NEDC launches baby support programme to improve child identity, healthcare
Vice President Kashim Shettima, has commended a new national human capital initiative, the Renewed Hope Baby Support (RHBS) programme, designed to expand child identity registration, improve healthcare access, and strengthen long-term social protection systems across Nigeria.
Shettima gave the commendation on Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, when the management of the North East Development Commission (NEDC), led by its Managing Director/CEO Mohammed Goni Alkali, presented the implementation framework of the programme.
The RHBS programme is designed as a structured national intervention aimed at ensuring that every Nigerian child is captured into formal identity systems from birth, while also improving access to healthcare and long-term development support.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Regional Development and NEDC, Dr. Mariam Masha, said the initiative is intended to address major gaps in birth registration and early childhood inclusion.
She noted that Nigeria records about 7.6 million births annually, but “fewer than half are formally registered within the first year,” leaving millions of children outside national planning systems in health, education, and economic development.
She explained that RHBS is built as a milestone-linked system connecting children from birth to identity, healthcare participation, and opportunity pathways, adding that it is “not a traditional welfare intervention” but a structured national model for human capital development.
Kashim Shettima said the initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of 2026 as the Year of the Family and Social Protection, describing it as a timely intervention within the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“As you are aware, Mr. President has declared 2026 as the Year of the Family and Social Protection, with clear directives for implementation across all levels of government. I commend the NEDC for taking proactive steps to translate this vision into concrete action, particularly through the Renewed Hope Baby Support (RHBS) programme,” he said.
