The Burden of Antidevelopment in Sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-268
Author(s):  
Gabriel Tumba Hassan ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Development ◽  
Capability Approach ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Violent Conflict ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Social Teaching ◽  
Colonial Era ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Sen’S Capability Approach

Despite the universal similarities of antidevelopment problems, the problems in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are unique, intense, and multifaceted. They oscillate from incompetent and corrupt government plagued with violent conflict, to the lack of provision for social needs, to ethno-religious bigotry, and result in the lack of conditions and expanded opportunities for people to pursue their well-being. Though these problems have links to the colonial era, I argue, using qualitative and historical approach methods, that the bulk of them are with postcolonial and contemporary state actors; here the search for solutions must begin. I proposed a target-approach strategy that blends Amartya Sen’s capability approach and Catholic social teaching to facilitate an integral human development in SSA.

scholarly journals Nature's role in sustaining economic development

2010 ◽  
Vol 365 (1537) ◽  
pp. 5-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Partha Dasgupta
Keyword(s):  
Human Development ◽  
Human Development Index ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Development Index ◽  
Development Indicators ◽  
Comprehensive Wealth ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Sub Saharan

In this paper, I formalize the idea of sustainable development in terms of intergenerational well-being. I then sketch an argument that has recently been put forward formally to demonstrate that intergenerational well-being increases over time if and only if a comprehensive measure of wealth per capita increases. The measure of wealth includes not only manufactured capital, knowledge and human capital (education and health), but also natural capital (e.g. ecosystems). I show that a country's comprehensive wealth per capita can decline even while gross domestic product (GDP) per capita increases and the UN Human Development Index records an improvement. I then use some rough and ready data from the world's poorest countries and regions to show that during the period 1970–2000 wealth per capita declined in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, even though the Human Development Index (HDI) showed an improvement everywhere and GDP per capita increased in all places (except in sub-Saharan Africa, where there was a slight decline). I conclude that, as none of the development indicators currently in use is able to reveal whether development has been, or is expected to be, sustainable, national statistical offices and international organizations should now routinely estimate the (comprehensive) wealth of nations.

Gender Auditing e Approccio delle Capacitŕ: Teoria e Metodologia

2009 ◽  
pp. 125-152
Author(s):  
Diego Lanzi
Keyword(s):  
Human Development ◽  
Capability Approach ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Gender Issues ◽  
Equal Opportunities ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Gender Empowerment ◽  
Simple Variation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sen’S Capability Approach

- In this paper we propose a model of Gender Auditing (GA) inspired by Amartya Sen's capability approach. The methodological and normative assumptions and features of the model are outlined in order to list the relevant dimensions of human development. Then, the paper proposes indicators and a simple variation of the Gender Empowerment Measure to evaluate the impact of public policies on gender issues of equal opportunities between men and women.JEL D63, I31, J16Keywords: Economia di Genere, Politiche Pubbliche, Capacitŕ, Well-being

scholarly journals The Impact of COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa Food Security and Human Development

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 34-40
Author(s):  
José Guina ◽  
Jorge Ferrão ◽  
Victoria Bell ◽  
Tito Fernandes
Keyword(s):  
Human Development ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Subsistence Level ◽  
Family Farmers ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Instability Energy ◽  
The Impact

Poverty, malnutrition, food insecurity, and hunger are social determinants of health, well-being, and when associated with other resource-related hardships (e.g., housing instability, energy insecurity) are serious and costly constraints to human development. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to the world’s poorest countries and most family farmers do not have access to markets, important determinant for economic development. African traditional eating has been related to sustainability and positive health outcomes although the scenario is shifting to modern occidental foods. Food fortification with micronutrients may not be the right solution when there is no data on basic dietary intake. Further to the long existing housing, energy and water crisis, family farmers living at subsistence level, their livelihoods and communities, are now facing deeper worries and sufferings on food supplies. Sub-Saharan Africa was faced with a myriad of hurdles, where climate change was considered the greatest challenge, until COVID-19. Urgent priority call for high-impact initiatives and recommendations that are feasible in each of the national contexts. Success will only be achieved through strong public investment on health sectors, agricultural extension services, irrigation, and rural infrastructures.

Deploying Creative Thinking to Strengthen Entrepreneurial Capability Among University Students in Nigeria

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-108
Author(s):  
Akinjide Aboluwodi
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
University Students ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Capability Approach ◽  
Entrepreneurship Education ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Entrepreneurial Opportunity ◽  
Sen’S Capability Approach

Most of the students studying entrepreneurship in Nigerian universities lack entrepreneurial capability- that is, they lack the freedom to pursue and achieve entrepreneurial opportunity. Freedom is seen here in terms of those conditions that must be in place for students to be able to carry out their entrepreneurship studies. These are conditions that support the well-being of the students and may be seen as having good shelter, being well nourished, being healthy, being able to do their normal studies among others. The paper examined why the presence of these conditions is likely to assist students to improve their creative thinking and strengthen their entrepreneurial capability. It explored Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach, focusing on freedom, opportunities, and functionings to explain the required favourable conditions that make learning worthwhile for students, and how it accounts for students’ ability to strengthen their entrepreneurial capability. The paper argued for the deployment of creative thinking to strengthen entrepreneurial capability among students of entrepreneurship in universities in Nigeria. It concluded by urging universities in Nigeria to adopt relevant curriculum in addition to providing students with a decent learning environment to enable them to develop creative thinking that could be used in entrepreneurship education.

Human Development Paradigm for South Asia

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Health And Nutrition ◽  
The People ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Development Paradigm

In the chapter, Haq gives a snapshot of the human progress of South Asia, comparing it with other regions. He was worried about the region beginning to lag behind all other regions, including Sub-Saharan Africa. He highlights the role of the two largest economies in the region, India and Pakistan, in financing the major investment in education, health and nutrition for the people. Haq advocates some fiscal and monetary reforms are suggested to invest in human development.

scholarly journals Intersectional stigma and its impact on HIV prevention and care among MSM and WSW in sub-Saharan African countries: a protocol for a scoping review

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. e047280
Author(s):  
Gamji M’Rabiu Abubakari ◽  
Debbie Dada ◽  
Jemal Nur ◽  
DeAnne Turner ◽  
Amma Otchere ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hiv Prevention ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Scoping Reviews ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Meta Analyses

IntroductionResearch has established that various forms of stigma (HIV stigma, gender non-conforming stigma and same-gender sex stigma) exist across Sub-Saharan Africa and have consequences for the utilisation of HIV prevention and care services. Stigmas are typically investigated in HIV literature individually or through investigating individual populations and the various stigmas they may face. The concept of intersectionality highlights the interconnected nature of social categorisations and their ability to create interdependent systems of discrimination based on gender, race, sexuality and so on. Drawing from perspectives on intersectionality, intersectional stigma denotes the convergence of multiple marginalised identities within an individual or a group, the experiences of stigma associated with these identities as well as the synergistic impact of these experiences on health and well-being. With respect to HIV, public health scholars can examine the impacts of intersectional stigmas on HIV prevention and care utilisation.Methods and analysisReviewers will search systematically through MEDLINE, Global Health, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection and Africa Index Medicus and citations for quantitative studies, qualitative studies and grey literature that include data on stigma and HIV among men who have sex with men and women who have sex with women in Sub-Saharan Africa. Eligible studies will include primary or secondary data on stigma related to HIV risk factors experienced by this population. Studies will be written in French or English and be published between January 1991 and November 2020. All screening and data extraction will be performed in duplicate, and if discrepancies arise, they will be settled by GM’RA, LEN, DD or AO. Findings from this study will be reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval is not required as there will be no human participants and no protected data will be used in this study. We will disseminate findings through peer-reviewed manuscripts, conferences and webinars.

scholarly journals A Poset-Generalizability Method for Human Development Indicators

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Flavio Comim
Keyword(s):  
Human Development ◽  
Capability Approach ◽  
Generalizability Theory ◽  
Well Being ◽  
New Method ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Development Indicators ◽  
Development Policies ◽  
Development Analysis ◽  
The Capability Approach

AbstractThe paper introduces a poset-generalizability perspective for analysing human development indicators. It suggests a new method for identifying admissibility of different informational spaces and criteria in human development analysis. From its inception, the Capability Approach has argued for informational pluralism in normative evaluations. But in practice, it has turned its back to other (non-capability) informational spaces for being imperfect, biased or incomplete and providing a mere evidential role in normative evaluations. This paper offers the construction of a proper method to overcome this shortcoming. It combines tools from poset analysis and generalizability theory to put forward a systematic categorization of cases with different informational spaces. It provides illustrations by using key informational spaces, namely, resources, rights, subjective well-being and capabilities. The offered method is simpler and more concrete than mere human development guidelines and at the same time it avoids results based on automatic calculations. The paper concludes with implications for human development policies and an agenda for further work.

Family Resemblances, Practical Interrelations and Material Extensions: Understanding Sexual Prohibitions, Production and Consumption in Kilimanjaro

Africa ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Knut Christian Myhre
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Local Mode ◽  
Language Games ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Family Resemblances ◽  
Mode Of Life ◽  
Sub Saharan

AbstractThrough the ‘procreative paradigm’, sexuality and its relationships to other social practices have recently regained importance in the study of sub-Saharan Africa. Despite its apparent novelty, I argue that this paradigm invokes an anthropological approach that harks back to the discipline's beginnings. In an attempt at a fresh departure, I use Ludwig Wittgenstein's late philosophy to investigate the meaning of sexual prohibitions among the Chagga-speaking people of Rombo District, Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania. Starting from local linguistic usage, I describe the multiple ‘language-games’ of the vernacular notion of ‘power’,horu. In this manner, I demonstrate how production, reproduction and consumption are conceptually, practically and materially intertwined through the ‘family resemblances’ of this local concept.Horuis expended through productive practices; in multiple ways it is converted, transferred and exchanged between adults and children in reproduction; and it is replenished through the consumption of specific ‘powerful’ foods. By means of different objects, the activities of work, sex and feeding enable ‘power’ to flow between persons. The multiple vernacular usages of the notion ofhoru, and its practical and material concomitants, interrelate diverse spheres of social life in such a manner that they constitute an overlapping network that extends laterally. Human capability and well-being are constituted through participation in these activities, and engagement in the mutual flows, conversions and exchanges of ‘power’ that encompass humans, livestock and vegetable matter. The sexual prohibitions of Rombo regulate and channel these flows and conversions, in order to ensure their beneficial effects for the parties concerned. I therefore argue that the sexual prohibitions are notex post factointerpretations or justifications that explain or control preceding experiences, but rather that they are constitutive of the local mode of life. An appreciation of lateral relationships between concepts, practices and objects enables an evasion of some of the problems that arise from the procreative paradigm.

“It’s better I’m dead”: oppression and suicidal ideation

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Reber
Keyword(s):  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Host Country ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Environmental Context ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Temporary Migrant ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
First Time

Purpose Anecdotal accounts of suicide among temporary low-wage migrant workers in the UAE are numerous, but unofficial and qualitative accounts remain unexplored. This study aims to examine how the socio-environmental context can lead some low-wage migrants, irrespective of their nationality or culture, to contemplate suicide for the first time after arriving in the host country. Design/methodology/approach The findings draw from ten months of qualitative fieldwork (2015–2016) and in-depth interviews conducted with 44 temporary migrant workers from sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, earning in the lowest wage bracket in Dubai. The study used a non-probabilistic, purposive sampling approach to select participants. Three criteria drove eligibility: participants had to reside in the UAE, be non-national and earn Dh1500 (US$408) or less a month. Otherwise, diversity was sought in regard to nationality, occupation and employer. Findings Eight (18%) of the 44 study participants interviewed admitted to engaging in suicidal thoughts for the first time after arriving in the UAE. The findings suggest that for low-wage migrants working in certain socio-environmental contexts, the religious, gendered or other cultural or group characteristics or patterns that may be predictors of suicide in migrants’ country of origin may become secondary or possibly even irrelevant when one is forced to survive under conditions that by most objective standards would be deemed not only oppressive but extremely exploitative and abusive. Originality/value This study contributes to understandings of how the emotional and psychological well-being of temporary foreign low-wage migrant workers can be impacted by the socio-environmental context of the host country. It is a first step in understanding the intimate thoughts of low-wage migrant workers on the topic of suicidality, furthering our understanding of suicidal ideation and the factors that can contribute to it.

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