COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (CSDP) AND SUSTAINABLE POVERTY REDUCTION IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA: A PROJECT SERVICE DELIVERY PROCESS ANALYSIS.

Reducing poverty is a major aspect of the global development goals and has remained a concern of both developed and developing countries of the world. Developed nations, through the world development organizations like World Bank, World Health Organization and other social protection agencies support the developing nations. Nigeria, as a nation has benefited reasonably from social protection-oriented components of the MDGs. From the year 2000, when the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) was launched through 2015 when it transited to Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), about thirteen (13) Social Protection projects have been implemented in Nigeria. Over the years, social protection projects have been implemented in Nigeria with a view to impacting positively to poverty reduction in the nation. End of project reports of these projects usually laud successful delivery, but these acclaimed successes hardly translate to palpable and observable reduction in poverty. The main objective of this study was to determine the extent the project service delivery process contributed to the quality CSDP service delivery effect on sustainable poverty reduction in Anambra State. The study used a quantitative and qualitative research technique. The quantitative technique used questionnaire as the research instrument while the qualitative technique used in-depth interview method. The survey involved asking questions on the project service delivery process of CSDP to respondents and recording responses using the structured research tool. The study shows that quality CSDP service delivery process had positive and significant effect on sustainable poverty reduction interventions in Anambra state, however the effect is yet to become optimal. Adequate funding of LGRC members to function optimally is recommended. The research also recommends that updating the targeting tool will make it stronger and more effective in targeting the intended beneficiaries. It is recommended that state government should key into such pro-poor intervention early enough and the scope of intervention be made a state wide intervention from inception