Action Against Hunger Nigeria (ACF), in partnership with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), has launched a new social protection project aimed at identifying and supporting about 1.4 million poor and vulnerable people in conflict-affected Borno and Adamawa states.
The project was unveiled on Tuesday in Abuja at the opening of a two-day external grant workshop under the Social and Economic Participation of Returnees, Internally Displaced Persons and Host Communities (SEPIN SUSI) programme.
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Although the workshop continued on Wednesday, the first day focused on how Nigeria’s social protection systems can better reach vulnerable households amid rising food insecurity, displacement and malnutrition in the northeast.
Speaking at the event, the Country Director of ACF in Nigeria, Thierno Diallo, said the scale of the intervention reflects the depth of vulnerability in the two states, where millions remain at risk of hunger and acute malnutrition.
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Mr Diallo who was represented by his Deputy, Andwalem Fekadu, said the October 2025 Cadre Harmonisé analysis estimated that 1.92 million people in Borno and 1.21 million people in Adamawa were experiencing crisis or worse food insecurity at the end of 2025.
“Predictable, shock-responsive social protection is not optional, it is essential. Without strong systems in place, households continue to slide deeper into poverty, hunger and deprivation,” he said.
He added that nearly 6.4 million children across northern Nigeria are acutely malnourished, including about two million suffering from severe acute malnutrition, with the Benue, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states facing further deterioration during the 2026 lean season.
He also stressed the national context, pointing out that while Nigeria has frameworks for social protection, gaps remain in implementation, financing, integration, and data management.
“Our approach has always centred on strengthening systems, building sustainable capacity, and ensuring that vulnerable households have access to predictable, equitable, and shock‑responsive support.”
Action Against Hunger is a global humanitarian organisation leading the movement to end hunger. It has reached over 26.5 million people across more than 55 countries.
Expanding the social register
The project will support the expansion, updating and strengthening of state social registers in Borno and Adamawa, with approximately 1.4 million individuals expected to be captured.
Speaking on behalf of GIZ, Aina Bolaji, deputy commission manager for Supporting Sustainable Social Protection, Participation and Economic Resilience in Northeast Nigeria, said the project is designed to improve both coverage and credibility.
Ms Bolaji said a credible, inclusive and current social register is not just a database but a cornerstone for shock-responsive social protection, effective targeting and the efficient allocation of public and donor resources.
She added that the register would be expanded using geographical targeting, community-based targeting and proxy means testing, with communities playing a central role in identifying eligible households.
“By placing communities at the heart of the process, transparency, accountability and local legitimacy are strengthened,” she said.
She stressed that the project is not simply about registering names but about building lasting state capacity.
“Our shared success will not be measured merely by the number of individuals registered. It will be judged by how well state systems are strengthened and whether the register is actually used to inform policy and social protection responses,” she noted.
She emphasised that the workshop is moving from planning to execution, and outlined four explicit objectives including technical and operational alignment; consensus on equality standards and safeguards; clarity on implementation and risk mitigation strategies; and enhanced collaboration and communication frameworks.
She also clarified that GIZ is an implementing partner, not a donor, adding that the agency is working ‘in the same boat’ with Action Against Hunger.
National register under pressure
Providing national context, Mohammed Bala, who represented the National Social Register (NSR), said Nigeria’s central database for poor and vulnerable households is still struggling to keep pace with demand.
Mr Bala said the NSR currently contains data on about 19 million households, but funding constraints mean that updates are ongoing and incomplete.
“To date, we have visited over 10 million households, and at least one member of each household has been validated through the national identity system,” he said.
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He added that the federal government aims to cover 15 million households, but current funding only supports about 10.2 million, leaving a gap of 4.8 million households.
“This is where partner-supported projects like this one become critical. Every addition to the social register reduces the burden on the federal government,” he said.
He further added that linking households to digital identities and coordinates would improve credibility and shift social interventions away from cash-based distributions toward digital payments.
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