African Population Studies (UAPS) / Etude de la Population Africaine (UEPA)
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Explaining the persistence of racial gaps in schooling in South Africa
Get PDFThis paper analyses the large racial differences in progress through secondary school in South Africa using recently collected longitudinal data. Following the progress of students who were enrolled in Grades 8 and 9 in 2002 in the Cape Area Panel Study, we document large differences in the probability of grade advancement between white, coloured, and African youth. Probit regressions indicate that grade advancement between 2002 and 2005 is strongly associated with household income and with respondents’ scores on a baseline literacy and numeracy test. We fully explain the white and coloured advantage over Africans in progress through school when we control for baseline test scores, previous grades failed, and per capita household income. The results suggest that the early disadvantage of African secondary students is a major factor driving poor progress through secondary school, with continued racial gaps in grade progression contributing to persistent racial gaps in ultimate schooling attainment. These key results do not change when we re-estimate these equations separately by race and conduct our statistical tests across these equations or even when we conduct post-estimation counterfactual simulations or propensity score matching. As a final check we add a set of school specific factors to the probit regressions by race. These factors are not statistically significant in the models; their introduction only marginally reduces the importance of the baseline test scores and previous grades failed and they are not important in the counterfactual analysis. All in all the paper provides very strong evidence that knowledge accumulated by Grade 8 or 9 is a critical determinant of progress through secondary school and that the equalizing of secondary school quality is unlikely to eliminate racial gaps in grade progression without improvements at earlier grades
Population ageing in Ghana: A profile and emerging issues
Get PDFPopulation ageing in Ghana is a consequence of a gradual fertility decline which is also occurring in many sub-Saharan African countries. Data from the 2005/2006 Ghana Living Standards Survey show that the percentage of the elderly (persons aged 60 years and above) has increased from 4.9 in 1960 to 5.3 in 1970, 5.8 in 1984 and 7.2 in 2000. Median age has increased from 17 years in 1970 to 18.1 years in 1984 and 19.4 years in 2000, implying a 14.1 percentage increase in 30 years. Socio-economic indicators show that elderly females are more vulnerable and disadvantaged than their male counterparts due in part to low educational attainment resulting in low female participation in the formal sector with its attendant low remuneration and inadequate retirement package. One important emerging issue is the branding of elderly females as witches and subjecting them to abuse and torture in certain parts of the country. This harmful practice infringes upon the human rights of these women and the government of Ghana should do well to abolish the witches’ camps. A large proportion of workers engaged in the informal sector of the economy do not contribute to the Social Security Scheme and this makes it extremely difficult for them to cater for their needs in old age particularly when the extended family is unable to provide support and care. The government of Ghana should make strenuous efforts to bridge the gap between producing a concise National Ageing Policy and its implementation
The vulnerability of older adults: what do census data say? An application to Uganda
Get PDFOlder adults are generally considered as being among the most vulnerable groups of the population. Yet, being over 55, 60 or 65 years old, does not necessarily mean being vulnerable in any way. Older adults are stakeholders in a social system in which they both receive and give. In Africa, where rapid population growth and economic changes have greatly transformed livelihoods in the past century, the social role of the older population has also undergone substantial change. Even in a context where their power is being eroded, older adults are often involved as providers until very late in life. In a situation where social security for pensioners is almost non-existent, elderly persons who need special care rely exclusively on their children or their social networks. According to their economic or family situation, the capability of older people to withstand difficulties is highly variable. In this context, we define in this paper two components of the vulnerability of older adults based on the structure of the household: structural and relational vulnerabilities. Then, using data from Uganda Population and Housing Censuses of 1991 and 2002, we measure the situations of vulnerability affecting older adults and possible changes that have taken place in this regard over the past two decades in this country. In Uganda older men and women are about equal in numbers. Men are less frequently in situations of vulnerability, however. Logically, the prevalence of vulnerability among older adults increases with age, but has not significantly changed from 1991 to 2002. Structural and relational vulnerability affect women much more frequently than men. Disability is more common among older adults in situations of structural vulnerability than among others, i.e. among older adults who live alone and have children in their care, which questions the capacity of family support systems to care for their members
Maternal and environmental factors influencing infant birth weight in Ibadan, Nigeria
Get PDFFetal weight at birth is a major determinant of survival, physical growth and mental development of an infant. About 14 percent of all births in Nigeria are born with low birth weight. Studies on birth weight in Nigeria have focused mainly on the biomedical risk factors and have largely ignored the influence the socio-cultural environment which encompasses maternal knowledge, beliefs, and practices during the prenatal period. With the premise that birth weight shows a reverse social gradient, this study examined the effects of maternal, sociocultural and environmental factors on the birth weight of infants in Ibadan. The research adopted a prospective survey design method involving multistage sampling procedure to select 1,138 pregnant women accessing antenatal care services from both orthodox and community health providers. The instrument comprised structured questionnaire, and secondary data were generated from the patients’ files retrieved from the antenatal care centres. The study identified a number of maternal, socioeconomic and environmental factors that significantly influence low birth weight and suggested actions that would help reduce the risk factors of low birth weight and promote care-seeking and demand for skilled care at all stages of pregnancy
The spatial distribution of health establishments in Nigeria
Get PDFThe crisis in the health sector of Nigerian economy has been very obvious since the last decade. Unfortunately, no appreciable progress has been made in addressing the crisis and ensuring good health for the populace. One of the myriads of problems facing the Nigerian health system is llimited access to health facilities. The distortions in the Nigerian health sector arising from both vertical and horizontal inequalities have negative implications for the health care delivery system and in meeting the health related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Since health is wealth, and like a vicious cycle, the crisis in the health sector will depress the economy and thereby causing further widening inequalities in the system. This paper, therefore, examines the spatial distribution of health establishments in Nigeria with a view to ascertaining whether there is any imbalance. Using the 2007 National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) survey of health establishment in Nigeria and the 2006 population census data, spatial statistical techniques were applied to the data. The Geographic Information System (GIS) software was used for data analysis. The results indicate that there are large inequalities in health care provision across the state, relative to the population size. The policy implication of this paper is that any effort aimed at improving the efficiency of the health care delivery system in Nigeria should ensure that health facilities are established relative to the structure of the population
Rural-to-urban migration, kinship networks, and fertility among the Igbo in Nigeria
Get PDFLike many African rural-to-urban migrants, Igbo-speaking migrants to cities in Nigeria maintain close ties to their places of origin. ‘Home people’ constitute a vital core of most migrants’ social networks. The institution of kinship enables migrants to negotiate Nigeria’s clientelistic political economy. In this context, dichotomous distinctions between rural and urban can be inappropriate analytical concepts because kinship obligations and community ties that extend across rural and urban space create a continuous social field. This paper presents ethnographic data to suggest that fertility behavior in contemporary Igbo-speaking Nigeria cannot be understood without taking into account the ways in which rural and urban social and demographic regimes are mutually implicated and dialectically constituted (anthropological demography; migration; kinship; reproductive behavior; Nigeria
Estimating adult mortality in Zambia using information on survival of parents from surveys
Get PDFThe aim of this study is to derive estimates of level of and trend in adult mortality in Zambia. To do this the study applies the standard orphanhood method to the data on survivorship of parents from various Zambia Demographic and Health and Living Conditions Monitoring Surveys to estimate 10q25 and 15q25 for females; and 10q35 for males, and hence, the probability of a 15 year old dying before age 60 (45q15). The study finds that the orphanhood method captures some of the trend but fails to provide definitive estimates of mortality. The levels of female adult mortality between ages 25 and 35 years have remained constant at about 15 per cent from the mid-1990s. The female mortality rate between ages 25 and 40 years has also remained constant, at between 20 per cent and 25 per cent since 2000. Adult male mortality between ages 35 and 45 years increased in the mid-1990s and has remained between 20 per cent and 25 per cent from the late 1990s to late 2000s. Adult mortality, 45q15, for both males and females, has increased over time and has stabilised at about 60 per cent for males and 50 per cent for females. These adult mortality rates are comparable to estimates from other sources
The demographic bonus: How prepared is Africa for the gains?
Get PDFThis paper examines the prospects of Africa’s changing age structure in favor of a temporary surge in the proportion of the working age population and the possibility of benefitting from the implied human endowment via appropriate development strategies a la South-East Asia. An attempt to gauge the preparedness of sub-Saharan African countries in order to take advantage of the incipient demographic bonus, using South-East Asia as the platform of best practices, shows that sub-Saharan Africa must, on the average, grow the GDP to a higher level, reduce both public and private consumption expenditure in order to save and deepen more her investments in education at all levels and also enhance private spending on health. Besides, intra-African comparisons on the development efforts towards the attainment of the MDGs shows that a lot of sub-Saharan African countries are too slow to adapt to the changing age structure with appropriate social and human capital development policies and programs. Other important variables required, from the South-East Asian experience, are more investments in physical infrastructures, services and industrial production which are essential for employment generation in the economy
Household HIV/AIDS status and sexual debut among adolescents in Kenya
Get PDFAdolescents in households affected by HIV/AIDS may be at an increased risk of poorer reproductive health than other adolescents due to the impoverishing effects of AIDS in households or lack of parental guidance. In this paper, we examine the effect of parents’ HIV status on adolescent sexual and reproductive health, focusing on early sexual debut among adolescents in Kenya. The analysis places particular emphasis on comparisons of the relative disadvantage of different groups of adolescents aged 15-17 years, with particular reference to those living in households where an adult is infected with HIV. The data come from the 2003 and 2008 Kenya Demographic and Health Surveys (KDHS). The results suggest increased vulnerability among adolescent boys and girls living in households where an adult is infected with HIV, especially when other household factors are controlled for. On average, adolescent boys and girls living in households where at least one adult is infected with HIV have about 50% higher odds of having initiated sexual activity compared to their counterparts of similar age and gender in households where no adult is HIV positive. The odds are more than 60% higher when household characteristics and circumstances relating to wealth, household head and living arrangements are controlled for. Further analysis reveals that the observed vulnerability among adolescents living in households with HIV infected adults is partly explained by background factors relating to region of residence and ethnicity and to a lesser extent by school non-attendance and mass media exposure
A comparative evaluation of the impact ofpopulation and wealth distribution on theenvironment of West Africa
Get PDFThe debate on the relationship between population, wealth and environment has been a contentious one. In West Africa, variations exist across countries within the sub-region with regard to population size, population density, wealth distribution, and environmental stress albeit in hitherto undefined magnitude. This work is, therefore, an attempt at examining the magnitude of linkages between the variations in population, wealth and environmental stress. Findings of the study reveal disparities in the linkages between population density, wealth distribution and environmental stress across the sub-region. Based on the magnitude of environmental stress estimated from the analysis, countries of the study area are broadly grouped into areas with low, medium and high environmental stress. Consequently, this work suggests the application of country-specific measures in the quest of the sub-region to achieve sustainable development and meet up with the targets of the millennium development goals.Resume: Le dèbat portant sur le lien qui existe entre la population, les biens et, l’envionnement s’est avéré interminable. En Afrique de L’Ouest, des variations existent à travers les pays de la sous-région en matière de la taille de la population, la densité de la population, la distribution des biens, et la pression environnementale dont leurs dimensions restent non–spécifiées. Cette recherché constitue donc une tentative de scrutin de la magnitude des liaisons entre la densité de la population, la distribution des biens et la pression environnementale. Les conclusions de cette recherche révèle des inégalités de la dénsité des populations, de la distribution des biens, et de la pression environnementale à travers la sous-région. Sous la base de la magnitude de la pression environnementale révélée par l’analyse, les pays considérés dans cette recherche sont largement regroupés en trois zones de pression environnementale: basse, moyenne et élevée. Par conséquent, cette recherche propose la mise en oeuvre des mesures basées sur les spécificités de chaque pays de la sous-région dans le but d’avoir un développement durable et d’atteindre les objectifs millinaires du développement.Mots-clés: Environnement; population; pression; biens; Afrique de I’Ouest