Targeting in Protracted Crises: Nigeria Case Study

Abstract

This country case study focuses on Nigeria and the specific challenge of conflict, violence, and insecurity. Using four waves of General Household Survey data covering the period 2010 to 2019, we analyse trends in poverty, food insecurity, shocks, and coping strategies among different population groups, differentiated according to where they reside in the country and the degree to which those areas are affected by violence, in particular as a result of the militant Islamist Boko Haram insurgency and conflicts between herders and farmers. The survey data is then used to model the notional performance of different potential targeting approaches across a range of targeting performance indicators, to indicate the types of choices and trade-offs entailed when selecting different targeting criteria for either routine or humanitarian social assistance programmes in the context of Nigeria. We also consider the status of enabling conditions for implementing different targeting approaches in the form of key infrastructure. We conclude with a discussion of the interrelated considerations social assistance programmes have to contend with when selecting appropriate targeting criteria.