Cross-sectional study of morbidity, morbidity-associated factors and cost of treatment in Ngaoundere, Cameroon, with implications for health policy in developing countries and development assistance policy

BACKGROUND: In a population-based epidemiological study in Ngaoundere, Cameroon, we studied cross-sectional child morbidity and the cost of necessary investigation and treatment. METHODS: Three teams of two to three health workers visited haphazardly selected households in all major housing quarters. We asked permission to enter for a health survey. Children with cough, fever or weight loss as well as sick adults were offered free-of-charge local hospital examination and treatment. RESULTS: From 177 households with 1777 persons, 51 (2.9%) persons were referred. Thirty-five of them had an undiagnosed disease threatening individual health and in many cases also public health. Seven were hospitalised, including three adults with tuberculosis. Malnutrition was diagnosed in nine small children. Four patients had AIDS, seven had malaria. Average total cost for ambulant patients was 15 USD, for hospitalised patients 110 USD. In the households, almost half of the women 16–50 years of age had no schooling. Two per cent of women and nine per cent of men were daily smokers. Coughing children were more likely than non-coughing children to live in a household with at least one smoker (OR = 3.58, 95% CI 1.72 to 7.46), and they generally lived in more poor households (P = 0.018). Twelve of 16 children with weight loss were referred from households with a high poverty score. CONCLUSIONS: Adult smoking and poverty affect children's health. The cost of hospitalisation or long-lasting therapy is beyond the means of most ordinary families. Diseases with severe consequences for public health, like tuberculosis, AIDS and malaria should have national programs with free, decentralised examination and treatment. Access to generic drugs is important. A major educational effort is needed to improve public health

The limits of instrumentalism: Informal work and gendered cycles of food insecurity in Mozambique

The instrumentalist literature suggests that women can help achieve household food security if they have access to productive resources but do not become overburdened as a result. This paper seeks to assess the relevance of this literature by exploring the gendered cycles of food insecurity in the context of women’s informal labour in northern Mozambique. It considers the relation between women and food security as embedded in the broader socio-economic setting, and finds that the interaction of different forms of deprivation, such as lack of secure employment and conflicting labour demands, generates food insecurity

The role of ICT in modulating the effect of education and lifelong learning on income inequality and economic growth in Africa

This study assesses the role of ICT in modulating the impact of education and lifelong learning on income inequality and economic growth. It focuses on a sample of 48 African countries from 2004 to 2014. The empirical evidence is based on the generalised method of moments (GMM). The following findings are established. First, mobile phone and internet each interact with primary school education to decrease income inequality. Second, all ICT indicators interact with secondary school education to exert a negative impact on the Gini index. Third, fixed broadband distinctly interacts with primary school education and lifelong learning to have a positive effect on economic growth. Fourth, ICT indicators do not significantly influence inequality and economic growth through tertiary school education and lifelong learning. These main findings are further substantiated. Policy implications are discussed

Estimating the effects of the container revolution on world trade

Many historical accounts have asserted that containerization triggered complementary technological and organizational changes that revolutionized global freight transport. We are the first to suggest an identification strategy for estimating the effects of the container revolution on world trade. Our empirical strategy exploits time and cross-sectional variation in countries’ first adoption of container facilities and combines it with product-level variation in containerizability and container usage. Applying our container variables on a large panel of product level trade flows for the period 1962-1990, our estimates suggest economically large concurrent and cumulative effects of containerization and lend support for the view of containerization being a driver of 20th century economic globalization

Ripe to be Heard: Worker Voice in the Fair Food Programme

The Fair Food Program (FFP) provides a mechanism through which agricultural workers’ collective voice is expressed, heard and responded to within global value chains. The FFP's model of worker-driven social responsibility presents an alternative to traditional corporate social responsibility. This article identifies the FFP's key components and demonstrates its resilience by identifying the ways in which the issues faced by a new group of migrant workers – recruited through a “guest-worker” scheme – were incorporated and dealt with. This case study highlights the important potential presented by the programme to address labour abuses across transnationalized labour markets while considering early replication possibilities

The impact of generation and socioeconomic status on the value of higher education in the UAE: A longitudinal study

© 2017 This study explores the differences between student and parents’ value orientation for a college degree across a large sample in the UAE. The value of obtaining a higher education degree in the UAE is transgenerational. Salient benefits of a college degree can be categorized by economic, social and entrepreneurial factors and a model is set forth based on an intrinsic/extrinsic and self vs. other continuum. Education and income are related to valuing several educational outcomes. The most important factor identified across generations included both self-transcendence and self-enhancement values. From 2011–2015, the importance of higher education\u27s social benefits has increased

Application of smart phone in "Better Border Healthcare Program": A module for mother and child care

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To assess the application of cell phone integrating into the healthcare system to improve antenatal care (ANC) and expanded programme on immunization (EPI) services for the under-served population in border area.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A module combining web-based and mobile technology was developed to generate ANC/EPI visit schedule dates in which the healthcare personnel can cross-check, identify and update the mother's ANC and child's EPI status at the healthcare facility or at the household location when performing home visit; with additional feature of sending appointment reminder directly to the scheduled mother in the community.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The module improved ANC/EPI coverage in the study area along the country border including for both Thai and non-Thai mothers and children who were either permanent resident or migrants; numbers of ANC and EPI visit on-time as per schedule significantly increased; there was less delay of antenatal visits and immunizations.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The module integrated and functioned successfully as part of the healthcare system; it is proved for its feasibility and the extent to which community healthcare personnel in the low resource setting could efficiently utilize it to perform their duties.</p