scholarly journals Child Marriage: A Discussion Paper

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 8-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tahera Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Child Marriage ◽  
Discussion Paper ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Set Up

Child marriage is still a massive problem in many developing countries. The issue is more concentrated in countries of Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia. This paper, through literature review attempts to assess the situation, the consequences, various programmes and recommendations on the reduction of child marriage. In this article it is reinforced that, consequences of child marriage put the girls at risk of early pregnancies with life-threatening conditions. This paper suggests that each country should set up its own mid-term and long-term goals to bring about significant reduction in child marriages.

scholarly journals Mapping of affordability levels for photovoltaic-based electricity generation in the solar belt of sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia and South Asia

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sándor Szabó ◽  
Irene Pinedo Pascua ◽  
Daniel Puig ◽  
Magda Moner-Girona ◽  
Mario Negre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Solar Photovoltaic ◽  
Term Operation ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
High Level ◽  
Do So

AbstractLack of access to modern forms of energy hampers efforts to reduce poverty. The provision of electricity to off-grid communities is therefore a long-standing developmental goal. Yet, many off-grid electrification projects neglect mid- and long-term operation and maintenance costs. When this is the case, electricity services are unlikely to be affordable to the communities that are the project’s primary target. Here we show that, compared with diesel-powered electricity generation systems, solar photovoltaic systems are more affordable to no less than 36% of the unelectrified populations in East Asia, South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. We do so by developing geo-referenced estimates of affordability at a high level of resolution (1 km2). The analysis illustrates the differences in affordability that may be found at the subnational level, which underscores that electrification investments should be informed by subnational data.

Banking in Africa

2019 ◽  
pp. 1075-1112
Author(s):  
Thorsten Beck ◽  
Robert Cull ◽  
Patricio Valenzuela
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Banking Systems ◽  
Financial Innovations ◽  
The Past ◽  
Current State ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Sub Saharan

This chapter takes stock of the current state of banking systems across Sub-Saharan Africa and discusses recent developments, including innovations that might help Africa leapfrog more traditional banking models. Using an array of different data, the chapter documents that African banking systems are shallow but stable. African banks are well capitalized and over-liquid, but lend less to the private sector than banks in non-African developing countries. African enterprises and households are less likely to use financial services than their peers in other developing countries, although there has been significant progress over the past decade. The chapter also describes a number of financial innovations across the continent that can help overcome different barriers to financial inclusion and have helped to expand the bankable and the banked population. The chapter ends with discussing current challenges for policymakers and academics, including the lack of (data on) long-term finance and the supervisory challenges stemming from increasing cross-border banking in the region.

scholarly journals Are democratising countries rewarded with higher levels of foreign aid?

2015 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 593-615
Author(s):  
Balázs Szent-Iványi
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Foreign Aid ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Partner Country ◽  
Democratic Transitions ◽  
Aid Allocation ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Over Time

The paper examines how flows of foreign aid have reacted to events of democratisation in developing countries. Using a panel dataset of 136 aid-receiving countries between 1980 and 2009, aid allocation regressions reveal that Western donors in general have tended to react to visible, major democratic transitions by increasing aid to the partner country, but no significant increases can be identified in the case of countries introducing smaller democratic reforms. The increases in aid flows are not sustained over time, implying that donors do not provide long-term support to nascent democracies. Also, democratisations in Sub-Saharan Africa do not seem to have been rewarded with higher levels of aid.

scholarly journals The Dynamics of Extreme Poverty in Developing Countries

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 18-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edmore Mahembe ◽  
Nicholas M. Odhiambo
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Poor People ◽  
World Population ◽  
Absolute Poverty ◽  
Critical Question ◽  
Extreme Poverty ◽  
The World ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract This paper aims to analyses the trends and dynamics of extreme poverty in developing countries. The study attempts to answer one critical question: has the world achieved its number one Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of reducing extreme poverty by half by 2015? The methodology used in this study mainly involves a descriptive data analysis during the period 1981-2015. The study used the World Bank’s US$1.90 a day line (popularly known as $1 a day line) in 2011 prices to measure the level of absolute poverty. In order to analyze the dynamics of poverty across different regions, the study grouped countries into five regions: i) sub-Saharan Africa; ii) East Asia and the Pacific; iii) South Asia; iv) Europe and Central Asia; and v) Latin America and the Caribbean. The study found that in 1990, there were around 1.9 billion people living below US$1.90 a day (constituting 36.9 percent of the world population) and this number is estimated to have reduced to around 700 million people in 2015, with an estimated global poverty rate of 9.6 percent. The world met the MDG target in 2010, which is five years ahead of schedule. However, extreme poverty is becoming increasingly concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and South Asia (SA), where its depth and breadth remain a challenge. SSA remains the poorest region, with more than 35 percent of its citizens living on less than US$1.90 a day. Half of the world’s extremely poor people now live in SSA, and it is the only region which has not met its MDG target.

scholarly journals Drivers of antimicrobial resistance amongst intestinalEscherichia coliisolated from children in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle J. Ingle ◽  
Myron M. Levine ◽  
Karen L. Kotloff ◽  
Kathryn E. Holt ◽  
Roy M. Robins-Browne
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Enteric Bacteria ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Fluoroquinolone Resistance ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Antimicrobial Usage ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Usage Data

AbstractAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) dynamics are poorly understood in developing countries, where data on the prevalence of AMR in enteric bacteria are sparse, particularly among children and in the community setting. Here we use a combination of phenotyping, genomics and antimicrobial usage data to investigate patterns of AMR amongst atypical enteropathogenicE. coli(aEPEC) strains isolated from children <5 years old in seven countries (four in sub-Saharan Africa and three in South Asia) over a three-year period. We detected very high rates of AMR, with 65% of isolates displaying resistance to ≥3 drug classes; the rates of AMR were the same amongst strains associated with diarrhea and strains that were carried asymptomatically. Whole genome sequencing identified a diversity of genetic mechanisms for AMR, which could explain >95% of observed phenotypic resistance. Analysis of AMR gene co-occurrence revealed clusters of acquired AMR genes that were frequently co-located on small plasmids and transposons, providing opportunities for acquisition of multidrug resistance in a single step. We used discriminant analysis to investigate potential drivers of AMR within the bacterial population, and found that genetic determinants of AMR were associated with geographical location of isolation but not with phylogenetic lineage of theE. colistrain or disease status of the human host. Comparison with antimicrobial usage data showed that the prevalence of resistance to newer drugs (fluoroquinolones and third-generation cephalosporins) was correlated with usage, which was generally higher in South Asia than Africa. In particular, fluoroquinolone resistance-associated mutations ingyrAwere significantly associated with use of these drugs for treatment of diarrheic children. Notably resistance to older drugs such as trimethoprim, chloramphenicol and ampicillin, which are conferred by acquired AMR genes that were frequently clustered together in mobile genetic elements, were common in all locations despite differences in usage; this suggests that reversion to sensitivity is unlikely to occur even if these drugs are removed from circulation. This study provides much-needed insights into the frequencies of AMR in intestinalE. coliin community-based children in developing countries and to antimicrobial usage for diarrhea where the burden of infections is greatest.

scholarly journals FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (03) ◽  
pp. 2050016
Author(s):  
OBINNA FRANKLIN EZEIBEKWE
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Financial Development ◽  
Trade Openness ◽  
National Income ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Marginal Effect ◽  
Sub Saharan

What are the economic, political, institutional, socio-cultural, and geographical determinants of financial development in developing countries? This paper uses the two-way fixed effects (with clustered standard errors) and annual panel data from 1980 to 2018 for 69 developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East and North Africa, East and South Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean to address this question. The principal component analysis is employed to construct a financial development index based on three financial development indicators. This study builds on the previous studies by introducing new potential determinants of financial development such as the perception of corruption, and by exploring important quadratic and interaction effects. The results show that national income, trade openness, indices of political stability and Polity2 (a democracy score), perception of corruption, the predominant religion in the countries, and geographical factors such as territorial access to the sea explain the differences in the levels of financial development across countries and regions. A rise in national income leads to a higher level of financial development and countries with a high perceived level of corruption have a lower level of financial development. There is strong evidence of threshold effects as trade openness has a diminishing marginal effect on financial development while the auxiliary growth regressions show that financial development has an increasing marginal effect on national income. Of the five regions studied, East and South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa have the highest and lowest levels of financial development, respectively. Also, fuel-exporting countries, least developed countries, and landlocked countries tend to have lower levels of financial development. These results have relevant policy implications for developing countries in their continued efforts to achieve better financial development and ultimately, sustainable economic development.

scholarly journals Perception on challenges impacting bid decision of indigenous building contractors in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 1641-1662 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Chileshe ◽  
David John Edwards ◽  
Neema Kavishe ◽  
Theo C. Haupt
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Correlation Analysis ◽  
Dar Es Salaam ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Economic Wealth ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Project Location ◽  
Survey Responses

Purpose The acknowledged mode of securing work by contractors is through the bidding process. However, the bidding decisions undertaken by some indigenous contractors in developing countries are fraught with challenges that often engender bidding practices (such as collusion through price fixing and intentional lower bidding) and threaten business survival. Therefore, in the quest to better understand these challenges and viable advocate solutions for overcoming them, this paper aims to identify the key challenges impacting the bid decision process by small indigenous building contractors in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and establish the strength of their relationship between the pairs of key challenges. Design/methodology/approach A comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify nine challenges impacting the bid decision of indigenous building contractors in Tanzania, which were used to design a questionnaire survey. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, mean score, inferential statistics (One sample t-tests), Kendall’s concordance and correlation analysis. Findings Challenges identified from a literature review were empirically tested using survey responses accrued from 33 participating small indigenous building contractors in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The findings illustrate that lack of liquidity, profit returns, lack of equipment, lack of experience of several works and procurement procedures are perceived as being the five most critical challenges. Project location, site accessibility and lack of labour were least critical. The major finding from the correlation analysis was the existence of the strong and positive correlation between “project location” and “site accessibility”. Research limitations/implications The study is limited by its sample and geographical settings which focussed and confined the results on one country, Tanzania. However, the findings can be considered as important for other developing countries wishing to gain insights into the challenges impacting bid decisions. Practical implications Measures for addressing the identified challenges impacting the bidding decisions of the indigenous small building contractors would be undertaken. The findings will enable contractors to not only reconcile the challenges with the industry and in so doing benefit both themselves and the clients but also enable them to be better prepared to deliver contractual obligations and generate socio-economic wealth. Government and policymakers will also be able to appropriately develop macro interventions for managing these challenges, which could be custom-tailored to indigenous small contractors. Finally, improving the ability of local firms to compete in the construction industry has been recognised as having the potential of advancing socio-economic development within the comity of developing countries. Originality/value The study enhances government, client and practitioners’ understanding of the challenges affecting the bidding practices among the indigenous building contractors in Tanzania. This area of investigation has previously been under explored particularly sub-Saharan Africa.

scholarly journals Child marriage: historical reality around the globe and in Bangladesh – A literature review

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohiuddin Ahsanul Kabir Chowdhury ◽  
Salma Morium
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
First Century ◽  
Child Marriage ◽  
Women Empowerment ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Historical Reality ◽  
Community Stakeholders

Child marriage, defined as marriage before 18 years, is a reality for more than 60 million women worldwide. This is more prevalent in developing countries including Bangladesh. Although the universal age for the marriage of women is 18 years, the girls get married earlier across different countries depending on the socio-cultural perspective. Globally child marriage is not uncommon even in this twenty first century; however, the phenomenon is concentrated in the developing countries, especially in Africa and South Asia. Currently Bangladesh is securing the 8th position among the highest burdened countries with child marriage. This literature review attempts to illuminate over the overall scenario of child marriage with special emphasis on Bangladesh situation. Besides, we also reviewed for drivers, consequences and legal aspects of child marriage. The evidences suggest that education, women empowerment and programmes involving the community stakeholders with bottom-up approach can be effective in preventing child marriage and can foster change relatively quickly.

scholarly journals Antiretroviral treatment Long-Term (ALT) cohort: a prospective cohort of 10 years of ART-experienced patients in Uganda

BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. e015490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Castelnuovo ◽  
Frank Mubiru ◽  
Agnes N Kiragga ◽  
Rachel Musomba ◽  
Olive Mbabazi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antiretroviral Treatment ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Mineral Density ◽  
Hiv Rna ◽  
Observational Cohort ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Future Plans

PurposeLittle information is available on patients on antiretroviral treatment (ART) after a long-term period from sub-Saharan Africa, with the longest follow-up and related outcomes being after 10 years on ART. At the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) (Kampala, Uganda), we set up a cohort of patients already on ART for 10 years at the time of enrolment, who will be followed up for additional 10 years.ParticipantsA prospective observational cohort of 1000 adult patients previously on ART for 10 years was enrolled between May 2014 and September 2015. Patients were eligible for enrolment if they were in their consecutive 10th year of ART regardless of the combination of drugs for both first- and second-line ART. Data were collected at enrolment and all annual study visits. Follow-up visits are scheduled once a year for 10 years. Biological samples (packed cells, plasma and serum) are stored at enrolment and follow-up visits.Findings to dateOut of 1000 patients enrolled, 345 (34.5%) originate from a pre-existing research cohort at IDI, while 655 (65.5%) were enrolled from the routine clinic. Overall, 81% of the patients were on first line at the time of the enrolment in the ART long-term cohort, with the more frequent regimen being zidovudine plus lamivudine plus nevirapine (44% of the cohort), followed by zidovudine plus lamivudine plus efavirenz (22%) and tenofovir plus lamivudine or emtricitabine plus efavirenz (10%). At cohort enrolment, viral suppression was defined as HIV-RNA <400 copies/mL was 95.8%.Future plansThrough collaboration with other institutions, we are planning several substudies, including the evaluation of the risk for cardiovascular diseases, the assessment of bone mineral density, screening for liver cirrhosis using fibroscan technology and investigation of drug–drug interactions between ART and common drugs used for non-communicable diseases.

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