By Olimatou Coker
World Bank on Tuesday signed a $30 million social safety net project with Finance Ministry at the Quadrangle in Banjul.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mod A.K Secka, permanent secretary at the Ministry of finance said the project is a World Bank grant and the social protection secretariat will be housed at the office of the vice president which will provide strategic oversight and policy coordination for this project
“The social safety net project objective is to improve the coordination of social assistance activities and increase inclusion of the extreme poor in the Gambia”, he said.
P.S Secka said the implementing partners are National Nutrition Agency (NANA), Department of Community Development (DCD) and Department of Social Welfare (DSW) and the project will target 20 districts of extremely poor households within communities.
He added that the project will also support for the establishment of a social registry to provide data on key household characteristics to facilitate common assessment and eligibility determination for social assistance programs.
It will also provide a platform for improved coordination among programs.
Elene Imnadze, World Bank Country Representative said the day marked an important milestone in the close collaboration and support for the social agenda of The Gambia.
She added that the project is mainly for the poor and vulnerable, adding that there are efforts put in place for the Gambia’s poor districts as well poor households and the money will be spent on food and social services.
