Natural Disasters and International Migration from Sub-Saharan Africa

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wim Naudé
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Subsequent Period ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Using Data

This paper employs a systems GMM model using data on 43 Sub-Saharan African countries from 1960 to 2005 to find that natural disasters have a significant impact on migration from SSA, raising the net out-migration by around 0.37 persons per 1,000. No direct evidence was found that natural disasters lead to further migration through impacting on GDP growth. It is however established that natural disasters is associated with a slightly increased probability that a country will be in conflict in a subsequent period. The frequency of natural disasters will not influence the duration of the conflict. It is concluded that natural disasters is an important determinant of migration from SSA. The findings in this paper imply that global climate change, through leading to more extreme weather events, will contribute to further migration from the continent.

Natural Hazards and Their Governance in Sub-Saharan Africa

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dewald van Niekerk ◽  
Livhuwani David Nemakonde
Keyword(s):  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Hazard Management ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Sub Saharan

The sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region, along with the rest of the African continent, is prone to a wide variety of natural hazards. Most of these hazards and the associated disasters are relatively silent and insidious, encroaching on life and livelihoods, increasing social, economic, and environmental vulnerability even to moderate events. With the majority of SSA’s disasters being of hydrometeorological origin, climate change through an increase in the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events is likely to exacerbate the situation. Whereas a number of countries in SSA face significant governance challenges to effectively respond to disasters and manage risk reduction measures, considerable progress has been made since the early 2000s in terms of policies, strategies, and/or institutional mechanisms to advance disaster risk reduction and disaster risk management. As such, most countries in SSA have developed/reviewed policies, strategies, and plans and put in place institutions with dedicated staffs and resources for natural hazard management. However, the lack of financial backing, limited skills, lack of coordination among sectors, weak political leadership, inadequate communication, and shallow natural hazard risk assessment, hinders effective natural hazard management in SSA. The focus here is on the governance of natural hazards in the sub-Saharan Africa region, and an outline of SSA’s natural hazard profile is presented. Climate change is increasing the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events, thus influencing the occurrence of natural hazards in this region. Also emphasized are good practices in natural hazard governance, and SSA’s success stories are described. Finally, recommendations on governance arrangements for effective implementation of disaster risk reduction initiatives and measures are provided.

scholarly journals The Implications of Extreme Weather Events for Attaining the Sustainable Development Goals in Sub-Saharan Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel N. A. Codjoe ◽  
D. Yaw Atiglo
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Sub Saharan

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.

Access to drinking water in sub-Saharan Africa: does the developmental state doctrine matter?

2020 ◽  
pp. 002085232093006
Author(s):  
Bacha Kebede Debela ◽  
Geert Bouckaert ◽  
Steve Troupin
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Developmental State ◽  
Water Sources ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Drinking Water Sources ◽  
Developmental States ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Using Data

Using data from 14 sub-Saharan African countries, this study investigates the relevance of the developmental state doctrine to enhancing access to improved drinking water sources and to reducing urban–rural inequalities in access to improved sources and piped-on premises. Although access to improved water sources and urban–rural inequality seems better in developmental states than in non-developmental states, we have not found sufficient support for the claim that the developmental state approach is the best alternative. The influence of corruption is, unexpectedly, higher in developmental states than in non-developmental states. Moreover, both developmental states and non-developmental states were not significantly investing in access to drinking water supply programs. We find that the total population growth rate is the strongest predictor, rather than regime type. Other factors that explain the variation between all samples of developmental states and non-developmental states are identified and discussed, and implications are outlined. Points for practitioners There is significant variation in access to improved drinking water sources and urban–rural inequalities in access to improved sources and piped-on premises between developmental states and non-developmental states. The relevance of the developmental state doctrine to improving access to drinking water, reducing socio-economic inequalities in access to drinking water, and realizing Sustainable Development Goal targets in sub-Saharan Africa is ambiguous. We advise strengthening a functional Weberian bureaucracy and promoting political decentralization.

scholarly journals Identifying agricultural disaster risk zones for future climate actions

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0260430
Author(s):  
Nkongho Ayuketang Arreyndip
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Strong Dependence ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Trade Network ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Sub Saharan

Identifying agricultural disaster risk regions before the occurrence of climate-related disasters is critical for early mitigation planning. This paper aims to identify these regions based on data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the bilateral and multilateral trade network data of the World Integrated Trade Solution(WITS) and the agent-based economic model Acclimate. By applying a uniform forcing across agricultural sectors of some breadbasket regions (US, EU and China), when single and simultaneous extreme weather events occur, such as the 2018 European heatwave, production and consumption value losses and gains are calculated at regional and global levels. Comparing the FAO data sets, WITS, and Acclimate’s production value losses, the results show a strong dependence of agricultural production losses on a region’s output and connectivity level in the global supply and trade network. While India, Brazil, Russia, Canada, Australia, and Iran are highly vulnerable, the imposition of export restrictions to compensate for demand shortfalls makes Sub-Saharan Africa the most vulnerable region, as it is heavily dependent on agricultural imports. In addition, simultaneous extreme weather events can exacerbate the loss of value of agricultural production relative to single extreme weather events. Agricultural practices to increase production such as smart farming, increased investment in plantation agriculture, and diversification of trading partners can help mitigate future food security risks in Sub-Saharan Africa and other agricultural import-dependent regions.

scholarly journals Financial Development and Poverty in Developing Countries: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pam Zahonogo
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Financial Development ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Method Of Moment ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Poverty Measures ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Poverty Indicators

The paper investigates how financial development affects poverty indicators in developing countries. We implement this analysis with a poverty model using data from 42 Sub-Saharan African countries and covering the period 1980-2012. We employ the System Generalized Method-of-Moment (GMM) that is appropriate to control country specific effects and the possible endogeneity. The empirical evidence shows that there indeed exists a financial development threshold below which financial development has detrimental effects on poor and above which financial development could be associated with less poverty. The evidence then points an inverted U curve type response and the findings are robust to changes in poverty measures and to alternative model specifications, suggesting thus the non-fragility of the linkage between financial development and poverty for sub-Saharan African countries. Our findings are then promising and support the view that the relation between financial development and poverty reduction is not linear for sub-Saharan African countries.

scholarly journals Does the Leader's Ethnicity Matter? Ethnic Favoritism, Education, and Health in Sub-Saharan Africa

2012 ◽  
Vol 106 (2) ◽  
pp. 294-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
RAPHAËL FRANCK ◽  
ILIA RAINER
Keyword(s):  
Infant Mortality ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Ethnic Segregation ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Education And Health ◽  
Country Analysis ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Using Data

In this article we reassess the role of ethnic favoritism in sub-Saharan Africa. Using data from 18 African countries, we study how the primary education and infant mortality of ethnic groups were affected by changes in the ethnicity of the countries’ leaders during the last 50 years. Our results indicate that the effects of ethnic favoritism are large and widespread, thus providing support for ethnicity-based explanations of Africa's underdevelopment. We also conduct a cross-country analysis of ethnic favoritism in Africa. We find that ethnic favoritism is less prevalent in countries with one dominant religion. In addition, our evidence suggests that stronger fiscal capacity may have enabled African leaders to provide more ethnic favors in education but not in infant mortality. Finally, political factors, linguistic differences, and patterns of ethnic segregation are found to be poor predictors of ethnic favoritism.

scholarly journals The Trend of HIV/AIDS Incidence and Risks Associated with Age, Period, and Birth Cohort in Four Central African Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2564
Author(s):  
Nodjimadji Tamlengar Martial ◽  
Sumaira Mubarik ◽  
Chuanhua Yu
Keyword(s):  
Incidence Rates ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Relative Risks ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Global Burden Of Diseases ◽  
Hiv Aids

The HIV/AIDS incidence rates have decreased in African countries although the rates are still high in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our study aimed to examine the long-term trend of the overall HIV/AIDS incidence rates in four countries of the central region of Africa, using data from the Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) 2019 study. The Age–Period–Cohort statistical model analysis was used to measure the trends of HIV/AIDS incidence rates in each of the four countries. HIV/AIDS incidence rates decreased slowly in Cameroon (CAM), Chad, and Central African Republic (CAR), but considerably in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from 1990–2019. HIV/AIDS incidence rates in the four countries were at their peaks in the age group of 25–29 years. According to the age relative risks, individuals aged between 15 and 49 years old are at high risk of HIV/AIDS incidence in the four countries. The period and cohort relative risks have decreased in all four countries. Although CAM recorded an increase of 59.6% in the period relative risks (RRs) between 1990 and 1999, HIV/AIDS incidence has decreased dramatically in all four countries, especially after 2000. The decrease of the period RRs (relative risk) by nearly 20.6-folds and the decrease of the cohort RRs from 147.65 to almost 0.0034 in the DRC made it the country with the most significant decrease of the period and cohort RRs compared to the rest. HIV/AIDS incidence rates are decreasing in each of the four countries. Our study findings could provide solid ground for policymakers to promptly decrease HIV/AIDS incidence by strengthening the prevention policies to eliminate the public health threat of HIV/AIDS by 2030 as one of the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

scholarly journals Natural disasters in African countries: what can we learn about them?

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
M T Lukamba
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Statistical Surveys ◽  
The Impact

Problems posed by disasters have become increasingly important for all African governments. Every year a variety of disas ters occurs in Sub-Saharan Africa and these are becoming more prevalent. This article presents an analysis of statistical surveys for natural disasters in different regions of Africa over a 30-year period from 1974 to 2003. It shows that disaster frequency is increasing on the continent. The investigation of the data demonstrates that the East Africa region is under the greatest threat from natural disasters. In 2008, climatological disasters, notably droughts, claimed many victims in the eastern part of Africa, with more than one third of the population affected in Djibouti, Eritrea, and Somalia. The region has experienced the highest recorded number of disaster events for the past 30 years, followed by the West Africa region. The Southern Africa region is placed third as far as the frequency of disaster events in sub-Saharan Africa is concerned. The least disaster prone region is central Africa. The observations made in this analysis relate to the economic losses in different regions from the impact of natural disasters. In some instances, recovery from economic loss could not be recouped because of stunted growth and other internal problems in these countries. In addition, this article suggests some strategies to mitigate the problem of natural hazards in sub-Saharan Africa.Keywords: Flood; drought; volcanic eruptions; political governance; climate change; specialised capabilities

scholarly journals Introduction: special issue on weather and climate impacts in developing countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 429-431
Author(s):  
Anna Creti ◽  
Philippe Delacote ◽  
Antoine Leblois
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Weather Shocks ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact

AbstractShocks related to weather variations have strong effects on developing countries’ economies. Climate change is expected to increase the occurrence and magnitude of extreme weather events such as droughts, floods or hurricanes that strongly affect agriculture and other activities. This special issue gathers literature reviews and case studies that aim to better understand heterogeneous impacts and their transmission channels, as well as to evaluate the impact of such weather shocks on developing economies, including Sub-Saharan African countries, India and Brazil.

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