Social Protection Activities of Self-help Groups in Southeast Nigeria: Looking Forward and Thinking Back | Chapter 07 | Current Perspective to Economics and Management Vol. 3
Aim:
This paper focused on the social protection activities of self-help groups in
Southeast Nigeria against the background of the 2030 global agenda for
sustainable development.
Study Design: Systematic review of relevant literature enabled the study.
Place: Southeast Nigeria at Latitude 5⁰N and 7⁰30' and Longitude 5⁰E and 10⁰E.
Methodology: This study reviewed related studies and drew attention to the nexus existing among social protection, self-help groups and the sustainable development goals. More specifically, this study drew attention to the fact that the informality of self-help groups and the formality of government social protection activities should be designed by policymakers to more sustainably benefit the people in line with the achievement of the sustainable development goals and in relation to social protection. Additionally, this study focused on the current national social investment programmes in Nigeria and offered suggestions on how they can be better implemented through the agency of self-help groups.
Findings:
The nexus existing among social protection, self-help groups and the
sustainable development goals notwithstanding, there is no conscious effort by
the government to, as a matter of deliberate policy, channel the social
protection activities and services to the poor and the vulnerable through
self-help groups in Southeast Nigeria. Furthermore, the government social
protection activities under the national social investment programmes in
Nigeria are confronted with some challenges associated with the delivery
mechanism. As though it is business as usual, the challenges had confronted
past social protection activities. There was no form of synergy among the
self-help groups as they operated as stand alone. This lack of synergy tends to
limit the possibility of the characteristically informal groups to be linked to
the more sustainable formal social protection services.
Conclusion: As we look forward achieving the sustainable development goals as they relate to social protection, now is the time to think back on the sustainability of the implementation and delivery mechanism especially as it relates to reaching recipients through active and functional self-help groups.
Author(s) Details
Augustine Odinakachukwu
Ejiogu
Department of Agricultural
Economics, Extension and Rural Development, Imo State University, Owerri,
Nigeria.
View Volume: http://bp.bookpi.org/index.php/bpi/catalog/book/101
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