Leaders, further recognised that strengthening social protection systems, mobilising sustainable financing and improving coordination among stakeholders are critical to reducing multidimensional child poverty and improving human capital outcomes across the region.
Reading a Communique issued at the NorthWest High Level Policy Dialogue on Reducing Multidimensional Poverty through scaled Social Protection systems and innovative financing the Renewed Hopes Child Support Programme, the Chairman of the Forum and the Governor of Katsina State, Dikko Rada, said all hands must be on deck to get it right.
The Governor’s together with representatives of the Federal Government of Nigeria, Development Partners, Development Finance Institutions, Traditional and Religious Institutions, Civil Society Organisations and the Private Sector, deliberated on strategies for reducing multidimensional poverty and accelerating human capital development across the North-West region.
The Governor’s Adopted 10 Resolution, that includes Renewed Hope Child Support Programme, that the Forum unanimously adopts the Renewed Hope Child Support Programme as the regional framework for accelerating the reduction of multidimensional child poverty and improving human capital development outcomes across the North-West.
The Programme shall serve as the principal platform through which vulnerable children are identified and linked to education, healthcare, nutrition and social protection services.
They also called for the Institutionalisation of Universal Child Benefit, the Governors resolve to institutionalized the Universal Child Benefit concept through policy, legislative and administrative measures in their respective states and integrate it into existing social protection systems and development plans.
They also agreed to Strengthening Education Outcomes, the Forum commits within the initial six-month implementation period to:Re-enrol at least 781,200 out-of-school children into formal education.Support the retention of at least 1,302,000 school-age children through attendance and retention interventions.
To Enrol and support at least 781,200 children through Early Childhood Care Development and Education (ECCDE) programmes.Strengthen girls’ education and transition programmes.Support the integration of western education into the Almajiri education system.
“Improving Child Health and SurvivalThe Forum commits to:Enrol at least 1,171,800 vulnerable children into non-contributory health insurance schemes.Support the full immunisation of at least 781,200 children under five years of age.Strengthen access to antenatal, postnatal and child healthcare services.Improve access to primary healthcare services in underserved communities.”
“Tackling Child MalnutritionThe Forum commits to:Provide nutrition support services to at least 781,200 malnourished children.Reach at least 781,200 mothers and caregivers with Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) awareness and behaviour change programmes.Strengthen nutrition-sensitive interventions targeting vulnerable households and communities.
“Strengthening Social Protection SystemsThe Forum resolves to:Harmonise and strengthen State Social Registers across the seven states.Validate and enrol vulnerable households into the Renewed Hope Child Support Programme.Integrate beneficiary databases with education, health and nutrition information systems.
They also agreed to Prioritise vulnerable groups, including internally displaced persons, persons with disabilities and communities affected by insecurity.Support the determination of the Federal Government to lift households out of poverty through the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme through economic mapping of political wards
Also they are to takes on Sustainable and Innovative Financing Recognising that sustainable financing is critical to achieving the objectives of the Programme, the Governors commit to:Establish dedicated Child Support and Social Protection Budget Lines within state budgets.
“Progressively allocate not less than two per cent (2%) of annual state budgets to child-focused social protection interventions.Strengthen access to Federal Government financing windows and counterpart funding opportunities.
“To Mobilise additional resources through Development Partners, philanthropic organisations, private sector partnerships and development finance institutions.Promote the use of Islamic social finance instruments, including Zakat and Waqf, to support child development interventions.Explore innovative financing mechanisms capable of mobilising substantial resources for long-term child development investments.
The Mobilisation of Traditional and Religious InstitutionsThe Forum recognises the critical role of Traditional Rulers, Religious Leaders and Community Institutions in promoting positive social outcomes and commits to working closely with them to:Promote school enrolment and retention.
To Encourage utilisation of maternal and child healthcare services.Improve immunisation uptake.Support birth registration.Promote child nutrition.Address harmful social practices affecting children and adolescents.
They are to takes on Regional Coordination and Accountability, the Forum resolves to establish a North-West Child Development and Social Protection Coordination Mechanism under the NWGF Secretariat to:Coordinate implementation across states.Facilitate peer learning and exchange of best practices.Monitor implementation progress against agreed targets.Coordinate resource mobilisation efforts.Publish periodic Governors’ Scorecards on child development indicators.
They are to apply a Six-Month Action Framework, the Forum adopts a six-month implementation framework covering the period July–December 2026 with priority actions focused on:Expansion and validation of social registers.Enrolment of beneficiaries into the Renewed Hope Child Support Programme.Re-enrolment and retention of out-of-school children.Expansion of immunisation and maternal-child health services.Scale-up of nutrition interventions.Establishment of financing, coordination and accountability mechanisms.
The Forum calls upon the Federal Government of Nigeria;Development Partners;Development Finance Institutions;The Private Sector;Philanthropic Foundations;Civil Society Organisations;Traditional and Religious Institutions; andInternational Humanitarian Organisationsto support the implementation of the Renewed Hope Child Support Programme and collaborate with North-West States in building a sustainable Universal Child Benefit system that guarantees every vulnerable child access to education, healthcare, nutrition and social protection services.
