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UNICEF Cash Transfer Programme, looking beyond 2020

Published

7 years ago

April 30, 2019

UNICEF Cash Transfer Programme, looking beyond 2020

By Funmi Lawrence

The United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) has introduced Cash Transfer Programme (CTP) ,is focusing on addressing education challenge in Nigeria and to contribute to a greater reduction of the number of out-of-school children in the country.

Cash transfers, small predictable sums of money given to ultra poor families with children, are a relatively new Social Protection strategy by the UNICEF to the Eastern and Southern Africa in order to alleviate household poverty, showing positive results throughout the region.

The programme is through the expansion of the Girls Education Project Phase 3 (GEP3), funded by the UK Department of International Development, in partnership with Educate a Child (EAC) and it will help over a million of the world’s poorest girls improve their lives through education.

The interventions are in line with the UNICEF’s vision and mission of the realisation of children’s rights including their right to education and with EAC’s mission, vision and goals, focusing on out-of-school children and quality education for them.

The overall goal of EAC is to expand access to quality basic education for 501,749 out-of-school children by 2020 in Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara.

Each beneficiaries of the UNICEF CTP were paid N8,000 per term which was intended to offset the cost of sending the children to school.

It is no doubt that there are resistance to sending children, especially girls, to school in the northern part of Nigeria, out of the 10.2 million out-of-school children in the country according to the recent number declared by the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, stated that about 60 per cent of them are girls.

This problem is more prevalent in the north. A mistrust of the intent and value of western education is partly responsible for this. The other reason is the high level of poverty prevalent in these communities.

The CTP programme, however, was introduced as “a funding window” to reduce the number of out-of-school children in Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states by 2020.

However, stakeholders were of the view that taking over the project by various states where the projects are domicile after 2020 would help cement the vision the project aims at achieving.

The Kebbi Government says it will continue with the Cash Transfer Programme (CTP) for Out-of-School Children in the state after the UNICEF intervention ends in 2020.

Beneficiaries of the Cash Transfer Programme of UNICEF at the Grand Model Primary School Kawara, Maiyawa Local Government Area of Kebbi State.

Alhaji Mohammad Magawata, the state’s Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, said at the end of a Two-Day CTP Media Dialogue and workshop organised for journalist in Birnin Kebbi.

Magawata said the project aimed at helping to reduce the number of Out-of-School Children, particularly in the northern part of the country as well as increase enrolment, retention and completion in school.

He said that when the UNICEF completed its project in 2020, the state would continue from there.

“Kebbi state is planning to continue by taking over the CTP project after the UNICEF intervention in 2020.

“Our hands are on the deck to ensure that we continue with the programme because we realised that the project is laudable and interesting.

“The programme has increased the attendance and retention of the number of the pupils in our schools in a very big way.

“Before the programme, only few schools have full attendance but now that the programme has been introduced in various Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state, things have changed.

“If you compare the LGAs that have enjoyed the programme, you will see a very huge difference from the areas where the programme had not reached,’’ he said.

Magawata said the state had spent N280 million on feeding, adding that government has built 40 nomadic schools to enhance the programme.

The commissioner said the state has embarked on the recruitment of additional 2,000 teachers in order to tackle the challenge of increase in the number of enrolment.

“We have identified 504 Almajiri Islamic schools and planned to make necessary renovations for them and ensure that we send mathematics and English teachers to the schools at all cost.

“This is part of our aim to measure up with the 2020 deadline by the UNICEF in order to eradicate the volume of Out-of-School Children in our state.

“This programme would help to reduce and deplete the number of Out-of-School Children in the state and we will be least in the northern region.

“I have been to all the LGAs headquarters and we have finished with the recruitment of the teachers, we would soon start issuing the offer of appointment letters to the over 2,000 new teachers.’’

Magawata said that education in the state had improved from what it used to be and gave the credit to the state governor Alhaji Abubakar Bagudu for his efforts at ensuring that education sector was revamp.

He said the governor gave priority to the education sector.

According to him, the governor met a very sorrowful basic education condition, where over 70 per cent were operating below standards.

“Meanwhile, right now, he has been able to do a lot to see that the schools in the state are adequately furnished with qualified teachers to teach,’’ he said.

Also, Mr Isa Umar, Kebbi State Coordinator of the CTP noted that Kebbi and Zamfara States are considered as ‘educationally disadvantaged’ States in Nigeria.

Speaking at the media dialogue, Umar said over 41,000 pupils in the state are currently being paid N8,000 every academic term to encourage learning.

Nasifi Hashimu and Hamiru Hashimu have benefited from the UNICEF Cash Transfer Programme and are enrolled in Grand Model Primary Schools, Kawara, Kebbi State.

According to him, CTP was introduced as a social security net to assist the poorest of the poor in accessing education.

He said despite the fact that primary education was officially free and compulsory and the states were guided by the policy and UBE Act (2004), there are high numbers of out-of-school children, of which majority are girls.

“Education indicators for the states are not encouraging, partly driven by social attitudes towards ‘western’ education, and poverty of parents, especially at rural communities.

“The poverty level of rural community members largely restricts their level of participation in the education of their children.

“Majority of them cannot afford purchases of basic learning materials, not to even support school infrastructural development.’’

He, therefore, said that on their part, the state was already working to ensure that it continued from where UNICEF would stop by putting in place various programmes to assist the education of the people.

Meanwhile, an Educationist and Development Consultant for UNICEF, Dr Dayo Ogundimu identified poverty, early child marriage and others as some factors affecting girl-child education in Nigeria and other African countries.

Ogundimu, who is also the Principal Consultant, ComForch Development Communications, said these factors posed a serious challenge to girl-child education in the country.

“In Nigeria and other developing countries, poverty is a critical barrier to the girl-child education.

“ CTP therefore contributes to poverty reduction in the family and the community.

“ The CTP being implemented by UNICEF in some states in the north would help protect educational investment in the girl-child and help alleviate future poverty.

“Cash Transfers are cash grants made to school age children (especially the girl-child) to enable them enrol stay in school and complete their education.

“Also, cash grants help the beneficiaries to pay for things that are essential for their schooling – books, writing materials, fees, etc.

“On a global scale, cash transfers contribute to poverty reduction in the family and the community.

“The Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) provides financial support to families for specific purpose, e.g. to ensure proper school participation by school-age children (especially the girl-child).”

The State Project Coordinator, EAC in Kebbi state, Mr Isah Usman, said that the CTP would address some of the underlying causes of inequalities in education outcomes, such as poverty, social exclusion and malnutrition.

Usman said the CTP had changed the situation and contributed to a greater reduction of the number of children out-of-school.

The UNICEF, had on May 20, 2018 reported that in Zamfara State, that one Hadiza received N24,000 (about $66) to help her send three of her children to school.

At 40, she had not seen that amount of money before in her entire life. Someone had to help her count it.

Hadiza was paid N8,000 per child for three of her sons to enroll in school. It was part of the first installment of cash transfers to mothers in Zamfara State, northcentral, intended to offset the cost of sending children to school.

The CTP is a project initiated by the UNICEF in 2018 that is expected to be completed by 2020.

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Health

New Malaria Plan Puts States, Local Data At Centre Of Nigeria’s 2030 Response

Published

23 hours ago

October 22, 2026

The Gleamer

Cyril Ogar

Nigeria’s latest malaria data point to a country making progress overall but facing sharply different disease burdens from one state to another, prompting health authorities to shift emphasis towards locally tailored interventions under a new five-year strategy.

The National Malaria Strategic Plan (NMSP) 2026–2030, launched alongside the 2025 Nigeria Malaria Indicator Survey (NMIS) report, seeks to cut malaria parasite prevalence and deaths by 50 per cent from 2025 levels by 2030.

Rather than applying a uniform national response, the plan prioritises interventions based on local epidemiological evidence, while also calling for stronger domestic financing, improved diagnosis and treatment, better surveillance and clearer accountability.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mrs Daju Kachallom, presented the government’s position at the joint launch in Abuja.

Pate described the survey and strategic plan as essential tools for identifying weaknesses in malaria control and directing resources towards areas with the greatest need.

He said the survey’s findings on prevalence, prevention, diagnosis and treatment would support policy development, programme implementation, resource allocation and performance assessment.

The minister said the strategic plan was designed to accelerate progress towards a malaria-free Nigeria while remaining consistent with national health priorities and the World Health Organisation’s global malaria strategy.

He commended the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), the National Population Commission (NPC), development partners and other stakeholders involved in producing the survey and plan.

Pate also called for a shared national effort involving federal and state governments, the private sector, communities and households, stressing that malaria elimination could not be achieved by government alone.

The 2025 NMIS shows that malaria parasite prevalence among children aged six to 59 months, measured through microscopy, fell from 42 per cent in 2010 to 23 per cent in 2018, 22 per cent in 2021 and 15 per cent in 2025.

However, the national improvement masks substantial differences between states. Prevalence among children in the same age group ranged from two per cent in Lagos State to 31 per cent in Ebonyi State.

The figures indicate that progress has not been evenly distributed and that malaria control efforts must be adapted to the conditions in individual states and communities.

Earlier, the National Coordinator of NMEP, Dr Nnenna Ogbulafor, said the NMSP was developed from the 2025 NMIS findings and other programme data.

She said the evidence would help policymakers locate high-burden areas, improve the design of interventions and direct limited resources to communities most in need.

Ogbulafor said the plan was aligned with Nigeria’s health sector priorities and the WHO Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016–2030.

She identified policy alignment, state-level leadership, domestic financing, partnerships and accountability as central to implementation.

The national coordinator urged state governments, civil society organisations and development partners to take ownership of the plan and support coordinated, adequately funded malaria programmes.

She said the differences in prevalence across states made subnational planning indispensable to meeting the national targets.

Ogbulafor called on states to develop comprehensive malaria control programmes reflecting local disease burdens, epidemiological evidence and available resources.

She also stressed the need for sustained domestic financing and partnerships to close funding gaps and maintain implementation through 2030.

NMEP, she said, would work with the National Malaria Working Group and international partners to track implementation, assess performance and review results regularly.

The plan aims to raise access to and use of preventive interventions to at least 80 per cent, achieve at least 90 per cent effective coverage of malaria diagnosis and appropriate treatment among at-risk populations, and improve surveillance performance from a baseline of 47 per cent to 70 per cent by 2030.

It also targets stronger governance and organisational capacity, with at least 60 per cent of malaria programme resources expected to come from domestic sources by 2030.

The survey data show that prevention remains uneven. Only 54 per cent of households had at least one insecticide-treated net, while 45 per cent of children under five and 54 per cent of pregnant women aged 15–49 slept under a net on the night before the survey.

Protection during pregnancy was also incomplete. Among women aged 15–49 who had a live birth in the preceding two years, 62 per cent received at least one dose of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine during their last pregnancy, but only 33 per cent received three or more doses.

The findings point to the need to expand access to insecticide-treated nets and intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women.

Diagnosis is another major gap. Of children under five who had a fever in the two weeks before the survey, 59 per cent had advice or treatment sought, but only 18 per cent had blood taken for malaria testing.

The strategic plan therefore places emphasis on prompt testing, appropriate treatment, preventive services and public awareness.

In his remarks, the Director-General of NPC, Dr Abubakar Muhammed, pledged the commission’s continued support for credible demographic and health data to guide policymaking and malaria elimination efforts.

Muhammed said the survey reflected the partnership between the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, through NMEP, and the NPC.

He said the collaboration brought together expertise in malaria control, demographic surveys and data management to produce information for national planning and development.

The NPC director-general said the commission would continue to modernise its survey operations through technologies such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) and spatial techniques.

He urged policymakers, programme managers, researchers and development partners to use the findings to refine strategies, improve implementation and target communities where interventions were most needed.

Muhammed commended the ministry, NMEP, technical consultants, state enumerators and field teams for their roles in conducting the survey.

He said the report would provide a strong evidence base for a coordinated national malaria response.

The launch of the NMIS report and NMSP 2026–2030 places the next phase of Nigeria’s malaria response on a clearer understanding of where the disease remains most entrenched, while challenging states and partners to convert that evidence into measurable local action.

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