Prioritization of rural access for economic development in Zamfara state

Abstract

Accessibility can be regarded as a measure of how easy a place is to get to in less time and minimum effort, while Mobility is a measure of the ease with which people can move around. Lack of accessibility and mobility could lead to isolation, which consequently impedes access to basic health, education, safe drinking water, and other social services and economic activities. The objectives of Rural Access and Mobility (RAM) are to improve basic infrastructure, alleviate poverty and create an investment-friendly environment. Adopting the principle of basic access approach and the use of the multi-criteria method (MCA) of prioritization of potential interventions, a number of rural roads within Zamfara State were identified, screened, and ranked according to pre-set criteria of selection. Nine roads were selected out of the general inventory data of rural roads analyzed in the State. Detail existing condition data of the selected routes were documented and presented to allow for the preliminary cost estimate for future interventions.