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Rural Access Infrastructure
Access interventions are defined by their favourable impact on the need for
rural travel and transport. These interventions diminish the socio-economic
isolation of the rural population and hence contribute to the reduction of their
poverty.
The access needs are met by the appropriate location of services or
facilities, the provision of transport infrastructure and rural mobility, and
creating an enabling environment for rural travel and transport. The key access
interventions may be categorised in the following groups.
Rural Infrastructure
• Improvement or development of tracks, foot paths and foot bridges;
• Rehabilitation of selected roads through community participation
to a maintainable and safe standard.
Rural Transport/Mobility
• Improvement of efficiency of existing low-cost Intermediate Means
of Transport (IMT);
• Development or introduction of alternative low- cost IMT;
• Development or introduction of water borne means of transport.
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Enabling Environment for Rural Mobility
• Facilitating credits to purchase IMT e.g. animal drawn carts,
bicycles, donkeys;
• Facilitating transport services by improving their operation and
management system and increasing their availability;
• Providing training for production and maintenance of IMTs.
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Accessible Locations and Sites for Facilities and Services
• Installation of water supplies and improvement of sanitation measures;
• Better distribution of rural health centres, schools, etc.;
• Improvement of the system for the supply of agricultural inputs;
• Development of market facilities;
• Improved distribution of grinding mills and their maintenance.
Environmentally Friendly Measures
Interventions that contribute to the improvement of the environment in the
rural areas such as the development of woodlots for fuel consumption.
Major achievements on Rural Accessibility Planning and Access
Interventions
• Pilot projects and research/studies on IRAP carried out in Asia
and Africa have led to:
• A broad understanding of the complexity and seriousness of access
and mobility problems in rural areas;
• An extensive information regarding pattern of rural travel and
transport and its burden on the rural households in general and on
women and children in particular;
• Data survey procedure and questionnaires for application at
household, village, ward, district, province and national levels;
• A detailed data base which can be used for rural development
planning;
• Guidelines on IRAP methodology with global application;
• Guidelines on gender issues in the IRAP;
• Training manuals on rural infrastructure improvement and
maintenance e.g. footpaths, track and footbridges.
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The role of the ILO
The International Labour Organization (ILO), in pursuit of its strategies
regarding poverty reduction and employment generation, has been providing
technical assistance in support of Rural Accessibility. The assistance includes:
• Policy advice and training;
• Needs assessment and project development;
• Research and studies;
• Monitoring and evaluation;
• Technical inputs to universities and training institutions, NGOs and
government organisations;
• Advocacy and promotional activities;
• Production and dissemination of information materials.
The ILO has been working in collaboration with the Norwegian Agency for
Development Cooperation (NORAD), the Swedish International Development
Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
(SDC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Forum
for Rural Transport Development (IFRTD), the World Bank, the Government of
Netherlands and Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG).
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Rural
Access Infrastructure
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