Kaduna Social Protection Accountability Coalition, (KADSPAC), has held an experience Sharing Meeting with Local Goverment Social Protection Champions from the 23 Local Goverment Areas of kaduna State.
Speaking during the meeting held in kaduna on 4th June,2021 the Chairperson of the Coalition Jessica Batholomew, said the gathering was to share experiences on social protection intervention in the state, where we are, how we’ve gone on the journey.
She explained that Social Protection are policies of programmes designed to be able to lift citizens and support them during crises, risks such as floods, Covid-19 pandemic.
” We saw during the pandemic lockdown where government were able to distribute some palliative to people.
“This are interventions under social protection. That intervention is to ensure people do not completely falls down because a certain risk or shock occurred in one’s life.
“People should be able to have interventions to be balanced – like the way he eats, access health, education and other basic amenities,” she said.
According to her, KADSPAC expectations from the champions in the is to help track and monitor the interventions currently ongoing in the state.
“We want to see beneficiaries targeted for those interventions are actually accessing them; that they are being lifted out of poverty through these interventions; and also ensure that vulnerable groups are not excluded either by error from accessing these interventions;
“We want to see that at the end of this year or quarter as it may be, we are able to know the number of beneficiaries that accessed government’s special protection from the social register that has the number of the poor and vulnerable people in the state.
” We also want to see that, yes, there has been implementation on those activities from the government,” she explained.
Speaking on the recent approval by President Muhammadu Buhari for, the establishment of a Commission for the Elderly People; Bartholomew, said KADSPAC is happy since it belonged to the National Social Protection Forum, saying the group would advocate to the government for establishment of same in the state.
“We can’t force it, but could only take this to the state government, telling them the importance of having such Commission in the state.
” Luckily, Kaduna state is able to identify that social protection policy is one of the key areas to assist the vulnerable or senior citizens in the state.”
