Review of Social Protection Frameworks for Older Persons in Oyo State

Nigeria's aging population presents a growing social protection challenge, as the combination of weakening extended family safety nets, absence of universal pension coverage, and limited geriatric health services creates conditions of acute vulnerability for older persons. This study reviews the social protection frameworks available to older persons in Oyo State, South West Nigeria, assessing coverage adequacy, accessibility, and implementation gaps. A professional policy review methodology was employed, combining document analysis of federal and state social protection policies, administrative data on benefit enrollment from the Oyo State Ministry of Social Welfare, and structured interviews with thirty-two older persons, ten social welfare officials, and six civil society representatives in Ibadan, Ogbomoso, and Iseyin. The Social Protection Floor concept of the International Labour Organization was applied as the normative benchmark. Results indicate that formal pension coverage reached only 19% of elderly persons in the state, restricted primarily to former formal sector employees. The National Social Investment Programme's Homecares component, which targeted vulnerable older persons, had enrollment coverage of only 7% of eligible elderly in the state. Healthcare coverage for older persons under the Oyo State Health Insurance Scheme was negligible at 3.4%. Community-based social protection through family and religious networks remained the primary support mechanism for 78% of elderly respondents but was reported as increasingly unreliable. Recommendations include expanded state-level social pension schemes, age-friendly healthcare provision, and formalization of community elder care networks with government co-financing in Oyo State. Keywords: social protection, older persons, Oyo State, pension coverage, geriatric welfare.