The World Bank has reaffirmed its support for Nigeria’s COVID-19 recovery efforts with a $500 million investment in the Nigeria Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) programme.
Prof. Foluso Okumadewa, on behalf of World Bank Nigeria, announced the extension of sponsorship for an additional three years at a two-day Federal CARES Support Unit’s Peer Learning and Experience Sharing Event held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital on Monday.
Okumadewa, who was represented by Dr Lire Ersado, Task Team Leader, NG-CARES, emphasised the programme’s importance in promoting economic resilience and stimulus. According to Okumadewa, the World Bank aims to institutionalize the programme, ensuring its continuity beyond external funding. He said: “NG-CARES will continue for the next three years with World Bank support and potentially longer with government backing,” he stated.
The NG-CARES programme, under the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, supports community-driven initiatives to mitigate the pandemic’s impact.
However, giving a rundown of the programme’s achievements, National Coordinator of NG-CARES, Dr AbdulKareem Obaje, said the programme had made significant strides in providing critical support to vulnerable populations affected by COVID-19 and other socio-economic shocks, disbursing a whopping $750 million over the past three years.
According to Obaje, the programme’s shock response mechanism has been highly effective, with $625 million already disbursed to states, representing an impressive 88 per cent disbursement rate.
“This translates to ₦625 billion in reimbursement for work done by the states, a remarkable achievement considering the programme’s scope and timeline,” Obaje stated.
Launched in 2021, NG-CARES, he further stated aimed to mitigate the impact of socio-economic shocks on vulnerable individuals, farmers, households, communities, and micro-small enterprises. He disclosed that with $50 million remaining, the programme is poised to make an even greater impact before its closing date of December 31, 2024, although an extension is likely.
He also disclosed that the programme had conducted three rounds of Independent Verification Agent (IVA) assessments, a new practice that ensures transparency and accountability adding that the programme was restructured in May 2024 to accommodate victims of shocks in other states, and mid-term reviews were conducted in November last year.
Also, the Director-General of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), Abdulateef Shittu, emphasised the forum’s role as a bridge between states and a catalyst for impactful governance, while reinforcing the forum’s commitment to effective governance and sustainable development.
