Wale Jagun
Lagos State Government on Wednesday unveiled COVID-19 ActionRecovery and Economic Stimulus, tagged, ‘Lagos CARES’, targeting to support vulnerable residents of the state.
Gov. Babajide Sanwo – Olu unveiled the $20 million social intervention that is focused on offering a safety net to residents whose means of livelihood had been disrupted by the impacts of COVID-19 and also to building resilience of the State.
The programme, which will be implemented for 24 months, isbeing funded through a $750 million facility secured from the World Bank by theFederal Government for Nigeria-CARES project. Other states also benefited fromthe stimulus programme.
Lagos CARES will directly support 20,843 households and indirectly support 125,058 individuals within the State.
He said that the Lagos CARES programme would be implemented between 2021 and 2023, and would provide economic relief and recovery support to identified vulnerable persons.
“Today marks another milestone in our effort to combat the negative impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on our households, livelihood, food security and businesses” he said.
“The CARES project is an integral part of the national approach, adopted to alleviate the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic, and enhance the wellbeing of our people.
“The Lagos CARES Programme will be implemented between 2021and 2023, and will provide economic relief and recovery support to identified vulnerable persons.
“During the 24 months, the programme will directly support vulnerable households and indirectly support 125,058 individuals. There will also be interventions in 69 markets, while a minimum of 2,512 MSMEs will be supported.
“To implement the programme, Sanwo-Olu set up the State’s CARES Steering Committee (SCSC), co-headed by the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Sam Egube, and Special Adviser on Sustainable Development Goals and Investment, Mrs. Solape Hammond.
Other members of the steering committee comprises cabinet members and policy heads, who will oversee the programme and provide policy guidance.
The Governor also inaugurated the State’s CARES Coordinating Unit (SCCU) that will work directly with the delivery platforms of the three result areas for result monitoring and coordination.
Egube said the project would address loss of jobs and threat to the food supply chain occasioned by the spread of the pandemic.
He said the programme would leverage existing World Bank’s operations anchored on community-based approach and multi-sector interventions.
On her part, Mrs. Hammond said the State would be implementing 10 Disbursement-Linked Indicators (DLIs) out of 11 across three results areas for impact.
The programme, she said, will benefit 4,652 farmers towards driving up agricultural inputs and services, adding that 5,460 farmers would be engaged in agricultural assets for production and mitigation of food loss and waste.
