ActionAid Nigeria has urged governments at all levels to strengthen social protection systems, stressing that access to decent housing, healthcare, education and sustainable livelihoods is critical to eradicating poverty.
The organisation made the call at the 2026 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty celebration held at Offa Igbo Community I, Lagelu Local Government Area of Oyo State, under the European Union-funded European Union Support for Strengthening Social Protection in Nigeria (ESSPIN) Project.
The Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, Dr Andrew Mamedu, represented by the organisation’s Partnership and Local Rights Programme Specialist, Mr Kehinde Arowosegbe, said poverty extended beyond inadequate income to include limited access to education, healthcare, nutritious food, decent housing, clean water, sanitation and employment.
He identified unemployment, hunger, gender inequality, insecurity and social exclusion as factors worsening the plight of vulnerable households, particularly women, children, older persons and persons with disabilities. He warned that children raised in poverty often faced limited opportunities, increasing the risk of intergenerational poverty.
Speaking on the 2026 theme, “United for Peace and Human Rights”, and its specific focus, “Safe Homes for All,” Arowosegbe described decent housing as essential to human dignity, security and poverty reduction. He called for increased investment in safe housing and the inclusion of people experiencing poverty in decisions affecting their welfare.
He identified cash transfers, school feeding, health insurance, pensions, disability support, livelihood assistance and vocational training as critical social protection measures, stressing that they must be adequately funded, accessible and transparently implemented.
Arowosegbe also urged stronger collaboration among governments, civil society organisations, development partners, the private sector and community institutions. He called on traditional and community leaders to identify vulnerable households and promote their participation in development planning, budget monitoring and public accountability.
In a goodwill message, the State Programme Manager of the Oyo State Cash Transfer Unit, Mr Akintunde Gbadamosi, represented by the unit’s Training and Communication Officer, Mrs Seun Olalekanmi, said unsafe housing exposed vulnerable families to disease, insecurity and other hardships.
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He said the state government was addressing poverty through initiatives such as the Oyo State Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus (OY-CARES), which provides social transfers and other support to identified vulnerable households.
Gbadamosi commended ActionAid Nigeria for complementing the state’s efforts, particularly its support for vulnerable households and persons with disabilities. He called for inclusive social protection and stronger community participation to achieve sustainable poverty reduction.
Also speaking, the Director of the Oyo State Agency for Persons with Disabilities, Honourable Ayodele Adekanmbi, represented by the agency’s sign language interpreter and deaf counsellor, Mr Olayinka Adedamola, urged families to stop concealing persons with disabilities and ensure their registration with the agency.
He said registration would enable the agency to capture them in its database and facilitate their inclusion in government empowerment and poverty alleviation programmes. He commended ActionAid for complementing public interventions and urged families and community leaders to ensure that no person with a disability was excluded from development opportunities.
Meanwhile, ActionAid Nigeria distributed dignity kits to 70 beneficiaries at the event, including 10 young girls and eight persons with disabilities.
The organisation’s ESSPIN Programme Officer in Oyo State, Mrs. Abidemi Owoyemi, said the kits contained between seven and 10 household and personal hygiene items, including towels, mats, buckets, detergents, bathing soap, body cream and sanitary pads.
She explained that although the theme focused on safe housing, ActionAid could not directly provide houses but could ease some of the challenges faced by vulnerable residents through practical support.
Owoyemi said the intervention was intended to meet some everyday needs of beneficiaries while complementing broader efforts to strengthen social protection and improve their dignity and well-being.
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