The Oyo State Government on Wednesday approved the expansion of its social register.

The register is essential for identifying poor and vulnerable individuals eligible for social intervention programmes.

The Acting Coordinator of the State Operation Coordinating Unit, Salami Ismail, announced the development during advocacy and sensitisation visits to political leaders and management teams in 12 local government areas set to participate in the 10th round of the Community-Based Targeting exercise.

Ismail, in a statement released by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Dotun Oyelade, in Ibadan, stated that the expansion aligns with Governor Seyi Makinde’s commitment to supporting poor and vulnerable households across Oyo State.

According to Ismail, the unit is responsible for maintaining the social register of poor and vulnerable households in the state, which was initially launched in 2013 with World Bank funding and later supported by the Federal Government.

“The expansion of the register will include additional poor and vulnerable households, as some have exited the vulnerability threshold, while others have newly fallen into it,” Ismail said.

He explained that identifying these households involves a community-driven approach known as Community-Based Targeting, which begins with ranking local government areas based on poverty status using a verified government document.

“The ranking process for communities within each council, based on poverty status, is conducted by the Community-Based Targeting Team, comprising trained local government officers,” he added.

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