African Journals Online
Journal of Social Development in Africa

Volume 18 Number 2 (2003)
ABSTRACTS

Orphans’ household circumstances and access to education in a maturing HIV epidemic in eastern Zimbabwe

Constance A. Nyamukapa, Geoff Foster And Simon Gregson

Abstract

Levels of orphanhood and patterns of different forms of orphanhood (namely, double, paternal and maternal) will change as an HIV epidemic progresses. The implications of different forms of orphanhood for children's development will also change as the cumulative impact of a period of sustained high morbidity and mortality takes its toll on the adult population. In this article we describe patterns of orphanhood and orphans' educational experience in populations in eastern Zimbabwe subject to a major HIV epidemic which is maturing into its endemic phase. Levels of orphanhood have grown recently but rates of maternal and double orphanhood, in particular, are likely to continue to increase for several years to come. Orphans are found disproportionately in rural, female-, elderly- and adolescent-headed households. Each of these is a risk factor for more extreme poverty. The over-representation in rural areas could reflect urban-rural migration around the time of death of the parent due to loss of income and the high cost of living in towns. Over-representation in female-, elderly- and adolescent-headed households reflects the predisposition of men to seek employment in towns, estates and mines; the higher level of paternal orphanhood; the reluctance of second wives to take responsibility for their predecessors' children and stress in the extended family system. The death of the mother was found to have a strong detrimental effect on a child's chances of completing primary school education-the strength of effect increasing with time since maternal death. The death of the father had no detrimental effect, despite the fact that paternal orphans were typically found in the poorest households.

Kayayei: the women head porters of southern Ghana

James Adu Opare

Abstract

For over a decade now, southern Ghana has witnessed a growing influx of young women and teenage girls whose sole business is to engage in the head porterage of goods. This paper offers information on who these women and girls are, why they migrate from their places of origin, why they engage in that business and the plans they have for the future. A non-random sample of 700 subjects were selected for the study. Unstructured interviews and personal observation were used as the tools for data collection. It was found that most of the woman porters hail from the savanna zones of northern Ghana and adjoining areas of Burkina Faso and Togo. They move down south to work and save money for various forms of investment. The paper attributes the push factor, poverty, to the interplay of natural phenomena and human agency. Suggestions for policy measures are offered.

Globalization, migration and social development

Gary Craig

Abstract

This paper critically examines assumptions underpinning the alleged benefits of globalization for poorer countries and argues that globalization creates the conditions that are promoting large-scale migration from poorer to richer countries. In conjunction with the programmes of structural adjustment promoted by the north, this undermines local economies and welfare structures and services. In turn, these processes accentuate the existing phenomenon of structural racism, reflected in increasingly harsh policies and attitudes towards migrants amongst northern countries that are creating stronger barriers to most forms of migration. The paper concludes by arguing that community development, informed by the values of social justice, has an important role to play in building bridges between communities and combating racism at local, national and international levels.

The role of popular participation and community work ethic in rural development: the case of Nandi District, Kenya

Philip K. Rono And Abdillahi A. Aboud

Abstract

This paper examines the performance of rural community development projects in relation to the work ethic, gender and the level of participation in the process of rural development among the Nandi people of western Kenya. Data for the study were obtained from a survey of 25 randomly-selected community development projects and a sample of 305 respondents involved in these projects. Rural development projects were found to achieve on average 53 per cent of their objectives and 56 per cent of their operational effectiveness. Overall, rural Nandi people demonstrated on a 4-range Likert Scale an average measure (2.86) in their community work ethic and an average measure (2.38) in their actual involvement and participation in rural development projects. Policymakers, development planners and implementers should ensure that people in this community are made aware that their level of work ethic, involvement and participation is responsible for the poor performance of their community development projects. If the Nandi rural economy is to be revived, agents of change ought to guide the rural population towards involvement and full participation in projects which are meant to improve  their welfare.

Schools and health: a district-level evaluation of school health education in Ghana

Samuel Adu-Mireku

Abstract

This study evaluated Ghana's school health education programme, policy guidelines, curriculum topics and evaluation methods at the district level. A modified version of the Health Education District Questionnaire, a self-administered instrument developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was used to collect data from the country's 110 district school health education programme co-ordinators. The response rate was 80 per cent. Information was also gathered through in-depth interviews with the national co-ordinator and her staff and by reviewing programme documents. The results indicated that the programme is focused on building life skills by using participatory teaching methods. However, although the programme guidelines require the use of two strategies-the unit course approach and the integrated/infusion approach-fully to cover health topics within the curriculum, the extent of actual coverage of the topics as reported by the district co-ordinators varied (ranging from 52.3 per cent for consumer health to 98.9 per cent for personal hygiene). In addition, less than 40 per cent of the co-ordinators reported having conducted any formal or informal evaluation of key aspects of the programme at the district level. The findings of this study have implications for Ghana's school health education programme. These are discussed, along with some recommendations.

The re-emergence of tuberculosis among the economically productive age group in Kenya: the case of Mombasa district

Joel K. Kiboss and Nicholas K. Kibitok

Abstract

In this investigation 43 cases of smear positive patients undergoing TB treatment at satellite treatment centres situated within Mombasa municipality were observed and interviewed retrospectively. The span of the study was five months commencing from April 1997. The study was carried out in collaboration with the National Leprosy and Tuberculosis Programme at Port Reitz, Coast General and Ganjoni centres of infectious and contagious diseases in Mombasa district. The data seem to indicate that the highest number (97%) of persons affected by TB come from the economically productive age (15-50 years). The possible cause of recurrence of TB in Mombasa district is lifestyle. The majority of the people with sputum smear positive earn below the poverty line. They live in rented or overcrowded houses with inadequate ventilation, insufficient sanitary and transport facilities and poor health systems. In addition, there is a general lack of awareness of dangers of infection, spread and prevention of TB. Areas warranting closer attention by future research are highlighted in the study.

Civil society and democratization: the Cameroonian experience

Oben Timothy Mbuagbo and Celestina Neh 

Abstract

This paper attempts to identify a new orientation for civil society in a Cameroon dangling on the eaves of democratic transition. It points to civil society's current deficiencies in its efforts to assert itself successfully as an important and central player in effecting political and social change. This is blamed on government's unwillingness to introduce genuine democratic reforms because anti-democratic forces remain strong and on the lack of political organization and effective mobilization of civil society movements themselves, due in part to parochialism expressed in the form of ethnicism and regionalism. It outlines the potential of civil society by drawing inspiration from the activities of some civil society organizations like the Church and concludes that an integration of traditional social structures such as kinship associations and a revamping of the objectives of civil society could constitute a springboard for popular participation. This could usher in a sustainable democratic transition process in Cameroon.