March 26, 2025
The Federal Government has announced that it is putting machinery on ground to link the National Social Register with the National Identify Number, NIN of all Nigerians to authenticate beneficiaries of government programmes and ease access to humanitarian interventions.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, stated this at a two-day National Humanitarian Round-table, held in Abuja.
The minister highlighted the challenge of authenticating the identity of beneficiaries of government interventions during disasters and other humanitarian assistance in times of need in line with international best practices.
He said, “The biggest crisis we have is not just the people being killed, it is a bureaucratic crisis that does not respond to a humanitarian crisis.”
“People are traumatized by climate change, security threats, and economic shock across the country, and in the midst of these, we have limited funding.
Every delay in decision-making, every inefficiency in coordination, every shortfall in funding, costs the life of people.
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“We are linking the social register to the National Identity Numbers (NIN), and geo-tagging all homes of those who are vulnerable across the country so that if there’s any crisis.
“We don’t need to begin to walk around communities and taking names and asking state Emergency Management Agencies and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for data. ‘From the comfort of our offices and other offices under my office, we can respond immediately.”
According to him, by leveraging data and technology, the government can anticipate crises, mobilize resources faster and ensure aids reach those who are in need the most.
While he called for the adoption of innovative financing to meet the myriad humanitarian challenges facing Nigeria, he said “We must create flexible financing mechanisms that allow for rapid disbursement and adaptive response, devoid of bureaucratic policies.”
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, said that the government is quite aware that grants and aid can only go so far to support and correct temporary ad-hoc disturbances hence it is seeking sustainable funding options.
He said, “Flooding and drought are major drivers of humanitarian issues and they accentuate poverty. If we have long-term capital that can fund irrigation, poverty will reduce in many places, humanitarian intervention will be localized, and the local economy will be made to work for all.”
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The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohammed Fall, had earlier said that floods, drought, violent conflicts, insurgency, and banditry, were some of the challenges that have plagued Nigeria in recent years.
Fall, maintained that Nigeria has 30 million people faced with food insecurity and over 3.5 million displaced by disasters and insurgency among others.
“With an overall 60 per cent reduction in global contribution to aid, we have seen reductions in humanitarian financing, but the recent months have brought even more drastic cuts and it is time for us to think creatively about alternative financing.
In his contribution the Head of the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, UNOCHA, Trond Jensen, said that practices in planning are essential to the mitigation of disasters and other humanitarian crises.
He said, “Rather than reacting to disasters and humanitarian needs, we need to be more proactive and, if possible, prevent disaster, prevent conflict, so that we can reduce sufferings.”
