Patterns of reproductive control in sub-Saharan Africa: A couple approach

There is an increasing concern in the demographic literature regarding the utility of one-sex demographic surveys in predicting couple reproductive behavior. Earlier attempts at dealing with this concern seem to have focused primarily on the existence (or lack) of similarities in the reproductive preferences of husbands and wives. These studies assume that if spouses have similar reproductive preferences, we could predict the couple\u27s reproductive behavior with information from anyone spouse. However, similar reproductive preferences does not necessarily imply similar impact of each spouse\u27s preference on actual behavior. To understand the relative impact of each spouse\u27s preference on actual behavior, this study develops the model of spousal influence which takes spouses\u27 influence over each other\u27s reproductive attitudes and preferences as a measure of their relative influence over the couple\u27s actual reproductive decisions and behavior. This model of spousal influence is then applied to data from matched husband-wife pairs in the Ghana and Kenya Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). The model identified husbands as exercising greater control over couple reproductive decisions in Ghana, but wives as having greater control in Kenya. A further examination or the mechanism or spousal influence show that the influence of Ghanaian husbands over their wives\u27 reproductive motivations follow closely the path of dominance, whereas the influence of Kenyan wives reflects a combination of both the selection and dominance mechanisms. The study also shows that the characteristics of the spouse identified by the model of spousal influence as being more dominant, showed up as more important predictors of couple contraceptive use. However, information from both spouses are more important in predicting couple contraceptive use than information from only one spouse. These patterns of gender relations have considerable implications for demographic trends in the two countries. They support the hypothesis that in the process of demographic transition, women have greater control over reproductive behavior. Evidence from focus group discussions conducted in Ghana was used to examine the practical ways Ghanaian husbands effect their control of reproductive decisions

The Population Factor and Economic Growth and Development in Sub-Saharan African Countries

Background: The consequences of rapid population growth for development and policy options for addressing undesirable population trends remain at the core of demographic enquiry in developed and developing countries. In this paper, we re-examine the data on the particular relationship between population trends in sub-Saharan Africa and economic growth and development. We use case studies of Zambia and Botswana to demonstrate the implications of different rates of population growth in the push to eradicate different dimensions of extreme poverty and hunger.Methods: We use extensive review of published and grey literature; the search of databases of the United Nations and World Bank; and analysis of relevant secondary data. Results: The economic profile of Botswana and Zambia were similar in the late 1960s but since the early1980s, Botswana has maintained one of the world's highest economic growth rates, diversified its economy and ranked as the most wealthy and most stable country on the African continent.On the other hand, Zambia's economy lacked economic diversity, with heavy external indebtedness,and high levels of poverty. We show how divergent demographic indicators (fertility levels, population growth rates, and dependency ratios) for Botswana and Zambia since the 1960s offer understanding of their divergent economic trajectories over the same period. Data from 42 SSA countries show that average gender gap in primary enrolment is negatively associated with rates of population growth. Conclusions: Our analysis highlights the inevitable role of population factors in achieving key development goals and the need for interventions, such as investments in voluntary family planning, around alleviating pressures caused by rapid population growth to poverty reduction, maternal and child mortality, and women’s empowerment.

Fertility and Household Economic Outcomes among Poor Urban Households in Nairobi informal Settlements, Kenya

We use longitudinal data on 6,324 households from the Nairobi Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System and a multidimensional poverty index to investigate the effects of birth of additional children on household poverty transitions between 2006 and 2009. Overall we find more households falling into than moving out of poverty, while more households remained in chronic poverty than those who stayed out of poverty over the study period. Having a birth in a household is a significant net predictor of a household falling into poverty and lessens their prospects of moving out of poverty over the observation period. Following the inevitable expenditures associated with infants’ total care, our findings provide compelling quantitative support for anti-poverty interventions that include the promotion of voluntary family planning programs and smaller family size norms as part of the strategies to address persistent poverty among the urban poo

The New Oceania: A Selected Bibliography

Background: improvements in child survival have been very poor in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Since the 1990s, declines in child mortality have reversed in many countries in the region, while in others, they have either slowed or stalled, making it improbable that the target of reducing child mortality by two thirds by 2015 will be reached. This paper highlights the implications of urban population growth and access to health and social services on progress in achieving MDG 4.Specifically, it examines trends in childhood mortality in SSA in relation to urban population growth, vaccination coverage and access to safe drinking water.Methods: correlation methods are used to analyze national-level data from the Demographic and Health Surveys and from the United Nations. The analysis is complemented by case studies on intra-urban health differences in Kenya and Zambia.Results: only five of the 22 countries included in the study have recorded declines in urban child mortality that are in line with the MDG target of about 4% per year; five others have recorded anincrease; and the 12 remaining countries witnessed only minimal decline. More rapid rate of urban population growth is associated with negative trend in access to safe drinking water and in vaccination coverage, and ultimately to increasing or timid declines in child mortality. There is evidence of intra-urban disparities in child health in some countries like Kenya and Zambia.Conclusion: failing to appropriately target the growing sub-group of the urban poor and improve their living conditions and health status – which is an MDG target itself – may result in lack of improvement on national indicators of health. Sustained expansion of potable water supplies and vaccination coverage among the disadvantaged urban dwellers should be given priority in the efforts to achieve the child mortality MDG in SSA

Trends in urban population growth, access to safe drinking water, vaccination, and under-five mortality

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Progress towards the child mortality millennium development goal in urban sub-Saharan Africa: the dynamics of population growth, immunization, and access to clean water"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/7/218</p><p>BMC Public Health 2007;7():218-218.</p><p>Published online 28 Aug 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC2000892.</p><p></p

Urban population growth, access to water and to health services, and child mortality

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Progress towards the child mortality millennium development goal in urban sub-Saharan Africa: the dynamics of population growth, immunization, and access to clean water"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/7/218</p><p>BMC Public Health 2007;7():218-218.</p><p>Published online 28 Aug 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC2000892.</p><p></p