10. Population policies and future challenges

2018 ◽  
pp. 100-114
Author(s):  
Sarah Harper
Keyword(s):  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Population Policies ◽  
Key Population ◽  
The World ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
And Migration ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Different Parts

Population policies aim to modify the growth rate, composition, or distribution of a population. In practice, they can be explicit or implicit. The two main areas in which governments attempt to control or influence through population polices are fertility and migration. ‘Population policies and future challenges’ also considers some key population challenges of the 21st century. Will fertility rates fall to replacement in sub-Saharan Africa? What is the relationship between environment, population, and consumption in different parts of the world? How will we feed and provide water for the projected 9 or 10 billion of us by 2050? What will be the impact of the ageing of the world’s population and of technological change?

Christianity in the Twentieth Century

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Stanley
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Racial Identity ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Central Importance ◽  
Regional Survey ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Different Parts

This book charts the transformation of one of the world's great religions during an age marked by world wars, genocide, nationalism, decolonization, and powerful ideological currents, many of them hostile to Christianity. The book traces how Christianity evolved from a religion defined by the culture and politics of Europe to the expanding polycentric and multicultural faith it is today—one whose growing popular support is strongest in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, China, and other parts of Asia. The book sheds critical light on themes of central importance for understanding the global contours of modern Christianity, illustrating each one with contrasting case studies, usually taken from different parts of the world. Unlike other books on world Christianity, this one is not a regional survey or chronological narrative, nor does it focus on theology or ecclesiastical institutions. The book provides a history of Christianity as a popular faith experienced and lived by its adherents, telling a compelling and multifaceted story of Christendom's fortunes in Europe, North America, and across the rest of the globe. It demonstrates how Christianity has had less to fear from the onslaughts of secularism than from the readiness of Christians themselves to accommodate their faith to ideologies that privilege racial identity or radical individualism.

scholarly journals The impact of African-trained neurosurgeons on sub-Saharan Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. E4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Karekezi ◽  
Abdeslam El Khamlichi ◽  
Abdessamad El Ouahabi ◽  
Najia El Abbadi ◽  
Semevo Alidegnon Ahokpossi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
National Income ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
World Federation ◽  
Neurosurgical Procedures ◽  
Ct Scanner ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact

OBJECTIVESub-Saharan Africa (SSA) represents 17% of the world’s land, 14% of the population, and 1% of the gross domestic product. Previous reports have indicated that 81/500 African neurosurgeons (16.2%) worked in SSA—i.e., 1 neurosurgeon per 6 million inhabitants. Over the past decades, efforts have been made to improve neurosurgery availability in SSA. In this study, the authors provide an update by means of the polling of neurosurgeons who trained in North Africa and went back to practice in SSA.METHODSNeurosurgeons who had full training at the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) Rabat Training Center (RTC) over the past 16 years were polled with an 18-question survey focused on demographics, practice/case types, and operating room equipment availability.RESULTSData collected from all 21 (100%) WFNS RTC graduates showed that all neurosurgeons returned to work to SSA in 12 different countries, 90% working in low-income and 10% in lower-middle-income countries, defined by the World Bank as a Gross National Income per capita of ≤ US$995 and US$996–$3895, respectively. The cumulative population in the geographical areas in which they practice is 267 million, with a total of 102 neurosurgeons reported, resulting in 1 neurosurgeon per 2.62 million inhabitants. Upon return to SSA, WFNS RTC graduates were employed in public/private hospitals (62%), military hospitals (14.3%), academic centers (14.3%), and private practice (9.5%). The majority reported an even split between spine and cranial and between trauma and elective; 71% performed between 50 and more than 100 neurosurgical procedures/year. Equipment available varied across the cohort. A CT scanner was available to 86%, MRI to 38%, surgical microscope to 33%, endoscope to 19.1%, and neuronavigation to 0%. Three (14.3%) neurosurgeons had access to none of the above.CONCLUSIONSNeurosurgery availability in SSA has significantly improved over the past decade thanks to the dedication of senior African neurosurgeons, organizations, and volunteers who believed in forming the new neurosurgery generation in the same continent where they practice. Challenges include limited resources and the need to continue expanding efforts in local neurosurgery training and continuing medical education. Focus on affordable and low-maintenance technology is needed.

scholarly journals Towards Inclusive, Quality ICT-Based Learning for Rural Transformation

2017 ◽  
pp. 107-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinayagum Chinapah ◽  
Jared O. Odero
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Formal Structure ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Skills Development ◽  
Rural Transformation ◽  
The North ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact

Information and communication technology (ICT) has emerged as a tool that can enhance flexible learning pathways. ICT has the potential to increase equitable access to quality learning, which is essential for skills development. Skills are required in technology-related nonfarm activities so as to improve livelihoods and achieve sustainable rural transformation. However, slow pace of the developing countries to utilize the benefits of the ongoing technological revolution in the North has resulted in the ‘digital divide’. Besides, it is still problematic to implement ICT programmes for educational development. The current and future challenges of providing ICT-based learning desperately call for the reengineering of education to move out of the formal structure of teaching and learning, towards building a more practical and realistic approach. By means of a literature review, this paper examines and discusses why it is important to provide inclusive, quality ICT-based learning, particularly in the rural areas of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It recommends that diverse ICT-based solutions be adopted to promote skills development and training within non-formal and informal settings. More comparative studies are also required to understand the impact of ICT-based learning in rural areas. 

Innovation, institutions and economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa – an IV estimation of a panel threshold model

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Ato Forson ◽  
Rosemary Afrakomah Opoku ◽  
Michael Owusu Appiah ◽  
Evans Kyeremeh ◽  
Ibrahim Anyass Ahmed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Innovation Policy ◽  
Threshold Model ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Panel Regressions ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThe significant impact of innovation in stimulating economic growth cannot be overemphasized, more importantly from policy perspective. For this reason, the relationship between innovation and economic growth in developing economies such as the ones in Africa has remained topical. Yet, innovation as a concept is multi-dimensional and cannot be measured by just one single variable. With hindsight of the traditional measures of innovation in literature, we augment it with the number of scientific journals published in the region to enrich this discourse.Design/methodology/approachWe focus on an approach that explores innovation policy qualitatively from various policy documents of selected countries in the region from three policy perspectives (i.e. institutional framework, financing and diffusion and interaction). We further investigate whether innovation as perceived differently is important for economic growth in 25 economies in sub-Saharan Africa over the period 1990–2016. Instrumental variable estimation of a threshold regression is used to capture the contributions of innovation as a multi-dimensional concept on economic growth, while dealing with endogeneity between the regressors and error term.FindingsThe results from both traditional panel regressions and IV panel threshold regressions show a positive relationship between innovation and economic growth, although the impact seems negligible. Institutional quality dampens innovation among low-regime economies, and the relation is persistent regardless of when the focus is on aggregate or decomposed institutional factors. The impact of innovation on economic growth in most regressions is robust to different dimensions of innovation. Yet, the coefficients of the innovation variables in the two regimes are quite dissimilar. While most countries in the region have offered financial support in the form of budgetary allocations to strengthen institutions, barriers to the design and implementation of innovation policies may be responsible for the sluggish contribution of innovation to the growth pattern of the region.Originality/valueSegregating economies of Africa into two distinct regimes based on a threshold of investment in education as a share of GDP in order to understand the relationship between innovation and economic growth is quite novel. This lends credence to the fact that innovation as a multifaceted concept does not take place by chance – it is carefully planned. We have enriched the discourse of innovation and thus helped in deepening understanding on this contentious subject.

Does economic freedom improve health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa?

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (12) ◽  
pp. 1633-1649
Author(s):  
Anand Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Economic Freedom ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the impact of economic freedom on four key health indicators (namely, life expectancy, infant mortality rate, under-five mortality rate and neonatal mortality rate) by using a panel dataset of 34 sub-Saharan African countries from 2005 to 2016.Design/methodology/approachThe study obtains data from the World Development Indicators (WDI) of the World Bank and the Fraser Institute. It uses fixed effects regression to estimate the effect of economic freedom on health outcomes and attempts to resolve the endogeneity problems by using two-stage least squares regression (2SLS).FindingsThe results indicate a favourable impact of economic freedom on health outcomes. That is, higher levels of economic freedom reduce mortality rates and increase life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa. All areas of economic freedom, except government size, have a significant and positive effect on health outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsThis study analyses the effect of economic freedom on health at a broad level. Country-specific studies at a disaggregated level may provide additional information about the impact of economic freedom on health outcomes. Also, this study does not control for some important variables such as education, income inequality and foreign aid due to data constraints.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that sub-Saharan African countries should focus on enhancing the quality of economic institutions to improve their health outcomes. This may include policy reforms that support a robust legal system, protect property rights, promote free trade and stabilise the macroeconomic environment. In addition, policies that raise urbanisation, increase immunisation and lower the incidence of HIV are likely to produce a substantial improvement in health outcomes.Originality/valueExtant economic freedom-health literature does not focus on endogeneity problems. This study uses instrumental variables regression to deal with endogeneity. Also, this is one of the first attempts to empirically investigate the relationship between economic freedom and health in the case of sub-Saharan Africa.

The impact of political liberalisation and democratisation on ethnic conflict in Africa: an empirical test of common assumptions

2000 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeric Kay Smith
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Conflict ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Resource Base ◽  
Sensitive Data ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Conflict In Africa ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

This article provides an empirical test of a set of common theoretical assumptions concerning the relationship between political liberalisation, democratisation and ethnic conflict in Africa. The theory in question posits that liberalisation will result in short-term increases in ethnic conflict and that democratisation will be followed by a decrease in ethnic conflict. The article employs a cross-national and time sensitive data set to test this hypothesis in the context of contemporary sub-Saharan Africa. A compelling benefit of this methodology is that it allows for an explanation of variation in ethnic conflict both across states and over time.The results indicate that the relationship between political liberalisation and ethnic conflict is the reverse of what the common assumptions would predict. Liberalisation has had an inverse relationship to ethnic conflict in sub-Saharan Africa between 1988 and 1997. Democratisation does not have the hypothesised effect even when lagged variables are employed. Structural variables as represented by GDP per capita and infant mortality rates are also systematically related to ethnic conflict. The author concludes that policy makers and analysts should continue to pursue both liberalisation and democratisation but should not neglect the central role of an adequate resource base in reducing ethnic conflict in Africa. Political liberalisation and democratic institutions, while providing some measure of relief, are by no means silver bullets for the difficult challenges posed by ethnic conflict in Africa.

DENOMINATIONAL AFFILIATION AND FERTILITY BEHAVIOUR IN AN AFRICAN CONTEXT: AN EXAMINATION OF COUPLE DATA FROM GHANA

2008 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 445-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEPHEN OBENG GYIMAH ◽  
BAFFOUR TAKYI ◽  
ERIC YEBOAH TENKORANG
Keyword(s):  
Religious Affiliation ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Fertility Behaviour ◽  
Sample Data ◽  
African Context ◽  
Lower Fertility ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Religious Differences

SummaryAlthough studies have examined religious differences in fertility in sub-Saharan Africa, it is argued in this paper that using women-only sample data may be conceptually problematic in patriarchal African societies where the influence of husbands on their wives’ reproductive preferences is paramount. The present study contributes to this discourse by examining the relationship between religion and fertility behaviour using matched-couple data from Ghana. Guided by the ‘religious values’ and ‘characteristics’ hypotheses, the results indicate significant religious differences in fertility. Compared with Traditionalists, Christians and Muslims have lower fertility, albeit these differences diminish significantly after controlling for socioeconomic variables. The impact of wife’s religious denomination on marital fertility is attenuated after controlling for husband’s religious affiliation. Also, fertility was found to be higher if couples belong to the same faith compared with those of different faiths.

scholarly journals COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF GLOBALISATION ON HUMAN WELFARE IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

10.23856/3002 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 25-42
Author(s):  
Olukayode Emmanuel Maku ◽  
Bolaji Adesola Adesoye ◽  
Awoyemi Olayiwola Babasanya ◽  
Oluwaseyi Adedayo Adelowokan
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Random Effects ◽  
Trade Openness ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Human Welfare ◽  
Fixed And Random Effects ◽  
The World ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ssa Countries

The world has become more linked owing to the increased intensity of globalisation across regions. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has become more relatively integrated into the world economy as shown by increasing degree of trade openness and foreign direct investment. Over the same period, quality of life of people in SSA in terms of access to basic necessity, monetary and non-monetary indices of poverty have been on the declining trend. This study adopted endogenous growth theory in analysing the comparative effects of globalisation between the highly and weakly globalised economies in SSA countries. Four channels of transmission of impact of globalisation were considered: trade openness, financial and capital flows labour mobility and access to telephone. Data for 16 SSA countries – 8 weakly globalised and 8 strongly globalised countries based on KOF globalisation index, were sourced from the world Development indicator for the period of 1980-2012. The feasible generalised least square (GLS) estimator was utilized to estimate the fixed and random effects panel regression models. Hausman test was used to determine the efficient estimator between fixed and random effects. All estimated coefficients were evaluated at 5% level of significance. The outcome of the comparative analysis revealed a mix result in some cases and unidirectional in some. In all, countries with higher intensity of globalisation have a greater improvement in their human welfare indicators compared to countries with weak globalisation indices. The study then recommended an improved reform in global integration to enable the region maximize the immense benefits inherent in global connections.

scholarly journals The Impact of the World Health Organization Essential Newborn Package on Newborn Care Practices and Survival Rates in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Literature Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-29
Author(s):  
Andy Emmanuel ◽  
Victoria Kain ◽  
Elizabeth Forster
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Newborn Care ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
World Health ◽  
Essential Newborn Care ◽  
The World ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact

Sub-Saharan Africa, has the highest child mortality rate in the world (World Health Organization [WHO], 2016). However, there is a paucity of current systematic reviews on the impact of essential newborn care interventions in Africa. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to summarize evidence about the impact of essential newborn care interventions in Africa. Numerous databases were searched to retrieve articles that reported interventions in newborn care in Africa. The search was limited to the English language and to articles published between 2007 and 2017. Nine articles were selected for inclusion in this systematic review. Overall, these papers demonstrated an increase in performance of health workers (between 8 and 400%) following a test of knowledge, while health workers practical performance increased by 34%. Moreover, neonatal mortality was reduced by 45%, while perinatal mortality was reduced by 30%. Training healthcare workers is one of the most effective ways of improving newborn care and neonatal survival in Africa. However, there is a need for additional evidence to support this, because none of the reviewed studies assessed the impact of training by examining variables such as trainees' satisfaction with training, the knowledge and skills developed, and the health outcomes achieved.

scholarly journals Impact of Covid-19 on Stock Market in Sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-70
Author(s):  
Saifullahi Adam Bayero ◽  
Babangida Danladi Safiyanu ◽  
Zaitun Sanusi Bakabe
Keyword(s):  
Stock Markets ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Virus Disease ◽  
Selection Criterion ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
World Health ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The World ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact

Corona virus disease (COVID-19) which was declared by the World Health Organization as a global pandemic caused serious economic problem to all the countries including Sub-Saharan Africa. Given the negative impact of COVID19 on the world economy, this paper examined the impact of COVID19 related cases and death on stock exchange markets volatility in Sub-Saharan African countries. The study used the number of reported cases and death from four Sub-Saharan African countries viz Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Botswana, reported cases and death from China and U.S. and all share index as a proxy of stock markets in four countries from 28 February 2020 to 21 December 2020. The study estimated GARCH 11, TGARCH 11, and EGARCH 11 since the variables are heteroskadestic in nature which makes the application of ARCH lausible; the selection criterion was based on Akaike, Schwarz, and Hannan info Criteria. The result shows that COVID19 confirmed cases and death do not affect the operation of the stock markets in Sub-Saharan African countries, but the volatility of the markets has increased within the period of analysis. Furthermore, Botswana and Kenya stock markets were affected by external cases from China. We therefore recommended that stock markets stakeholders in Sub-Saharan Africa should be more concern about health safety measures and be ready for any future pandemic that might affect the markets.

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