154 research outputs found
Tackling Child Undernutrition in India: Governance Challenges Need More Attention
This article puts a governance lens on India's current approach to tackling undernutrition through DFID's governance framework of state capability, accountability and responsiveness. State capability is analysed in terms of strength of political leadership to tackle undernutrition and to mobilise cross government actions. Accountability for results is assessed in the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) – India's foremost programme for children under six years of age with nutrition and health as one of the programme components. Finally, state responsiveness is assessed especially with respect to the Right?to?Food (RTF) campaign that has taken a legal route to advocacy by successfully petitioning the Supreme Court (SC) that has directed the Government of India (GoI) to improve the functioning of ICDS – with a special focus on the disadvantaged sections of the population
The Aid paradigm for poverty reduction: Does it make sense?
YesWhilst thinking on economic policy for development has undergone many shifts with the perceived weak results of earlier adjustment reforms a new donor consensus has emerged based around the central themes of economic growth, good governance and social development. This paper examines the logic behind this new Aid paradigm and discusses the empirical evidence to support it. A nuanced story is revealed with country circumstances playing a critical role and particular interventions varying in impact across countries. For example, growth does not always lead to gains for the poor that match the national average; public expenditure needs to be targeted to achieve social development but effective targeting is difficult; governance reform may be critical but there is no simple governance blueprint and the corruption-growth association need not always be negative
National discourses on women's empowerment in Bangladesh : continuities and change
As Bangladesh turns 40, improvements in women’s wellbeing and increased agency are claimed to be some of the most significant gains in the post-independence era. Various
economic and social development indicators show that in the last 20 years, Bangladesh, a
poor, Muslim-majority country in the classic patriarchal belt, has made substantial progress in
increasing women’s access to education and healthcare (including increasing lifeexpectancy),
and in improving women’s participation in the labour force. The actors
implementing such programmes and policies and claiming to promote women’s
empowerment are numerous, and they occupy a significant position within national political
traditions and development discourses. In the 1970s and 1980s development ideas around
women’s empowerment in Bangladesh were influenced by an overtly instrumentalist logic
within the international donor sphere. This led to the women’s empowerment agenda being
perceived as a donor driven project, which overlooks how domestic actors such as political
parties, women’s organisations and national NGOs have influenced thinking and action
around it.
This paper explores how these perceptions and narratives around women’s empowerment
have evolved in Bangladesh from 2000 to date. It studies the concepts of women’s
empowerment in public discourse and reviews the meanings and uses of the term by
selected women’s organisations, donor agencies, political parties and development NGOs.
By reviewing the publicly available documents of these organisations, the paper analyses the
multiple discourses on women’s empowerment, showing the different concepts associated
with it and how notions such as power, domains and processes of empowerment are
understood by these actors. It also highlights how these different discourses have influenced
each other and where they have diverged, with an emphasis on what these divergences
mean in terms of advancing women’s interests in Bangladesh.
Keywords: Bangladesh; women’s empowerment; NGOs; political parties; women’s
movement; international aid agencies
Foreign Aid Transaction Costs: What are they and when are they minimised?
'Transaction costs' are commonly referred to in the recent literature on aid effectiveness. Aid transaction costs, however, have been neither consistently defined nor measured. This article defines aid transaction costs as all the economic costs associated with aid management that add
no value to aid delivery. This enables the 'net' transaction costs that should be minimised to be identified. An analytical framework is then developed for assessing these costs. This allows the effectiveness of different aid modalities to be compared, according to the characteristics of
the aid transaction. The article shows that the choice of aid modality should depend on these characteristics and, therefore, that the minimisation of transaction costs should not be an end in itself.Peer reviewe
Beliefs, taboos and minor crop value chains: the case of Bambara Groundnut in Malawi
Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranean) is a source of food for smallholder farmers that is increasingly promoted for its drought tolerance, soil enhancing qualities and nutritious properties. Being an accessible crop to smallholders, it has also recently been the focus of support to develop its value chain in Malawi. However, bambara groundnut is featured in the belief systems of rural people in Malawi, and may effect and be effected by market development. Beliefs and taboos reflect the life/death meanings symbolically represented in bambara groundnut, which influences how and by whom the crop is produced and consumed. These practices lend significant control over the crop to women. These findings have important implications for development and market related interventions that work with food crops, which need to be taken into account during the design phase
Women's Status and Violence against Young Married Women in Rural Nepal
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Studies conducted around the world consistently show the existence of violence against women. Despite the increasing number of studies being conducted on violence against young married women elsewhere, this subject has received little attention from researchers and policy makers in Nepal. This paper assesses the prevalence of violence among young married women in rural Nepal. Specifically, it examines [factors related to] women's status in order to better understand the risk of violence.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2009 among 1,296 young married women aged 15-24 years in four major ethnic groups. Bivariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression were used to examine the association between selected risk factors and violence.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>More than half the women (51.9%) reported having experienced some form of violence in their lifetime. One-fourth (25.3%) reported physical violence and nearly half (46.2%) reported sexual violence. Likewise, one-third (35.8%) of women reported experiencing some form of violence in the past 12 months. No or little inter-spousal communication and low autonomy of women significantly increases the odds of experiencing violence among married women.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The violence against women is quite common among young married women in rural Nepal. Although the Domestic Violence and Punishment Act 2066 has been enacted, equal attention needs to be given to increasing women's autonomy and activities that encourage inter-spousal communication. Furthermore, more research is required in Nepal that examines dynamics of violence perpetrated by husbands.</p
Anomaly or Augury? Global Food Prices Since 2007
This article reviews the dynamics of global food prices since the food crisis of2007–08, the extent to which international prices have influenced national prices and poverty and wellbeing outcomes, and considers whether this exceptional period represents an anomaly or likely signals future episodes of food price volatility. It finds that although some factors that contributed to recent events have eased considerably, some significant drivers remain structural threats to future food security. There is little reason to be confident that recent reductions in food prices and volatilities augur well for the food security or wellbeing of those living on low and precarious incomes in the future
Post-crisis Zimbabwe’s innovative financing mechanisms in the social sectors: a practical approach to implementing the new deal for engagement in fragile states
- …