Posted On : Jan 06 , 2025
Posted By : Team CureSureMedico
In 2022, local nonprofit Stand with a Girl Child funded 20 women to enhance their small businesses. The women pooled resources together in an Adashe group, a traditional Nigerian savings system where members periodically contribute a fixed amount of money, the total received being handed over to each member. Unfortunately, some participants stopped contributing after they got their share, leaving other members to incur major financial losses.
Adashe, also called Ajo or Esusu in some other parts of Nigeria, is based on trust and mutual help. This traditional system of saving helps individuals, especially women, gather and have access to large sums of money for urgent needs. However, the informal nature of the scheme poses some problems. In the absence of any form of regulation, defaulting members often leave others to suffer financial loss. This problem is exacerbated in displaced communities where economic instability, coupled with the absence of formal financial services, renders such systems both essential and vulnerable.
This is further complicated by the Boko Haram insurgency in northeastern Nigeria, which has ravaged the health infrastructure in this region-insurgents destroying about 788 health facilities. In Borno State alone, 48 health workers have been killed and over 250 injured. This has greatly limited access to essential health services, furthering the misery of communities that are already quite vulnerable.
Ayuba's story epitomizes anything but resilience in the face of adversity. After the death of her husband, she migrated over 1,200 kilometers to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, in search of a new life. Her son Daniel was also seriously injured when a bomb exploded during the attack by the fundamentalist Islamic sect Boko Haram. His injuries siphoned off all their savings for medical treatment. The family moved to Abuja in the hope of finding better healthcare facilities. For a while, the government provided them with food, soap, clothes, and mosquito nets. As time wore out, the camp became overcrowded, and things became strained on resources; by this time, Ayuba was among many who struggled to find basic needs.
Amidst the challenges, Ayuba joined a group of five women in the Adashe scheme, where each member puts in ₦500 daily. Every month, at the end, the collective amount of ₦75,000 is shared by two members and gives each an excess of over ₦35,000. This is above the minimum wage in Nigeria and has been crucial in enabling Ayuba to take care of herself, her family, and as many as 12 children under her protection; several of whom have been orphaned through this conflict. With the savings she makes from her sales, Ayuba makes sure all the kids are sent to school among other needs.
But economic challenges coupled with the destruction of health facilities have put so much pressure on people like Ayuba. With health care services inaccessible, medical emergencies deplete personal savings into which families expose themselves. The informal nature of groups like Adashe, also, leaves members without safeguards that come with formal financial institutions when some fail to pay their shares.
To address these interlinked challenges, several initiatives are necessary:
1. Reconstruction and Strengthening of Health Facilities
Rebuilding the destroyed health facilities and staffing and equipping them is key. Better health service access will reduce the cost for families, as well as stress related to emergencies. Restoring healthcare in conflict-prone areas should be one of the priorities of governments and international organizations for improving community resilience.
2. Support and Regulation for Informal Savings Groups
The management practices of the Adashe groups should be improved through training and resource support to minimize the risks. Minimum regulatory frameworks or integration into formal financial institutions can give them further protection. For instance, linking Adashe groups with microfinance banks would introduce oversight and ensure that members' contributions are secured.
3. Economic Empowerment Programs
These numerous initiatives of economic empowerment go a long way in helping these displaced communities. Financial literacy programs, vocational training, and access to microloans all help women establish sustainable livelihoods, reducing dependency on informal savings systems. Indeed, such programs give them the necessary skills and resources to be economically stable in the long run.
4. Education and Awareness Building
Education is one of the most important aspects of sustainable development. For women like Ayuba, investment in the education of children secures the future for the next generation. Governments and NGOs should make affordable education initiatives a priority and provide scholarships for children in these displaced communities.
5. Community Engagement and Building Trust
Community trust is very important in the success of informal savings groups. Open communication and transparency in financial matters will restore the confidence of the members. Community leaders and NGOs can also be very helpful in building cooperation and responsibility among them.
6. Partnerships with International Organizations
International collaborations can provide much-needed resources and expertise to these displaced communities. Such partnerships would provide a venue for healthcare reconstruction, financial support, and the implementation of programs particular to the needs of the affected populations.
All of these issues- economic instability, lack of healthcare access, and informal savings groups Relate to one another in showing the resiliency and resourcefulness of people in conflict-affected regions. Despite immense hardships, women like Ayuba must make immense sacrifices to support their families and communities.
These can be addressed in a multi-layered approach through health care reconstruction, support to informal savings systems, economic empowerment programs, and education. This will be done by building resilience and targeted support from stakeholders for an enabling environment that will help women and their communities get their lives back on track and prosper. This can be done collectively to convert adversities into opportunities for growth and stability.
