By Vincent Ujumadu, Awka
Anambra State recorded 433166 individuals and 99463 households in the state’s poverty data in the 21 local government areas as at August 31st, 2020, the Commissioner for Economic Planning, Budget and Development Partners, Mr Mark Okoye has said.
The data was generated through community – based targeting process whereby members of the communities identified the poorest and most vulnerable amongst them, using per-determined poverty criteria peculiar to their own communities.
Speaking at the stakeholders’ forum to share the state’s social register of the poor and the vulnerable with relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs in Awka yesterday, Okoye observed that Anambra was the first state to commence the implementation of the Federal Government -assisted Social Investment Programme (SIP) in the South-East geopolitical zone.
According to him, Anambra State Operations Coordinating Unit, SOCU, commenced operation in January 2017, with 30% pilot local government areas namely, Ayamelum, Anambra West, Awka North, Dunukofia, Ihiala and Orumba South, with each of the three senatorial zones presenting two local government areas, adding that the LGAs were selected with guidance from the state poverty mapping assessment.
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He said that upon successful completion of the six pilot local government areas, Anambra qualified to scale up operations in the remaining 15 local governments under the second phase, which made it the second state in the country to cover all its communities.
He said: “The purpose of the State Social Register is to have a database to support all Anambra State Government’s social protection interventions across all MDAs. As we speak, the Conditional Cash Transfer programme domiciled in the Ministry of Women Affairs, which is one of the components of the Federal Government -assisted Social Investment Programmes, obtains data of its beneficiaries from the State Social Register.
“Through the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, a total of 8313 PVHHs in Anambra State are receiving N5,000 monthly from the federal government, while 25,070 PVHHs have been additionally enrolled to benefit from CCT programme in the near future.
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“It is also worth mentioning that the Anambra State Health Insurance Agency (AISHA) uses the State Social Register to obtain data for its health system strengthening programme.
“The SSR data forms the basis through which the issue of poverty and vulnerability could be addressed, hence the critical need to sensitize relevant MDAs on the existence of the SSR and also highlight the process involved in building the register.”
The state coordinator of SOCU, Mr Bede Okoli said there is a great need to sensitize relevant MDAs on the existence of the SSR and also highlight the process involved in building the register.
He urged the various town unions, the non-governmental organizations, corporate organizations, individuals and other relevant agencies to assist in generating data for the register.
