The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard M. Doro, has called on Nigerians to protect vulnerable persons and strengthen collective efforts to eradicate poverty in the country.
Doro made the call on Saturday in Abuja during the commemoration of the 2026 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, held at Nicon Luxury Hotel under the theme, “United for Peace and Human Rights: Safe Homes for All.”
He said poverty eradication required a collective commitment from government, development partners, the private sector and other stakeholders to build a peaceful and inclusive society.
The minister noted that Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1 and 11 commit the international community to ending poverty in all its forms and ensuring access to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services.
With only four years remaining until the 2030 deadline for achieving the SDGs, he urged stakeholders to assess progress made so far and identify measures needed to accelerate poverty reduction.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda provides a framework for addressing poverty through the ministry’s One Humanitarian, One Poverty Reduction Strategy (OHOPRS), which adopts a multidimensional approach involving relevant stakeholders.
“The fight against poverty is a fight for peace,” Doro said.
He explained that the ministry’s responsibility was twofold: protecting vulnerable Nigerians in the present and creating opportunities for them to become resilient and economically independent in the future.
The minister stressed the need to move beyond the provision of palliatives towards sustainable interventions that would enable households to overcome poverty permanently.
“While palliatives ensure that a family survives a crisis, pathways ensure that a family does not need palliatives again,” he said.
Doro identified the Household Prosperity and Economic Social Protection Project (HOPE-SP) as part of the government’s efforts to shift from a predominantly relief-oriented approach to sustainable recovery, empowerment and self-reliance.
He added that OHOPRS integrates humanitarian response, social protection, poverty reduction, economic inclusion and graduation into a unified national framework centred on households.
According to him, mothers and their children remain central to the ministry’s interventions and the assessment of their outcomes.
He said the approach was intended to support the achievement of SDG 1 by strengthening social protection systems and improving the capacity of poor households to withstand economic and other shocks.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr Olubunmi Olusanya, said the initiative demonstrated the government’s commitment to poverty reduction.
Olusanya, however, stressed that poverty eradication could not be achieved by government alone, calling for stronger collaboration among stakeholders to achieve sustainable results.
He appreciated the contributions of development partners and other stakeholders and urged them to sustain their support for the country’s poverty reduction efforts.
Goodwill messages were delivered by representatives of the European Union, African AIDS International, the World Food Programme, the National Assembly, the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Fidelity Bank Plc, among others.
The representatives reaffirmed their commitment to supporting efforts to reduce poverty and promote a safe and peaceful society.
The event ended with the presentation of palliatives to some vulnerable persons as part of activities marking the international day.
