FG unveils $1bn Renewed Hope social protection programme

The Federal Government is set to unveil the $1 billion Renewed HOPE Social Protection Programme on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, in a fresh effort to strengthen Nigeria’s social protection system and move millions of vulnerable households from crisis to resilience and economic self-reliance.

The programme will be unveiled by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The initiative is a major component of the President Bola Tinubu administration’s efforts to strengthen social protection, reduce poverty and ensure that vulnerable Nigerians receive targeted support while being connected to opportunities that can improve their livelihoods.

This was disclosed in a statement issued by Dr Abimbola Fasanu, Senior Technical Adviser on Information Systems and Data Analysis to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro.

According to Doro, the unveiling goes beyond the launch of a single intervention, describing it as a shift towards a more coordinated system for humanitarian response, social protection and poverty reduction, with households placed at the centre of government interventions.

A major component of the event will be the launch of the Federal Government Emergency Shock-Responsive Cash Transfer Programme, targeting 7.6 million of the most vulnerable households across the country.

The event will also witness the launch of the One Humanitarian One Poverty Response System, OHOPRS, an integrated framework designed to coordinate humanitarian response, social protection, poverty reduction and economic inclusion.

Also to be unveiled are the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction Ministerial Blueprint and Humanity First Magazine.

Explaining the rationale behind OHOPRS, Doro said the system was designed to address the challenge of fragmented interventions, where government agencies, development partners and other organisations could provide assistance to vulnerable Nigerians without adequate information on previous interventions received by the beneficiaries.

“Nigeria cannot continue with a system where one vulnerable household receives interventions from several institutions while another equally vulnerable household remains unseen,” the minister said.

“We must know who has been reached, what support they received, whether it worked and what they need next.”

Under the new framework, he explained that a household that receives emergency assistance following a flood, conflict, economic shock or other crisis would not simply disappear from the government’s radar after the immediate emergency had passed.

Instead, such households could be linked to appropriate social protection programmes, livelihood support, skills development and economic opportunities, with their progress towards resilience and self-reliance tracked over time.

“Our objective is not to keep Nigerians permanently dependent on assistance. We are moving from palliatives to pathways, from fragmentation to coordination, and from vulnerability to prosperity,” Doro stated.

The minister said the reform was consistent with President Tinubu’s commitment to ensuring that the economic reforms of his administration ultimately translate into improved welfare and greater opportunities for Nigerian households.

He said placing the household at the centre of intervention would enable government to better understand the needs of vulnerable Nigerians and ensure that assistance was more effectively targeted.

Doro added that the participation of the First Lady in the unveiling was significant, given her Renewed Hope Initiative and commitment to improving the welfare and economic opportunities of women, young people, families and vulnerable Nigerians.

According to him, the success of the programme should not be measured merely by the number of people who receive government assistance.

“The true measure of success is not simply how many Nigerians receive assistance, but how many become stronger, more resilient and ultimately able to sustain themselves and their families,” he said.

The minister said the programme would strengthen coordination among government institutions and stakeholders involved in social protection, humanitarian assistance, poverty reduction and economic inclusion.

He added that the initiative would provide a framework for ensuring that interventions respond to the actual needs and circumstances of vulnerable households, rather than operating as isolated programmes.

The high-level event is expected to bring together senior government officials, development partners and stakeholders across Nigeria’s social protection, humanitarian, development and economic inclusion ecosystem.

The Federal Government said the unveiling marks an important step in its efforts to build a more coordinated, responsive and sustainable social protection system capable of supporting vulnerable Nigerians during periods of crisis while helping them transition towards self-reliance.