Project Implementation Constraints with Examples from Affordable Housing and Infrastructure Efforts

Cases on the Diffusion and Adoption of Sustainable Development Practices ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-2842-7.ch006 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 147-166

Author(s):

Antje Ilberg

Keyword(s):

Affordable Housing ◽

Best Practice ◽

Success Factors ◽

Low Cost ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Infrastructure Development ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Urban Planning And Development ◽

Low Cost Housing ◽

Sub Saharan

Comprehensive approaches to sustainable, affordable housing and infrastructure development often prove challenging in developing countries. Several ideas for low cost housing and infrastructure in urban Sub-Saharan Africa appear to have nearly perfect technical characteristics responding to current urban planning and development experience, but yet the project execution of these concepts reveals significant shortcomings. Additionally, the long-term effects of a project often have unintended side effects, and still, similar projects continue to be repeated. To consider these numerous aspects simultaneously is crucial for success. This chapter details three projects with potentially successful concepts for sustainable infrastructure, but which did not succeed fully due to the project framework and imperfections therein. Described are responses to common problems in Sub-Saharan Africa from Rwanda and Malawi in low cost housing, domestic infrastructure, and communal, decentral infrastructure, respectively. Besides describing their realistic solutions and their integration of environmental and social concerns, and despite being based on the principle of multi-level networking and support, the chapter goes beyond the technical description to analyze shortcomings and constraints of implementation. For the discussion of success factors when implementing a project, two additional best practice examples are used.

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Europe's Crisis of Legitimacy

10.1093/oso/9780198797050.001.0001 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Vivien A. Schmidt

Keyword(s):

Low Income ◽

Best Practice ◽

Critical Mass ◽

Large Body ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Low Income Countries ◽

Infrastructure Development ◽

Poor Countries ◽

Sub Saharan

Expectations are high regarding the potential benefits of public–private partnerships (PPPs) for infrastructure development in poor countries. The development community, led by the G20, the United Nations, and others, expects PPPs to help with “transformational” megaprojects as well as efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But PPPs have been widely used only since the 1990s. The discussion of PPPs is still dominated by best-practice guidance, academic studies that focus on developed countries, or ideological criticism. Meanwhile, practitioners have quietly accumulated a large body of empirical evidence on PPP performance. The purpose of this book is to summarize and consolidate what this critical mass of evidence-based research says about PPPs in low-income countries (LICs) and thereby develop a more realistic perspective on the practical value of these mechanisms. The focus of the book is on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), home to most of the world’s poorest countries, although insights from other regions and more affluent developing countries are also included. Case studies of many of the best-known PPPs in Africa are used to illustrate these findings. This book demonstrates that PPPs have not met expectations in poor countries, and are only sustainable if many of the original defining characteristics of PPPs are changed. PPPs do have a small but meaningful role to play, but only if expectations remain modest and projects are subject to transparent evaluation and competition. Experiments with PPP mechanisms underway in some countries suggest ways in which PPPs may be evolving to better realize benefits in poor countries.

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Can Low Cost Housing in Malaysia be Considered as Affordable Housing ?

10.15396/eres2005_328 ◽

2005 ◽

Keyword(s):

Affordable Housing ◽

Low Cost ◽

Low Cost Housing

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Positioning for success: building capacity in academic competencies for early-career researchers in sub-Saharan Africa

Global Mental Health ◽

10.1017/gmh.2019.14 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

C. Merritt ◽

H. Jack ◽

W. Mangezi ◽

D. Chibanda ◽

M. Abas

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Capacity Building ◽

Low Cost ◽

Early Career ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Training Experience ◽

African Countries ◽

Early Career Researchers ◽

Academic Competencies ◽

Sub Saharan

Background. Capacity building is essential in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to address the gap in skills to conduct and implement research. Capacity building must not only include scientific and technical knowledge, but also broader competencies, such as writing, disseminating research and achieving work–life balance. These skills are thought to promote long-term career success for researchers in high-income countries (HICs) but the availability of such training is limited in LMICs. Methods. This paper presents the contextualisation and implementation of the Academic Competencies Series (ACES). ACES is an early-career researcher development programme adapted from a UK university. Through consultation between HIC and LMIC partners, an innovative series of 10 workshops was designed covering themes of self-development, engagement and writing skills. ACES formed part of the African Mental Health Research Initiative (AMARI), a multi-national LMIC-led consortium to recruit, train, support and network early-career mental health researchers from four sub-Saharan African countries. Results. Of the 10 ACES modules, three were HIC-LMIC co-led, four led by HIC facilitators with LMIC training experience and three led by external consultants from HICs. Six workshops were delivered face to face and four by webinar. Course attendance was over 90% and the delivery cost was approximately US$4500 per researcher trained. Challenges of adaptation, attendance and technical issues are described for the first round of workshops. Conclusions. This paper indicates that a skills development series for early-career researchers can be contextualised and implemented in LMIC settings, and is feasible for co-delivery with local partners at relatively low cost.

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The BabySaver: Design of a New Device for Neonatal Resuscitation at Birth with Intact Placental Circulation

Children ◽

10.3390/children8060526 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (6) ◽

pp. 526

Author(s):

James Ditai ◽

Aisling Barry ◽

Kathy Burgoine ◽

Anthony K. Mbonye ◽

Julius N. Wandabwa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Cost ◽

Neonatal Resuscitation ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Skilled Birth Attendants ◽

New Device ◽

Birth Attendants ◽

Premature Babies ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

The Uk ◽

The University

The initial bedside care of premature babies with an intact cord has been shown to reduce mortality; there is evidence that resuscitation of term babies with an intact cord may also improve outcomes. This process has been facilitated by the development of bedside resuscitation surfaces. These new devices are unaffordable, however, in most of sub-Saharan Africa, where 42% of the world’s 2.4 million annual newborn deaths occur. This paper describes the rationale and design of BabySaver, an innovative low-cost mobile resuscitation unit, which was developed iteratively over five years in a collaboration between the Sanyu Africa Research Institute (SAfRI) in Uganda and the University of Liverpool in the UK. The final BabySaver design comprises two compartments; a tray to provide a firm resuscitation surface, and a base to store resuscitation equipment. The design was formed while considering contextual factors, using the views of individual women from the community served by the local hospitals, medical staff, and skilled birth attendants in both Uganda and the UK.

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Mission Unaccomplished: Impediments to Affordable Housing Drive in Addressing Homelessness in Sub-Saharan Africa

Social Sciences ◽

10.3390/socsci10080310 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (8) ◽

pp. 310

Author(s):

Emeka Emmanuel Obioha

Keyword(s):

Affordable Housing ◽

Social Housing ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Sub Saharan

Affordable housing is a people-centered strategy in dealing with homelessness. However, the increasing number of people in need of homes in sub-Saharan Africa suggests that this strategy has not afforded homes to the homeless. Theoretically, affordable housing exists to provide cheap and decent homes, but in contrast, these social houses are practically unaffordable, which raises the question of why this is the case. This paper articulates the impediments that account for unrealized affordable social housing in sub-Saharan Africa. It argues that tackling these impediments through the recommended ways will booster realization of this dream. In conclusion, while provision of affordable housing to all who are in need of homes in various countries in sub-Saharan Africa is a desirable goal, all indications point to the reality that this mission is far from an accomplished status.

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Using a Network of Locally Developed Low Cost Particulate Matter Sensors for Land Use Regression Modeling of PM2.5 in Urban Uganda

10.20944/preprints202006.0158.v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Eric S. Coker ◽

Ssematimba Joel ◽

Engineer Bainomugisha

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Air Pollution ◽

Particulate Matter ◽

Air Quality ◽

Low Cost ◽

Additive Models ◽

Pollution Monitoring ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Land Use Regression ◽

Sub Saharan

Background: There are major air pollution monitoring gaps in sub-Saharan Africa. Developing capacity in the region to conduct air monitoring in the region can help estimate exposure to air pollution for epidemiology research. The purpose of our study is to develop a land use regression (LUR) model using low-cost air quality sensors developed by a research group in Uganda (AirQo). Methods: Using these low-cost sensors, we collected continuous measurements of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) between May 1, 2019 and February 29, 2020 at 22 monitoring sites across urban municipalities of Uganda. We compared average monthly PM2.5 concentrations from the AirQo sensors with measurements from a BAM-1020 reference monitor operated at the US Embassy in Kampala. Monthly PM2.5 concentrations were used for LUR modeling. We used eight Machine Learning (ML) algorithms and ensemble modeling; using 10-fold cross validation and root mean squared error (RMSE) to evaluate model performance. Results: Monthly PM2.5 concentration was 60.2 µg/m3 (IQR: 45.4-73.0 µg/m3; median= 57.5 µg/m3). For the ML LUR models, RMSE values ranged between 5.43 µg/m3 - 15.43 µg/m3 and explained between 28% and 92% of monthly PM2.5 variability. Generalized additive models explained the largest amount of PM2.5 variability (R2=0.92) and produced the lowest RMSE (5.43 µg/m3) in the held-out test set. The most important predictors of monthly PM2.5 concentrations included monthly precipitation, major roadway density, population density, latitude, greenness, and percentage of households using solid fuels. Conclusion: To our knowledge, ours is the first study to model the spatial distribution of urban air pollution in sub-Saharan Africa using air monitors developed from the region itself. Non-parametric ML for LUR modeling performed with high accuracy for prediction of monthly PM2.5 levels. Our analysis suggests that locally produced low-cost air quality sensors can help build capacity to conduct air pollution epidemiology research in the region.

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ASR FORUM: ENGAGING WITH AFRICAN INFORMAL ECONOMIES

African Studies Review ◽

10.1017/asr.2013.80 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 56 (3) ◽

pp. 77-100 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Michal Lyons ◽

Alison Brown ◽

Zhigang Li

Keyword(s):

Value Chain ◽

Informal Economy ◽

Low Cost ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Value Chains ◽

Socioeconomic Mobility ◽

Informal Economies ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Economic Development Strategies

Abstract:This article analyzes the value chain for Chinese manufactured goods such as garments and textiles sold in sub-Saharan Africa. It explores the opportunities for Africans with small, private businesses in the export trade from China, the potential for long-term business development, and how strategies of engagement have changed over time. It finds that the value chains for low-cost goods vary. There is great diversity of entry levels and opportunities for socioeconomic mobility, and traders evolve diverse strategies to obtain and defend their position in the chain. These findings are discussed in terms of understandings of international value chains, the informal economy, and African economic development strategies.

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Implications of shocks in energy consumption for energy policy in sub-Saharan Africa

Energy & Environment ◽

10.1177/0958305x19882401 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 31 (6) ◽

pp. 1077-1097 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Oluwasola E Omoju ◽

Jinkai Li ◽

Jin Zhang ◽

Abdul Rauf ◽

Victor Edem Sosoo

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Energy Policy ◽

Socioeconomic Development ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Lm Tests ◽

Lm Test ◽

Sub Saharan

Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest energy consumption per capita in the world, and this has undermined socioeconomic development in the region. The stationarity of energy consumption in the region has important implications for energy policy, forecasting and macroeconomic developments. This paper investigates the stationarity properties of energy consumption in 48 sub-Saharan Africa countries using the Augment Dickey–Fuller, Zivot–Andrews, Clemente–Montanes–Reyes and Lee–Strazicich LM tests. Using the Lee-Strazicich LM test as a benchmark, the study shows that energy consumption is stationary in 41 countries. This implies that energy policy makers should not be concerned about shocks in energy consumption in these countries because the shocks will be temporary and not transmitted to the macroeconomy. Also, energy policies will not have long-term effects. Policies that exert one-time temporary shocks on energy consumption would be more effective in these countries.

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Pilot Low-Cost Concentrating Solar Power Systems Deployment in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case Study of Implementation Challenges

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12156223 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (15) ◽

pp. 6223

Author(s):

Emmanuel Wendsongre Ramde ◽

Eric Tutu Tchao ◽

Yesuenyeagbe Atsu Kwabla Fiagbe ◽

Jerry John Kponyo ◽

Asakipaam Simon Atuah

Keyword(s):

Electricity Generation ◽

Power Plants ◽

Large Scale ◽

Solar Power ◽

Low Cost ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Tracking Systems ◽

Concentrating Solar Power ◽

Solar Power Plants ◽

Sub Saharan

Electricity is one of the most crucial resources that drives any given nation’s growth and development. The latest Sustainable Development Goals report indicates Africa still has a high deficit in electricity generation. Concentrating solar power seems to be a potential option to fill the deficit. That is because most of the components of concentrating solar power plants are readily available on the African market at affordable prices, and there are qualified local persons to build the plants. Pilot micro-concentrating solar power plants have been implemented in Sub-Saharan Africa and have shown promising results that could be expanded and leveraged for large-scale electricity generation. An assessment of a pilot concentrating solar power plant in the sub-region noticed one noteworthy obstacle that is the failure of the tracking system to reduce the operating energy cost of running the tracking control system and improve the multifaceted heliostat focusing behavior. This paper highlights the energy situation and the current development in concentrating solar power technology research in Africa. The paper also presents a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art solar tracking systems for central receiver systems to illustrate the current direction of research regarding the design of low-cost tracking systems in terms of computational complexity, energy consumption, and heliostat alignment accuracy.

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