Social Protection Policy Will Address Humanitarian Crisis in W/Africa – Minister
Dr Betta Edu, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, has called for the adoption of a social protection framework to address the humanitarian crisis in West Africa.
Edu made the call on Tuesday during the virtual ECOWAS inter-ministerial meeting on the adoption of the regional framework and implementation plan on social protection.
”The framework seeks to address endemic issues such as financing, coverage, climate risk, and informality in our economies amongst others.
“One of the fundamental challenges in our region is that project-based social protection is ad hoc and unpredictable, as a region, we must move to mainstream social protection into our annual budgets,” she said.
Edu also urged the ECOWAS member states to intensify efforts towards addressing poverty and humanitarian crises in their respective countries while calling for private sector involvement in the implementation of the framework.
”The time for action is now,” the minister said, adding that ”the adoption of the social protection framework by member countries and its implementation is key to overcoming poverty and humanitarian challenges in West Africa.
”So, it is important for member countries of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) to work towards achieving maximum social protection in the sub-region.
“Social Protection is a fundamental human right and should not be regarded as a privilege.
”It is a social and economic necessity that has proven to be a stabilizer in times of crisis and shock, and it is meant to be provided throughout life circle.
