By Okechukwu Onuegbu
Awka
The Anambra state Commissioner for Economic Planning, Budget and Development Partners, Mr Mark Okoye, has advised individuals and corporate entities to source data of households and individuals in the state from its State Social Register (SSR).
Okoye, who made the call on Tuesday during a one-day stakeholders forum to share State Social Register (SSR) data with relevant ministries, agencies and parastatals (MDAs), disclosed that SSR, coordinated by State Operations Coordinating Unit (SOCU), has a total data of 99,463 poor and vulnerable households and 433,188 individuals.
According to him, the Anambra State Health Insurance Agency (ASHIA), and some MDAs have been ‘mining’ data from the agency, even as the Social Investment Programme and others have through them executed the programme successfully.
“A total of eight thousand, three hundred and thirteen persons in Anambra state receive the sum of five thousand Naira monthly from the federal government Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT). CCT is among those mining data from SSR. The beneficiaries are the poor and vulnerable households,” he added.
Okoye added that 25,070 poor and vulnerable households have equally been enrolled to benefit from the CCT programme in the ‘near future,’ noting that the state was first to commence implementation of the federal government assisted Social Investment Programme (SIP) in the South East geopolitical zone which kicked off operation in 2017 across six pilot local government areas selected from the three senatorial zones and upon completion, phase 2 took off in 15 council areas.
Contributing, the member representing Anaocha 1 constituency at Anambra State House of Assembly, Hon. Ebele Ejiofor, and the state Acting Statistician General, Mr Paul Emeka, commended the state government on data generation via SSR, which they said would help in effective planning and execution of projects by both the state government, development partners and others.
Earlier, the Coordinator, Anambra State Operations Coordinating Unit (SOCU), Engr. Bede Okoli, explained that the agency was established in 2016 as part of the requirements for the state to key into the federal government’s National Social-Net programme (NASSP), adding that the data generated by SSR through community based targeting process were useful and accessible by interested persons and institutions upon application.
"The State Operations Coordinating Unit (SOCU), Anambra state was established in 2016 as part of the requirements for the state to key into the National Social Safety-Net Programme (NASSP) of the federal government. The primary role of SOCU is to build a social register of poor and vulnerable households (PVHHs) as well as coordinate all the Social Safety-Nets programmes in the state.
" The National Social Safety-Net Coordinating Office (NASSCO) coordinates the activities of SOCU in all the States of the federation while SOVU is responsible for building the Social register through constituted staff from LGAs known as Community Based Targeting Teams (CBTTs).
"In January 2017, SOCU commenced operation with 30% pilot LGAs namely Ayamelum, Anambra West, Awka North, Dunukofia, Ihiala and Orumba South. These LGAs were selected based on state poverty map (2 per senatorial zone). On successful completion of the 6 pilot LGAs, the state qualified to scale up operations in the remaining 70% second phase LGAs.
" He said that at the end of August 2020, Anambra state has a total of 99,463 PVHHs and 433,188 individuals in the state Social Register ( SSR). The data was generated through CBT whereby community members identify the poor and vulnerable amongst them using poverty criteria peculiar to their own community," he further maintained