The NG-CARES is the federal government initiative with support from the World Bank to mitigate the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic.

The FG has approved the Nigeria COVID-19 Action and Recovery and Economic stimulus programme which is a multi sectoral programme designed to provide immediate emergency relief to vulnerable and poor Nigerians, small holder farmers, and small and medium enterprises that were adversely affected by COVID-19 pandemic using the World Bank grant of  $750m over a period of two years which is from 2021-2023.

Each state will receive the sum of $20 million dollars over a period of two years while the FCT will get $15 million and the Federal Care Support gets $15 million with effect from June 30, 2021.

Inauguration of $750m NG-Cares Recovery Programme

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has inaugurated On Jan 21, 2022) the COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-Cares), which will be implemented with a $750-million World Bank facility.

The vice president performed the inauguration yesterday as prelude to National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, which he chaired at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja.

He said under the NG-Cares, which would be for a two-year-period — 2021 to 2023, each state would get $20 million, while the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) would get $15 million.

He explained that “NG-Cares is a multi-sectoral programme designed to support vulnerable and poor Nigerians to provide essentially emergency relief to small holder farmers and MSMEs, especially those that adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The programme will build on the varied and extensive Federal Government interventions developed as part of the president’s plan for taking 100 million Nigerians out of poverty and in response to the severe socio-economic fallouts of the pandemic, especially those programmes and plans contained in the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP).

“The essential addition to the Federal Government’s programme is that the NG-Cares programme will leverage on existing programmes in the states, especially job creation programmes, wealth creation, poverty reduction programmes at the community level such as state cash transfer units, state Fadama or agriculture development agencies, state job creation units and MSME units.

“All of the support by Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP).

“The World Bank loan is in the order of $750 million and this will be over a period of two years — 2021-2023; the intervention allocation to each state is $20 million and $15 million to the FCT; there is also 15 $million for the Federal Cares Support Unit.’’

According to him, the programme is to be driven by the states and there will be a programme for result-delivery mechanism type in which case, performance must be shown.

In his address, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, said that the vision, concept and design of NG-Cares was derived from the novel social protection agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

On his part, World Bank Country Director in Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, said NG-Cares involved collaboration between the Federal Government, multiple ministries and the states.

Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi and Nigeria’s Governors Forum Chairman said NG-Cares was designed jointly with the World Bank team as complement to the ESP.

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