By Muhammad Amaan
The Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) said it has disbursed $645 million (N1.062 trillion) to states for the implementation of NG-CARES in the country.
Chairman of the Federal CARES Technical Committee, Mrs Elizabeth Egharevba said this at the Zonal Peer Learning and Experience Sharing summit of Nigerian Communication for Resilience and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) in Minna, Niger State on Monday.
Egharevba, represented by Dr Abdulkarim Obaje, National Coordinator of NG-CARES, also said that $750 million (N1.2 trillion) was earmarked to implement the programme from 2021 to 2024 across the country.
“NG-CARES is a World Bank Assisted project, the funds were disbursed under three results programme components for states, including FCT.
“The result areas are social safeness; livelihoods grant and basic services support to poor and vulnerable communities.
“Other areas are support increase food production and enhancing food supply chains, mitigating food loss through food processing and Nano micro-small enterprises,” she said.
She said the programme had 150 delivery platforms across the country and had impacted on more than nine million people, adding that NG-CARES had been adjudged as most successful among other programmes.
She lauded states for ejecting N120 billion into NG-CARES, adding the programme was to expand access to livelihoods, support food security and grant to poor and vulnerable households.
Egharevba said that the summit brought stakeholders across regions to share experiences, best practices and insights that would help drive progress on shared objectives.
In his address, Governor Umaru Bago of Niger state, noted that the state has re-invested the earnings from the last Independent Verification Agents (IVA) on social security in the current cycle to demonstrate the importance of NG-CARES.
Bago, represented by his deputy, Yakubu Garba, said that the summit was a platform to engage in insightful discussion, exchange best practices and explore innovative solutions.
The participants at the summit were from Benue, FCT, Kaduna State, Gombe State, Kaduna State, Kogi, Plateau, Rivers and Niger states.
