Multidimensional poverty dynamics in Ethiopia: how do they differ from consumption-based poverty dynamics?

Poverty can take many different forms, ranging widely over dimensions both monetary, such as consumption or income, and nonmonetary, such as health and education. One large class of nonmonetary measures of poverty is the multidimensional poverty index (MPI); recent studies document that people identified as poor in one dimension are often different from those who found to be poor in another dimension. This paper extends the literature by examining whether MDP dynamics are similar to the dynamics of a related consumptionbased measure of poverty. Using two waves of Ethiopian panel data (2011-12 and 2013-14) we estimate poverty based on a monetary value of real consumption and a nonmonetary weighted deprivation index (our underlying measure of MDP). Similar to studies for other countries, we find that the two estimates of poverty identify significantly different groups of Ethiopians as poor. A key contribution of this paper is the finding that changes in consumption are largely independent of changes in multidimensional wellbeing: Awareness that an individual’s wellbeing improved over time as measured by improvements in the weighted deprivation index provides no information about whether his or her wellbeing has improved where consumption is concerned.Keywords: Ethiopia, child malnutrition, wasting, underweight, panel data analysi

Dynamics of wasting and underweight in Ethiopian children

In Ethiopia, 9.7 percent of rural and 28.7 percent of small-town children are wasted and underweight, and undernutrition is responsible for a large percentage of childhood deaths. We use two waves of panel data, from the 2012 and 2014 Ethiopia Socioeconomic Surveys, to assess the dynamics of weight-for-height z-score, wasting, weight-for-age z-score, and underweight among children aged 6-59 months. Ordinary least squares (OLS) and fixed effects regression models are used to examine the associations of individual, household, and community factors with each outcome. The cross-sectional results, which generally parallel previous findings, suggest that child’s sex, recent illnesses, household assets, and livestock ownership are correlated with nutritional status. However, many associations disappear after controlling for fixed effects; only recent illness and community access to a main road are consistently significant determinants of changes in nutrition status. Thus, changing factors traditionally identified as correlates of undernutrition may not be enough to improve children’s nutrition. Further panel analysis, conditional on baseline nutrition status, shows that drivers of change are asymmetrical—a finding important for policy development.Keywords: Ethiopia, child malnutrition, wasting, underweight, panel data analysi

Dynamics of poverty and wellbeing in Ethiopia: an introduction to a Special Issue of the Ethiopian Journal of Economics

Understanding change is critical to policy formulation. Who benefits, who loses from change, and what causes change are core policy questions. Panel data are central to understanding change, and this special issue of the journal is devoted to five papers examining change in wellbeing as measured by two waves of data from the Ethiopia Socioeconomic Survey (ESS). The papers cover changes in consumption poverty, multi-dimensional poverty, food security, malnutrition in the form of wasting and underweight status, and smoothing patterns of nonfarm enterprise activities. The ESS data is freely available for download and immediate use. While the papers in this issue draw from the first two waves of data (2011-12 and 2013-14), the third wave of the ESS (2015-16) is now also publicly available. The ESS is a collaborative effort of the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia and the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Study – Integrated Surveys of Agriculture program.Keywords: Ethiopia, LSMS-ISA, panel data, poverty, multi-dimensional poverty, food security, malnutrition, nonfarm enterpris

Once poor always poor? Exploring consumption- and asset-based poverty dynamics in Ethiopia

This paper examines the dynamics of wellbeing in Ethiopia by assessing changes in poverty status based on consumption and asset ownership. Using panel data from the first two waves of the Ethiopia Socioeconomic Survey (ESS), we discover that although the cross-sectional poverty remains relatively unchanged (approximately 30% in both 2012 and 2014), the proportion of the population experiencing consumption poverty at some point during this period is 47%. An asset-based measure of poverty exhibits fewer transitions in and out of poverty. Examination of the direction and magnitude of change in consumption both at aggregate and subgroup levels indicates that despite a stagnant poverty rate, consumption patterns have changed significantly. The forward movers and non-poor households have increased their share of spending on nutrient-dense foods, while the chronic poor and backward movers have increased spending shares on staples (reduced on nutrient-dense foods). Our findings indicate that availability of longitudinal data at the household level provides additional insights on the dynamics of wellbeing that would be impossible to understand using cross sectional data only.Keywords: Wellbeing dynamics, Ethiopia, LSMS-ISA, consumption-based poverty, asset-based povert

Identifying the impact of intimate partner violence in humanitarian settings: Using an ecological framework to review 15 years of evidence

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive form of gender-based violence that exacerbates in humanitarian settings. This systematic review examined the myriad IPV impacts and the quality of existing evidence of IPV in humanitarian settings. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) procedures, a total of 51 articles were included from the 3924 screened. We identified the impact of IPV across two levels of the ecological framework: individual and microsystem. Our findings corroborated previous evidence that indicated IPV to be associated with adverse physical and mental health for survivors. Our findings also uniquely synthesized the intergenerational impact of IPV in humanitarian settings. However, findings highlighted a glaring gap in evidence examining the non-health impact of IPV for survivors in humanitarian settings and across levels of the ecological framework. Without enhanced research of women and girls and the violence they experience, humanitarian responses will continue to underachieve, and the needs of women and girls will continue to be relegated as secondary interests. Investment should prioritize addressing the range of both health and non-health impacts of IPV among individuals, families, and communities, as well as consider how the humanitarian environment influences these linkages

Nonfarm enterprises in rural Ethiopia: improving livelihoods by generating income and smoothing consumption?

In developing countries highly dependent on agriculture, non-farm enterprises (NFEs) are often lauded as income diversification opportunities, helping to smooth income in the farming off-seasons. Using data from the first wave of the Ethiopia Socioeconomic Survey (ESS), a nationally representative survey of rural and small town Ethiopia, we explore the role NFEs play in seasonal income generation, consumption smoothing, and risk mitigation. We find that NFEs are in fact pro-cyclical with agriculture, with the most productive months of NFE operation coinciding with the harvest season and crop sales. This procyclicality appears to be driven by demand-side factors, where increases in community income through crop sales generate higher demand for NFE goods and services. We also find no evidence that households operating NFEs are better able to ward off incidence or duration of food insecurity in the face of shocks, suggesting NFEs do not insure temporally vulnerable households against risks.Keywords: Ethiopia, LSMS, non-farm enterprises, income diversificatio

SALaMA study protocol: a mixed methods study to explore mental health and psychosocial support for conflict-affected youth in Detroit, Michigan

Background Families resettling to the U.S. from conflict-affected countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) face countless challenges. These families must cope with experiences of armed conflict and forced migration while also assimilating to a new society. According to the ‘immigrant paradox,’ time spent in a new country can compound the effects of migration and assimilation challenges and lead to deteriorated mental health. This study aims to assess the psychosocial wellbeing of MENA-born or first-generation adolescents attending school in the Detroit metropolitan area (DMA) to understand how schools, families, and communities play a role in supporting these adolescents’ wellbeing. Methods The quantitative component of this mixed methods study will involve a self-administered survey with a sample of students whose responses will be linked to academic records and behavioral assessments. The survey will utilize validated instruments to measure depressive and anxiety symptoms (Hopkins Symptom Checklist-37A), hope (Children’s Hope Scale), resilience (Child and Youth Resilience Measure-12), externalizing and prosocial behavior (Hopkins Symptom Checklist-37A, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire), school belonging (Psychological Sense of School Membership), and peer relationships (Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support). Differences in outcomes will be analyzed across two strata: students born in the MENA region and first-generation students whose parents immigrated to the US from the MENA region. The qualitative component will involve semi-structured key informant interviews with parents, school administrators, educators, and mental health providers, and focus group discussions (FGDs) with a purposive sample of adolescents born – or whose parents were born - in the MENA region. The FGDs will include a participatory ranking activity where participants will be asked to free-list and rank ideas about how schools can better support students like them. Thematic content analysis will be conducted to identify common themes. Discussion This study will contribute evidence about the wellbeing of adolescents who come from – or whose parents come from - conflict-affected countries currently living in the U.S. Findings can be used to inform program and policy development to enable schools and their community partners to serve this population more effectively

Building caregivers' emotional, parental and social support skills to prevent violence against adolescent girls:Findings from a cluster randomised controlled trial in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Introduction Parenting programmes are increasingly popular for reducing children’s exposure to interpersonal violence in low/middle-income countries, but there is limited evidence on their effectiveness. We investigated the incremental impact of adding a caregiver component to a life skills programme for adolescent girls, assessing girls’ exposure to violence (sexual and others) and caregivers’ gender attitudes and parenting behaviours.Methods In this two-arm, single-blinded, cluster randomised controlled trial, we recruited 869 adolescent girls aged 10–14 and 764 caregivers in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. Following a baseline survey, participants were divided into 35 clusters based on age, language and location. Eighteen clusters were randomised to the treatment arm and 17 clusters to the wait-list control arm. Adolescent girls in both arms received 32 life skills sessions; caregivers in the treatment arm received 13 complementary caregiver sessions. The primary outcome was girls’ self-reported exposure to sexual violence in the last 12 months; secondary outcomes included self-reports of specific forms of sexual violence, physical and emotional violence, transactional sex, child marriage for girls and parenting behaviours for caregivers. Intent-to-treat and per-protocol analyses were conducted.Results At 12 months of follow-up, the intervention showed no impact on sexual violence (adjusted OR=0.95; 95% CI 0.65 to 1.37) or any secondary outcomes for girls. The intervention was associated with improved supportive parenting behaviours. Protocol adherence was also associated with improvements in these outcomes.Conclusion While the caregiver curriculum improved some parenting outcomes, additional programmatic adaptations may be needed to reduce adolescent girls’ violence exposure in humanitarian settings.Trial registration number NCT02384642

Perpetration of intimate partner violence and mental health outcomes: sex- and gender-disaggregated associations among adolescents and young adults in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: The association between intimate partner violence (IPV) victimisation and poor mental health outcomes is well established. Less is known about the correlation between IPV perpetration and mental health, particularly among adolescents and young adults. Using data from the nationally representative Violence Against Children Survey, this analysis examines the association between IPV perpetration and mental health for male and female adolescents and young adults in Nigeria. METHODS: Multivariate logistic regression models were used to examine associations between ever-perpetration of IPV and four self-reported mental health variables: severe sadness, feelings of worthlessness, suicide ideation, and alcohol use. Models were sex-disaggregated, controlled for age, marital status, and schooling, and tested with and without past exposure to violence. Standard errors were adjusted for sampling stratification and clustering. Observations were weighted to be representative of 13-24 year-olds in Nigeria. RESULTS: Males were nearly twice as likely as females to perpetrate IPV (9% v. 5%, respectively; P < 0.001), while odds of perpetration for both sexes were higher for those ever experiencing IPV (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 4.60 for males; aOR = 2.71 for females). Female perpetrators had 2.73 higher odds of reporting severe sadness (95% confidence interval CI = 1.44, 5.17; P = 0.002) and 2.72 times greater odds of reporting suicide ideation (1.28, 5.79; P = 0.010) than non-perpetrating females, even when controlling for past-year violence victimisation. In contrast, male perpetrators had 2.65 times greater odds of feeling worthless (1.09, 6.43; P = 0.031), and 2.36 times greater odds of reporting alcohol use in the last 30 days (1.50, 3.73; P < 0.001), as compared to non-perpetrating males. CONCLUSIONS: Among adolescents and young adults in Nigeria, IPV perpetration and negative mental health outcomes are associated but differ for males and females. Mindful of the cross-sectional nature of the data, it is possible that socially determined gender norms may shape the ways in which distress from IPV perpetration is understood and expressed. Additional research is needed to clarify these associations and inform violence prevention efforts

Preventing violence against refugee adolescent girls:Findings from a cluster randomised controlled trial in Ethiopia

Introduction Interpersonal violence is a critical public health concern in humanitarian contexts, but evidence of effective violence prevention programmes targeting adolescent girls is lacking. We investigated the efficacy of a life skills and safe spaces programme to reduce adolescent girls’ experiences of interpersonal violence in a refugee setting.Methods In this two-arm, single-blinded, cluster randomised controlled trial, we recruited 919 Sudanese and South Sudanese girls ages 13–19 years residing in refugee camps in Ethiopia. Girls were divided into 31 clusters, with 457 and 462 participants assigned to the intervention and control arms, respectively. Intervention clusters received 30 life skills sessions delivered in safe spaces and 8 complementary sessions for caregivers. The primary outcome was exposure to sexual violence in the previous 12 months. Secondary outcomes included disaggregated forms of sexual violence, physical violence, emotional violence, transactional sex, child marriage, feelings of safety, attitudes around rites of passage and perceptions of social support. Intent-to-treat analysis was used.Results At 12-month follow-up, the intervention was not significantly associated with reduction in exposure to sexual violence (adjusted OR =0.96, 95%  CI 0.59 to 1.57), other forms of violence, transactional sex or feelings of safety. The intervention was associated with improvements in attitudes around rites of passage and identified social supports. Additionally, the intervention showed a decrease in reported child marriage among girls who were married at baseline.Conclusion While the intervention impacted key markers along the causal pathway to violence reduction, further research and programmatic adaptations are needed to prevent violence towards adolescents in humanitarian contexts.Trial registration NCT02506543