KADSPAC, OpenGov Youth Innovation Hub KADLGAM builds  Youths capacity in Social Protection

KADSPAC, OpenGov Youth Innovation Hub KADLGAM builds  Youths capacity in Social Protection

 

 

 

By: Femi Mustspha

 

 

 

Efforts to Improve Social Protection in Kaduna  State gain momentum yesterday through  Youth involvement, as Kaduna Social Protection Accountability Coalition (KADSPAC) in collaboration with the OpenGov Youth Innovation Hub and Kaduna Local Government Accountability Mechanism (KADLGAM), organized capacity training for Effective Advocacy and Social Accountability.

 

Speaking at the opening of the training yesterday, the Chairman of KADSPAC,  Jessica  Bartholomew explained that the objectives of the training include mobilizing and building allies’ capacity on social protection system strengthening, promoting wider youth buy-in and ownership of advocacy, social accountability, and raising awareness among youths about OGP commitments to social protection.

 

She stressed that the focus of the gathering is to ensure a holistic approach, strengthening allies’ capacity, committing to youth-driven advocacy, and fostering awareness of OGP commitments through a participatory approach.

 

Ms. Bartholomew added that the purpose of the training was to align the youth’s understanding of poverty and vulnerability and the need to establish a robust, inclusive, and responsive social protection system.

 

“Our goal of the training of the you this to build their capacity to know that all citizens, particularly women, children, and the disabled, have access to stronger social protections and are not living on the edge of poverty.

 

“Amid global challenges such as oil price fluctuations, insecurity, socio-economic disparities, and pandemics like COVID-19, poverty is further gripping our people, indicating a dire need for effective social protection interventions. This meeting, hence, symbolizes hope for a future where every Nigerian feels recognized and safeguarded.”

 

In his Goodwill messages,  Mr Abel Adejor the State Team lead of Partnership to Engage, Reform, and Learn (PERL) is a  public-sector accountability and governance programme, Funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the UK. Said the training is timely because there is a need for generations  change, where the youth are equipped to take up responsibility because those there will not  be there forever

 

In her presentation, Dawong Nina Yakwal the State Coordinator of State Operations Coordinating Unit (SOCU) said the failure of centralised bureaucracies to reach the poor through social safety nets has shifted attention towards community-based targeting.

 

According to her, Community-based targeting (CBT) is a state policy of contracting with community agents to identify recipients for cash or in-kind benefits as well as monitor and deliver these benefits.

 

“Community agents can be community groups, such as social groups, or intermediary agents like non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or local elected officials.

 

“Three factors are important in assessing community-based targeting: the costs of delivering benefits, the type of distributions that emerge and the level of national funding provided.

 

“Community-based targeting can lead to improved targeting outcomes, but it is not always the best policy. The advantages of community-based targeting need to be carefully balanced against the problems.

 

“Categorical targeting consists in selecting individuals belonging to a certain category of people using observable characteristics that do not require the collection of a large amount of data.” She explained.