The federal government has launched the $1 billion Household Prosperity and Economic Social Protection Project (HOPE-SP), signalling a major shift in its humanitarian and poverty reduction strategy from short term palliatives to sustainable pathways for recovery, empowerment and self reliance.

The initiative, launched on Wednesday at the State House, Abuja, by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, is designed to strengthen the identification, targeting and support of vulnerable households while improving coordination, accountability and measurable outcomes across Nigeria’s social protection system.

The First Lady, 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 their efforts to transform humanitarian interventions from temporary assistance into sustainable solutions that enable vulnerable Nigerians to become self reliant.

She said the initiatives would improve the identification and targeting of vulnerable households, strengthen coordination among humanitarian and poverty reduction programmes, facilitate shock responsive assistance and promote greater accountability in the delivery of social interventions.

Presenting the initiatives, Doro said the HOPE-SP launch represented a strategic shift “from palliatives to pathways”, with vulnerable households placed at the centre of government interventions.

According to him, the reforms are intended to address fragmentation, duplication and the proliferation of uncoordinated beneficiary registries by establishing a unified national architecture that links identification, needs assessment, targeted intervention, protection, empowerment, poverty graduation and sustainable growth.

The minister said the One Humanitarian, One Poverty Response System (OHOPRS) would serve as a major component of the reform, bringing humanitarian response, social protection and poverty reduction interventions under a coordinated national framework.

He explained that OHOPRS would be supported by unified registries, digital delivery systems, improved financing mechanisms, stronger institutions, enhanced accountability and real time intelligence to improve the effectiveness of government interventions.

Other initiatives unveiled at the event included the Emergency Shock Responsive Cash Transfer, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction (FMHAPR) Ministerial Blueprint and the Humanitarian First Magazine, which is expected to document the experiences and impact of government interventions on beneficiaries.