Study of the Effect of Social Protection Programmes on Household Welfare in Yobe State

Social protection interventions represent a major tool for poverty reduction in North East Nigeria, and documenting their actual effects on household welfare in Yobe State provides evidence for programme expansion and design improvement. This study assessed the welfare effects of the National Social Investment Programme's Conditional Cash Transfer and N-Power components among households in Damaturu, Nguru, and Potiskum Local Government Areas, Yobe State. A comparative cross-sectional survey was conducted among 200 beneficiary and 200 non-beneficiary households. Welfare indicators included monthly per capita food expenditure, child school attendance, healthcare utilisation, and asset ownership. Propensity score matching was applied to control for selection bias. Beneficiary households showed significantly higher monthly per capita food expenditure (N4,200 versus N3,100, p < 0.001) and child school attendance (78.4 percent versus 61.2 percent). Healthcare utilisation was 42.3 percent higher among CCT beneficiaries. Asset ownership showed a modest but non-significant positive difference. Programme awareness was adequate in only 61.5 percent of surveyed communities, limiting coverage. Recommendations include expanding beneficiary coverage in Yobe State, improving targeting through the National Social Register, strengthening community awareness of enrolment processes, and integrating complementary health and education services with cash transfer delivery points to maximise household welfare gains. Keywords: social protection, conditional cash transfer, Yobe State, household welfare, poverty reduction