Gombe NGOs task NEDC on improved targeting, feedback mechanisms

The Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (ANGO) in Gombe State has commended the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) for its efforts in addressing the socio-economic challenges facing the region.

However, the group has also called for improved targeting and feedback mechanisms to ensure that the commission’s interventions reach the most vulnerable populations.

Speaking during an advocacy visit to the state office of the NEDC in Gombe, Bachama Yusuf, Secretary of ANGO, noted that despite the commission’s efforts, the region’s socio-economic indices remain a major concern.

He cited the high poverty rate, ‘which stands at over 70 per cent in most Northeast states, and the alarming multidimensional poverty rate, which indicates that individuals and households experience deprivation in multiple aspects of their lives’.

Yusuf also highlighted the need for a more effective feedback mechanism, saying that “a two-way feedback mechanism with communities, in such a manner that it is adaptable, suitable, cost-effective, and responsive can go a long way in identifying gaps and even documenting human angle testimonies and success stories for result.”

The group also called for a more inclusive and result-based approach to interventions, emphasizing the need for community participation in project nomination and the importance of data access and dissemination.

Responding, the acting coordinator NEDC Gombe office, Rufa’i Baba Manu expressed appreciation to the CSOs’ umbrella body for the visit and reiterated their commitment to working with them and other stakeholders to strengthen the commission’s interventions for the sustainable development of Gombe State and the North-east region.