African Population Studies (UAPS) / Etude de la Population Africaine (UEPA)
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Demographic dynamics, governance and the attainment of democratic development: The case of Nigeria
No full textThe treatise on demography, democratic governance and development issue is an inclusive one that emphasizes the need to create a social world for promoting people’s quality of life. Today, the measurement of development as succinctly depicted by the 2000 to 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Human Development Index (HDI) goes beyond the use of economic growth, per capita income, to include how the benefits of that growth and income is widely distributed to expand the people’s choice and capability to raise levels of living and enhance material well-being. The paper opines that the challenge of development in Nigeria is not its population size and/or resource endowments, but poor resource management and politicization of development agendas by the ‘leadership’ and its inability to holistically incorporate population issues and dynamics such as reproductive healthcare, education and employment creation in its development strategies targeted at poverty reduction. As an exploratory study, the paper utilized secondary sources of data collection which include materials from international development institutions such as the UNDP, World Bank, government reports, journals and textbooks in gathering information for the study. The data was examined using the political economy theory of development, the elite theory and content analysis tool to establish the connection among population, development and democratic governance. The paper’s discussion and findings indicate that the political leaders and policy makers have consistently failed to generate and adopt valid/reliable demographic data upon which appropriate policy interventions are framed to address human centred development objectives. The paper showed that Nigeria’s socio-econommic development policies are not all inclusive, just, equitable, pro-poor, and one that empower the people with human centred rights to access basic life sustaining goods such as food, shelter, protection, health, and better education that will enhance their material well-being and self esteem. The paper conclude with the statement that the leadership must exercise the political will to invest massively in human capital development for Nigeria to achieve the status of a democratic developmental state and deliver the benefits of demographic dividend.
A Baseline Analysis of the Katanga Slums: Informing Urban Public Policy In Kampala, Uganda
No full textContext/Background: Although almost 25 percent of Ugandans live under the national poverty line, little is known about the residents of the Kampala slums, especially pertaining to how conditions compare to other global baselines and how existing conditions affect public policy and service delivery.Methods: To better understand these conditions, this baseline analysis evaluates a pilot study and three years of cumulative data, involving 452 records from the Katanga slums collected from 2012 to 2015. The data draw from a representative sample of residents and offer an overview of residents’ conditions. The analysis evaluates access to health care, access to electricity, access to technology/cell phones, and educational levels to determine how people living in the Katanga slums compare to the global literature.Results: 78.6 percent report having access to a doctor, 62.4 percent report having access to food, and 87.4 percent report having access to clean water. Subjects resided in the slums on average for eight years with 46 percent immigrating from rural villages to Kampala. Household sizes were between 4-5 persons and respondents reported higher than expected rates of health care access and higher than expected rates of primary and secondary education. Among conditions in the community, respondents reported food security (9.6 percent), money (20.6 percent), theft (8.2 percent), and access to medication (8.2 percent) as daily challenges. Over two-thirds of the respondents reported access to cell phone technology and 70 percent having access to some form of electricity. Conclusion: The results are useful as a way to inform public policy and guide service delivery from public and nonprofit providers working with people in the slums to more strategically and efficiently target their resources and interventions. More importantly, this study speaks to the importance of establishing baseline studies in other similar settings as a way to gauge impact of public health and community development programs and to better understand and target the needs of people living in slum conditions. This research also sets the stage for more informed and sophisticated analysis of the Katanga slum
Dynamics of communicable diseases mortality in South Africa, 2000-2013
No full textContext/Background: Communicable diseases dominate non-communicable diseases as causes of death in Africa. However, knowledge about their dynamics in the region is limited. This study examines the dynamics of communicable diseases mortality during the period 2000-2013 in South Africa. Data Sources and Methods: The data consisted of death records from South Africa’s death registration system utilizing International Classification of Diseases Revision 10 codes. The estimates included computing age standardized death rates and logistic regression of factors associated with communicable diseases deaths. Results: Communicable diseases’ deaths contributed at least a third to total deaths in South Africa in 2013.Conclusion: Despite the roll out of free anti-retroviral therapy in public health facilities since 2004 and contrary to what some other researchers have argued, death rates from HIV/AIDS as underlying cause of death, increased during the period 2000-2013
Family demography in sub-saharan Africa: A systematic review of family research
No full textBackground Families in Africa have been undergoing changes recently. The objective of the study was to review published literature on the types, determinants and consequences of family changes in Africa and highlight research gaps in the area.Methods Sixty-nine journals from 1976 to date that were downloaded from databases such as Pub Med, JStor, Google Scholar and Science Direct, and were systematically reviewed.Results There is family transition in Africa due to socio-economic factors, religious, health and political changes. Seventy-two percent of the studies employed a quantitative approach, 20% qualitative and 7% mixed method approach. There are research gaps on topics such as same–sex marriages, cohabitation and father only households.Conclusion Families in Africa are responding to socio-economic and other changes that are happening around them. Family research is still under studied in Africa. There is need for more mixed method studies that explain the quantitative findings
Does religion affect alcohol and tobacco use among students at North-West University, South Africa?
No full textThe present study used multidimensional measures of religion to assess religion’s influence in engendering positive behaviours as measured by alcohol and tobacco use among a sample of undergraduate students at the North-West University in South Africa. Multinomial logistic regression model was used to examine the effect of religion on youth alcohol and tobacco use. Zero-order correlations showed that measures of religion not only correlated positively with each other, but they correlated negatively with both current use of alcohol and tobacco. Religious affiliation was insignificant, but self-rated religiosity was positively associated with drinking among females who reported that they always drink alcohol, frequency of church attendance increased the odds of drinking among females who reported that they never drink compared to those who reported that they drink occasionally. Social class, as measured by father’s education was negatively associated with both alcohol and tobacco use. On the whole, religious commitment continues to act as the protective factor against these two anti-social behaviours of the youth
Determinants of under-five mortality clustering in a health and demographic surveillance system in Zamfara State, northern Nigeria
No full textDespite global reduction, under-5 mortality remains high in most developing countries and tends to cluster among certain individuals, households and communities. We assess levels and factors influencing under-5 mortality clustering in a rural setting in northern Nigeria. Data were collected from January 2011 to December 2013 at Nahuche Health and Demographic Surveillance System. Binomial distribution and Poisson regression model were used to assess family level clustering and factors associated with under-5 mortality clustering. Results show that there was under-5 mortality clustering, with 5% of the compounds accounting for 35% of all deaths. Surviving beyond infancy was associated with reduced incidence rate of under-5 mortality clustering (p<0.05). Child’s age, source of drinking water and type of provider at delivery during the most recent birth (p<0.05) influenced under-5 mortality clustering. Findings call for evidence-based policies to reduce under-5 mortality
Trends and determinants of female age at first marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa (1990-2014): What has changed?
No full textThe study analysed trends and determinants of female age at first marriage in Ghana, Kenya and Zambia using DHS datasets across defined survey horizons: 1990-1999, 2000-1999 and 2010-2014. The data analysis employed frequency distribution, cross tabulation and Cox proportional regression techniques. The results revealed female median age at first marriage as 17. The result showed a reduction in the proportion marrying at age ≤17 between 1990 and 2014 by 9.8% (Ghana), 6.2% (Kenya) and 7.2% (Zambia). Women with tertiary education and rich households had lower hazard ratio to marry at age ≤17 compared with those without education and from poor households (HR: 0.39, CI: 0.0.36-0.43) and (HR: 0.86, CI: 0.81-0.90) respectively. The study supports the use of child-marriage market model to heighten female age at first marriage through access to tertiary education. The boost in female education could be harnessed for sustainable development through provisions of job opportunities
Challenges for Urban Housing Development for Improving Livelihoods and Well-being of Population of Low-Income Group in Tanzania: The Case of Dar es Salaam
No full textDevelopment of housing is essential source of improved livelihoods and well-being of rapid population growth. Data collected from a sample population of 186 respondents and that gathered through documentary analysis revealed that urban housing in Dar es Salaam is facing a challenge in accumulation for the population to improve their livelihood and well-being. The challenge is attributed to low capability level of the population in taping financial resource from micro institutions to expand housing. The conclusion made in the paper is enhancing capability of the population in accessing finance form micro institutions is crucial for them to expand housing which is the main source for improving their livelihood and well-being. The following are suggested to enhance the capability of the population: There is a need to provide training to the population on the use of the NGOs to get housing finance and also encourage them to become members of SACCOS. These will enable to access finance from the institutions another policy consideration is that there is a need for the officials of the finance institutions to visit the population in order to identify their needs related to housing improvement. Also there is a need to raise accountability in institutions involved in supplying water, electricity and land so as the population can acquire the facilities adequately as part in the housing development
Ethical issues related to research on pregnant school-going teenagers in South Africa
No full textBackground: This paper describes the procedures the researcher followed in order to both observe and respect ethical issues when conducting research on pregnant teenagers attending secondary schools in South Africa.Data sources and methods: The paper draws on the literature to discuss pregnant school-attending teenagers as a vulnerable population and indicates the measures the author took to respect ethical issues.Findings: Pregnant school-going teenagers in South Africa are vulnerable as they are young, pregnant and under the authority of a school. Pregnancy amongst school-going teenagers is a public health issue that requires research in order to yield solutions and pregnant teenagers are important participants in such research as they have experiences and suggestions to share.Conclusion: Researchers should ensure that pregnant teenagers are given sufficient information about the research process so they can give informed voluntary consent to participate. Furthermore there should be justice, confidentiality, anonymity and beneficence throughout the research process
Household language, residential segregation and social mobility: continuity and change in eThekwini, South Africa
No full textThis article uses South African census data for 1996, 2001 and 2011 to explore the relationship between language and social mobility in the metropolitan region of eThekwini (including what was previously known as Durban). We focus particular attention on variables selected to shed light on residential segregation and social mobility, such as education level, income, race and in-migration. Data on adults at ward level (using 2011 ward boundaries) in eThekwini is used to develop a comparative spatial context for this analysis. Our main finding is that English appears in eThekwini to be the household language of the social elite as well as the language of upward mobility and empowerment