scholarly journals The Work of Hunger: Security, Development and Food-for-Work in Post-crisis Jakarta

2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamey Essex

Food-for-work programs distribute food aid to recipients in exchange for labor, and are an important mode of aid delivery for both public and private aid providers. While debate continues as to whether food-for-work programs are socially just and economically sensible, governments, international institutions, and NGOs continue to tout them as a flexible and cost-effective way to deliver targeted aid and promote community development. This paper critiques the underlying logic of food-for-work, focusing on how this approach to food aid and food security promote labor force participation by leveraging hunger against poverty, and how the ideological and practical assumptions of food-for-work become enmeshed within discourses of geopolitical security. I rely on a case study examination of US-funded food-for-work programs implemented in Jakarta, Indonesia following the 1997 financial crisis. The crisis produced acute food insecurity and poverty in Indonesia, provoking fears of mob violence by the hungry poor and the spread of radical Islamism in the post-crisis political vacuum. Food-for-work programs were, in this context, meant to resolve the problems of both food insecurity and geopolitical insecurity by providing food to targeted populations, employment to those otherwise thrown out of work, and resituating the hungry poor in relation to broader scales of local, national, and global power.

2019 ◽  
pp. 339-368
Author(s):  
Niamh Darcy ◽  
Sriyanjit Perera ◽  
Grades Stanley ◽  
Susan Rumisha ◽  
Kelvin Assenga ◽  
...  

In 2009, the Tanzanian Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children (MoHCDGEC) counted over 10 different health facility lists managed by donors, government ministries, agencies and implementing partners. These function-specific lists were not integrated or linked. The ministry's Health Sector Strategic Plan included the development of an authoritative source for all health facility information, called the Master Facility List (MFL). During development, the ministry adopted the term Health Facility Registry (HFR), an online tool providing public access to a database about all officially recognized health facilities (public and private). The MFL, which includes the health facility list at any specific point in time can be exported from the HFR. This chapter presents the Tanzanian case study describing the work and lessons learned in building the HFR—focusing on software development, introducing geographic positioning systems and harmonizing MFL data. MoHCDGEC launched the HFR public portal in September 2015.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 617
Author(s):  
Yang Fu ◽  
Weihong Ma

(1) Background: There is a global trend to stimulate sustainable urbanization by updating the hardware of the built environment with green technologies. However, simply greening the city hardware does not ensure a sustainable urban system. In reality, urban communities, as cells of the city, play a crucial role in the sustainable development of the entire city. (2) Methods: This paper conducts a case study by investigating a community in Taipei with semi-structured interviews and other first-hand data. It examines how self-organization, voluntary groups, and the public participation of community members has successfully institutionalized a governing system for the sustainable development of communities; (3) Results: This paper identifies the major actors and mechanisms underpinning the sustainable development of urban communities with a case study in Taipei. The establishment of this more cost-effective form of community governance will possibly provide more benefits to community members; (4) Conclusions: This case study will shed light on the sustainable development of urban community in many other cities, offering possible pathways and epitome for self-organization of urban community in the coming era. Its cost-effective institutional design contributes greatly to sustainable community development, partly solving the current failure to promote urban sustainability.


Author(s):  
Anne Nogueira ◽  
Fátima Alves ◽  
Paula Vaz-Fernandes

Background: The number of food-insecure families in the European Union has increased, resulting in an increasing number of households depending on food assistance programs. The aim in this study was to evaluate the nutrient content of food rescued by a food aid organization that rescues and redistributes fresh or freshly cooked food to low-income households. Methods: To determine the nutritional content of food hampers provided by our case study organization, we weighed all items of food hampers in three weighing rounds over a period of four months. The Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) was applied to measure households’ food insecurity. Results: Our results show that, at our case study food aid organization, food donations substantially contribute to energy, macro, and micronutrient dietary recommendation intake (DRI). Conclusions: When evaluating how these nutrients contribute to alleviating food insecurity of the beneficiary households, we found that the perception of food insecurity is independent of the amount of nutrients served. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study measuring the nutritional content of fresh or freshly cooked rescued food conveyed by a food aid organization.


Author(s):  
Niamh Darcy ◽  
Sriyanjit Perera ◽  
Grades Stanley ◽  
Susan Rumisha ◽  
Kelvin Assenga ◽  
...  

In 2009, the Tanzanian Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children (MoHCDGEC) counted over 10 different health facility lists managed by donors, government ministries, agencies and implementing partners. These function-specific lists were not integrated or linked. The ministry's Health Sector Strategic Plan included the development of an authoritative source for all health facility information, called the Master Facility List (MFL). During development, the ministry adopted the term Health Facility Registry (HFR), an online tool providing public access to a database about all officially recognized health facilities (public and private). The MFL, which includes the health facility list at any specific point in time can be exported from the HFR. This chapter presents the Tanzanian case study describing the work and lessons learned in building the HFR—focusing on software development, introducing geographic positioning systems and harmonizing MFL data. MoHCDGEC launched the HFR public portal in September 2015.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 001-008 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. I. Ikhile ◽  
◽  
Kofo A. Aderogba ◽  
Clement O. Ogunnowo ◽  

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7470
Author(s):  
Rebeca Monroy-Torres ◽  
Ángela Castillo-Chávez ◽  
Erika Carcaño-Valencia ◽  
Marco Hernández-Luna ◽  
Alex Caldera-Ortega ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 pandemic showed an impact mainly on the health of people and the economy of households. The levels of food security in the world’s households, especially in Mexico, have decreased. When people do not have food security, their health is compromised and they have financial problems; on the other hand, environmental deterioration has a link with food security. The purpose of this review is to analysis of the current situation in Mexico of food security, environmental health and economy, the main lessons learned in these areas and their proposals integrating public policies. A review was carried out in the main databases (MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL Plus, Web of Science, CAB Abstracts y PAIS Index) with the following keywords and according to the MeSH terms: Food security, food insecurity, environmental health, public policies, environmental, production, integrating the word COVID-19 in English and Spanish. Only 44.5% of Mexican households presented food security. For food insecurity, 22.6% had moderate and severe food insecurity, while 32.9% had mild insecurity. Food insecurity and the health impacts of environmental origin (waste management during the coronavirus pandemic, water contaminated by bacteria, viruses, and toxins; air pollution) generates impacts on economic activity by not offering food that meets health regulations. Without the application of cost-effective measures and interventions for the prevention and control of patients with obesity, the direct costs for 2023 will amount to 9 million dollars, which worsens the household economy. Despite having laws and policies on the right to food, a healthy environment (water), and opportunities for economic growth, these human rights are not fulfilled. The conclusion is that it is necessary to use a health and agroecological model to promote public policies (health, environment, and economy) that aims to prevent the discussed issues, with multidisciplinary and intersectoral interventions (government, academia, researchers, civil society organizations, industry, and population). This upholds the human right that all people should enjoy an adequate, healthy environment and have access to high-quality food.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0308518X2110266
Author(s):  
Neil Argent ◽  
Sean Markey ◽  
Greg Halseth ◽  
Laura Ryser ◽  
Fiona Haslam-McKenzie

This paper is concerned with the socio-spatial and ethical politics of redistribution, specifically the allocation of natural resources rents from political and economic cores to the economic and geographical peripheries whence the resource originated. Based on a case study of the coal seam gas sector in Queensland's Surat Basin, this paper focuses on the operation of the Queensland State Government's regional development fund for mining and energy extraction-affected regions. Employing an environmental justice framework, we critically explore the operation of these funds in ostensibly helping constituent communities in becoming resilient to the worst effects of the ‘staples trap’. Drawing on secondary demographic and housing data for the region, as well as primary information collected from key respondents from mid-2018 to early 2019, we show that funds were distributed across all of the local government areas, and allocated to projects and places primarily on a perceived economic needs basis. However, concerns were raised with the probity of the funds’ administration. In terms of recognition justice, the participation of smaller and more remote towns and local Indigenous communities was hampered by their structural marginalisation. Procedurally, the funds were criticised for the lack of local consultation taken in the development and approval of projects. While spatially concentrated expenditure may be the most cost-effective use of public monies, we argue that grant application processes should be open, transparent and inclusive, and the outcomes cognisant of the developmental needs of smaller communities, together with the need to foster regional solidarity and coherence.


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