African Population Studies (UAPS) / Etude de la Population Africaine (UEPA)
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Statistical coherence of primary schooling in population census microdata: IPUMS-International integrated samples compared for fifteen African countries
Get PDFThe IPUMS-International project, now in its fifteenth year, integrates and disseminates population microdata for twenty-two African countries (82 countries world-wide) and the number continues to increase as more National Statistical Offices cooperate with the initiative. Statistical quality is a serious concern both for the producers of the microdata as well as the researchers who use them. This paper applies the intra-cohort comparison method to pairs of integrated (harmonized) samples for fifteen African countries to assess statistical coherence using as a benchmark the proportion completing primary school by single years of birth. Samples for six countries show near perfect coherence (R2 > .9, and regression coefficients ~1.0 +/- <0.08). For a second group of five countries, coefficients are only slightly larger (R2 > 0.6 <0.9). Large deviations from 1.0 characterize samples for only four countries. On the whole, the results suggest that samples for the fifteen countries have considerable utility for socio-demographic analysis
Analysis of demographic and health survey to measure poverty of household in Rwanda
Get PDFThe use of the asset index in poverty targeting is a modern technique. We used the principal component analysis (PCA) technique in order to create the asset index. Then the asset index was used to assess the socio-economic status (SES) of households. The reliability of the index was tested firstly by ascertaining whether the index was internally coherent, secondly the robustness was tested using the sub-indices such as housing infrastructure and ownership. The methodology is applied and demonstrated using the household survey data in Rwanda. The Rwanda data analysis showed that the age of household head, education level of the household head, gender of the household head, place of residence, the province of household head and size of the household (number of household members) were the significant predictors of poverty of the household in Rwand
Leveraging mobile technology to reduce barriers to maternal, newborn and child health care: a contribution to the evidence base
Get PDFWomen’s Autonomy in Ghana: Does Religion Matter?
Get PDFThis paper examines the role of religion in women’s autonomy in Ghana. The study uses data from the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, with an analytic sample of 1,424 women married to men of the same religious affiliation. The results indicate that the effect of religion on women's autonomy is non-existent. The results show that, Muslim women are as autonomous as Christian women once region and other socio-demographic factors are controlled. Contrary to expectation, women in northern Ghana, who are disadvantaged in terms of education, economic status among others, appear to be more autonomous in some domains of household decision-making than women in southern Ghana, a setting which is more developed and expected to be egalitarian. Majority of Ghanaian women appear to be autonomous across various domains of their lives; however, they largely participate as opposed to solely making decisions
Adequacy of Technical Facilities for Maternal Health Care Delivery in Public Secondary and Tertiary Facilities in Osun State, Nigeria
Get PDFNigeria has one of the highest maternal mortalities and morbidities in the world, and the need to address these challenges continues to engage the attention of relevant stakeholders but very little attention has focused on technological resources within the maternal health research agenda. This study aims to identify and determine the adequacy of the key equipment for emergency obstetric care (EmOC) services in public-sector secondary and tertiary health facilities in Osun State, Southwest, Nigeria. Using a two-stage probability sampling procedure, 7 health facilities based in 6 randomly selected Local government areas (LGAs) were involved in the study. Data were obtained through the use of primary and secondary sources. For primary sources, a questionnaire was administered to 112 health workers and the study also utilized a checklist for equipment inventory. For secondary sources we reviewed existing hospital records on technology acquisition and maintenance. Relevant descriptive and inferential statistics were used for the data analysis. Almost three-fifths (58.1%) of the health workers considered the technical facilities for the delivery of EmOC in their facilities as inadequate, the proportion of health workers with such opinion was significantly higher in secondary compare to tertiary facilities (60.0% vs 40.0%, p=0.003). The inventory review and use of the checklist also showed varying degree of inadequate technical facilities; none of the facilities had all the 26 equipment considered as essential for comprehensive EmOC in functional state. We concluded that the public sector facilities in Osun State have inadequate technical facilities for EmOC; addressing this technological challenge will be critical to improving maternal health outcomes and statistics in Nigeria
Where there is no phone: The benefits and limitations of using intermediaries to extend the reach of mHealth to individuals without personal phones in Malawi
Get PDFThe purpose of this study is to identify the benefits and limitations associated with intermediaries to provide access to and increase utilization of an mHealth intervention amongst people without personal phones in Balaka District, Malawi. A mixed-methods approach was utilized including quantitative data on usage and focus groups and interviews with users and volunteers. Community volunteers equipped with mobile phones served as intermediaries and were critical access points to the service for users without personal phones. However, there were challenges maintaining phones and solar panels, sustaining volunteer motivation and understanding how to use the service. While these strategies had a number of limitations, the majority of users (more than 65%) were individuals without a personal phone, who may not have been able to access the service otherwise. Further research is needed to better understand the resources, strategies and effort needed to sustain access through intermediaries in the long-term
Applying Human Rights-Based Approaches to Public Health: Lessons Learned from Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Programs
Get PDFThe application of human rights norms at the national policy level is largely codified, but rigorous research on the field-level application of a human rights based approach (HRBA) to health programs is still in its infancy. The paper identifies human rights norms from international law and standards that are relevant to maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) programs, and presents an example of how a HRBA has been previously applied in an MNCH project. It introduces a HRBA framework recently developed by Concern Worldwide and partners, and conducts a document analysis of a previous Concern Worldwide project in Malawi. Discussion focuses on where and how the project could have benefited from incorporation of a HRBA in project design, implementation and evaluation. The authors conclude by discussing how such inclusion could have impacted project outcomes, and how such analysis can help inform future efforts to implement a HRBA to health
Assessing the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals in Southern Africa
Get PDFThe Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were put forward in early 2000 and the targets are to be reached in 2015. They are an inclusive set of well- defined goals that primarily seek to put development at the forefront of national agendas by persuading governments to commit resources to address socio-economic backlogs in their respective countries. Many reports have been produced on progress with The Millennium Development Goals but certain methodologies do not accurately reflect individual country’s progress. Governments need adequate information about their country’s performance. In this article, the performance of Southern African countries is analyzed separately. Time series data sourced from the United Nations data base were used to estimate parameters. The results suggest that of the six MDG goals examined, none of the Southern African countries is poised to achieve all six goals. At best, Botswana and Swaziland could achieve three of the goals
Support for Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) for HIV Prevention among Men and Women in Zimbabwe
Get PDFBackground: Medical male circumcision was introduced in Zimbabwe in 2009 as an additional HIV prevention method. This study sought to investigate support for the roll-out of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) and men’s willingness to get circumcised for HIV prevention. Data and Methods: Data for this study was collected from a randomly selected sample of 681 men and women in the age group 18-49 years in Harare, Zimbabwe. The obtained data was analysed using descriptive statistics, bivariate and regression analysis. Results and Conclusion: The results of the study suggest that knowledge and acceptability of VMMC is high. However, despite the relatively high knowledge and acceptability of VMMC, less than half of the male participants were willing to undergo circumcision for HIV prevention. The study concluded that there is anapparent gap between knowledge and acceptability of VMMC and men’s willingness to undergo circumcision for HIV prevention.
Ghana’s Population Policy Implementation: Past, Present and Future
Get PDFThe effective implementation of population policies is critical in addressing development challenges particularly for developing countries. Ghana’s experience at population policy implementation spans a period over four decades. There have been successes, failures and challenges as new issues which hitherto were non-existent at the inception of the policy, emerge in the course of implementation. This paper assesses Ghana’s efforts at implementing its national population policy and brings out deep insights on lessons learnt and makes proposals for the way forward. The assessment shows that while some successes have been achieved in the area of fertility transition, increasing life expectancy at birth, etc., there are still critical challenges which are socio cultural and political in character. Institutional structures for coordinating the implementation are undermined by poor resource in-flow from the state resulting in loss of trained human resources for effective implementation. The functional integration of population variables into development planning at the district level is consequently virtually non-existent. It is, therefore, just not enough to have a population policy as a document if the state does not attach the highest level of importance to population dynamics as a development planning priority in the country.