Business
Agency Executes 5,464 Projects In 26 States
The Community and
Social Development Project, a World Bank-assisted programme, has established 5,464 multi-sectors micro-projects across 26 participating states in the country.
The programmes’s National Coordinator, Mr Chukwudi Onuoha said this recently in Abuja, during a media presentation of the programme’s achievements from 2009 to June 2013.
The coordinator said that all 5,464 projects were completed and functional in these communities while additional 1,701 micro-projects were ongoing.
“In the education sector, 1413 micro-projects are completed and in use resulting in 49,057 new enrolments which include 27,371 male and 21,686 female.
“As a result of this, the average time taken to get to school has reduced from 55 minutes to 25 minutes while the distance to school has reduced from four kilometres to 1.13 kilometres.
“More so, we have an increase of 8,236 new students in science classes.
“In the water sector, 1,998 micro projects are completed and in use which means that 77.52 per cent of community members in those communities have access to good drinking water.
“Distance to source of potable water has reduced from three kilometres to 0.6 kilometres; the time taken to source potable water has also reduced from 30 minutes to 24.6 minutes and we now have 61.34 per cent reduction in cost of potable water.”
Onuoha said the micro projects were also executed in the health, transport and environment sectors.
He said that the projects would empower youths, women, the aged, children and other vulnerable groups.
He said that the projects would play significant role in an effort to fight poverty through access to improved social and natural resource infrastructural facilities.
The Tide recalls that the Community and Social Development Project (CSD), a five year programme, began in 2009 and will end in December.