Jessica Bartholomew, a nutrition and social policy expert, has called for increased investment in social protection to reduce poverty and promote inclusive development.

Ms Bartholomew, a social protection specialist and incumbent chairperson of the National Steering Committee of the Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria, made the call at a workshop on Wednesday in Zaria.

The three-day workshop was organised by the Kaduna State Planning and Budget Commission with UNICEF, Kaduna Field Office.

Ms Bartholomew said social protection involves more than redistributing resources to poor people; it is also a system that could benefit everyone at different stages of life.

She said effective social protection should prevent individuals from life contingencies, reduce poverty and vulnerability, and facilitate access to basic social services.

According to her, social protection enables people to manage economic and social risks, including disasters, unemployment, exclusion, sickness, disability and old age.

She identified social assistance, social insurance and labour market programmes as the three major pillars of social protection.

She said social assistance included cash transfers, food assistance and school feeding, while social insurance covered health insurance, unemployment benefits and pensions.

Ms Bartholomew said labour market programmes included job training, minimum wage policies, employment opportunities and measures aimed at protecting workers.

She explained that social inclusion required removing barriers linked to poverty, gender, disability, location and social status, stressing that no one should be left behind.

The expert said a social protection floor should guarantee basic social security and essential services, particularly for children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, the unemployed and other vulnerable groups.

She advocated a life-cycle approach to social protection, addressing vulnerabilities from pregnancy and early childhood through school age, youth, adulthood, old age and disability.

Ms Bartholomew said investment in social protection could reduce poverty and inequality, improve nutrition and health, increase school attendance and reduce child labour.

She added that effective social protection could promote productive employment, entrepreneurship, economic growth, human development and inclusive growth.

Ms Bartholomew said social protection also contributed to achieving several Sustainable Development Goals, including poverty reduction, universal health coverage, gender equality and decent employment.

She urged local government authorities to prioritise social protection in their budgets and ensure adequate resources reached vulnerable populations.

(NAN)