DEADLINE: 22ND FEBRUARY, 2021
AFRICA NETWORK FOR ENVIRONMENT & ECONOMIC JUSTICE (ANEEJ)
TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR A BASELINE STUDY INTO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SOCIAL PROTECTION PROGRAMMES IN NIGERIA.
(1) INTRODUCTION
Poverty has become a major development problem in Nigeria. The World Poverty Clock report released in 2018 shows Nigeria has overtaken India as the country with the most extreme poor people in the world. The struggle to lift more citizens out of extreme poverty is an indictment on successive Nigerian governments which have mismanaged the country’s vast oil resources through incompetence and corruption. This development already threatens the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which targets ending extreme poverty by 2030.
The 86.9 million Nigerians now living in extreme poverty represents nearly 50% of its estimated 200 million population. As Nigeria faces a major population boom, it is projected to become the world’s third largest country by 2050 and its problem will likely worsen. Poverty and hunger have remained high in rural areas, remote communities and among female–headed households and these cut across the six geo-political zones, with prevalence ranging from approximately 46.9 percent in the South West to 74.3 percent in North West and North East. The Niger Delta is where almost all of Nigeria’s oil comes from, but the region remains one of the poorest in the country. The situation has become worse with the outbreak of COVID 19 pandemic.
Nigeria’s poverty level is also directly linked with Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs). Illicit Financial Flows have been characterised as a fundamental development problem, the impact of which is significantly amplified in Nigeria and further exacerbating poverty.
Despite the commitments in the 2030 Agenda and the Addis Agenda to reduce and eventually eliminate IFFs, there is not yet firm agreement on conceptual and definitional issues related to illicit financial flows.
Nigeria is one of the 10 largest countries for IFFs in the world, according to the Global Financial Integrity report, losing some US$15.7 billion annually. (GFI), 2018); Nigeria lost an estimated US$157.5 billion to IFF between 2003 and 2012 (GFI 2014). Given this development, Nigeria is unable to meet its budgetary obligations to its citizens.
Dealing with poverty has remained a tall order for government both at national and sub-national levels. Various efforts made by past and present administrations have not effectively translated into poverty reduction, rather the problem is being daily accentuated.
President Muhammadu Buhari in a recent video message to a high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on poverty eradication outlined the Federal Government’s plans to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within the next 10 years.
The Federal Government, working in collaboration with sub-national Governments and the World Bank is currently implementing a Social Investment Programme (SIP) with four cardinal focus areas namely;
The N-power programme is designed to assist young Nigerians between the ages of 18 to 35 to acquire and develop life-long skills for becoming change makers in their communities and players in the domestic and global markets and given a stipend of N30,000 monthly.
The Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme directly supports those within the lowest poverty bracket by improving nutrition, increasing household consumption and supporting the development of human capital through cash benefits to various categories of the poor and vulnerable. A monthly N5,000 is usually paid bi-monthly to the beneficiaries.
Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) is a micro-lending intervention that targets traders, artisans, enterprising youth, farmers and women in particular, by providing loans between N10,000 and N100,000 at no monthly cost to beneficiaries.
The Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSF) aims to deliver school feeding to young children with a specific focus on increasing school enrollment, reducing the incidence of malnutrition (especially among the poor and those ordinarily unable to eat a meal-a-day) empowering community women as cooks and by supporting small farmers that help stimulate economic growth.
Besides the Federal Government, a few sub-national governments are involved in the implementation of Social Protection Programmes in Nigeria even though, Nigeria practices a federal system of government. Expectations are that states would complement the efforts of the federal Government by setting up their own SIPs, this is not happening at an appreciable scale given the poverty level provided above.
It is against this background and in line with our vision of Africa Without Poverty that ANEEJ has designed this project, entitled Enhancing Social Protection Programme in Nigeria (ESPPIN), specifically aimed at strengthening Social Protection Programmes in Nigeria and advocate for the implementation of SIPs in five states of Nigeria.
(2) THE PROJECT
The ESPPIN project is being implemented by Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) in five states of Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Ekiti and Anambra States.
(3) PROJECT GOAL
The goal of the project is to advocate for reforms in support of the implementation of Social Investment Programmes in Nigeria.
The project objectives are as follows:
- To create awareness on Social Investment Programme in Nigeria and assess the impact of its implementation in line with 4 SDG Goals and targets.
- To build the capacities of Government, CSOs and Media to engage and monitor the implementation of SIPs
- Advocate for Legal and Institutional reforms which support implementation of Social Investment Programmes by the Federal/State Governments by 2023
(4) PURPOSE OF THE CONSULTANCY
The purpose of this consultancy is to carry out a baseline study into social protection programme from 2016 to date.
Specifically, the research should show the state of Social protection in Nigeria both at National and sub-national levels. It should also show clear the impact, whether positive or negative, as well as challenges. It should indicate any learnings in the course of implementation of specific programmes.
The Baseline should clearly the level of implementation of SIPs in the target five states of Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Anambra and Ekiti, identify all institutional frameworks and policies that support any social protection programme in the states
(5) METHODOLOGY
ANEEJ expects that key elements and methodology of the research will include:
– Desk Review
– Key Informant Interviews (KII)
– Use of virtual meetings virtual meetings is encouraged given Covid-19 pandemic
(6) OUTPUTS
(1) Report of Baseline Study.
(7) CONSULTANT EXPERIENCE
The consultant for this task would need to meet the following criteria:
- At least 5-7 years of proven experience in subject matter especially in an NGO setting.
- Have Understanding of Social Protection Programmes in Nigeria
- Clear, effective communicator in English.
(8) REMUNERATION
Remuneration for the research is negotiable and is applicable in the industry.
(9)TIMELINE FOR DELIVERY
A draft report is expected to be submitted two months after the date of signing of contract.
(10) SUBMISSION PROCESS
Interested consultant should send soft copies of their application to procurement@aneej.org on or before 22nd February, 2021
