WFP supports digital wallet, biometric IDV program to reach 750k Nigerians with aid

A Partnership between the Nigerian government and the World Food Program (WFP) is helping more than 750,000 forcibly displaced persons in that country to access cash-based transfers and other relief support.

The initiative, coordinated by the country’s Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, targets mostly internally displaced persons (IDPs) and intends to ensure that there is transparency and that aid reaches exactly those earmarked for it.

Humanitarian Affairs Minister, Nentawe Yilwatada, announced the activity recently during a visit to a major IDP camp in the country, near a border area with Cameroon and Chad, the Trumpet reports.

A digital wallet, biometric identity verification, and food vouchers are being used to ensure beneficiaries get their share of assistance, as part of a broader move by the Nigerian government to strengthen its social protection mechanism.

With the food vouchers, aid beneficiaries can redeem them at local food stores using point-of-sale terminals. A similar system has been used in Botswana where more than 75,000 aid beneficiaries used vouchers to get supplies from local stores.

Yilwatada, while speaking during his visit to the IDP camp, decried the devastating effects of natural factors like floods which have destroyed critical infrastructure in some parts of the country, thereby complicating government’s efforts to effectively implement humanitarian assistance programs.

The minister held that introducing a digital wallet, biometric food vouchers and a biometric verification system is a great step toward facilitating the aid distribution process, and ensuring that little or no room is allowed for fraud such as impersonation or duplication.

He added that the use of biometrics not only makes it possible for aid to be directed straight at those who deserve it, but it also brings some dignity to how the vulnerable persons get assistance.

The initiative in Nigeria is in line with best practices in the facilitation of humanitarian assistance in crisis situation in many countries around the world.

Nigeria has also been distributing humanitarian cash assistance to poor families using digital ID and biometric verification, as part of a federal government poverty alleviation initiative.

Apart from Nigeria where the WFP has led strong advocacy for humanitarian support over the years, the UN agency has also been assisting in aid distribution using digital solutions in other parts of the world.

In 2021, for instance, it introduced a digital wallet system in Kyrgyzstan, which was piloted in four cities of the country, to help the government dispatch cash-based transfers to citizens badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometrics  |  financial inclusion  |  humanitarian  |  identity verification  |  Nigeria  |  social protection