The Federal Government has launched the $1 billion Household Prosperity and Economic Social Protection Project (HOPE-SP), marking a major shift in Nigeria’s approach to humanitarian support under the theme “From Palliatives to Pathways.”

The initiative was unveiled on Wednesday by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, at the Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja. She commended the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard M. Doro, for steering a transformation of government interventions from short-term relief into structured pathways towards recovery and self-reliance.

The First Lady said the reforms would improve how vulnerable households are identified and supported, strengthen coordination across humanitarian and poverty-reduction programmes, and enable faster, more accountable responses to emergencies.

Speaking at the event, Dr Doro described the launch as a strategic pivot that places vulnerable households, rather than standalone programmes, at the heart of government intervention. He said the reform was designed to end the fragmentation and duplication that had long characterised Nigeria’s social protection landscape, replacing multiple uncoordinated registries with a single national system spanning identification, needs assessment, targeted support, protection, empowerment and poverty graduation.

Central to the reform is the One Humanitarian, One Poverty Response System (OHOPRS), which the Minister said would unify registries, digital delivery systems and financing structures, while strengthening institutions, accountability and real-time data intelligence across the sector.

Also unveiled at the event were an Emergency Shock-Responsive Cash Transfer scheme, the FMHAPR Ministerial Blueprint, and Humanitarian First Magazine, a new publication that will chronicle the impact of government interventions on beneficiaries.

Permanent Secretary Olubunmi Olusanya said the reforms would tighten coordination and accountability across the ministry, adding that the true measure of success would be the tangible change delivered to vulnerable Nigerians.

The event drew goodwill messages from Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, speaking on behalf of state governors; the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu; former Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs, Dr Yusuf Tanko Sununu; and representatives of the European Union and the World Bank, who praised the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s social protection and humanitarian systems. The Irigwe New Wave Dance Troupe from Plateau State provided a cultural performance.