Nigeria’s social protection budget has had a negligible impact on reducing poverty, according to a recent World Bank report. The country allocates only 0.14 % of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to social protection, far below the global average of 1.5 % and the Sub‑Saharan African average of 1.1 %. This limited investment has produced a modest 0.4‑percentage‑point decline in the national poverty headcount.
The report, “The State of Social Safety Nets in Nigeria,” highlights the inefficiencies of the nation’s safety‑net programs. Despite initiatives such as conditional cash transfers and school‑feeding schemes, the poverty rate remains largely unchanged. The World Bank attributes this stagnation to poor program design and benefit dilution, where the same amount of money is spread thinly across larger households, reducing its effectiveness.
A further concern is Nigeria’s heavy reliance on foreign donors to finance its safety nets. Between 2015 and 2021, official development assistance accounted for roughly 60 % of federal spending on these programs, with the World Bank providing over 90 % of that support. This dependence creates a risk of funding gaps if donor contributions decline.
The report notes that the poorest households in Nigeria tend to be larger, leading to an even thinner distribution of benefits and a minimal impact on inequality. Nonetheless, well‑targeted initiatives such as the National Social Safety Nets Programme have shown promise, reducing poverty by 4.3 percentage points and the poverty gap by 4.2 percentage points among beneficiaries.
The Nigerian government has announced plans to expand its digital cash‑grant scheme to 15 million households, covering about 70 million people. Yet the World Bank describes overall social‑safety‑net spending as inefficient, with a smaller share of benefits reaching the poor despite their dominance among recipients.
The report emphasizes the need for sustainable funding and improved targeting and design of social‑protection programs to effectively reduce poverty and inequality. With over 104 million Nigerians living below the poverty line, the World Bank stresses that both the international community and the Nigerian government must collaborate to develop more effective safety nets and address the root causes of poverty, ensuring a more equitable and prosperous future for all.
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