Oyo State’s OY-CARES Program: N10,000 Monthly Cash Transfers for Vulnerable Households.
In an effort to alleviate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Oyo State government is set to distribute N10,000 monthly to 3,300 vulnerable households through the Oyo State Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (OY-CARES) phase 3.
Mr. Akintunde Gbadamosi, the State Coordinator of the Cash Transfer Unit, unveiled this initiative during an orientation training for the third batch of social transfer facilitators under OY-CARES across the state’s 33 Local Government Areas.
The beneficiaries, carefully selected from all 33 LGAs based on data from the State Operation Coordinating Unit (SOCU), will receive the monthly cash transfer during the 3rd phase after completing facilitator training.
The SOCU data includes individuals from various disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, chronically ill, physically challenged, urban poor, and widows. Gbadamosi clarified that OY-CARES, originally an emergency operation from the Federal Government, has been localized by the state to support budgeted programs and interventions at the state level.
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Moreover, the program is designed to assist both existing and new vulnerable and poor households in the agricultural value chain, along with Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) impacted by the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gbadamosi explained, “The sum of N10,000 per month is awarded to be given for a year to the social transfer component beneficiaries to aid their consumption and reduce stress. The transfer, which is card-based, will be paid N20,000 bi-monthly.”
Program Structure:
The OY-CARES program is scheduled to run for a duration of two years (2022-2024) and is being implemented using existing structures at both the State and Federal Government levels, without the need for additional project implementation frameworks.
Gbadamosi emphasized that in the initial phase, the Oyo State Government identified 1,755 beneficiaries from 18 LGAs, followed by 1,755 beneficiaries from 15 LGAs in the second phase. For the third phase, a total of 3,300 beneficiaries from all 33 LGAs are included in the cash transfer platform, managed through Social Transfer (ST) channels.
