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1. The South African Constitutional Court Decides Against Statelessness and in Favour of Children

Author:
Mihloti Basil Sherinda and Jonathan Klaaren
Publication Date:
07-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Statelessness & Citizenship Review
Institution:
Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Melbourne Law School
Abstract:
Shrinking citizenship is of great concern for those facing the prospect of reduction in citizenship statuses,not from two to one but from some to none—ieto the status of statelessness. Research in South Africa has only recently begun to pay increased attention to the problem of childhood statelessness, itself only seeing sustained interest at the global level for just over a decade.39The DHA does not keep official statistics on statelessness, not mentioning the topic in its annual reports through 2015.40In 2017, one of the leading NGOs addressing the issue provided legal assistance to 92 children (half born in South Africa) with problems of statelessness or at risk of statelessness.41Following a wider human rights definition,rather than the narrower UNHCR approach, South African legislation is mostly in line with international legal standards on the prevention and reduction of statelessness, including for children.42However, the implementation of those laws leaves much to be desired due to the DHA’s tendency to support restrictive interpretations of the provisions in its regulations and policies.43Chisuseclarifies the principle of the statutory interpretive presumption against retrospectivity and its application to legislation in a complex regulatory framework,which could also beinterpreted to extinguish existing citizenship rights. When read in its fullness, the historical approach adopted by the Constitutional Court led to a persuasive decision, handing success to public interest litigants acting on behalf of those faced with adegree of statelessness. Especially when seen in the context of a shrinking bureaucratic regard for citizenship applicants, the Constitutional Court continues to place itself at the centre of the rights-regarding movement within South African citizenship law.44The decision confirms the trend in childhood statelessness cases wherein the lower courts have found against the DHA,45including that of a child born to two Cuban parents where Cuba refused to extend citizenship to the child (instructing the DHA toissue citizenship to the child); a child born to refugees and reaching the age of 18(holding that the DHA’s delay in formulating guidelines for applications was not a sufficient basis to deny children the opportunity for naturalisation); and children with an unmarried South African father and a foreign national mother (ruling that the children should be properly registered so that they could access South African citizenship)
Topic:
Children, Citizenship, Courts, and Stateless Population
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

2. Market Access and Quality Critical for Food Security in Periods of Stress

Author:
Anastasia Marshak
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Feinstein International Center, Tufts University
Abstract:
This briefing paper describes how market access is associated with household food security and dietary diversity in the Karamoja region of Uganda in 2018 and 2019. In 2018, according to both the study’s primary data and secondary data, households experienced significantly worse conflict, climate, and economic shocks compared with 2019. These shocks in 2018 led to a decline in livestock production, increase in food prices, and declines in terms of trade. While the experience of shocks was worse according to many indicators in 2018, household food security and , dietary diversity data remained relatively similar across the two years. The data indicate that greater use of markets during the more stressful 2018 year might have mitigated the expected, but not observed reduction in food security. Better market quality and access was associated with using fewer short-term coping strategies and better food security and dietary diversity, but only in 2018, when households experienced more shocks. Thus, households are likely to be more reliant on markets during periods of greater stress. This analysis is part of the United States Agency for International Development/Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/BHA)-funded Apolou Activity, a consortium led by Mercy Corps. It was designed to help Mercy Corps and other national and international actors to address youth’s vulnerability and opportunities in the Karamoja sub-region. The findings are part of a four-year study carried out in four districts of the Karamoja sub-region. The analysis and findings in this report focus on the first and second round of quantitative data from November/December 2018 and 2019. The data come from a longitudinal two-stage randomized cluster sample of approximately 500 households across 52 villages. The same respondents were interviewed across both years.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Food, Children, Resilience, and Household
Political Geography:
Uganda and Africa

3. Food Insecurity and its Discontents in the Middle East and North Africa

Author:
Salma Al-Shami
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Arab Barometer
Abstract:
Food insecurity plagues majorities of citizens in six out of 10 countries surveyed as part of Arab Barometer’s seventh wave (2021-2022). Majorities from 53 percent in Libya to 68 percent in Egypt report that they ran out of food before they had money to buy more. And in nine out of 10 countries, more than half of all citizens express concern about running out of food before being able to get more. These findings reiterate a long-standing and often observed quagmire in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA): the high proportion of food insecure citizens in middle income countries with otherwise medium or high levels of human development is staggering. Beyond affirming this quagmire, Arab Barometer’s newest data show that looking at region through the lens of food insecurity and its web of discontents emphasizes seven key challenges facing MENA: “Democracy fatigue” is highest among the food insecure, though they still prefer democracy to its alternatives. Gender gaps in reports of food insecurity reiterate the consequences of extreme gender imbalances in labor force participation. Urban-rural cleavages in food insecurity are a reminder that food scarcity can be higher in rural areas on account of decreased access to credit, reliance on import substitution strategies, shrinking agricultural lands, and climate change. Despite the documented effects of the latter on food availability, food insecure citizens are less likely to want government intervention to address climate challenges. Differences between food secure and insecure citizens on evaluations of the economy are more muted than expected, perhaps because broadly defined economic challenges loom heavily on all. Still, those suffering from food insecurity express a higher desire to emigrate. And finally, food insecurity has devastating effects on present and future outlooks, with food insecure citizens—particularly youth—less likely to say both that their lives are better than their parents’ and their children’s lives will be better than their own.
Topic:
Security, Children, Food Security, and Food Safety
Political Geography:
Africa, Middle East, North Africa, and MENA

4. Child Sexual Abuse in Botswana: An Evaluation of The Effectiveness of Child Protection Institutions in selected villages

Author:
Thabile A. Samboma
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis
Abstract:
Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) in Botswana is a big social problem with proven lifelong effects on the victims. Botswana has established various child protection institutions (CPI) and amended children’s protection laws to ensure that children are safe from all harm. However, despite this development, Botswana CSA cases are still rising. This study provides the first attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of child protection institutions in Botswana. A case study method was used in Old Naledi and Letlhakeng through an indepth interview with twenty-two (22) participants. The findings of the study revealed that there is;(i) the absence of a national child strategy, (ii) poor coordination of child protection institutions, (iii) weak child legislation framework, (iv) lack of capacity, (v) inadequately financed child protection, (vi) lack of systematic data collection, (vii) lack of evidence-based research, (viii) Decline of family structure and (iv) lack of public awareness. All these combined hinder the effectiveness of child protection institutions in Botswana. The study recommends as follows: reviewing the Children’s Act of 2009, developing a national child protection strategy, strengthening coordination of CPI, increasing resource allocation, creating a centralised database on CSA and strengthening evidence-based research on CSA in Botswana.
Topic:
Children, Institutions, Protection, and Child Sexual Abuse (CSA)
Political Geography:
Africa and Botswana

5. The United Nations Children and Armed Conflict Agenda: Integrating Child Protection Issues and Children’s Voices in Peace Processes

Author:
Asha Asokan
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
One in five children lives in a country affected by conflict (Save the Children 2019). Despite concerted international and national efforts to protect children, these 415 million children face grave human rights violations that continue to rise. More political will and resources are needed from governments and parties to the conflict to prevent such violence against children and protect children in armed conflict. However, research confirms that out of 431 ceasefire and peace agreements, less than 18 percent of peace agreements included child protection provisions (Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict). Often, peace-related documents that mention child protection issues do not mention integrating children's participation into peace processes, which is essential to understanding and addressing children's needs during and after the conflict. To end the cycle of violence against children, a paradigm shift must be made in the way peace agreements address children’s issues and rights. Guided by the “Global Policy Paper on Youth Participation in the Peace Process,” commissioned by the United Nations Envoy on Youth, this paper recommends that mediators and child protection actors employ three integrated but non-hierarchical layers for including child protection issues and children’s participation in the peace process: “in the room,” “around the room,” and “outside the room” of formal peace negotiations. This multi-layered, inclusive approach may help achieve the desired results: preventing violence against children and reaching a sustainable peace.
Topic:
International Relations, United Nations, Children, Peace, and Armed Conflict
Political Geography:
Africa, Middle East, and Asia-Pacific

6. Eliminating child marriage in Ethiopia

Author:
Fana Gebresenbet
Publication Date:
06-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:
How can we explain the large gap between national legal and policy commitments to reduce and eliminate gender-based violence (GBV) and the reality and practice of GBV in Ethiopia? Hitherto explanations mainly centre on the conflict between and social and official norms, and the stubbornness of the former. In this new DIIS Working Paper, Fana Gebresenbet tries to go beyond this dichotomy to examine what happens in the ‘in-between spaces’. While the stubbornness of social norms only brings home to us the slow pace of change, it does not tell us what guides the emerging practices that contribute towards change. Instead, ‘practical norms’ are used here as an analytical tool to examine what happens as we move along the continuum from social to official norms. This helps us capture why routinised, coordinated and socially acceptable new practices occur before the major social norms change. This work is part of GLOW (Global Norms and Violence Against Women in Ethiopia), a research programme financed by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and coordinated by DIIS.
Topic:
Development, Diplomacy, International Organization, Poverty, Children, Women, and Inequality
Political Geography:
Africa and Ethiopia

7. Determinants of Child Malnutrition in Mauritania

Author:
Yahya Abou Ly
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
Abstract:
The empirical context of this research is in an environment where malnutrition is a real public health concern. The objective of this study was to identify the determinants of the nutritional state of children under the age of five years in Mauritania. Using data obtained from multiple indicators cluster surveys (MICS) in Mauritania in 2007 and 2015, we undertook fixed-effects clusters techniques to control for unobserved heterogeneity. The empirical results demonstrate that the age and sex of a child, level of education of the mother, the standards of living of the household, the area of residence, the availability and use of health care services and access to drinking water are all important factors for the good health of children in Mauritania. These findings suggests improvements in nutritional health, for example, by education of girls until completion of secondary school; an improvement in the conditions of households that are headed by women and an expansion in the coverage rate of multi-purpose health centres.
Topic:
Health, Food, Children, Food Security, and Child Poverty
Political Geography:
Africa and Mauritania

8. Birth Order and Demand for Immunization for Children under the Age of Five in Cameroon

Author:
Negou Kamga Vincent de Paul and Nda’chi Deffo Rodrigue
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
Abstract:
Despite free basic vaccines administered by the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), there is still a fairly high death rate of children aged 0-5 worldwide due to vaccine-preventable diseases. Sub-Saharan Africa is the most affected region due to low levels of vaccination. This study analyses the effect of birth order on the immunization status of children in Cameroon, considering the contribution of cultural, economic and community factors. To do this, it uses data from the Demographic and Health Surveys of 1991, 1998, 2004 and 2011 produced by the National Institute of Statistics with the support of UNFPA, UNICEF, the World Bank and USAID. The EPI module was administered to 3,350, 2,317, 8,125 and 25,524 children under five in 1991, 1998, 2004 and 2011, respectively. The multinomial probit model makes it possible to find that birth order has a negative and highly significant effect on the full and timely immunization of children under five and the impact increases with birth order. Moreover, the impact of birth order increases after adjusting for cultural factors. This increase indicates that, beyond the effect of birth order, cultural factors are at the root of prejudices leading to the abandonment of children. Considering children under two years of age, and vaccines taken during the first four months, the corresponding birth order effect points to the benefits of routine immunization and response campaigns in promoting immunization of children under five.
Topic:
Economics, Health, Health Care Policy, and Children
Political Geography:
Africa and Cameroon

9. Predictors of school dropout across Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam

Author:
Santiago Cueto, Claudia Felipe, and Juan Leon
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE)
Abstract:
In this paper the authors utilize the five rounds of Young Lives household surveys across four countries (Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam) to study the characteristics of children who had dropped out of school by 22 years of age. While most children in the longitudinal sample go to primary school, they tend to drop out more often and earlier in Ethiopia. In India most children complete the early grades of school but drop out later, particularly in grades 11 and 13. Researchers find that in all countries, except Vietnam, there is a considerable number of children who drop out of school but at some point return to it, either to complete secondary or drop out again. The reasons provided by children for dropping out across the countries are oftentimes related to poverty: for example, the need to work, or care or provide for family. The multivariate analysis shows that indeed in many cases the wealth level of the family at an early age predicts later dropout, as does maternal education level, students’ early skills and residence in certain regions of each country. There are also some variations across countries; for example, boys are more likely to drop out of school in Ethiopia and Vietnam, and children who have repeated a grade are more likely to drop out of school in Peru. However, having high educational aspirations at early ages seems to be a protective factor against dropping out. This suggests that the value that children place on education may be an important preventative factor against dropping out. Overall, these results suggest the need to act early through education and social protection interventions to target young children who are at risk of dropping out, and the follow their trajectories, providing support as needed to specific groups and even individuals, so that all children may fulfill their right to complete at least secondary education.
Topic:
Education and Children
Political Geography:
Africa, India, Asia, Vietnam, Ethiopia, and Peru

10. Starting Young to Prevent Violence Against Women

Author:
Sexual Violence Research Initiative
Publication Date:
01-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Sexual Violence Research Initiative
Abstract:
More than 50 percent of children have experienced some form of sexual, physical or emotional abuse or neglect in their lifetime. The wide-ranging and lifelong consequences of witnessing or experiencing violence in childhood can be profound.1 Individuals exposed to childhood violence, including child sexual abuse, physical abuse and harm, or witnessing the abuse of their mothers, are at greater risk of becoming perpetrators or victims as adults. Through our core work and grant-making, the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) is building evidence to help us respond to violence as early as possible and to stop it from continuing. Between 2016 and 2020, we funded several studies on violence against children in Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia and other regions (in partnership with the World Bank Group). This research has taught us that services and prevention programmes must start with parents and families, and continue throughout the individual’s life. To be most effective, programmes need to target critical development phases, from pre-conception and conception through early childhood to adolescence. Programmes to prevent violence in the home, including programmes that offer parenting support, are essential. Continuing research into childhood violence, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, is essential. Research can help us to effectively prevent and respond to both violence against women and violence against children, and it is essential for creating policies and practices that really work.
Topic:
Education, Children, Gender Based Violence, and Youth
Political Geography:
Africa, Latin America, North America, and Southeast Asia

11. Can Transparency and Accountability Programs Improve Health? Experimental Evidence from Indonesia and Tanzania

Author:
Jean Arkedis, Jessica Creighton, Archon Fung, Stephen Kosack, Dan Levy, and Courtney Tolmie
Publication Date:
05-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
We assess the impact of a transparency and accountability program designed to improve maternal and newborn health (MNH) outcomes in Indonesia and Tanzania. Co-designed with local partner organizations to be community-led and non-prescriptive, the program sought to encourage community participation to address local barriers in access to high quality care for pregnant women and infants. We evaluate the impact of this program through randomized controlled trials (RCTs), involving 100 treatment and 100 control communities in each country. We find that on average, this program did not have a statistically significant impact on the use or content of maternal and newborn health services, nor the sense of civic efficacy or civic participation among recent mothers in the communities who were offered it. These findings hold in both countries and in a set of prespecified subgroups. To identify reasons for the lack of impacts, we use a mixed-method approach combining interviews, observations, surveys, focus groups, and ethnographic studies that together provide an in-depth assessment of the complex causal paths linking participation in the program to improvements in MNH outcomes. Although participation in program meetings was substantial and sustained in most communities, and most attempted at least some of what they had planned, only a minority achieved tangible improvements and fewer still saw more than one such success. Our assessment is that the main explanation for the lack of impact is that few communities were able to traverse the complex causal paths from planning actions to accomplishing tangible improvements in their access to quality health care.
Topic:
Health, Health Care Policy, Children, and Randomized Controlled Trials
Political Geography:
Africa, Indonesia, Tanzania, and Southeast Asia

12. Twin peaks: the seasonality of acute malnutrition, conflict, and environmental factors

Author:
Helen Young, Anastasia Marshak, and Aishwarya Venkat
Publication Date:
11-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Feinstein International Center, Tufts University
Abstract:
This report highlights major new findings on the seasonal patterns of child malnutrition and their links to climate variability, conflict, and livelihood systems in Chad, Sudan, and South Sudan. Contrary to long-held assumptions about acute malnutrition escalating in the lean season, our data show that there are two peaks of acute malnutrition. The first and larger peak occurs at the end of the dry season, followed later by a second, smaller peak after the lean season. Our analysis demonstrates a significant relationship between acute malnutrition, conflict trends, and environmental factors. The findings underscore the importance of environmental variability and the persistence of climate, conflict, and other shocks in relation to livelihood resilience and transformation over time. The findings raise specific considerations for data collection, future research, programming, and policy, which are detailed in the report and briefing paper.
Topic:
Food, Children, Food Security, Youth, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, Chad, and South Sudan

13. Apolou Baseline Report: Household Wealth and Market Quality

Author:
Anastasia Marshak, Nate Ives, Elizabeth Stites, Kimberly Howe, and Barbara Athieno
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Feinstein International Center, Tufts University
Abstract:
This report reflects findings from the baseline quantitative study of a four-year research project in the Karamoja sub-region of Uganda. We describe different aspects of wealth, such as animal-related wealth and farm-related wealth, and how they relate to two indices of wealth that we created as part of this study. We then examine how different wealth indices correlate with geographical and household characteristics, including food insecurity. We further explore market access and quality, and the relationship between these factors, Mercy Corps program layering, and wealth. The findings draw on survey research in a sample of Mercy Corps programming communities in Karamoja. A team from the Feinstein International Center, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in collaboration with Mercy Corps conducted this research between November 2018 and January 2019 as part of the USAID/FFP-funded Apolou Activity. Midline and endline data collection are expected to take place in 2019 and 2020. The overall study, which also consists of a qualitative component, explores how the recent transformations in the Karamoja sub-region, including expansion of markets, increase in trade, and monetization, are affecting households and communities.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Children, and Food Security
Political Geography:
Uganda and Africa

14. Examining Alternative Livelihoods for Improved Resilience and Transformation in Afar

Author:
Daniel Temesga, Amdissa Teshome, and Berhanu Admassu
Publication Date:
05-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Feinstein International Center, Tufts University
Abstract:
Traditional pastoral livelihoods have continued sustainably for generations using flexible adaptive responses to the climatic variability in Ethiopia’s Afar region. Recently, however, multifaceted driving forces such as demographic and policy changes, more extreme climate events, market changes have affected the capacity of the pastoral system to adapt. The study established that the traditional pastoral system has evolved into three major livelihood pathways, depending on the wealth status of the household: (1) pastoralism with commercialization of livestock; (2) livestock keeping along with income diversification; and (3) non-livestock alternative livelihoods. The report reviews the different types of alternative livelihoods in the region and makes recommendations for interventions.
Topic:
Climate Change, Gender Issues, Children, and Youth
Political Geography:
Africa and Ethiopia

15. ‘She told me that life here is so easy’: Urban migration of Acholi youth, Uganda

Author:
Elizabeth Stites, Teddy Atim, and Ayee Flora Tracy
Publication Date:
03-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Feinstein International Center, Tufts University
Abstract:
This working paper presents findings on the migration of youth (aged 15–35) from Acholi, Uganda to the urban areas of Gulu and Pabbo in northern Uganda, and to the Acholi Quarter neighborhood in Kampala. Key findings include: Acholi youth migrate into urban areas for a diverse range of reasons; top among these are the lack of economic opportunities in rural areas, inadequate land access, and family disputes. Female migrants in particular also cited being pushed off land and physical and sexual abuse as reasons for migrating, in addition to economic reasons. Many migrants maintain strong economic, livelihood, social, and emotional ties to their rural places of origin, with split-household models being extremely common. Those who did not maintain such ties—mostly women— were among the most vulnerable. The findings of this report have important implications for national and international programming and interventions, especially given the expanding role urbanization plays in Uganda and across the developing world. The provision of urban services, especially education, must meet the needs of the continuing influx of migrants, many of whom prioritize education. Decision making about migration involves not only concerns for the migrant, but also their family, whether or not family members also move.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Immigration, Children, Youth, and Urban
Political Geography:
Uganda and Africa

16. Household Economic Well-Being and Child Health in The Democratic Republic of Congo

Author:
Janvier Mwisha-Kasiwa
Publication Date:
11-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
Abstract:
Health is both a direct component of human well-being and a form of human capital that increases an individual’s capabilities and opportunities to generate income and reduces vulnerability. It is argued that these two views are complementary, and both can be used to justify increased investment in health in developing countries. Therefore, investment in child health constitutes a potential mechanism to end the intergenerational transmission of poverty. This paper examines the empirical impact of household economic well-being on child health, and the gender differences in effects using the Demographic and Health Survey conducted in 2014. A series of econometric tools are used; the control function approach appears to be the most appropriate strategy as it simultaneously removes structural parameters from endogeneity, the sample selection and heterogeneity of the unobservable variables. Results suggest a significant positive effect of household economic well-being on child health. However, the magnitude of the effect varies by gender of household head; children from households headed by males appear healthier compared to those from female-headed households. In the context of DR Congo, female-headed households often have a single parent, therefore, the economic well-being effect on child health in the male sub-sample can be considered to include the unobserved contribution of women. These results have implications for public interventions that enable women to participate in paid labour market activities as a means of improving household economic well-being, which in turn could improve child health.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Gender Issues, Health, Health Care Policy, and Children
Political Geography:
Africa and Democratic Republic of Congo

17. Africa Lags in Protections against Human Trafficking

Author:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Trafficking in persons has become a multibillion dollar business in Africa that African governments have been slow to address.
Topic:
Migration, United Nations, Children, Women, Slavery, and Human Trafficking
Political Geography:
Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Burundi, Eritrea, South Sudan, Central African Republic, and Mediterranean

18. Myths about Human Trafficking in Africa

Author:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Human trafficking remains a significant problem in Africa, exploiting vulnerable individuals—children, women, and men—for forced labor as well as prostitution.
Topic:
United Nations, Labor Issues, Children, and Human Trafficking
Political Geography:
Africa, South Africa, North Africa, West Africa, and East Africa

19. Setting the Stage for Increased Accountability: The White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria Campaign to Improve Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health in Niger State

Author:
Rachel Sullivan Robinson
Publication Date:
05-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Accountability Research Center (ARC), American University
Abstract:
Most African governments have made extensive commitments to provide primary health care to their citizens; in many cases these commitments date from the post-independence era, but have been reinvigorated in response to the Millennium and Sustainable Development Goals. Yet poor service delivery plagues the health care systems of many African countries, in particular affecting women and children who depend on local health centers for prenatal and basic primary care. One route to improving such care is through holding government accountable for its health care promises. But in many of these contexts, democracy is fragile and civil society is weak, leaving few institutions for holding government to account. In these contexts, can external actors support such pro-accountability change? This accountability note begins to answer this question with reference to White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria’s campaign to improve maternal, newborn, and child health in Niger State. Campaign activities promoted citizen demand for quality maternal health care and government responsiveness to those demands through advocacy to key health system actors, community dialogues to share information and set strategy, town halls to bring together citizens and government representatives, and the training of a cadre of citizen journalists to expose poor quality health care as well as highlight government responsiveness to citizen demands. This note puts forward four lessons drawn from the campaign’s experiences: 1. In contexts where both civil society and the state lack capacity, campaigns that simultaneously engage government and enable citizens to voice their opinions can increase state government participation in activities that increase accountability. 2. Compromise over the meaning of “accountability” can both facilitate and constrain progress towards accountability. 3. Where citizens desire more from government and are willing to demand services, campaigns can facilitate events where citizens learn about their rights, devise strategies for achieving them, and engage with government representatives. 4. Where citizens are willing and able to challenge government, campaigns can train citizen journalists to report on accountability failures. The analysis is based on more than 40 interviews conducted in 2017 and 2018 with relevant actors in Niger State as well as a review of campaign and government documents. Although an impact of the campaign on health care utilization is not yet visible, the campaign has convinced the previously reticent state government to engage with citizens, and anecdotal evidence suggests improvements to health care facilities in response to town halls and citizen journalist reports. The government has also invited White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria to train all of the state’s local health committees responsible for oversight of primary health care facilities, demonstrating how collaboration has created a pathway towards greater accountability. Taken together, these findings support the proposition that external actors can play a vital role in supporting and magnifying citizen demands for better health care while simultaneously enabling government responsiveness to those demands, thus laying the groundwork for greater accountability.
Topic:
Civil Society, Health, Children, Women, Accountability, and Public Health
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

20. Is Nigeria Experiencing a Learning Crisis: New Evidence from Curriculum-based Learning Assessment

Author:
Adedeji Adeniran, Joseph Ishaku, and Lateef Olawale Akanni
Publication Date:
10-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA)
Abstract:
The massive expansion of education access throughout the world in the past few decades signalled a positive progress for global development through human capital accumulation. However, this same growth highlighted the substantial deficiency in the learning that schools are unable to deliver to the children that pass through them. In short, massive expansion in schooling has not delivered quality education, a situation that United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 2013) termed a global “learning crisis”. The disconnect between schooling and learning in the 21st Century also informed the global aspiration to improve learning outcomes, as captured in SDG 4. With the global attention now centered on SDG implementation, policymakers and researchers are focused on data for measuring learning outcomes. Measuring performance against SDG 4 entails assessing the extent to which targets set on inclusive and quality of education have been met. However, as the 2017 Goalkeepers Report shows, there is notable conceptual problem and data gap in measuring the quality of education (see also Unterhalter, 2019). On the conceptual level, there is lack of consensus on the appropriate indicator of quality education. Education quality is a multidimensional concept and encompasses educational inputs, processes and learning outcomes. This concern is apparent even in the SDG system, particularly, in the Tier Classification of Global SDG indicators developed by the Inter-agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs). This means that additional work is needed to establish methodology and create an internationally comparable statistic (UN Statistical Commission, 2018).
Topic:
Economics, Education, and Children
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

21. The Political Economy of Testing in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa

Author:
Barbara Bruns, Maryam Akmal, and Nancy Birdsall
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
Most countries in sub-Saharan Africa have not implemented testing of children’s learning that can be benchmarked regionally or globally. In contrast, in the last two decades, almost all countries in Latin America have participated in regionally and globally benchmarked testing initiatives. Our analysis of the political economy of cross-national learning measurement in Latin America suggests that policymakers perceive the risks of exposing their education system’s performance by joining cross-national assessments, but they also value the quality of the data generated, the strengthening of domestic technical capacity, and the political benefits in using comparative results to argue for reforms or to advertise progress. We document that in Ecuador and Peru cross-national tests played an important role in both stimulating and justifying reforms that have produced major improvements in learning. In sub-Saharan Africa, no cross-national test has been implemented as consistently or widely as the Latin American regional test. The context in Africa makes regional cooperation on cross-national testing more daunting—countries are poorer and more linguistically diverse than in Latin America, raising the relative costs of developing and administering cross-national tests. The experience of Latin America suggests that a coordinated and efficient application of resources in implementing cross-national tests in Africa, on the part of countries and with support of the international community, could help build countries’ national capacity, strengthen focus on learning, support better research, and help diffuse reforms that raise learning.
Topic:
Education, Political Economy, Children, and Social Services
Political Geography:
Africa, South America, Latin America, North America, and Sub-Saharan Africa

22. Multilingual Assessment of Early Child Development: Analyses from Repeated Observations of Children in Kenya

Author:
Heather A. Knauer, Patricia Kariger, Pamela Jakiela, Owen Ozier, and Lia C.H. Fernald
Publication Date:
10-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
In many low- and middle-income countries, young children learn a mother tongue or indigenous language at home before entering the formal education system where they will need to understand and speak a country’s official language(s). Thus, assessments of children before school age, conducted in a nation’s official language, may not fully reflect a child’s development, underscoring the importance of test translation and adaptation. To examine differences in vocabulary development by language of assessment, we adapted and validated instruments to measure developmental outcomes, including expressive and receptive vocabulary. We assessed 505 2-to-6- year-old children in rural communities in Western Kenya with comparable vocabulary tests in three languages: Luo (the local language or mother tongue), Swahili, and English (official languages) at two time points, 5–6 weeks apart, between September 2015 and October 2016. Younger children responded to the expressive vocabulary measure exclusively in Luo (44–59% of 2-to-4-year-olds) much more frequently than did older children (20–21% of 5-to-6-year-olds). Baseline receptive vocabulary scores in Luo (β = 0.26, SE = 0.05, p < 0.001) and Swahili (β = 0.10, SE = 0.05, p = 0.032) were strongly associated with receptive vocabulary in English at follow-up, even after controlling for English vocabulary at baseline. Parental Luo literacy at baseline (β = 0.11, SE = 0.05, p = 0.045) was associated with child English vocabulary at follow-up, while parental English literacy at baseline was not. Our findings suggest that multilingual testing is essential to understanding the developmental environment and cognitive growth of multilingual children.
Topic:
Development, Children, Linguistics, and Language
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

23. The Implication of Teenage Pregnancies in Eswatini: A Trend and Spatial Analysis

Author:
N. Diamini
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Eswatini Economic Policy Analysis and Research Centre (ESEPARC)
Abstract:
This study assesses the extent of teenage pregnancy in Eswatini with a focus on public schools in the constituencies and region. In addition, the study examines which regions are affected by teenage pregnancies and adopts a Generalised Ordered Logit Model to determine the likelihood of teenage pregnancies across the regions in Eswatini. The study locates the Hhohho and Manzini regions as high teenage pregnancy areas and further identifies mothers in Lubombo and Shiselweni as more vulnerable to repeat births. Not surprisingly, the study finds that teenage pregnancies occur in Eswatini’s poverty-stricken areas – where there are low economic activities and the households are experiencing low incomes. These are places such as Madlangempisi, Ngwempisi, Sigwe, and Lomahasha. Teenage pregnancies occur when learners are idle during school holidays. The government is advised to consider intensifying policies and programmes geared towards reducing or eradicating teenage pregnancies in Eswatini. Such policies should deliberately target rural areas and focus on creating employment opportunities to relieve households from low incomes.
Topic:
Health, Children, Sex Education, and Gender
Political Geography:
Africa and Eswatini

24. Evaluating Food Crop Sector Performance in Nigeria (1999-2016)

Author:
Nathaniel E. Urama and Denis Nfor Yuni
Publication Date:
09-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
African Heritage Institution (AfriHeritage)
Abstract:
This study evaluates the performance of food crop sector in Nigeria from 1999-2016. The statistics show that Nigeria is having food insecurity problems: very low value of food production per capita; low and declining average dietary energy supply adequacy; very high variability in per capita food production and supply, and a high depth of food deficit that has been on the increase since 2006. The result also shows that agriculture’s contribution to Nigerian GDP has consistently declined from 37.5 percent in 2002 to 21.2 percent in 2016, and that food crop production declined from over 34 percent of the GDP in 2002 to 18.6 percent in 2016. Due to this high depth of food deficit, over 14 million people in the country are undernourished, and this has been increasing geometrically since 2005. Also, more than six million of the under-five children are stunted, and the consumer price of foods has been high and rising. Compared to other countries, there has not been any significant improvement in reducing the depth of food deficit in Nigeria.
Topic:
Agriculture, Food, Children, Food Security, Economy, and Nutrition
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

25. Does women’s empowerment affect the health of children? The case of Mozambique

Author:
Joseph Deutsch and Jacques Silber
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
In developing countries, women’s decisions concerning their children’s health depend on ‘empowerment’ concerning decision-making, husband/partner’s use of violence, woman’s attitude towards this violence, available information, and resources. We derive an empowerment indicator using the ‘fuzzy sets’ and Alkire and Foster approaches to multidimensional poverty measurement. The health of children is a latent variable; their height and weight are observed health indicators. We apply the ‘MIMIC’ approach to the 2009 Mozambique Demographic and Health Survey. Children’s health is better when the woman opposes her partner’s violence, the higher her education and body mass index, among female children, and in urban areas.
Topic:
Demographics, Health, Poverty, Children, Women, and Empowerment
Political Geography:
Africa and Mozambique

26. "Leave No One to Tell the Tales": The Role of Pain and Recollection in Post-Conflict Reconciliation in Africa

Author:
Bukola Adeyemi Oyeniyi
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Social Science Research Council
Abstract:
Using testimonies of child soldiers and amputees from Sierra Leone, accounts from survivors of the Rwandan genocide, and recollections of survivors of rape and sexual violence from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), this essay explores the intersection between pain, its recollection, and post-conflict recovery in Africa. Between 1991 and 2002, unprecedented violence gripped Sierra Leone, leading to the death of an estimated 50,000 people. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) set up after the civil war reported that a rebel group, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), orchestrated “indiscriminate amputations, abduction of women and children, recruitment of children as combatants, rape and sexual slavery, cannibalism, gratuitous killings, and wanton destruction of villages and towns” against ethnic groups believed to be loyal to President Joseph Saidu Momoh and the All People’s Congress (APC), the party that had ruled Sierra Leone since 1968
Topic:
Children, Gender Based Violence, Conflict, and Sexual Violence
Political Geography:
Africa, Sierra Leone, and Democratic Republic of Congo

27. Wartime Educational Loss and Attitudes toward Democratic Institutions

Author:
Shelley Liu
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
How does civil war affect society and citizen interaction with politics? Civilians who live through warfare face numerous challenges that can have permanent effects on society even after peace is achieved. This project uses the Liberian civil wars as a case study to examine the impact of war through one channel – disruptions in education for an entire generation of children. The paper shows that negative effects of war on education and economic outcomes clash with citizen expectations for post-war democracy, leading to negative consequences for the democratization process. Specifically, educational deficiencies in this particular generation of young adults decrease job prospects, breeding resentment against the promises of democracy. This extends to the political sphere, such that those who lost out on educational opportunities due to war exhibit lower engagement, less desire to engage with democratic processes, and a greater rejection of democracy altogether.
Topic:
Civil Society, Civil War, Education, War, Children, and Youth
Political Geography:
Africa and Liberia

28. Barriers to Healthcare-Seeking among Caretakers of Children under fve in Uganda

Author:
Moses Mukundane, Annet Nannungi, Dennis Bataringaya, Patrick Ssesanga, Frederick Golooba-Mutebi, and Winstons W. Muhwezi
Publication Date:
01-2016
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE)
Abstract:
Uganda has made commendable achievements in human development and poverty reduction as part of efforts to achieve Millennium Development benchmarks. Despite the efforts, the country’s under-fve mortality statistics remain high, underscoring the serious challenges that the government faces in its efforts to ensure the survival of children under 5 years of age. The fourth Millennium Development Goal required a two-thirds reduction in child mortality, which implied a decrease in under-fve mortality rate from 156 in early 1990s to 56 per 1,000 live births by 2015. By 2015, the child mortality rate had reduced to 90 per 1,000 live births implying a signifcant stride made in its reduction over the several years. Nevertheless, the rate was still high and the country missed hitting the target of MDG-4 (The Republic of Uganda, 2015; Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) & ICF International Inc, 2012).
Topic:
Development, Health, Poverty, and Children
Political Geography:
Uganda and Africa

29. Why Are Indian Children So Short?

Author:
Seema Jayachandran and Rohini Pande
Publication Date:
04-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
India's child stunting rate is among the highest in the world, exceeding that of many poorer African countries. In this paper, we analyze data for over 174,000 Indian and Sub-Saharan African children to show that Indian firstborns are taller than African firstborns; the Indian height disadvantage emerges with the second child and then increases with birth order. This pattern persists when we compare height between siblings, and also holds for health inputs such as vaccinations. Three patterns in the data indicate that India's culture of eldest son preference plays a key role in explaining the steeper birth order gradient among Indian children and, consequently, the overall height deficit. First, the Indian firstborn height advantage only exists for sons. Second, an Indian son with an older sibling is taller than his African counterpart if and only if he is the eldest son. Third, the India-Africa height deficit is largest for daughters with no older brothers, which reflects that fact that their families are those most likely to exceed their desired fertility in order to have a son.
Topic:
Health, Poverty, Children, and International Development
Political Geography:
Africa, South Asia, and India

30. Program Learning Event on Violence against Children in and around Schools in East Africa

Author:
Elevate Children Funders Group (ECFG)
Publication Date:
07-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Elevate Children Funders Group
Abstract:
This is a report of the three-day PLE on VACiS held in Kampala, Uganda. The PLE was organized by the ECFG, with the technical and administrative support of Development Links Consult (DLC), a social development consulting firm incorporated in Uganda. The event, held between 14th and 16th July 2015 at Hotel African in Kampala, Uganda attracted 77 participants, representing practitioners, advocates, researchers and government representatives in the field of violence against children from Uganda,Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Germany, the United Kingdom and United States of America . With the theme of developing a common learning agenda on preventing and responding to VACiS, the event was convened to achieve three specific sub-goals, namely: 1. To enable partners to learn promising practices on preventing VACiS. 2. To share research, information and resources with partners to link theory and research to practice. 3. To connect partners for networking and learning; and discuss potential joint action (e.g. joint program development, coordination and advocacy work) on the issue.
Topic:
Education, Children, and Violence
Political Geography:
Africa and East Africa

31. Making Education Count: Finding Possibilities of Peace in the Unlikeliest of Place

Author:
Sarah Dryden-Peterson
Publication Date:
03-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
Sarah Dryden-Peterson, assistant professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (GSE), has spent years investigating the dimensions of education in conflict settings. During her time at GSE, her mission has proved ever more important as conflicts intensifying in Syria, Iraq, Gaza, and Somalia both demand immediate action and provide new opportunities for exploration.
Topic:
Civil Society, Education, Poverty, and Children
Political Geography:
Africa, Iraq, Middle East, Gaza, Syria, and Somalia

32. From Rejection to Redress: Overcoming Legacies of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence for Women and Their Children in Northern Uganda

Author:
Virginie Ladisch
Publication Date:
10-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
Abstract:
This paper examines the unique, enduring consequences of conflict-related sexual violence in northern Uganda, focusing specifically on the impact of the lack of accountability for sexual crimes leading to motherhood on girls and women, and on the children they bore as a result of violations. Its findings are a summarized version of a ICTJ report based on consultations conducted in Uganda’s Acholi, Lango, Teso, and West Nile sub-regions. The paper presents detailed recommendations to the Uganda government, civil society, and the international community to address the rights and needs of this overlooked group of victims.
Topic:
Children, Women, Transitional Justice, Sexual Violence, and Youth Engagement
Political Geography:
Uganda and Africa

33. The Effect of Age on Conditional Fecundability in Nigeria

Author:
Magdalene Agdalene, Akikibofori Akikibofori, and Jacob Sunday
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Studies of Changing Societies Journal (SCS)
Institution:
Studies of Changing Societies Journal (SCS)
Abstract:
Delaying the start of childbearing raises the issue of fertility postponed versus fertility foregone. One of the limits of previous studies of “How late can you wait? Is it difficult to control sexual activity? Data on the frequency and timing of intercourse within a menstrual cycle are uncommon. We use such data from the Menstrual Cycle Fecundability Study for this study “Can we wait until the early 30s? We model the effect of age on conditional fecundability, i.e. the probability of conception given that the couple is not sterile, simultaneously controlling for the effect of primary sterility and the frequency and timing of Intercourse in each menstrual cycle. Can we wait until the early 30s for a birth? Our evidence is yes (provided you are not already sterile) as the increase in the mean waiting time to conception is very modest and of little practical importance.
Topic:
Health, Children, Women, Aging, and Fertility
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria