Analysis of Access to Social Infrastructure in Rural Imo State, Nigeria

Yearly, the federal and various state governments allocate stated amounts of money in their annual budget to capital projects. Most of these projects involve renovation or development of new infrastructural facilities. Availability of infrastructure in contrast to accessibility is often addressed in academic discourse, but one pertinent question remains, what is the use of an available social infrastructure if it cannot be accessed? This paper aims at analysing access to social infrastructure in contrast to availability in rural areas of Imo State, Nigeria. Questionnaire survey method and oral interviews were used to collect data on identified indices of accessibility to social infrastructure, income/affordability. Three variables of social infrastructure were used in this study; health care facilities, schools and leisure centres. Linear regression model of data analysis was used to analyse the relationship between access to social infrastructure and income level of respondents. The result shows a strong positive relationship between income and access to social infrastructure. This indicates that an increase in income brings about a commensurate increase in accessibility to social infrastructure.