Community-level assessment of droughts in Odisha: Effects, resilience, and implications

India has been severely affected by drought—one-third of the country is either drought-prone or classified as desert. Odisha’s geographic location makes it vulnerable to various natural disasters and climatic risks so the Population Council conducted a study there to explore the impact of drought on people and their resilience, as well as examine the perceptions of state-level infrastructure and institutional initiatives to strengthen responses to droughts. The study found that farmers, laborers, and the poor are severely affected physically, financially, and psychologically as a result of consecutive droughts that have affected agriculture and livelihoods. The report notes a number of actions taken by the government to combat drought situations, and includes recommendations to meet the needs of the population as indicated by the findings

Community-level assessment of heatwaves in Odisha State, India: Effects, resilience and implications

Heatwaves constitute a potential threat to many of India’s states, including Odisha, and their impact could become acute without adaptive capacity. This research brief explores the perceived causes and experiences of climate change and heatwave by stakeholders in the district. It summarizes reported effects on livelihoods, food security, and livestock; water and sanitation; and health, and reviews coping strategies offered by respondents. The report includes a number of recommendations to meet the needs of the population as indicated by the findings

Community-level assessment of floods and cyclones in coastal Odisha, India: Impact, resilience, and implications

India is among the countries that have been severely affected by both floods and cyclones. In 2012, the Government of India estimated that nearly 12 percent of India’s land is prone to floods and river erosion. The Population Council conducted formative research in the state of Odisha to explore the people’s perceptions on impact and resilience to cyclones and floods, and to examine the state-level infrastructure and institutional initiatives to strengthen responses to these events. Findings reported in this brief indicate that flooding and cyclones have had a disproportionate affect on vulnerable groups, including women, children, the elderly, and disabled people, in addition to the poor and the landless. The report details coping and adaptation mechanisms by the community as well as measures taken by the government to respond to floods and cyclones. It includes a number of recommendations to meet the needs of the population as indicated by the findings

Association between school dropouts, early marriages, childbearing, and mental health in early adulthood of women: Evidence from a cohort study in Bihar, India

School dropouts, early marriages, and low age at childbearing are issues still prevalent in Indian states like Bihar, which may be responsible for poor mental health among young adults. The present study examined the effect of life-course events such as school dropouts, early marriages, and early childbearing on mental health status at later ages (23–28 years). Using data from the Understanding the Lives of Adolescents and Young Adults consisting of a 2360 adolescent (ages 15 – 19) girl cohort interviewed in 2007 and re-interviewed at ages 23 – 28 in 2016 from the state of Bihar, India, we applied ordinal logistic regression models in analyzing factors associated with mental health status. Women who never attended school, or dropped out from school, and who got married before age 19 showed a poorer mental health status in their young adulthood (22 – 28 years) compared to their respective counterparts who attended a school and who got married at age 19 or older. As compared to women who had a child before age 19, those who did not have any child, or who had children after 20 years of age were more likely to have poor mental health. Working women, high self-efficacy of women, and women who have decision-making power showed better mental health outcomes as compared to their respective counterparts. To enhance psychological well-being of young women, the study recommends continue education and delaying marriage as the programmatic keys with attention to improving young women’s autonomy and gender role attitudes and reducing societal pressure for bearing first child soon after marriage

Community Collectivization and Consistent Condom Use Among Female Sex Workers in Southern India: Evidence from Two Rounds of Behavioral Tracking Surveys

Community collectivization is an integral part of condom use and HIV risk reduction interventions among key population. This study assesses community collectivization among female sex workers (FSWs), and explores its relationship with sex workers’ consistent condom use (CCU) with different partners considering the interaction effect of time and collectivization. Data were drawn from two rounds of cross-sectional surveys collected during 2010 (N1 = 1986) and 2012 (N2 = 1973) among FSWs in Andhra Pradesh, India. Results of the multiple logistic regression analysis show that, CCU with regular and occasional clients increased over the inter-survey period among FSWs with a high collective efficacy (AOR 2.9 and 6.1) and collective agency (AOR 14.4 and 19.0) respectively. The association of high levels of collectivization with CCU and self-efficacy for condom use are central to improve the usefulness and sustainability of HIV prevention programs worldwide

Voices of rural people: Community-level assessment of effects and resilience to natural disasters in Odisha, India

Globally, natural disasters have caused a large scale of damage and destruction every year, affecting millions of people, the economy, and development – and developing countries are the most severely affected. Odisha is one of India’s most disaster-prone states. This study explores the effects of, and resilience to, cyclones, floods, droughts, and heatwaves in Odisha, and identifies government strategies that help mitigate these natural disasters. We mainly used primary data collected through a qualitative study undertaken from April 2017 to June 2017 in three districts of Odisha. We conducted in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with community members and key stakeholders at different levels. In addition, our study analyzed secondary data on natural disasters using DesInventar, a disaster information management system data source. The findings show that floods, cyclones, and drought in recent years, along with heatwaves and lightning, have severely affected the people of Odisha. The impacts of these natural disasters are calamitous – particularly on livelihoods, food security, health, water, and sanitation. These natural disasters, which have affected agriculture, fisheries, prawn cultivation, roadside vendors, and daily wage laborers, have both short- and long-term effects on the livelihoods of people in Odisha, leaving them with scarce employment opportunities. The vulnerable and marginalized sections of the population have been the most severely affected, and common coping mechanisms have included selling off livestock, borrowing food, taking loans and mortgages, and migration. The government’s measures/programs, such as an Early Warning System, Public Distribution System, Multipurpose Cyclone Rehabilitation Centers, Seasonal Residential Care Centers, and Indira Awas Yojana, play a major role in mitigating the effect of disasters among rural communities. Our study indicates that natural disasters have impacted the population of the state socioeconomically, physically, and psychologically. The effect on livelihoods, directly and indirectly, exacerbates income, food security, and health. There is an urgent need to focus on reducing people’s underlying vulnerabilities by taking proactive measures, engaging the community in decision-making, and generating alternative and sustainable livelihoods

COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices among adolescents and young people in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, India: Study description

To control the spread of COVID-19 in India and to aid the efforts of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), the Population Council and other non-governmental organizations are conducting research to assess residents’ ability to follow sanitation and social distancing precautions under a countrywide lockdown. The Population Council COVID-19 study team is implementing rapid phone-based surveys to collect information on knowledge, attitudes and practices, as well as needs, among 2,041 young people (ages 19-23 years) and/or an adult household member, sampled from an existing prospective cohort study with a total sample size of 20,574 in Bihar (n=10,433) and Uttar Pradesh (n=10,141). Baseline was conducted from April 3-22; subsequent iterations of the survey are planned to be conducted on a monthly basis. Baseline findings on awareness of COVID-19 symptoms, perceived risk, awareness of and ability to carry out preventive behaviors, misconceptions, and fears will inform the development of government and other stakeholders’ interventions and/or strategies. We are committed to openly sharing the latest versions of the study description, questionnaires, deidentified or aggregated datasets, and preliminary results. Data and findings can also be shared with partners working in COVID-19 response

Conceptual framework of the drivers of child marriage: A tool to guide programs and policies

This brief presents a simplified framework to provide key entry points for understanding which drivers of child marriage may be most important in particular contexts. Decision-makers such as researchers, donors, and program practitioners can use the framework to help design programs and policies tailored to these contexts