By Stephen Adeleye.
The Federal Government has introduced the second component under its Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme, and trained Cash Transfer Facilitators (CTFs) across the 21 local government areas Kogi.
Mrs Zainab Usman, Programme Officer, Co-Responsibilty, National Cash Transfer Office (NTCO), Abuja, disclosed this on Friday at a two-day “Step-Down Training on the use of Co-Responsibilty Validation and Registration Application for CTFs in Kogi.
Usman said that the training was basically to build the capacity of the CTFs so as to deliver effective service at the community level when discharging their functions.
“The second component of CCT is commencing soon where we are going to give addition N5, 000 to the same beneficiaries of the CCT program who lives under certain conditions.
“The condition is that a state will select from four key areas: health, education, environment and nutrition depending on the area which is more challenging in the state.
“The rate of maternal and child mortality is high in Kogi, with low percentage immunisation of children against child killer diseases, that is the state has selected health as area of concern in Kogi.
“So, basically, we are to train our facilitators to go back to communities, validate pregnant women among our beneficiaries and children under age five that need immunisation against child killer diseases, and send the list to us,” she said.
She added that they would give the beneficiaries additional N5, 000 to enable pregnant women seek medical services in the health facilities.
“It will also enable them to attend antenatal, deliver in the hospital and go for post-natal service for all routine immunisation for their children, and that is the essence we are here today,” Usman said.
She said that the validation exercise would commence as soon as the facilitators get back to their various communities, and last for two weeks.
Mr Aliyu Adam, the Management Information Officer, NCTO, Abuja, said that the essence of the training is on Co-Responsibility which is all about addition of N5,000 to what the poor and vulnerables were getting from the federal government under CCT.
“It has to do with choosing some other areas which add to the CCT beneficiaries such as health, education, environment and nutrition.
“Kogi has chosen health which is for pregnant women or lactating mothers and children between age 0 and 5.
“The processes are all automated and the feedback from the CTFs after registration and validation would be used to pay the additional N5, 000 to the affected beneficiaries,” Adam said.
CCT Coordinator in the state, Mrs. Falilat Abdulrasak, said that 199 facilitators drawn from the 21 LGAs of the state, were participating in the training.
“The CCT programme covered 199 wards across all the 21 LGAs of the state, but efforts are on by NASSCO to get the remaining wards covered.
“I advise the CTFs to listen attentively because it is a step down training as they will go back to the communities to work on the training they have gotten,” Abdulrasak said.
A facilitator, Mallam Shaibu Sule, the Desk Officer, Omala LGA, told NAN that he was happy to be part of the training, saying “it has already equipped us to be on top of our assignment”.
(NAN)
