This document presents the preliminary findings from the quantitative data generation and analysis conducted as part of the project “Financial decision-making, gender and social norms in Zambia”.... Show moreThis document presents the preliminary findings from the quantitative data generation and analysis conducted as part of the project “Financial decision-making, gender and social norms in Zambia”. Using a series of specially designed behavioural experiments, we generated an extensive set of insights into the normative environment within which spouses in Eastern Province, Zambia, make decisions about individual money holding and saving. Here are some of those insights. Spouses in Eastern Province, Zambia, are willing to compromise household-level earnings in order to maintain individual control over money. Wives, but not husbands, are more likely to compromise household-level earnings in order to maintain individual control over money, when they can keep that money and their actions hidden from their spouses. Individually-held behavioural prescriptions, i.e., the “shoulds” and “oughts” that individuals have in mind and reference as guides for their own behaviour and as benchmarks against which to evaluate others’ behaviour, inform decision-making about maintaining individual control over money at a cost to the household. Further, when individuals know that their spouses will find out about their descisions regarding maintaining individual control over money (or not) at a cost to the household, the individuals take their spouses’ opinions about what they should do into account, i.e., they compromise. There is strong but not unequivocal evidence pointing to the existence of a social norm, i.e., a “should” or “ought” that is collectively held and enforced by members of a community, forbidding saving in secret from one’s spouse, with the secrecy not the saving being the problem. Assuming it exists, this social norm forbidding saving in secret from one’s spouse applies to both husbands and wives, and this is acknowledged by both husbands and wives. However, the extent to which violations of this norm are tolerated depends on who is doing the violating and who the evaluating. In patrilineal communities (as compared to matrilineal communities), both husbands and wives are especially intolerant of secret saving by husbands and in both patrilineal and matrilineal communities, wives are less tolerant than husbands of secret saving by husbands and more tolerant than husbands of secret saving by wives. This relative tolerance of secret saving by wives notwithstanding, just under one in three wives and one in six husbands think that a man is justified in beating his wife if he discovers that she is saving in an e-wallet or has joined a savings group without his knowledge and, as grounds for wife beating, saving in secret is on a par with neglecting the children, visiting friends or family in secret and refusing to have sex. For further insights, see the main text of the report. Show less
Akinyoade A., Kazimierczuk A.H., Ekumankama O. Agbaje T., Dietz A.J. 2020
This report presents the research findings on the key social, economic and agronomic dynamics in communities whose livelihoods depend predominantly on the farming of sorghum in northern Nigeria.... Show moreThis report presents the research findings on the key social, economic and agronomic dynamics in communities whose livelihoods depend predominantly on the farming of sorghum in northern Nigeria. Sorghum has become a major element in producing beer and malt by companies like Nigeria Breweries (NB), which is partly owned by Heineken. The two main objectives of this study were to obtain NB’s diverse sourcing modalities and sourcing practices and to examine farm-level issues. In order to achieve the stated objectives, a mixed methods approach was adopted. Four-stage fieldwork was undertaken in 2018 and 2019 in six sorghum- producing states: Kaduna; Niger; Zamfara; Gombe; Katsina; and Yobe States. Researchers from Dutch and Nigerian academic institutions conducted interviews with six vendors from Kaduna and Kano state, administered a questionnaire survey among 433 farmers in the six sorghum- producing states, and conducted interviews and focus group discussions (FGD) with selected sorghum farmers. Based on the data collected, two main groups of sorghum value chain actors were distinguished for further analysis: ‘regular farmers’ and ‘aggregator-farmers’. The former group is further divided into five sub-groups, based on the size of owned land: smallholder farmers I (< 5 ha), smallholder farmers II (6-10 ha), smallholder farmers III (11-20 ha), middle-range farmers (21-200 ha) and large scale farmers (over 201 ha). The latter group consists of vendors and aggregators who combine their commercial activities with sorghum farming Show less
Using a carefully designed series of public goods games, we compare, across monogamous and polygynous households, the willingness of husbands and wives to cooperate to maximize household gains.... Show moreUsing a carefully designed series of public goods games, we compare, across monogamous and polygynous households, the willingness of husbands and wives to cooperate to maximize household gains. Compared to monogamous husbands and wives, polygynous husbands and wives are less cooperative, one with another, and co-wives are least cooperative, one with another. The husbands' and wives' behavior in a corresponding series of inter-household games indicates that these differences cannot be attributed to selection of less cooperative people into polygyny. Finally, behavior in polygynous households is more reciprocal and less apparently altruistic. Show less
Samenvatting: Veel Europese trekvogelpopulaties laten een (sterk) negatieve trend zien. De oorzaken zijn divers en te vinden in broedgebieden, langs trekroutes en in - veelal Afrikaanse -... Show moreSamenvatting: Veel Europese trekvogelpopulaties laten een (sterk) negatieve trend zien. De oorzaken zijn divers en te vinden in broedgebieden, langs trekroutes en in - veelal Afrikaanse - overwinteringsgebieden. In de Sahel vormen met name veranderingen in het landschap een serieuze bedreiging voor veel trekvogelpopulaties. Deze veranderingen zijn zowel een gevolg van, als ook een risico voor de mensen die in deze regio in grote mate afhankelijk zijn van het landschap voor hun levensonderhoud. De door trekvogels en mensen gedeelde afhankelijkheid creëert echter ook mogelijkheden voor oplossingen; duurzaam landgebruik leidt tot behoud van natuurlijke hulpbronnen én tot herstel van biodiversiteit. Naast ecologisch inzicht is daarom ook sociaalgeografische kennis onontbeerlijk voor beschermingswerk. In dit artikel brengen we deze onderzoeksvelden dichter bij elkaar.Summary: Many European migratory bird populations show a (strong) negative trend. The causes are diverse and can be found scattered throughout their breeding grounds, along their migratory routes and in their - mostly African - wintering areas. In the latter category, landscape changes in the Sahel are a serious threat to many migratory bird populations. These landscape changes are both a consequence of, and a risk to, the people that depend to a large extent on the landscape for their livelihood in this region. This dependence shared by migratory birds and people also creates opportunities for solutions; sustainable land use leads to the conservation of natural resources and to the restoration of biodiversity. This appears to be an important strategy for the protection of migratory landbirds, as these species are widespread in the largely cultivated Sahel landscape. So, in addition to ecological insight, socio-geographical knowledge is also essential for this type of conservation work. In this article we strive to bring these fields of expertise closer together.Knowing what our migratory birds do when they are not in the Netherlands’ is usually the strongest drive for researching migratory routes and wintering areas of migratory birds among European researchers. In recent years an enormous amount of knowledge and insight has been generated in that area; insights that are necessary for shaping and prioritizing protection: where and when do which limiting factors occur? But just as important is the insight into the wider context of those limiting factors, for which socioeconomic knowledge is essential. After all, conservation starts with understanding. Show less
Baltissen, G.; Kaag, M.M.A.; Lodder, A.; Steel, G. 2019
BACKGROUND:Schistosoma haematobium is a parasitic digenetic trematode responsible for schistosomiasis (also known as bilharzia). The disease is caused by penetration of the skin by the parasite,... Show moreBACKGROUND:Schistosoma haematobium is a parasitic digenetic trematode responsible for schistosomiasis (also known as bilharzia). The disease is caused by penetration of the skin by the parasite, spread by intermediate host molluscs in stagnant waters, and can be treated by administration of praziquantel. Schistosomiasis is considered to be an important but neglected tropical disease.OBJECTIVE:The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the prevalence of schistosomiasis in the subprefecture of Torrock, an endemic area in Chad where no earlier investigation had been conducted and no distribution system for pharmacotherapy has ever existed.METHODS:This study examined 1875 children aged 1 to 14 years over a period of 1 year. After centrifugation, urine examination was performed by a direct microscopic investigation for eggs. The investigation was conducted with a mobile health (mHealth) approach, using short message service (SMS) for communication among parents, local health workers, a pharmacist, and a medical doctor. An initial awareness campaign requested parents to have their children examined for schistosomiasis. Urine was then collected at home by the parents following the SMS request. Urine results that proved positive were sent to a medical doctor by SMS, who in turn ordered a pharmacist by SMS to distribute praziquantel to the infected children.RESULTS:Direct microscopic examination of urine found 467 positive cases (24.9% of the total sample). Of all male and female samples, 341 (34%) and 127 (14.4%) samples were positive, respectively. The infection rate was equally distributed over age groups. The newly developed mHealth system had a limited level of participation (8%) from an estimated total of 25,000 children in the target group.CONCLUSIONS:The prevalence of schistosomiasis in children in the subprefecture of Torrock is moderately high. Efforts will be required to enhance the awareness of parents and to reach a larger percentage of the population. Systematic governmental measures should be put in place as soon as possible to increase awareness in the area and to diagnose and treat cases of schistosomiasis. Show less
This article critiques the second-hand vehicle markets in the West African region, focusing on the triad trading arrangements among Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and Niger. These countries are connected by... Show moreThis article critiques the second-hand vehicle markets in the West African region, focusing on the triad trading arrangements among Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and Niger. These countries are connected by a number of underlying conflicting interests in the second-hand vehicles trade. Benin and Togo are incentivised by the revenues derived from re-export trade and port operations. Niger provides a proxy market for the illegal re-export of these vehicles to Nigeria, with the latter suffering huge welfare losses as a major consuming nation. We conclude that by offering conflicting benefits to the West African countries, the second-hand vehicle market provides disincentives against true regional integration. Show less
Background. One way to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) is the implementation of health insurance schemes. A robust and up to date overview of... Show moreBackground. One way to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) is the implementation of health insurance schemes. A robust and up to date overview of empirical evidence assessing and substantiating health equity impact of health insurance schemes among specific vulnerable populations in LMICs beyond the more common parameters, such as income level, is lacking. We fill this gap by conducting a systematic review of how social inclusion affects access to equitable health financing arrangements in LMIC. Methods. We searched 11 databases to identify peer-reviewed studies published in English between January 1995 and January 2018 that addressed the enrolment and impact of health insurance in LMIC for the following vulnerable groups: female-headed households, children with special needs, older adults, youth, ethnic minorities, migrants, and those with a disability or chronic illness. We assessed health insurance enrolment patterns of these population groups and its impact on health care utilization, financial protection, health outcomes and quality of care. Results.The comprehensive database search resulted in 44 studies, in which chronically ill were mostly reported (67%), followed by older adults (33%). Scarce and inconsistent evidence is available for individuals with disabilities, female-headed households, ethnic minorities and displaced populations, and no studies were yielded reporting on youth or children with special needs. Enrolment rates seemed higher among chronically ill and mixed or insufficient results are observed for the other groups. Most studies reporting on health care utilization found an increase in health care utilization for insured individuals with a disability or chronic illness and older adults. In general, health insurance schemes seemed to prevent catastrophic health expenditures to a certain extent. However, reimbursements rates were very low and vulnerable individuals had increased out of pocket payments. Conclusion. Despite a sizeable literature published on health insurance, there is a dearth of good quality evidence, especially on equity and the inclusion of specific vulnerable groups in LMIC. Evidence should be strengthened within health care reform to achieve UHC, by redefining and assessing vulnerability as a multidimensional process and the investigation of mechanisms that are more context specific. Show less
.Responses to the article: "Struggling to be a “happy self”?: psychotherapy and the medicalization of unhappiness in Uganda" written byJulia Vorhölter.
This paper presents the results of a short-term research project conducted in 2017/2018 on the various ways in which migration and land dynamics in West Africa are intertwined. Contrary to much... Show moreThis paper presents the results of a short-term research project conducted in 2017/2018 on the various ways in which migration and land dynamics in West Africa are intertwined. Contrary to much conventional (policy) thinking in the European Union (EU) today, our point of departure is not that migration is the problem to be solved – nor that (access to) land is the straightforward means to discouraging migration. Drawing on local case studies in four West African countries, this research aims to shed light on the various relationships between migration and land, and to analyze to what extent they may contribute to or obstruct (local) inclusive and sustainable development in Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Benin. In doing so, we aim to offer food for thought concerning possible ways for making the connection between migration and land more fruitful and productive for as many people as possible, especially in relation to the opportunities and constraints facing different categories of West African youth. Show less