Niger agency targets orphans, women in new programme

Niger State Community and Social Development Project has said it is targeting women and other vulnerable groups in a new investment programme.

The General Manager of the Agency Malam Yusuf Ahmad Usman disclosed this at the opening of refresher course for CSDA Desk Officers of the ministries, departments and agencies in Minna.

Usman explained that the Vulnerable Group Investment (VGI ), which included gender and vulnerable component intervention, is one of the new components of the CSDP Additional Financing II, introduced to assist the less privileged in rural communities.

He said that the intervention was to assist widows, orphans and people with disabilities to access basic social amenities such as health care, education and water supply.

“For them to access these social amenities, they are expected to group themselves, register with their respective local government and write to the agency to intervene.

“The agency’s intervention is through the provision of schools, clinics and water as well as help alleviate poverty among the poor in rural communities,” he said.

He said the training was to build capacity of the desk officers in the various MDAs to enable them contribute effectively to achieve the set objectives. He added that the agency was working towards providing intervention for over 1,000 requests received from various communities.

Also speaking, Malam Usman Dallawu, Permanent Secretary, Planning Commission, called on the participants to pay attention to the training to learn the new component so as to implement the projects effectively.