Microsoft Backs Poverty Eradication

Poverty eradication programme of the Federal Government is getting more boost as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation over the week embarked on inspections of projects undertaken by the National Poverty Eradication Programme (Napep) with the intention of finalizing partnership arrangement with the country.

The move which was said to be a sign of the acceptability of Napep’s innovative programmes for poverty eradication both locally and internationally afforded the US based global foundation opportunity of assessing some Napep initiated projects in order to find ways to Partner with the Nigerian government agency in the fight against poverty in Nigeria

Mrs. Amdo Amolo Ngweno, senior projects officer for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who undertook the inspection visit on behalf of the foundation held a meeting with Dr. Magnus Kpakol, national co-ordinator of Napep and special assistant to the President on poverty eradication, and other top management of the programme where she outlined the focus and area of emphasis for partnership by the Gates Foundation.

Dr. Kpakol elucidated on the mandate of Napep as the apex of Federal Government’s organization monitoring and coordinating the country’s poverty eradication efforts. He further emphasized President Yarâ’Aduaâ’s dream of ensuring that every Nigerian must be able to participate in the economic development process to eradicate poverty and ensure economic development.

Kpakol briefed the representative of the Bill Gates Foundation on the flagship programmes of Napep. These are the Village Solution Scheme and the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme all of which are designed to ensure economic development at the grass root through financial empowerment.

"Poverty can be fought to a stand still by ensuring that there is mass participation in the developmental process and in this regard Micro credit has become a tool in the fight against poverty, Our programmes are unique, our COPE Scheme with the conditionality of ensuring that the children of beneficiaries are in school addresses the fundamental issue of education as a weapon to break the shackle of intergenerational transfer of poverty, This can be sustained through partnerships with such credible groups as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation," he said.

Mrs. Ngweno enumerated the areas of emphasis for the Foundation and these include support for Agricultural processing, and financial services delivery to the poor. She commended Napep’s Village Solution Scheme and the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme as the likely areas where the foundation could be of assistance.

Consequently Mrs. Ngweno undertook a visit to two project sites for the Village Economic Development Solution and the COPE projects. These are Kiyi in Kuje local government area in FCT and the TRIMM Integrated Farms on Keffi road in Nassarawa State.

At KIYI the representative of Bill Gates Foundation saw the 10 beneficiaries of the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme and visited two of them in their homes.

At TRIMM Integrated Farms on Keffi road she also saw the anchor project of the farm under the Village Solution Scheme. She lauded the two NAPEP programmes as worthy of support by the Foundation.

It is hope that the visit of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and its validation of NAPEP projects would open new vistas of collaboration which would in turn unleash a potent force in the fight against poverty in Nigeria.