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Economic Development using an Enabling Environment for Contextualized Innovation: The Case of the "Poverty Reduction Project by Building-up the Innovation Environment Using FabLab", Bohol Province, The Philippines
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Ghana’s Ensure Mothers and Babies Regular Access to Care (EMBRACE) program: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial
Get PDFBackground: The United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals call for improving maternal and child health
status. Their progress, however, has been minimal and uneven across countries. The continuum of care is a key to
strengthening maternal, newborn, and child health. In this context, the Japanese government launched the Ghana
Ensure Mothers and Babies Regular Access to Care (EMBRACE) Implementation Research Project in collaboration
with the Ghanaian government. This study aims to evaluate the implementation process and effects of an
intervention to increase the continuum of care for maternal, newborn, and child health status in Ghana.
Methods/Design: We will conduct a cluster randomized controlled trial using an effectiveness-implementation
hybrid design in Dodowa, Kintampo, and Navrongo, Ghana. We will provide an intervention package to women
living in randomly allocated intervention clusters. The study population is women of reproductive age between
the ages of 15 and 49 years. The package includes: 1) use of a new continuum of care card, 2) continuum of care
orientation for health workers, 3) 24-hour health facility retention of mothers and newborns after delivery, and 4)
postnatal care by home visits. We will measure maternal, newborn, and child health outcomes for both intervention
and implementation impacts. The intervention outcomes are continuum of care completion rate, rate of postnatal
care within 48 hours, complication rate requiring mothers' and newborns' hospitalizations, and perinatal and
neonatal mortality. The implementation outcomes are intervention coverage of the target population, intervention
adoption and fidelity, implementation cost, and sustainability.
Discussion: In this trial, we will investigate how successful continuum of care can contribute to improving
maternal, newborn, and child health outcomes. If successful, this model will then be implemented further in Ghana
and other neighboring countries.journal articl
Spatial vs. Social Network Effects in Risk Sharing
Get PDFAlthough substantial research has been conducted on informal consumption smoothing mechanisms within villages, or within social clusters such as family and friends, few studies have compared the effects of these spatial and social networks. Employing spatial panel econometric models, this study extends the conventional empirical test of the full risk-sharing hypothesis to incorporate spatial and social network effects, and quantifies the diffusion of income shocks in each network. Estimation results based on household survey data in Southern Sri Lanka show that consumption smoothing performs better in spatial networks than in social ones, because income shocks defuse more effectively among neighboring households. This study also shows the limitations of the conventional test when it is considered a special case of a spatial econometric model. Although substantial research has been conducted on informal consumption smoothing mechanisms within villages, or within social clusters such as family and friends, few studies have compared the effects of these spatial and social networks. Employing spatial panel econometric models, this study extends the conventional empirical test of the full risk-sharing hypothesis to incorporate spatial and social network effects, and quantifies the diffusion of income shocks in each network. Estimation results based on household survey data in Southern Sri Lanka show that consumption smoothing performs better in spatial networks than in social ones, because income shocks defuse more effectively among neighboring households. This study also shows the limitations of the conventional test when it is considered a special case of a spatial econometric model.research repor
Human Security in Practice: The Chinese Experience
Get PDFThis paper has tried to address the three research questions this project raises by elaborating on how the idea of human security is understood or defined by the government and social actors in China; how the distinction between the “protection” aspect and “empowerment” aspect of human security is understood and accepted; and what particular downside risks are perceived as pressing human security issues in China - the major ones include air pollution, food security, and cyber security. The facts reveal that although as a term “human security” is not frequently used, there have been various human security practices in China. The idea of human security has been firmly established and threats to human security detected. For both the government and academic community in China, human security and state security are not necessarily confrontational but rather can be combined and they can complement each other. The recent developments in China are pointing in a healthy direction in terms of human security in the country.research repor
A Verification of the Effectiveness of Alternatives Analysis and Public Involvement on the Quality of JICA Environmental and Social Consideration Reports
Get PDFThe Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) introduced guidelines for environmental and social considerations in April 2004. The guidelines could lead to an improvement in the quality of environmental and social consideration reports. The main reason for this may be the inclusion of alternatives analysis and public involvement. This study aimed to quantitatively verify the effectiveness of alternatives analysis and public involvement, and to propose concrete methods for improving the quality of reports based on the analytic result. The Lee-Colley review package was used to review the quality of the samples of 120 reports dating from 2001 to 2012. A path analysis with structural equation modeling was used to obtain a causal model. The rating scales from A to F (ordinal scales) were converted to rank scores and analyzed using a statistical technique. This paper acknowledges the effectiveness of alternatives analysis, public involvement, and the number of criteria for improving the quality of the reports. The effectiveness of those variables may be verified by the causal model. As a result of statistical analysis, the paper points out the effectiveness of alternatives analysis with a wide range of criteria and public involvement. Further research is needed to improve the causal model by attaining new knowledge, to find out what are the concrete benefits of public involvement to the quality of the reports, to verify the most suitable number of alternatives and criteria for alternatives analysis, and to prepare technical guidelines for the use of the quantitative technique of alternatives analysis in case studies.research repor
Measuring Quality of Policies and Their Implementation for Better Learning: Adapting the World Bank’s SABER Tools School Autonomy and Accountability to Burkina Faso
Get PDFThis paper examines the quality of the policy intent with respect to the school-based management system in Burkina Faso. It discusses the difference between policy intent and policy implementation; focusing on the functionality of school councils and their synergies with decentralization and assessment policies to achieve better learning results. A new policy diagnostic tool, developed and revised by the World Bank and its partners including JICA was adapted to the context of Burkina Faso. This tool is based on international evidence of good practice collected under the System Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) program, relating to the policy domain of School Autonomy and Accountability (SAA). First, for the quality of policy intent, those policies that concentrate on the roles of school councils are assessed as advanced, and as emerging directions on school autonomy through decentralization to communes of operational budget management and teacher deployment, while policies on standardized student assessments are said to be advanced on their frequency of use. Differences among stakeholders in the degree of policy implementation were found using survey data collected in 2013 from various level actors, including rural school directors, school councils, and local administrations. Regarding school councils, called COGES (Comités de Gestion des Etablissements Scolaires), these differences are on whether such councils exist and on how functional they are. The degree of functionality, as measured by community and parental voluntary contributions to schools, is significantly associated with variables relating to implementation of procedures in COGES, such as organizing a general assembly and the Federation of COGES, while controlling for other community contexts. The level of functionality of COGES significantly explains the observed differences in the quality of education services and learning achievements in Burkina Faso. Moreover, the use of student assessments is also positively related to learning achievement. The indicator representing the common views of stakeholders on decentralization also shows a significantly positive association with the functionality of the COGES system, and the availability of supplementary lessons. These findings suggest that strengthening policy implementation within participatory COGES, along with decentralization and the use of assessment tools, is important for better learning results.research repor
Toward a Theory of Human Security
Get PDF“Human security” has occupied a significant place in the global discourses of peace, development, and diplomacy, despite often made criticisms of its conceptual ambiguity. Arguing for the merit of a broader definition of human security, i.e. “the right of people to live in freedom and dignity, free from poverty and despair” (UN Resolution A/RES/66/290), this paper offers an interdisciplinary theoretical framework in which key aspects of human security are systematically laid out: types of threats from physical, living, and social systems; causal structures that produce threats to human security; instruments to deal with these threats; and issues of agency to protect human security. The tripartite differentiation of the sources of threats -- physical, living, and social systems -- roughly corresponds with the objects of inquiry of three groups of academic disciplines: (1) sciences and engineering based on physics and chemistry, (2) biological and ecological sciences, and (3) social sciences and the humanities. This paper argues that a desirable theory of human security should rely on these multiple disciplines for the causal mechanisms that produce human security threats. It also contends that the theory should explore the interaction among different systems because threats to human security impact the physical, biological, and social aspects of human beings. In analyzing human security threats within the social system, this paper stresses the importance of analyzing the "collective action" aspects of human security threats. It argues, for example, the theoretical relevance of the Hobbesian "state of nature" as a condition where human security is chronically threatened socially. As to the types of measures to protect human security, this paper differentiates the instruments to affect the causes of the threat and those affecting the consequences. This paper argues that desirable instruments should be selected based on the analysis of the nature of the threat and its underlying causal mechanism. Finally, this paper discusses the issues of agency to protect human security: who should protect whose human security? Stressing the importance of responsible sovereign states as crucial agents to protect human security, this paper also argues that, given the global and interconnected nature of human security threats, cooperation among various stakeholders -- states, international organizations, the business sector, civil society organizations, academic institutions, and so on -- is essential.research repor
Chronic Poverty in Rural Cambodia: Quality of Growth for Whom?
Get PDFWith the post-2015 era approaching, debates surrounding poverty have seriously started to consider what makes for quality growth in order to eliminate extreme poverty, rather than just reduce it. Zero poverty cannot be realised without tackling chronic poverty. However, due to lack of data and evidence, poverty-reduction policies hardly consider the particular situations and characteristics of the chronically poor. In order to fill such research gaps, this paper examines the trends and characteristics of chronic poverty in rural Cambodia between 2004 and 2010. Applying a blend of nationally representative qualitative (participatory poverty assessment) and quantitative sources (household survey), I primarily estimate chronic poverty headcount rates, based on criteria defined by the poor. Surprisingly, despite the excellent progress in economic development, the chronic poverty headcount ratio barely improved from 11 percent. The result implies that rapid economic growth has successfully raised the consumption of chronically poor households, but had done little to help them accumulate productive assets and human capital to break a vicious cycle of poverty. Structural constraints are identified in their demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, including: limited asset ownership, low human development, female heads of household, high child dependency, fewer economically active members, small household size, and many young members. From a policy perspective, one striking finding is that consumption measurements based on the current national poverty line cannot be used to identify a majority of the chronic poor. This is not merely a matter of different measurement applications, because the chronically poor identified in this study are just as deprived as the consumption-based poor in some other attributes like human development. The evidence suggests that poverty reduction programs should take into consideration the multidimensional criteria identified here to avoid leaving the chronically poor behind in the country’s development. This policy implication is particularly important for targeting mechanisms of social protection instruments implemented under the National Social Protection Strategy, which are key measures in ending poverty in Cambodia.research repor
Effective Linkages of Continuum of Care for Improving Neonatal, Perinatal, and Maternal Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Get PDFBackground
Continuum of care has the potential to improve maternal, newborn, and child health
(MNCH) by ensuring care for mothers and children. Continuum of care in MNCH is widely
accepted as comprising sequential time (from pre-pregnancy to motherhood and childhood)
and space dimensions (from community-family care to clinical care). However, it is unclear
which linkages of care could have a greater effect on MNCH outcomes. The objective of the
present study is to assess the effectiveness of different continuum of care linkages for
reducing neonatal, perinatal, and maternal mortality in low- and middle-income countries.
Methods
We searched for randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials that addressed two or
more linkages of continuum of care and attempted to increase mothers’ uptake of antenatal
care, skilled birth attendance, and postnatal care. The outcome variables were neonatal,
perinatal, and maternal mortality.
Results
Out of the 7,142 retrieved articles, we selected 19 as eligible for the final analysis. Of these
studies, 13 used packages of intervention that linked antenatal care, skilled birth attendance,
and postnatal care. One study each used packages that linked antenatal care and skilled birth attendance or skilled birth attendance and postnatal care. Four studies used an
intervention package that linked antenatal care and postnatal care. Among the packages
that linked antenatal care, skilled birth attendance, and postnatal care, a significant reduction
was observed in combined neonatal, perinatal, and maternal mortality risks (RR 0.83;
95% CI 0.77 to 0.89, I2 79%). Furthermore, this linkage reduced combined neonatal, perinatal,
and maternal mortality when integrating the continuum of care space dimension (RR
0.85; 95% CI 0.77 to 0.93, I2 81%).
Conclusions
Our review suggests that continuous uptake of antenatal care, skilled birth attendance, and
postnatal care is necessary to improve MNCH outcomes in low- and middle-income countries.
The review was conclusive for the reduction of neonatal and perinatal deaths.
Although maternal deaths were not significantly reduced, composite measures of all mortality
were. Thus, the evidence is sufficient to scale up this intervention package for the
improvement of MNCH outcomes.journal articl
The Concept of Human Security in Vietnam
Get PDFHuman security is a concept that has caught the attention of governments and scholars around the world, despite having emerged only fairly recently. In most countries, however, the level of understanding of the concept and its related issues remains low. This study aims to determine how the concept of human security is understood in Vietnam. It begins with a review of the law and policies relating to human security in Vietnam. This review shows that the human security concept has not been acknowledged or regulated in any official documents of the State. The constituent elements of human security, however, can be distilled from legislation even though the connection to it is not explicitly made. A literature review pertaining to this issue also demonstrates that within the epistemic community, human security is not a common topic of discussion. Only a few authors have attempted to analyze it in the context of Vietnam. Finally, the findings gathered from interviews conducted with representatives from five sectors, including the government, epistemic community, civil societies, media, and private business, help provide a more accurate picture regarding the level of awareness of human security issues in Vietnam. In general, the interviewees were not familiar with the concept itself, but were able to quickly link it, and threats to human security, to different aspects of their lives. The research has also found that there is a high expectation that the government will assume a leading role in protecting and promoting human security in Vietnam.research repor