Nafa Program to Expand to 20,000 More Households in Kombo

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By Ndey Sowe

The National Nutrition Agency (NaNA) has announced that the Nafa cash transfer program, a key pillar of The Gambia’s Resilience, Inclusion, Skills, and Equality (RISE) project, will be expanded to reach an additional 20,000 households in Greater Banjul and Banjul.

Speaking on Sunday, January 19, 2025, at Ngaige village in Upper Saloum, Central River Region, Abdou Aziz Ceesay, Senior Director of Social and Behavioral Change Communication (SBCC) at NaNA, confirmed the expansion during an interview following the disbursement of Nafa cash transfers to beneficiaries.

“As we speak, we now have additional financing to roll out the project to another 20,000 households, including those in Greater Banjul and Banjul. We were waiting for the GamSR data to cover these areas, and I am pleased to report that the data has been collected and analyzed by the National Social Protection Secretariat,” he revealed.

The Nafa program, a bi-monthly cash transfer initiative, targets extremely poor households in the West Coast Region (WCR), Lower River Region (LRR), Central River Region (CRR North and South), and Upper River Region (URR). The program combines direct financial support with SBCC to enhance economic and educational outcomes for rural communities.

Implemented by NaNA in collaboration with the Department of Community Development and the Directorate of Social Welfare, the program aims to tackle poverty and malnutrition while empowering vulnerable households.

“When we started, resources were limited, which is why we prioritized areas based on their vulnerability status,” Mr. Ceesay explained. He added that the rollout of the expanded program will commence in due course.

The RISE project comprises five components under one Project Development Objective (PDO): increasing foundational learning, improving access to job opportunities, generating income for the vulnerable, and more.

“Every component contributes to the achievement of the PDO, which is critical for us as implementing partners,” Mr. Ceesay stated.

He praised the program’s emphasis on SBCC, describing it as transformative and essential for building resilience among the extremely poor. “What impresses me the most is that we prioritize SBCC before disbursing cash to beneficiaries. This approach ensures sustainability and helps build resilience in households even after the project phases out,” he noted.

Highlighting the broader objectives of the program, Mr. Ceesay emphasized the importance of behavior change.

“The money is not the end and means of everything. What we aim for is to change behavior. By building resilience, we hope beneficiaries will start saving and engage in micro-financing activities that will improve their household income, health, and nutritional status,” he explained.

Mr. Ceesay also underscored the cross-cutting nature of nutrition and the importance of collaboration among partners to address malnutrition. “All we want is to reduce poverty and malnutrition in The Gambia,” he affirmed, calling on partners to develop strategies for tackling nutrition-related challenges.

As the Nafa program reaches its twelfth payment cycle, beneficiaries across rural Gambia have reported significant improvements in their lives. Many expressed gratitude for the program, calling for its sustainability and hoping for similar initiatives in the future.