JICA Research Institute Repository / リポジトリ
Not a member yet
485 research outputs found
Sort by
Transformative Innovation for International Development: Operationalizing Innovation Ecosystems and Smart Cities for Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction
Get PDFboo
Case Study on Afghanistan: Strengthening the Afghanistan National Police: Recruitment and Retention of Women officers
Get PDFarticl
Embracing Human Security: New Directions of Japan’s ODA for the 21st Century
Get PDFIn today’s world, communities and individuals are exposed to old and new threats such as civil wars, terrorism, natural disasters, infectious diseases, economic downturns, climate change and famines. Human security is an idea and an approach developed to address the pressing needs and moral imperatives arising from those insecurities faced by all humankind. The idea urges to secure fundamental freedoms for everyone, i.e., freedom from fear, freedom from want, and freedom to live in dignity, by combining top-down protection and bottom-up empowerment. While the importance of such an idea has been increasingly discussed since its emergence in the mid-1990s, the ways to operationalize it in practice remain a contested matter. In particular, the practice of Japan’s ODA has received less attention despite Japan being the only government fully committed to the promotion of human security, with ODA as its major tool since 2003. Aiming to inform practice in coming decades, this paper explores the ways how to operationalize the idea, by following the recent history of Japan’s ODA activities related to human security. After briefly recounting the connection between Japan’s ODA and the idea of human security at the policy level, we trace the evolution of its practice, mainly focusing on bilateral contributions by JICA, in the four emblematic areas linked to human security: natural disasters, climate change, infectious diseases and violent conflict. Our examination reveals that Japan’s ODA practice has, in general, been evolving in a way that resonates with the idea of human security. In order to consolidate this trend and to further operationalize human security, however, there still remains much to be done. We have identified three significant directions that can be taken to further operationalize human security: emphasizing prevention, realizing seamless assistance, and caring for the most vulnerable.research repor
Continuum of Care in a Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Program in Ghana: Low Completion Rate and Multiple Obstacle Factors
Get PDFBackground
Slow progress has been made in achieving the Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 in
Ghana. Ensuring continuum of care (at least four antenatal visits; skilled birth attendance;
postnatal care within 48 hours, at two weeks, and six weeks) for mother and newborn is crucial
in helping Ghana achieve these goals and beyond. This study examined the levels and
factors associated with continuum of care (CoC) completion among Ghanaian women aged
15–49.
Methods
A retrospective cross-sectional survey was conducted among women who experienced live
births between January 2011 and April 2013 in three regions of Ghana. In a two-stage random
sampling method, 1,500 women with infants were selected and interviewed about
maternal and newborn service usage in line with CoC. Multiple logistic regression models
were used to assess factors associated with CoC completion.
Results
Only 8.0% had CoC completion; the greatest gap and contributor to the low CoC was
detected between delivery and postnatal care within 48 hours postpartum. About 95% of women had a minimum of four antenatal visits and postnatal care at six weeks postpartum.
A total of 75% had skilled assisted delivery and 25% received postnatal care within 48
hours. Factors associated with CoC completion at 95% CI were geographical location
(OR = 0.35, CI 0.13–0.39), marital status (OR = 0.45; CI 0.22–0.95), education (OR = 2.71;
CI 1.11–6.57), transportation (OR = 1.97; CI 1.07–3.62), and beliefs about childhood illnesses
(OR = 0.34; CI0.21–0.61).
Conclusion
The continuum of care completion rate is low in the study site. Efforts should focus on
increasing postnatal care within 48 hours and overcoming the known obstacles to increasing
the continuum of care completion rate.
Introductionjournal articl
The Effect of Disability and Gender on Returns to the Investment in Education: A Case from Metro Manilla of the Philippines
Get PDFIn this paper, we investigate the effect of gender on returns to the investment in education for men and women with disabilities in Metro Manila of the Philippines. By using a unique dataset of persons with hearing, physical and visual impairments, we employ three methodological strategies on earning functions, including continuous and discontinuous functions and quantile regression to reveal the effects of gender within disabilities. Our estimation suggests that women with disabilities face several disadvantages in the labor markets of the Philippines where gender equality in general is observed for women without disabilities. After controlling for a sample selection to account for endogenous labor participation, as well as endogeneity of schooling decisions, the estimated rate of returns to education is very high, ranging from 24.9 to 38.4%. However, when classifying each disability dummy variable for each gender, the effect of double disadvantage (gender and disability) is observable. Additionally, checking the possibility of nonlinear schooling returns, we also find that the effect of disability for women is more severe than for their male counterparts. From these findings, we cannot reject the possibility that obtaining a diploma serves signaling as their ability level for women with disabilities.research repor
A Verification of Alternative Assessment using Principal Component Analysis based on Case Studies of the Japan International Cooperation Agency
Get PDFPrior research suggested that principal component analysis was effective as an
alternative assessment technique in terms of clarity of reasons for selecting the most suitable
option, low arbitrariness, verification of analysis results and easiness of technique. This study
aimed to apply this analysis to the 15 cases of alternative assessment that the Japan
International Cooperation Agency prepared, in order to verify the adequacy of a regular
assessment methodology. Some options selected were the same as options selected by regular
techniques and other options were different. The reasons would be criteria setting with a high
correlation, arbitrary weighting and evaluation, and summation using scores not normalized.
The principal component analysis could deal with the above-mentioned problems and be a
recommended alternative assessment technique and a preferable number of alternatives and
criteria could be six and ten at the minimum. Finally, this paper proposed to use this analysis
as a second assessment technique to verify the result of an alternative analysis with
summation using normalized scores. Further case studies are required to find an appropriate
alternative assessment methodology including public involvement and establishing correct
criteria and right alternatives.journal articl
The Impact of Training on Technology Adoption and Productivity of Rice Farming in Tanzania: Is Farmer-to-Farmer Extension Effective?
Get PDFHow far can new technologies taught to a small number of selected farmers diffuse to other farmers in a village? In order to answer this question, this paper investigates the impact of JICA training on the adoption of rice cultivation technologies and productivity in an irrigation scheme in Tanzania. By using a unique five-year panel data set and spatial econometric techniques, we found that non-trained farmers learned new technologies from trained farmers through social networks and by observing their plots. As a result, the paddy yield of directly trained farmers increased from 3.1 tons per hectare in 2008 to 4.7 tons per hectare in 2012, while that of non-trained farmers increased from around 2.6 tons per hectare in 2008 to 3.7 tons per hectare in 2012.research repor
Human Security in Practice: The Philippine Experience(s) from the Perspective of Different Stakeholders
Get PDFThis paper explores how human security is viewed in the Philippines. The research collects and maps out perspectives and interpretations of human security among key stakeholders in the Philippines, namely academics, government officials and agencies, civil society groups, and local communities. The research methods employed are: review of academic literature, relevant policy documents, position papers, etc.; face-to-face or online interviews with different stakeholders; and focus group discussions with some local communities. The following are the major questions: (1) How do stakeholders and their institutions understand human security as a concept? (2) What are the different threats or risks to human security in the Philippines and the region? How can these be addressed or are these already being addressed? Who can address these risks and threats? (3) Has the concept of human security been mainstreamed in government and society? What are the future prospects of promoting the practice of human security in the country? Based on the study, there is an acknowledgement among different sectors in the Philippines of the importance of the human security concept, despite diverse understanding across sectors, in dealing with various threats and vulnerabilities faced by various groups in the Philippines. However, the concept itself needs further clarification and contextualization in the local setting to be better understood and used by a larger group of people. Currently, the concept is used by a limited group of people, mostly academics and some civil society groups. While there should be efforts to further clarify the concept, there should be efforts as well to make it understandable to more people, particularly those vulnerable to security threats and risks.research repor
The Benefits of Unification Failure: Re-examining the Evolution of Economic Cooperation in Japan
Get PDFWhy do some countries employ a single ministry to administer all foreign aid activities while others have a number of different ministries to manage their aid programs? This question should interest not just the historians of foreign aid, but also those engaged in contemporary policy. Additionally, it has a strong bearing on the rise of emerging donors, as many of the new donors are also at the stage of forming bureaucracies for giving aid.While Japan has been relatively successful in integrating agencies at the implementation level (e.g., the establishment of new JICA in 2008), centralization at the ministerial level is lagging far behind and decision making is confusingly multi-centric. The 2003 DAC (Development Assistance Committee) peer review of Japan highlighted that “Japan’s aid system remains one of the most dispersed and complex among DAC members, which presents clear challenges for co-ordination.” Having multi-centric bodies making decisions about the use of the ODA (Official Development Assistance) has repeatedly been criticized, both domestically and internationally, as inefficient and ineffective. I argue that the inability of the government to unify its administrative system should not be seen as sheer failure. The very continuation of such failure for the past 60 years should also be viewed as achieving something successfully, if unintended: the involvement of a wide range of constituents from the private sectors, and preparing more broad-based Japanese economic cooperation. Like in the assessment of any other policy, the costs and benefits of administrative unity should be carefully weighed. I would further claim that quasi-governmental corporations, which functioned as a mediator between ODA related ministries and the private sectors, played a significant role in expanding the constituents of economic cooperation within Japan. In the field of economic cooperation, only the costs of a dispersed system have been pinpointed without due attention being given to its potential benefits.research repor
Human Security in Practice: The Case of South Korea
Get PDFSouth Korea is one of the newest members to join the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee, and its ascendance was touted as an exemplary case of a recipient-turned-donor, which is a rarity in world history. In particular, South Korea’s rise to an advanced industrialized nation came in the aftermath of the Korean War, and thus, there was interest in whether South Korea would embrace the notion of “human security” in its development cooperation through its official development assistance (ODA). This paper identified key stakeholders in the ODA community of South Korea including various government ministries, aid implementing agencies, civil society organizations, international organizations, and academia. Official documents of the government and research publications of academic representatives were examined to see whether the term “human security” was explicitly used, and if not, whether the term was implicitly used. The review of documents was supplemented with a small number of interviews. The results of the study showed that while the South Korean government does not explicitly use the term “human security,” it has embraced the 3 components of human security –namely, freedom from fear, freedom from want, and freedom to live in dignity – as well as 2 approaches to human security – protection and empowerment– in its ODA policies. On the other hand, while South Korea has fully embraced the concept of human security in its ODA policies, it is not clear whether it has been fully implemented in ODA activities. We believe that further research is needed in the ODA implementation sites to examine whether human security is implemented, going beyond reference in the official documents in South Korea. One final observation is that the term “human security” has been explicitly used by President Geun-hye Park and Minister Yoon of the MOFA in their speeches. It would be interesting to follow up to see whether the use of the term by these two key figures would lead to the explicit use of the term “human security” in official documents, and as a key strategy of South Korea’s ODA in the near future.research repor