Quality of life (QOL) as the total well-being of individuals and societies, is a multi-faceted phenomenon determined by the cumulative and interactive impact of many and varying factors such as housing conditions, infrastructure, access to social amenities, income, standard of living, and overall satisfaction about the physical and social environment. Since women constitute a greater proportion of the population in Nigeria-about 49.99% and three-quarters of those who live in abject poverty, globally, are in rural areas of which the majority are women. The study, therefore, focuses on the QOL of rural women and government’s intervention programmes in Ondo State, Nigeria, during the Olusegun Mimiko-led administration. The study was carried out in 18 purposively selected villages from the 18 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Ondo State, using a multi-stage sampling technique with copies of Structured Questionnaires Schedule (QS) administered to 1800 respondents. In-depth interviews (IDIs) were also conducted on some women alongside the questionnaire schedule to complement the quantitative data. Findings show that only a quarter of the women benefitted from any of the government intervention schemes (26.4%) while the majority did not (73.6%). The study recommends that scheme/programmes such as “Abiye” Safe Motherhood and the Mother and Child Hospital should be sited in all four senatorial districts across the State. Government should provide targeted support through low-interest loans and micro-credit schemes to help women invest in their agricultural and trading activities. Community-based monitoring systems and regular evaluations will help assess the impact of these programmes on poverty reduction and women’s empowerment in rural Ondo State.
References
[1]
Adejumobi, A., & Odumosu, O. (1998). Survey of Quality of life of Nigerians (pp 62-67). Nigeria Institute of Social and Economic Research.
[2]
Akinmulegun, S. O. (2013). Government and Poverty Alleviation in Ondo State, Nigeria. http://www.conscientiabeam.com/ebooks/icefmo-237-688-694.pdf
[3]
Akinyemi, E. (2014). Poverty Alleviation Programmes in Ondo and Osun States of Nigeria: New Skills and Knowledge Acquired as a Result of Participation. British Journal of Education, Society & Behavioural Science, 4, 1342-1351. https://doi.org/10.9734/bjesbs/2014/7459
[4]
Alaye-Ogan, E. O. (2008). Rural Poverty among Women in Nigeria: A Case Study of Abuja Satellite Communities of Nigeria. Ph.D. Thesis, St. Clements University.
[5]
Aluko, O. J., & Mbada, K. (2020). Rural Poverty among Women in Nigeria. https://jsd-africa.com/Jsda/2020%20V22%20No%203%20Fall/PDF/Rural%20Poverty%20Among%20Women%20in%20Nigeria%20(2).pdf
[6]
Anger, B. (2010). Poverty Eradication, Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development in Nigeria. Journal of Sustainable Development, 3, 138-144. https://doi.org/10.5539/jsd.v3n4p138
[7]
Aruna, J. O. (2016). An Assessment of the Nature, Prevalence and Implications of Poverty among Women in Ilaje and Ese-Odo Local Government Areas, Ondo State, Nigeria, 2009-2014. Ph.D. Thesis, Adekunle Ajasin University.
[8]
Campos, A. D. L. O., Villani, C., Davis, B., & Takagi, M. (2018). Ending Extreme Poverty in Rural Areas-Sustaining Livelihoods to Leave No One Behind (p. 84). FAO.
[9]
Cornell Empowerment Group (1989). Empowerment and Family Support. Networking Bulletin,1, 1-23.
[10]
Costanza, R., Fisher, B., Ali, S., Beer, C., Bond, L., Boumans, R. et al. (2008). An Integrative Approach to Quality of Life Measurement, Research, and Policy. Surveys and Perspectives Integrating Environment and Society, 1, 11-15. https://doi.org/10.5194/sapiens-1-11-2008
[11]
Derek, G., Johnson, R., Pratt, G., Watts, M., & Whatmore, S. (2009). Quality of Life. In D. Gregory, R. Johnston, G. Pratt, M. Watts, & S. Whatmore (Eds.), Dictionary of Human Geography (pp. 606-607). Wiley-Blackwell.
[12]
Etim, N. A. (2007). Analysis of Poverty Status of Rural FARM households in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Ph.D. Thesis, Michael Okpara University.
[13]
Etim, N. A., & Solomon, V. A. (2010). Determinant of Rural Poverty among Broiler Farmers in Uyo, Nigeria: Implications for Rural Household Food Security. Journal of Agriculture and Social Sciences, 6, 24-28.
[14]
Fakayode, S., Adesanlu, A., Olagunju, F. I., & Olowogbon, T. (2015). Assessment of IFAD/FGN Poverty Reduction Programme among Farm Households in Ondo State of Nigeria. Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Belgrade, 60, 189-198. https://doi.org/10.2298/jas1502189f
[15]
Idachaba, F. S. (2000). Topical Issues in Nigerian Agriculture: Desirable and Workable Agricultural Policies for Nigeria in the First Decade of the 21st Century. Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Ibadan.
[16]
IFAD (2001). Rural Poverty Report: The Challenge of Ending Rural Poverty. Oxford University Press.
[17]
IFAD (2011). Rural Poverty Report: Enabling Rural People to Overcome Poverty. International Fund for Agricultural Development.
[18]
IFAD (2015). Nigeria. https://www.ifad.org/documents/38714170/40264361/nigeria.pdf/cb610d6d-1d2d-44eb-9d23-570c88ea1ec7
[19]
Kura, S. S., Viswanathan, K. K., & Ishak, S. (2019). Poverty in Nigeria and Government Efforts towards Its Alleviation. Journal of Economics and Sustainability, 1, 44-54.
[20]
Modupe, F. M. (2008). Economic Implication of Poverty Alleviation Programs on Rural Women in Ondo-State Case Study of Country Women Association of Nigeria. Journal of Social Sciences, 4, 352-357. https://doi.org/10.3844/jssp.2008.352.357
[21]
National Bureau of Statistics (2023) Statistical Report on Women and Men in Nigeria, 2021. https://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/pdfuploads/2021_Statistical_Report_On_Women_and_Men.pdf
[22]
Nussbaun, M., & Sen, A. (1993). The Quality of Life. Clarendon Press.
[23]
ODI (2014). Chronic Poverty Report 2014-2015.
[24]
ODIPA (2023). About Ondo State. https://ondipa.org/about-ondo-state/#:~:text=Ondo%20State%20was%20created%20on,5.3%20million
[25]
Ondo State (2010). Sunrise Ondo State (2nd ed.). Ondo State.
[26]
Onwuka, I. O., Nwadibu, A., & Isiwu, P. (2019). Poverty among Women in Nigeria–psychological and Economic Perspective: A Study Based on South West, Nigeria. International Journal of Business and Management, 14, 90-100. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijbm.v14n11p90
[27]
Opafunso, Z. O., & Okhankhuele, O. T. (2014). An Assessment of the Impact of Government Intervention Projects on Poverty Alleviation/reduction in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5, 273-281. https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n4p273
[28]
Perkins, D. D., & Zimmerman, M. A. (1995). Empowerment Theory, Research, and Application. American Journal of Community Psychology, 23, 569-579. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02506982
[29]
Phillips, D. (2006). Quality of Life: Concept, Policy and Practice (pp. 1-39). Routledge.
[30]
Rappaport, J. (1984). Studies in Empowerment: Introduction to the Issue. Prevention in Human Services, 3, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1300/j293v03n02_02
[31]
Rappaport, J. (1987). Terms of Empowerment/exemplars of Prevention: Toward a Theory for Community Psychology. American Journal of Community Psychology, 15, 121-148. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00919275
[32]
Swift, C., & Levin, G. (1987). Empowerment: An Emerging Mental Health Technology. Journal of Primary Prevention, 8, 71-94. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01695019
[33]
The World Bank (2007). World Development Indicators. http://www.worldbank.org
[34]
World Bank (2020). Nigeria Releases New Report on Poverty and Inequality in Country. https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/lsms/brief/nigeria-releases-new-report-on-poverty-and-inequality-in-country
[35]
Zaid, Y. A., & Popoola, S. O. (2010). Quality of Life among Rural Nigerian Women:The Role of Information. Library Philosophy and Practice. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1531&context=libphilprac
[36]
Zimmerman, M. A. (1993). Empowerment Theory: Where Do We Go from Here. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Psychological AssociationChicago.
[37]
Zimmerman, M. A., Israel, B. A., Schulz, A., & Checkoway, B. (1992). Further Explorations in Empowerment Theory: An Empirical Analysis of Psychological Empowerment. American Journal of Community Psychology, 20, 707-727. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01312604
