Underuse of modern contraception in sub-Saharan Africa: are there implications for sustainable development and climate change? A review of the literature

Author(s):  
Miranda Adedze ◽  
Richard Osei-Yeboah
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 134
Author(s):  
Abdulhamid Ozohu-Suleiman

The inextricable relationship between environment and development is unarguable, and the literature is replete with scientific evidence of the interdependence between the two phenomena. However, as the interaction between man and nature proceeded from the condition of conviviality to that of belligerence, there has been a marked decline in the resilience of nature to accommodate human avarice. It is nature’s reactions to this unfair transaction that is today called climate change. In Sub-Saharan Africa, climate change remains an intractable problem, or to borrow the words of Pollitt (2016), “a very wicked issue” that challenges state capacity to contain its scourge. Finding a way around this wicked issue has been the preoccupation of public policy scholars and practitioners. Incidentally, combating climate change is a cross cutting issue in the 2030 global agenda for sustainable development which inevitably touches on access to affordable and sustainable energy, protection of the ecosystem to halt biodiversity loss. Consistent with this global agenda is the Africa agenda 2063 with the overarching aspiration of “a prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development”. These multinational initiatives suggest a growing consensus on environmental sustainability as the desideratum of development. In Nigeria, the energy crisis and its attendant consequences on the environment has made the country one of the most vulnerable to climate change in the region. This paper seeks to offer a perspective on public governance for climate action. It argues that lack of state capacity to address the energy requirement of the economy has had grave consequences on environmental resourcefulness. While consensus on multinational agenda is given, the point at issues is for national governments to domesticate this agenda and mobilize the requisite resources to translate them into measurable achievements. The paper observes that apart from the huge deficit in furnishing the energy need of the real sector, the energy crisis poses existential threats such as food insecurity, environmental pollution/degradation through deforestation, flooding and pollution. The paper recommends, among others, that the Nigeria-Germany bilateral cooperation on the power sector should be implemented to its logical conclusion, and that a program of public enlightenment is urgently required to arrest traditional practices that are harmful to environmental sustainability.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel N. A. Codjoe ◽  
D. Yaw Atiglo

Sub-Saharan Africa is among the regions that contribute least to global climate change, yet it is among the most vulnerable to its impacts due to low levels of economic and technological development. The frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events in the region are rising at a faster rate than the population capacity to deal with the attendant disasters. This paper interrogates some emerging and existing evidence of the potential for extreme weather events to obviate countries' attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Whilst previous studies have assessed the vulnerabilities of sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries to extreme weather events on specific sectors, a comprehensive assessment of the implications of these extreme events for attaining the SDGs remains largely untouched. This paper assesses the impacts of flooding, extreme heat and drought on five key SDGs—Zero hunger (Goal 2), Good health and well-being (Goal 3), Quality education (Goal 4), Clean water and sanitation (Goal 6), and Sustainable cities and communities (Goal 11). Based on empirical cases from different SSA country contexts, and guided by the SDG targets and indicators, we discuss the main interactions between extreme weather events and different SDGs, emerging with a framework for the climate change—sustainable development nexus. Such an assessment, with regard to specific national and local case studies, would inform policy formulation and implementation, research and investment toward sustainable development in the region. Integrating resilence strategies into national development policies will offer sub-Saharan African countries the opportunity to reduce the impacts of extreme weather events on attaining their targets for sustainable development towards Agenda 2030.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 23-52
Author(s):  
Dumisani Chirambo

Aim: Despite the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to reduce climate change vulnerability and inequality particularly in the Global South, it is probable that the SDGs and NDCs might not achieve their objectives. The aim of this article is to identify how countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) can address their climate change governance and cross-sector coordination challenges in order to reduce climate change vulnerability and augment SDG 7 (universal energy access) implementation.   Design / Research methods: A qualitative content analysis was undertaken using research articles, project reports, a case study and policy briefs exploring the nexus of climate change governance, SDG 7 implementation and SDG 13 implementation in the context of SSA and Malawi.   Conclusions / findings: The study suggests that climate change governance and attaining SDG 7 in the Global South might be improved by harmonising NDC activities so that NDC activities can be aggregated and monitored from a regional perspective similar to the case of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Programmes of Activities (PoAs).   Originality / value of the article: The paper is of value to global policy makers as it shows that increasing climate change ambitions and ratcheting-up in the context of SSA should include increasing the deployment of renewable energy technologies as well as initiating new international institutional arrangements for climate change governance through South-South Climate Change Cooperation modalities. Keywords: Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), climate finance, renewable energy, South-South Climate Change Cooperation, Sustainable Development, Malawi. JEL: G38, O13, O55, Q01, Q28, Q54, Q56.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-36
Author(s):  
A. Sandalli

While climate change has harsh universal impacts, it is believed that its negative effects fall disproportionately on hotter, developing regions. This paper examines these claims using a panel datasets for 84 OECD and Sub- Saharan African countries between 1970–2018. I document both the evolution of country-specific temperatures and the long-term economic impact of temperature and precipitation variations on GDP per-capita. Using a panel auto-regressive distributed lag model on the sample mentioned above, I found that temperatures have unanimously increased for all sample-countries and that variations in temperature above historical norms significantly reduced income-growth. No significant relationship was found between precipitation and income growth. When interacting ‘poor’ and ‘hot’ country variables, I found that temperature variations disproportionately affected both hotter and poorer Sub-Saharan African countries. In OECD countries, temperatures have increased more quickly relative to their historical norms than Sub-Saharan African countries. Finally, while poorer and developing countries are more adversely affected by temperature variations, they seem to recover more quickly from temperature shocks than sample averages. I explain these results and link them to potential policy implications regarding global sustainable development and greenhouse gas abatement.


Author(s):  
Dalal Aassouli ◽  
Mehmet Asutay ◽  
Mahmoud Mohieldin ◽  
Tochukwu Chiara Nwokike

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuaib Lwasa

Africa’s urbanization rate has increased steadily over the past three decades and is reported to be faster than in any other region in the world . It is estimated that by 2030, over half of the African population will be living in urban areas . But the nature of Africa’s urbanization and subsequent form of cities is yet to be critically analyzed in the context of city authorities’ readiness to address the challenges . Evidence is also suggesting that urbanization in African countries is increasingly associated with the high economic growth that has been observed in the last two decades . Both underlying and proximate drivers are responsible for the urbanization, and these include population dynamics, economic growth, legislative designation, increasing densities in rural centers, as well as the growth of mega cities such as Lagos, Cairo and Kinshasa, that are extending to form urban corridors . With the opportunities of urbanization in Sub–Saharan Africa, there are also challenges in the development and management of these cities . Those challenges include provision of social services, sustainable economic development, housing development, urban governance, spatial development guidance and environmental management, climate change adaptation, mitigation and disaster risk reduction . The challenge involves dealing with the development and infrastructure deficit, in addition to required adaption to and mitigation of climate change . This paper examines the current state of urban management in Africa .


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document