By Philip Yatai

Save the Children International (SCI), an NGO, on Thursday inaugurated Child Development Grant Programme Phase II (CDGP II) in Kaduna State, to support the establishment of child-sensitive social protection policies and programmes.

SCI CDGP National Programme Manager, Karina Enye, explained during the inauguration ceremony in Kaduna that the goal was to reduce malnutrition and hunger through the reduction of economic and social vulnerability.

Enye described social protection as public policies, programmes and systems that helped the poor and vulnerable individual and households to ensure social status of human rights.

“It is also to improve their ability to cope with risks and shocks and reduce economic and social vulnerability,” she added.

She explained that the programme would focus on system strengthening, evidence generation, advocacy and capacity building, with particular emphasis on child-nutrition.

The program manager pointed out that about 64 million people in Northern Nigeria were extremely poor, noting that poor households barely have enough food to last one quarter of the year.

She said that 43 percent of the Kaduna State population was living in poverty, while 50 percent of children under five years old were stunted.

The programme manager said that the programme was extended to the state following the successes recorded in phase I of the project implemented in Zamfara and Jigawa states by SCI and Action Against Hunger.

“The project with support from the British Department for International Development (DFID) expended N11 billion on unconditional cash transfer to more than 93, 000 pregnant women and women with children under two years.

“The two states have now set aside N2 billion to implement state-financed social protection programme. This is commendable,” she said.

SCI Country Director, Deirdre Keogh, further said that the CDGP II would focus on system strengthening to ensure sustainability of the programme.

Similarly, DFID Social Development Adviser, Samantha Coope, noted that the state was doing well in reaching out to vulnerable women and children, adding that the CDGP II would strengthen the programmes through legislation.

The wife of the Kaduna State Governor, Ummi El-Rufa’i, who officially launched the CDGP II, thanked Save the Children and DFID for extending the programme to the state.

According to her, the programme would give children a good start in life and assured the cooperation of government agencies for the success of the programme.

“The state government is working tirelessly to empower vulnerable women and children to improve their quality life.

“Nonetheless, I want to appeal to Save the Children and DFID to consider the cash component of the programme to enable the state reach out to as many vulnerable women and children it can,” she added.