Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) has said that leveraging global research and policy adaptability is essential to liberating nations from poverty.

Chief Global Programme Officer, IPA, Claudia Casarrotto, stated this at a Nigeria Evidence Summit organized by the IPA tagged Translating Emerging Evidence for Impact, in Abuja.

According to her, the IPA shares knowledge in various contexts, and “One of the big parts of our work is to share knowledge and share evidence effectively with decision-makers across the globe.

“Here in Nigeria, we can learn from what other countries and other context had done to reduce and contribute to solving global poverty problems.

“An interesting part of our work is to bring together decision-makers, practitioners and evidence lovers from various countries to learnt together, share experiences and share knowledge.

Country Director IPA Nigeria, Funmi Ayeni, said pointed that 63 percent of Nigerians are facing multidimensional poverty worsened by poor implementation of policies and data driven intervention.

“The 2022 multidimensional poverty index shows that 63 percent of persons in Nigeria are multi-dimensionally poor and this isn’t just monetary poverty, it is poverty of education and access to basic infrastructure.

“Hence the purpose of the Nigeria Evidence Summit is to provide a platform where people can come together to have conversations around the thematic areas of social protection, financial inclusion and education.

“What we are trying to do is to make sure that we have conversations that people can carry forward and will lead to lasting change and impact in Nigeria with regards to tackling the poverty challenge.

“Some of the leading voices in each of the thematic areas speak about the work that they have done and more importantly how to apply the evidence to actual.decision making and policy making in Nigeria.”

On current hunger protest plaguing Nigeria, she said IPA is working with relevant government agencies to provide data driven solutions to the challenge.

Pointing to benefits of partnering with IPA, Director General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, (NAPTIP), Professor Fatima Waziri-Azi, said her agency is deeply interested in the establishment of evidence embedded labs by IPA, a pioneering initiative that holds immense promise in enhancing our data infrastructure and analytical capabilities.

Represented by the Director Research and Programme Development, NAPTIP, Mr. Josiah Ememrole, she said “The Collaborative partnership between NAPTIP and IPA underscores our shared commitment to leveraging evidence to drive meaningful change and foster sustainable development.”