Akwa Ibom Government says no fewer than 833,481 households have benefited from the ARISE Free Food Security Programme across its 31 local government areas
The Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, Mrs Emem Ibanga, disclosed this at a ministerial briefing in Uyo on Monday.
Ibanga said that beneficiaries were selected through community structures and the National Social Register.
The commissioner said that monitoring mechanisms were put in place to ensure that the targeted households received the interventions.
“The free food programme conducted across four phases has benefited 8331,481 households across the 31 local government areas of the state,” she said.
She said that the state was also promoting food production and household resilience through agricultural initiatives such as the Back-to-Farm and Home Garden programmes.
Ibanga further said that through the Akwa Ibom Bulk Purchase Agency, the state government had provided staple food items to vulnerable households, including widows and low-income families.
She also mentioned the ARISE Compassionate Homes Initiative as another flagship humanitarian intervention of the state government.
“The programme provides decent, fully furnished and solar-powered accommodation for citizens living in unsafe and substandard conditions,” she said.
The commissioner said that 500 homes had been built within the first three years of the Gov. Umo Eno-led administration, and that 461 of the homes had been handed over to beneficiaries.
“The remaining homes will be handed over in the coming days, each beneficiary also received a N500,000 business grant to rebuild their livelihoods,” she said.
Ibanga said that through the Elderly Citizens Initiative, 600 elderly citizens across the 31 local government areas had received N50,000 each as a one-off support payment per cycle.
The commissioner said that 12,000 elderly citizens had so far benefited from the initiative.
“Also, more than 1,481 senior citizens have been registered under the Health Insurance Scheme, registration is still ongoing,” she said.
She said that Akwa Ibom government had continued to prioritise disability inclusion by working with physically challenged persons and representative organisations.
According to her, the leadership of the Joint Association of Persons Living with Disabilities has received a N500,000 subvention to support its activities.
“No fewer than 1,287 persons with disabilities have been enrolled in the ARISE Health Insurance Scheme, expanding access to healthcare, mobility and assistive devices,’ she added.
Ibanga said that the ministry had received 263 wheelchairs and 181 assistive walking devices, totalling 444 mobility aids.
She said that the mobility aids were being distributed to beneficiaries across the state, and that no fewer than 300 persons had benefited so far.(NAN)
