FEC approves unified system to tackle poverty, coordinate humanitarian aid
Maureen Aguta
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the One Humanitarian One Poverty Response System (OHOPRS), a national framework designed to harmonise humanitarian assistance, social protection and poverty reduction programmes across Nigeria.
The initiative seeks to address longstanding challenges of fragmented interventions, duplication of efforts and gaps in support for vulnerable Nigerians by placing households at the centre of a coordinated, data-driven response system.
The approval followed the presentation of a memorandum to the Council by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard M. Doro, on Wednesday.
In a statement, the Senior Technical Adviser to the Minister on Information Systems and Data Analysis, Dr Abimbola Fasanu, said OHOPRS was a key pillar of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and a framework through which the Federal Government intends to lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty.
Under the existing system, humanitarian assistance, social protection and poverty reduction initiatives have largely operated independently across government agencies, development partners and humanitarian organisations. This has often resulted in overlapping interventions, uneven coverage and limited pathways for beneficiaries to move from emergency relief to long-term economic recovery.
OHOPRS is designed to address these shortcomings by establishing a coordinated system that links immediate humanitarian assistance with social protection and sustainable livelihood opportunities.
Through the framework, households affected by conflict and other emergencies will continue to receive essential support, including food, shelter and healthcare, while also being connected to education, skills acquisition, social protection and livelihood programmes.
The approach is intended to ensure that emergency assistance serves as the starting point for recovery and self-reliance rather than a standalone intervention.
Doro described the FEC approval as a significant step towards institutionalising a unified approach to addressing humanitarian crises and poverty in the country.
“For too long, humanitarian assistance, social protection and poverty reduction have operated as separate interventions.
OHOPRS brings them together, so that vulnerable Nigerians are not simply assisted during emergencies but supported along a structured pathway towards recovery, resilience and economic independence,” he said.
The minister added that the approval moves the framework from national adoption into the formal architecture of the Federal Government.
He stressed that the success of the initiative would be determined not by the number of interventions undertaken but by the extent to which they work together to improve the living conditions of vulnerable Nigerians.
OHOPRS was developed with technical input from development partners and other stakeholders at a workshop held at the United Nations House in Abuja in March 2026.
The framework was subsequently unveiled on August 26, 2026, by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, alongside Doro at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.
Following the FEC approval, the ministry is expected to work with relevant government institutions, state and local authorities, development partners and other stakeholders to implement the framework.
The implementation phase will be critical to determining how effectively the system integrates existing programmes, improves coordination among participating institutions and ensures that assistance reaches intended beneficiaries.
Through OHOPRS, the Federal Government aims to establish a more coherent approach to humanitarian response and poverty reduction, linking immediate relief to longer-term recovery, resilience and economic independence.