FG Launches $1bn HOPE-SP to Move Nigerians from Palliatives to Sustainable Prosperity
Oru Leonard
The Federal Government of Nigeria,has launched the $1 billion Household Prosperity and Economic Social Protection Project (HOPE-SP), as part of a broader reform of Nigeria’s humanitarian and social protection system.
The initiative, unveiled on Wednesday at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja, is anchored on the theme, “From Palliatives to Pathways,” with the government seeking to move vulnerable households beyond temporary relief towards recovery, empowerment and self-reliance.
The First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who was the Special Guest of Honour at the event, commended the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Bernard M. Doro, and his team for pursuing reforms aimed at making humanitarian interventions more sustainable.
She said the initiatives would strengthen the identification and targeting of vulnerable households, improve coordination among humanitarian and poverty-reduction programmes, provide timely support during shocks and enhance accountability in the delivery of social interventions.
Speaking at the launch, Doro said the HOPE-SP initiative represents a fundamental change in the way government approaches humanitarian assistance and poverty reduction.
According to him, the reform places vulnerable households at the centre of government interventions rather than treating individual programmes as isolated initiatives.
He said the new approach was designed to address fragmentation, duplication and the existence of multiple uncoordinated registries by creating an integrated national system covering identification, needs assessment, targeted interventions, protection, empowerment, poverty graduation and sustainable economic growth.
A key component of the reform is the One Humanitarian, One Poverty Response System (OHOPRS), which is expected to bring humanitarian assistance, social protection and poverty-reduction programmes under a coordinated national framework.
Doro said the system would be supported by unified registries, digital delivery mechanisms, improved financing arrangements, stronger institutions,
accountability measures and real-time data to improve government’s response to the needs of vulnerable Nigerians.
Other initiatives unveiled at the event included the Emergency Shock-Responsive Cash Transfer, the FMHAPR Ministerial Blueprint and the Humanitarian First Magazine, which is expected to document beneficiaries’ experiences and the impact of government interventions.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Olubunmi Olusanya, said the reforms would enhance coordination and accountability across the humanitarian and social protection architecture.
He stressed that the ultimate test of the initiatives would be their ability to produce measurable improvements in the lives of vulnerable Nigerians.
Goodwill messages were delivered by the Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, on behalf of governors and sub-national governments; the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar A. Bagudu; former Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs, Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu; the European Union; the World Bank and other development partners.
The stakeholders commended the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen the country’s humanitarian response and social protection systems.
The launch also featured a cultural performance by the Irigwe New Wave Dance Troupe from Plateau State.
Cover Photo Caption: Presentation of One Humanitarian One Poverty Response System. (OHOPRS) One of the flagship programmes that will strengthen Nigeria’s social protection delivery architecture and expand interventions.
