Despite being one of Africa’s largest economies, Nigeria faces significant challenges in meeting the basic needs of its citizens. Recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that 63% of the population are multidimensionally poor, experiencing overlapping deprivations in more than one dimension, including health, education, nutrition and living standards. Social protectionsystems are vital for ensuring access to essential services among the poorest and contribute to long-term povertyreduction and economic stability. The Nigerian government has taken important steps towards improving social protection by adopting key policies, establishing a Vulnerable Group Fund and social transfer scheme, and creating a single National Social Register (NSR) . Kebbi State in northwestern Nigeria, with a Govt projected population of 6,181,328 in 2025 and ranked among the top five poorest states in Nigeria, exemplifies all of these challenges – experiencing high levels of poverty, widespread vulnerability to climate shocks and insecurityand low coverage of social protection programmes, with strong potential for high-impact, scalable interventions. However, the government continues to face critical challenges in ensuring support reaches the most vulnerable. Many HHs are not captured in the register – as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that only 11% of Nigerians are covered by at least one social protection benefit . One of the critical enablers of effective social protection delivery is the availability of accurate, timely, and interoperable data. In Kebbi State, while significant progress has been made in developing and utilizing the National Social Register (NSR), several challenges persist in achieving seamless data integrationacross systems and institutions. Firstly, fragmentation of datasources remains a major obstacle. Various ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) collect and manage data independently, oftenusing incompatible formats and standards. This lack of interoperability hinders the consolidation of household-level data needed for comprehensive targeting, monitoring, and evaluation. Secondly, limited digital infrastructure at the local government level affects the real-time updating and synchronization of data with the central NSR. Many Local Government Areas (LGAs) lack sufficient and efficient digital systems, which increases the risk of data entry errors, delays, and duplication. Thirdly, capacity gaps among data officers and programme staff, particularlyin IT literacy, data protection, and analytics, undermine the quality and security of data handling. Without continuous training and technical support, the risk of mismanagement or underutilization of data remains high. Finally, data privacy and governance frameworks are either weak or inconsistently applied. The absence of a clear legal framework for data sharing, storage, and usage across sectors creates uncertainty and limits collaboration. To address these challenges, Oxfam has partnered with Solidarités International (SI), Jireh Doo Foundation (JDF) and the Association of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (ASWHAN) to develop this action to strengthen Social Protection in Nigeria. i) Relevance of action to objectives/priorities of the call, andto needs/constraints of country/region: The overall objective (OO) of the action is to improve social protection in Nigeria by strengthening state-level systems and delivering inclusive, gender-responsive, and climate-smart safety net and livelihood interventions that sustainably reduce poverty and enhance resilience among 44,740 households (313,180 individuals, 49.9% women and girls, 50.1% men and boys,13.5% Returnees/Internally Displaced People (IDPs), 14.3% Female/child Headed households) experiencing multidimensional poverty, representing approx. 15% of the 298,260 HH in six targeted LGAs in Kebbi State in 2025: Augie, Bagudo, Gwandu, Jega, Shanga and Wasagu/Danko. Targeting will particularly prioritize women and girls in climate-affected communities in Kebbi state. This responds to the stated OO of the call for proposals: to contribute to improve the social protection in Nigeria. The action alsoaddresses the SO of Lot 2: To implement a comprehensive social safety net initiative that tests and enhances "social protection in practice," targeting beneficiaries and rights holders in selected Nigerian communities, with a particular focus on Kebbi State. These objectives are reflected in the impact and outcome levels of the action’s intervention logic. The activities and outputs proposed by the consortium have been specifically designed to contribute to the achievement of these objectives. The action addresses all priorities for Lot 2 outlined in the call, which have informed framing of the four outputsofthis action as described under the Logic ofIntervention. The action is relevant to the needs and constraints of target country, region and relevant sectors, in that it is highly relevant to Nigeria’s pressing needs and sectoral constraints: Despite being one of Africa’s largest economies, Nigeria faces deepening poverty and inequality, with nearly half the population living on less than $2.15 per day—a figure projected to rise if conditions remain unchanged . Inflation and food insecurity persist at20.3% and 21.87%, exacerbated by rising fuel costs, insecurity, and climate change. The Northwest region in particular suffers from extreme poverty, child malnutrition, low literacy, and fragile ecosystems . Kebbi State exemplifies these challenges, withover82% poverty and child multidimensional poverty exceeding 95%. Women and girls are disproportionately affected, facing limited access to education, economic opportunities, and social services. These realities underscore the urgency and relevance of targeted interventions that promote sustainable agriculture, climate resilience, genderequity, and inclusive development. The proposed action will seek to avoid duplication and promote strong coordination and complementarity with existing government, EU,WorldBank, ECHO, UKAID, SIDA, UNEP, IFAD and other donor-supported initiatives in Nigeria, particularly in Kebbi. Prior to project commencement, existing and recent projects in the state will be mapped up to LGA and Ward level to avoid duplication and overlaps, while determining opportunities for synergy. The action builds on EU-funded projects implemented in the recent past by OXFAM such as PROACT, OSAID and PROSELL. Sector wise, the action shall ensure coherence with broader food security and social protection efforts led by bilateral and multilateral donors including UNEP, IFAD, and the World Bank in the state. Itsupports Nigeria’s National Agricultural Resilience Framework (NARF) by promoting climate adaptation, drought-tolerant crops, improved water management, and advocacy for inclusive social safety net policies. Through coordinated planning and implementation, the consortium will foster a unified, gender-responsive approach to tackling multidimensional poverty and climate vulnerability in KebbiState,while reinforcing national and international efforts to strengthen social protection systems across Kebbi state. ii) Target groups and final beneficiaries, needs and constraints that will be addressed. Stakeholder groups, attitudes towards the action and consultations. Technical/ management capacities: The proposed action targets at least 44,740 poor and vulnerable households (PVHH), equivalent to 313,180 individuals (mean HH size for 6 LGAs is 7.0) in six LGAs of Kebbi State, representing approximately 15% of the total households in the targeted LGAs. The final targeted beneficiaries are Poor and Vulnerable Households (PVHH) in the 1-3 decile in the State SSN Register who are impacted by Climate Change vulnerability: