African Population Studies (UAPS) / Etude de la Population Africaine (UEPA)
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De la Sensibilisation des Populations à la Gestion de l’Environnement Urbain dans les Quartiers Précaires De la Ville d’Abidjan
Get PDFLa prolifération des quartiers précaires dans la ville d’Abidjan qui résulte d’une urbanisation rapide et non maîtrisée est un réel problème pour les pouvoirs publics et pour l’ensemble de la société ivoirienne. Cette situation ne surprend guère dans la mesure où la ville d’Abidjan est apparue depuis les années 1970 comme une véritable capitale cosmopolite de la sous région. Elle résulte du développement de l’industrie, du commerce et des autres secteurs d’activité qui se concentrent dans la région d’Abidjan. La crise économique que connaît le pays, et son corollaire qu’est la paupérisation des couches les plus vulnérables de la population urbaine, posent le problème de la gestion des quartiers précaires dont le nombre ne cesse de croître au fil des années. La densification des populations dans ces types de quartiers sans commodités provoque des problèmes de santé liés justement à la dégradation de l’environnement. Les populations de ces quartiers- généralement démuniesont peu d’information sur la gestion de l’environnement urbain, de sorte que celles-ci s’intéressent peu à la gestion de leur cadre de vie. Il n’existe, à l’heure actuelle en Côte d’Ivoire, aucune action systématisée et coordonnée en matière d’information et de sensibilisation environnementale (SISSOKO Alain, 1993). La sensibilisation des populations est encore insuffisante. Le présent article tente de montrer les insuffisances dans ce domaine
The provision of emergency contraceptives in private sector pharmacies in urban Kenya: Experiences of mystery clients
Get PDFThis paper presents the results of an assessment of the provision of emergency contraceptives (EC) in private pharmacies in Nairobi, Kenya. Trained female mystery clients (MCs) made a total of 103 visits to 20 randomly selected pharmacies and presented accounts of their experiences. The results show that: 1) some providers insist on doctors’ prescriptions before they can dispense EC; 2) there are variations among providers on the recommended dosage and possible side-effects of EC pills; 3) MCs presenting as inexperienced clients were significantly more likely to be given additional information on EC than the experienced ones; 4) there was no significant difference in the provision of additional reproductive health (RH) information/services by the scenario presented. This suggests the need for: 1) provider training and/or updates on EC to enhance their capacity to offer additional RH information/services; 2) sensitizing EC clients on the importance of obtaining additional RH information/services from providers
The Mortality Situation in Cameroun
Get PDFIn this article, we examine the mortality situation in Cameroon in relation to other countries of the sub-continent. Evidence for the overall childhood mortality rate suggests that 13 percent of the newborn babies are expected to die before their fifth birthday, a decline of 6 percent points from the 1978 value. This, compared to other Sub-Saharan African countries, appears to be moderate but is very high by other developing countries' or world's standard. In fact, the decline has not yet reached a reasonable minimum that could suggest noticeable improvement in the health status of the population at both macro and micro levels. The adult mortality situation on the other hand is very high even by Sub-Saharan African standards. About 35 percent of those who survive childhood hazards up to age 15 are not expected to celebrate their 60th anniversary compared to barely 20 percent for some other countries of the sub-continent. Even when compared to the childhood mortality situation, Cameroon is a country with very poor health for adults. It appears that children in Cameroon have benefitted more than adults from the reduction of overall mortality to a "moderate" level. Consequently, as year 2000 approaches it is clear that Cameroon is still far from attaining the goal of "Health for All" and it is becoming very uncertain whether the target will be attained. As the results suggest, not only is there need for greater efforts to improve the survival of children in the country, but in addition, it is also necessary to institute strategies to maintain their health when they survive childhood
Working Life Tables for South Africa, 1996-2001
Get PDFThis paper presents the results of the construction of a working life tables for males and females in South Africa using the 1996 and 2001 population censuses. The main objective of the paper is to illustrate the use of life table analysis in the examination of the labour force using South African data. The study indicates that based on the 1996 census a South African male who survives to age 15 is expected to live 40.9 years, out of which 35.3 years are expected to be spent in active status and the remaining 5.3 years in inactive years. Similar values for South African females are 49.9 years, 37.9 years and 12 years, respectively. Using 2001 census the study indicates that a South African male who survives to age 15 was expected to live 43.9 years of which 36 years will be in active and 8 years will be inactive whereas a South African female was expected to live 50 years of which 34 years will be active and 16 years will be inactive. It was estimated that out of the total number of males who left the working population in 1996, 50 percent left because of death and another 50 percent left for other reasons other than death. The corresponding figures for females are 28 percent and 62 percent respectively. In 2001, 64 percent of the males left the labour force due to deaths whereas 36 percent left due to other causes. Similar figures for females are 45 percent and 55 percent respectively. These figures suggest an increased proportion of men and women are leaving the labour force due to deaths. This means that mortality takes a heavy toll of the seemingly short economically active life. Probably, this is a reflection of the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS on the working population
Social capital, civic engagement, and self-rated health in Ghana
Get PDFThis study uses data from southern Ghana to examine whether higher stocks of social capital through participation in civic groups matter for self-rated health. Drawing on social capital, the influence of social support, informal social control, direct participation in and reproductive health discussions within voluntary associations on self-rated health and reporting illnesses in the last six months prior to the survey are investigated. The findings show that social support and encouragement to use family planning significantly predict self-rated better health while informal social control and direct participation does not. Also, it is detected that while social control is associated with the likelihood of reporting illnesses within the last six months; direct participation in voluntary groups has the opposite effect. Lastly, women had lower predicted probabilities of self-rated better health and higher probabilities of reporting illnesses in the last six months than men. The findings are discussed in context of the nuanced role of social capital on health and their implications for health promotion programs in resource constrained settings
Trend and correlates of contraceptive use in rural and urban Ethiopia: is there a link to the health extension programme?
Get PDFWhen international funders shifted funding priorities from family planning to HIV/AIDS in themid-1990s, most family planning programmes in Africa faced serious challenges. The government of Ethiopia took a creative route of establishing the Health Extension Programme (HEP) in 2004 that provides health care services including family planning and integrated population issues into the school curricula besides promulgating contraceptive use as a right for any women of reproductive age. This study aims at analysing the correlates of contraceptive use in rural and urban Ethiopia using the Demographic and Health Survey data of 2000, 2005 and 2011. Data were analysed using tabular and graphical methods, and a binary logistic regression model was fitted to identify factors associated with contraceptive use. Findings of the study reveal that contraceptive uptake, particularly injectable, has increased markedly in the rural areas as a result of the implementation of the HEP despite regional variations in the level of commitment to the family planning package. Other African countries need to emulate such an initiative but ensuring equal commitment throughout the nation to overcome any possible outrages
Influence of User Fees on Contraceptive Use in Malawi
No full textThe introduction of cost-sharing strategies such as user-fees for health care in developing countries has received increasing attention due to declining government expenditure on health and reduced donor funding. Many governments of developing countries face the dilemma of introducing fees for family planning services while maintaining contraceptive prevalence rates. This study conducted 16 focus group discussions with poor communities in urban and rural areas of Malawi, to identify their views on the affordability of contraception and the perceived effects of user fees on their contraceptive use. The results show that amongst poor communities the long term health benefits of contraception are considered to be greater than a marginal increase in the cost of methods. An increase in the cost of temporary methods was seen as bearable, while financing permanent methods was seen as more problematic. The introduction of user-fees for family planning at government facilities would need to be accompanied by an increase in the quality of services provided to be acceptable. Those most likely to be affected by user fees are rural residents, for whom targeted assistance may be required to maintain contraceptive use. The introduction of user-fees with a subsidized treatment option was the most feasible strategy. However, the difficulties in determining eligibility for the subsidies are a critical issue. Results highlighted that the application of broader eligibility criteria are needed to account for social and non-monetary indicators of poverty in conjunction with economic indicators.
Risk perception for HIV/AIDS infection among premarital sexually initiated youth in Nigeria
Get PDFThis paper examines perception of risk of HIV/AIDS infection among 1,308 premarital sexually initiated youth aged 15-24, with data from the 1999 and 2003 Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys. Building on the importance of the behavioral approach in a successful effort to limit HIV/AIDS transmission and evidence that subjective perception of one’s own risk of infection is an important correlate of individual adoption of risk-reduction strategies, the study finds significant levels of discordance between risk perception and corresponding sexual behavior. The emanating challenge is identifying and understanding ways to accurately assess personalized and generalized risks, in order to achieve alignment of risk perception with actual sexual behavior. Following propositions that behavioral change in response to HIV/AIDS should in part be the consequence of a sense of personal vulnerability to infection, key interventions in Nigeria need to include an aggressive educational approach to address risk denial about HIV/AIDS emanating from misperceptions and rationalizations
