Prof. Sheriff Ghali Ibrahim, Provost of the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria and Head of Contemporary China-Africa Research, has said China’s Targeted Poverty Alleviation, TPA, strategy offers key lessons for Nigeria in tackling poverty through accountability, data and infrastructure.
Prof. Ghali stated this at a one-day workshop on “Nigeria’s Poverty Alleviation and China’s Development Model” organised by the Diplomatic Correspondents’ Association of Nigeria, DICAN, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja.
The scholar said China lifted more than 800 million people out of extreme rural poverty over four decades through economic reforms, targeted interventions, infrastructure development and strict accountability mechanisms.
According to him, China eliminated absolute poverty in 2020 based on World Bank criteria.
“China’s poverty reduction framework combined sustained market-driven economic growth with Targeted Poverty Alleviation, local industry promotion and large-scale infrastructure investments,” Prof. Ghali said.
He explained that China shifted from broad regional assistance to household-level profiling aimed at identifying the specific causes of poverty and tailoring solutions to individual families.
Prof. Ghali outlined strategies that drove China’s success, including:
- Sustained economic growth and job training programmes
- Policies balancing urban and rural development by directing resources from industrial centres to less-developed agricultural communities
- Extensive household surveys and deployment of government officials and specialised work teams to rural communities
- Collaboration between wealthier eastern provinces and less-developed western regions
- Relocation of residents from ecologically fragile and remote areas to locations with better infrastructure and market access
- Massive investments in roads, rail networks, electricity and digital connectivity
He added that the campaign relied on rigorous monitoring, verification and accountability systems designed to assess poverty alleviation outcomes at county and village levels.
The presentation also highlighted China’s “10,000 Enterprises Help 10,000 Villages” initiative, which integrates private-sector participation into poverty reduction through industrial development, employment creation and public welfare programmes.
The workshop focused on examining China’s development experience and exploring lessons that could inform poverty alleviation policies and governance reforms in Nigeria.
Prof. Ghali urged Nigerian policymakers to study China’s governance framework, particularly its emphasis on data-driven interventions, accountability and targeted support, as Nigeria designs reforms suited to its own social and economic realities.
The DICAN workshop brought together policymakers, diplomats, media practitioners, traditional institutions and development experts to discuss practical approaches to sustainable poverty reduction in Nigeria.