We use three years of household panel data to analyze the effects of ill-health on household economic outcomes in rural Ethiopia. We examine the immediate effects of various ill-health measures on... Show moreWe use three years of household panel data to analyze the effects of ill-health on household economic outcomes in rural Ethiopia. We examine the immediate effects of various ill-health measures on health expenditure and labor supply, the subsequent coping responses, and finally the effect on income and consumption. We find evidence of substantial economic risk in terms of increased health expenditure and reduced agricultural productivity. Households are able to smooth consumption by resorting to intra-household labor substitution, borrowing and depleting assets. However, maintaining current consumption through borrowing and depletion of assets is unlikely to be sustainable and displays the need for health financing reforms and safety nets that reduce the financial consequences of ill-health. Show less
Hollander, S.; Dekker, M.; Miroro, O.; Kesteren, F. van; Bossuyt, J. 2018
This book provides an overview of the conditions facing the urban poor in Khartoum, Sudan and explores the opportunities and constraints people of different genders, ages, wealth and social... Show moreThis book provides an overview of the conditions facing the urban poor in Khartoum, Sudan and explores the opportunities and constraints people of different genders, ages, wealth and social origins face in the pursuant of their livelihoods. Using an in-depth analysis, it argues that the livelihoods of poor people have been severely constrained by both formal and informal institutions that have not allowed them to access capitals and choose the way they utilize those they have. Muna A. Abdalla was born in August 1966 in Khartoum, the Capital of Sudan. After completing primary and secondary education in Sudan, she pursued her university education in Egypt, University of Zagazig, where she obtained her BSC in Science and Education. In 1989 she obtained an Advanced Diploma in Development and Adult Education, Post Graduate College, University of Khartoum, then a M.Ed. in Education, University of Manchester, UK, 1991. She worked as consultant/researcher on Africa's development challenges, poverty, gender and capacity building issues with ILO, OSSREA and the Ford Foundation in different countries. She coordinated and assisted in implementing and managing projects for UNECEF in Sudan, and worked for the Sudan Broadcasting Services and DPMF in Ethiopia. Show less
This paper examines how poor members of Fulbe society, a group of agropastoralists in the Sahel, central Mali, are surviving after two decades of environmental disaster. The focus is on the... Show moreThis paper examines how poor members of Fulbe society, a group of agropastoralists in the Sahel, central Mali, are surviving after two decades of environmental disaster. The focus is on the Jalloube of the Hayre in central Mali. Social security relations and institutions based on Islam seem to be becoming more important for these people, who are not sufficiently supported anymore by 'traditional' social security mechanisms. Islam has a long history in the Hayre, as have its institutions such as 'zakat' (the basis of the Islamic principle of charity), Koranic schools and networks of Moodibaabe (Islamic scholars). The harsh circumstances in which the Jalloube live have given new values and importance to these institutions and to social relations based on Islam: new networks based on Islam are being explored; 'zakat' has become much more an institution directed at alleviating poverty and is replacing other obligatory kinship-based gift relations; Islamic knowledge and the status related to it open up new possibilities of survival. Fieldwork for this study was carried out in 1990-1992 in the 'cercle' Douentza. Show less