Speaking to journalists during an enrolment exercise held Tuesday in Dibba Kunda, North Bank Region, Ceesay said the programme is designed to support both beneficiaries of the Nafa cash transfer initiative and vulnerable households that were previously not covered.
“Our intention is to build the resilience of the extreme poor so that we can help them move out of the poverty cycle,” he said. “This is about social justice and social protection where everyone is included.”
According to him, the programme will allocate 50 percent of the beneficiaries to Nafa participants and the remaining 50 percent to non-Nafa beneficiaries to ensure inclusiveness and equal access to opportunities.
The PEI programme seeks to empower vulnerable individuals and households through income-generating activities aimed at improving livelihoods and economic self-reliance. Beneficiaries are expected to receive a D20,000 cash grant to support small-scale business and micro-financing activities.
The ongoing enrolment is part of the first phase of the programme, currently targeting 3,420 vulnerable households across 12 districts nationwide. The broader initiative is expected to reach 10,000 beneficiaries during its implementation period.
The programme is being implemented by the Department of Community Development (DCD), under the leadership of Director Fatou Gibba, in partnership with NaNA and the Directorate of Social Welfare under The Gambia Resilience Inclusion Skills and Equity (RISE) project.
Ceesay explained that the PEI programme serves as a graduation component of the Nafa project under the RISE initiative, helping beneficiaries transition from social assistance to sustainable economic empowerment after benefiting from Nafa support for three years.
The five-year government initiative is funded by the World Bank and focuses on reducing extreme poverty through social protection and economic inclusion.
World Bank representative Aminata Suwa described the programme as an important step toward improving the lives of vulnerable households and communities.
She said the PEI initiative complements the Nafa programme by supporting poor individuals who previously did not qualify for Nafa assistance, enabling them to start productive economic activities and improve their living conditions.
“This is a great achievement,” she said, adding that the World Bank’s vision remains ending extreme poverty and improving the welfare of vulnerable populations.
Read Other Articles In National News
Meet Mary Njie, as she drops new song titled ‘Life’ ahead of Int’l album
May 17, 2022, 12:43 PM
