The Federal Government has announced that it will now rely on measurable data and clear benchmarks to drive poverty reduction programmes, as the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction moves away from interventions without tracked outcomes.
The Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Bernard M. Doro, made the remarks during a courtesy and familiarization visit by a delegation from the Humanities Welfare and Social Development Initiative (HUWESDI), led by its Executive Director, Felix Nnalue Attah. The visit took place on Tuesday, 6th January, 2026, at his office in the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase 1, Abuja.
Welcoming the delegation, Dr. Doro reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to implementing policies and programmes that deliver measurable and sustainable impact on the lives of Nigerians. He said the current focus is on ensuring that humanitarian and poverty reduction efforts produce results that can be clearly tracked and evaluated.
According to the Minister, since his inauguration, efforts have been intensified to build a coordinated and inclusive humanitarian and poverty reduction ecosystem that ensures no Nigerian is left behind. He emphasized the importance of harmonized strategies, humanitarian prevention initiatives, and a central coordination framework to effectively address poverty, emergencies, and natural disasters across the country.
Dr. Doro noted that although many poverty reduction initiatives have been implemented over the years by government, development partners, and non-governmental organizations, the major challenge has been the absence of a robust system for measuring outcomes against national poverty indices. He explained that this gap has made it difficult to assess real impact and improve policy decisions.
He stated that the Ministry is now prioritizing data-driven interventions with clear entry and exit points to ensure measurable impact. According to him, such interventions can be integrated into a national database to support effective policy evaluation and long-term planning. He added that partnerships with credible Civil Society Organizations such as HUWESDI are critical to strengthening public engagement, transparency, and outreach.
The Honourable Minister assured the delegation that the Ministry would review HUWESDI’s proposal and explore areas of collaboration, while expressing readiness to work with the organization to advance the Ministry’s mandate.
Earlier, Mr. Attah congratulated the Minister on his appointment and praised his open-door policy, transparency, and commitment to accountability, describing them as key to rebuilding public confidence in governance. He provided background on HUWESDI as a registered Civil Society Organization focused on humanitarian welfare, social development, education, healthcare delivery, food security, and inclusive governance.
He expressed the group’s interest in partnering with the Ministry on programme implementation, advocacy, and capacity building. He also applauded the “One Humanitarian, One Poverty Reduction System” initiative, describing it as a system-led and results-oriented framework.
