By Alhagie Babou Jallow
The Executive Director of the National Nutrition Agency (NaNA) Dr Amat Bah has said that the Nafa programme is designed to uplift extremely Poor households from poverty in twenty districts across the country through cash transfer and capacity building for the beneficiaries.
Dr Amat Bah made this revelation during an interview at a pay point in Sibanor Village, Foni Bintang while on a visit with world bank officials to project implementation sites. He said that the Nafa programme is a component of the Social Safety Net Project ( SSNP) which is supported by the World Bank and The Gambia government to assist rural poor households in 20 districts. The Project (a US$ 31 million project) is jointly funded by the World Bank and the Government of The Gambia.
He explained that National Nutrition Agency (NaNA), Department of Social Welfare and Department of Community Development are co implementing the Nafa Programme as part of The Gambia Social Safety Net Project (SSNP) which aims to strengthen the coordination of social assistance activities, inclusion of the extremely poor in the Nafa Programme and build resilience of society’s most vulnerable.
The project targets 15,606 extreme poor households which equates to approximately 40 percent of the extremely poor households in The Gambia.
In Addition, Dr Bah said that the piloting of the Nafa has been done in three districts, where they learned a lot and are now confidently rolling out in the remaining 17 districts.
‘’During the Covid-19,’’ Dr, Bah explained, ‘’World Bank and Government Gambia Government’s response to the negative economic effects resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the nutrition agency quickly put in place basic delivery systems and provided support to over 78,000 households in 30 of the poorest districts in the country.
This was implemented through a four-month , quasi –universal cash transfer programme the “Nafa Quick” from July through October to support families meet their basic needs during the lean season, which was coupled with the economic hardship caused by the pandemic.
According to Dr Bah, The entire intervention was programmed for three years “but we still have to substitute part of the money we used for the “Nafa Quick” to be able to expand it’’, he stated.
He informed that they have resources for 18 months at the moment each household will receive 3000 every two months.
On the successes of the project, Dr. Bah noted that there are indications that the programme is already achieving the objectives.
He finally used the opportunity to recognized the roles of key partners such as National Social Protection Secretariat, GBoS, Department of Information Services and the media in the successful implementation of the programme
Mrs Christabel Dadzie, a Senior Social Protection Specialist, Task Team Leader of The Gambia Safety Net Project (SSNP) of the World Bank, said she is in rural Gambia to have first hand information on the status of implementation of the project. She expressed satisfaction on level of progress in the implementation process. She noted that in pilot districts one could gauge the positive impact of the project on the beneficries. She commended the work of the implementing partners of the Nafa Programme for their unflinching efforts in ensuring the project is in progress.
Dwelling on the poor urban households, she admitted there are urban poor but that the majority of the poor households are in the rural areas.
“If there are enough resources, such a programme can be extended to the urban area but for now the target is the rural poor. However, urban poverty is something that concerns all.”
Sajor Jallow, a beneficiary, said that the project helped extremely poor households moved from poverty line. She expressed optimism that they are now able to sustain themselves and support the education of their children while thanking the funders and implementers of the project.