the case of Eritrea

Thesis(Master) -- KDI School: Master of Development Policy, 2019This study tests a hypothesis about the impact of foreign aid in Eritrea and whether it really achieved its intended goals. It further analyses foreign aid effectiveness and how it affects the policy of self-reliance in Eritrea. It attempts to investigate the way aid was channeled and the degree to which the country has had control of the process as well as setting the priorities which are closely related to “self-reliance”. The study seeks to answer the following questions: “Was aid delivered in a way that strengthened country ownership or undermined it? Does it undermine the policy of “self-reliance”? And how can cooperation between Eritrean government and donors be adjusted in order to better enhance ownership and “self-reliance” and overall aid effectiveness? The data for this study was collected mainly from the Ministry of National Development and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Eritrea-two Ministries Primarily dealing with International Cooperation. Both primary and secondary data sources were used. Interviews were also conducted with 5 key top ranking government officials. In this study, it is revealed that although the government of Eritrea negotiated very well and had a strong ownership in the process of aid delivery and setting priorities, the donor’s approach especially that of EU was ‘rigid’ in the eyes of the Eritrean government and created friction at times. The study further reveals that, Eritrea, although relatively less corrupt compared with many recipient countries, it showed lack of absorption capacity as well as weak institutions that made aid less effective in some areas. Eritrean government believes that its “self-reliance” policy was misunderstood as “isolationist” and created friction at times with donors.CHAPTER ONE. INTRODUCTION & BACK-GROUND CHAPTER TWO. HISTORICAL BACK-GROUND OF “SELF-RELIANCE” IN ERITREA CHAPTER THREE: OVERVIEW OF AID FLOWS FROM 1993-2005 CHAPTER FOUR: AID FLOWS AFTER 2005 CHAPTER FIVE: RESULTS & DISCUSSIONS CHAPTER SIX: conclusion & recommendationsmasterpublishedRedae ZER

Soil - water relationships in the Weatherley catchment, South Africa

Soil water content is influenced by soil and terrain factors, but studies on the predictive value of diagnostic horizon type for the degree and duration of wetness seem to be lacking. The aim of this paper is therefore to describe selected hydropedological soil-water relationships for important soils and diagnostic horizons in the Weatherley catchment. Daily soil water content was determined for 3 horizons in 28 profiles of the Weatherley catchment. These data were used to calculate annual duration of water saturation above 0.7 of porosity (ADs>0.7), which was correlated against other soil properties. Significant correlations (α = 0.05) were obtained between average degree of water saturation per profile and slope (R2 = 0.24), coarse sand content (R2 = 0.22), medium sand content (R2 = 0.23), fine silt content (R2 = 0.19), and clay content (R2 = 0.38). ADs>0.7 per diagnostic horizon ranged from 21 to 29 d•yr-1 for the red apedal B, yellow brown apedal B, and neocutanic B horizons; 103 d•yr-1 for the orthic A horizons; and from 239 to 357 d•yr-1 for the soft plinthic B, unspecified material with signs of wetness, E, and G horizons. A regression equation to predict ADs>0.7 from diagnostic horizon type (DH), clay to sand ratio (Cl:Sa), and underlying horizon type (DHu) gave: ADs>0.7 = -26.31 + 41.64 ln(Cl:Sa) + 35.43 DH + 13.73 DHu (R2 = 0.78). Results presented here emphasise the value of soil classification in the prediction of duration of water saturation.Keywords: diagnostic horizon, model, slope, soil texture, water saturatio

Quantification of long-term precipitation use efficiencies of different maize production practices on a semi-arid ecotope in the Free State Province

Precipitation use efficiency (PUE) was estimated for four production practices, i.e. conventional tillage with November planting (CTN), conventional tillage with January planting (CTJ), in-field rainwater harvesting with November planting (WHBN), and in-field rainwater harvesting with January planting (WHBJ), over 80 maize seasons for a semi-arid ecotope in the central Free State Province of South Africa. An empirical yield prediction model was used to obtain maize grain yields. PUE was expressed as the ratio of transpiration: rainfall for each growing season (PUET), while transpiration was calculated from total biomass yield, vapour pressure deficit and a transpiration efficiency coefficient for maize. The following equation, based on 10 years of measured data, was developed to estimate daily vapour deficit pressure for the 80 seasons from daily maximum temperature: Vd = 0.163 x Tmax – 2.88 (R2 = 0. 73). Mean PUET values over the 80 seasons were: 0.260 for CTN, 0.320 for WHBN, 0.334 for CTJ, and 0.400 for WHBJ. These results confirmed and quantified the advantage of in-field rainwater harvesting over conventional tillage, and the advantage of January planting over November planting. PUET results were also expressed as cumulative probability functions. Significance tests showed that PUET for in-field rainwater harvesting was significantly better than PUET for conventional tillage, and that January planting was significantly better than November planting. It was concluded that the advantage of in-field rainwater harvesting over conventional tillage was mainly due to the absence of runoff and reduced evaporation in the former practice. The use of a short-growing cultivar, which flowers during the month with the most favourable climate, i.e. March, probably resulted in the advantage of January planting over November planting

‘Workers of the World’? A Digital Approach to Classify the International Scope of Belgian Socialist Newspapers, 1885–1940

Peer reviewe

Resource flows for health care: Namibia reproductive health sub-accounts

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Implementing initiatives to achieve the targets of MDG 5 requires sufficient financial resources that are mobilized and utilized in an equitable, efficient and sustainable manner. Informed decision making to this end requires the availability of reliable health financing information. This is accomplished by means of Reproductive Health (RH) sub-account, which captures and organizes expenditure on RH services in two-dimensional tables from financing sources to end users. The specific objectives of this study are: (i) to quantify total expenditure on reproductive health services; and (ii) to examine the flow of RH funds from sources to end users.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The RH sub-account was part of the general National Health Accounts exercise covering the Financial Years 2007/08 and 2008/09. Primary data were collected from employers, medical aid schemes, donors and government ministries using questionnaire. Secondary data were obtained from various documents of the Namibian Government and the health financing database of the World Health Organization. Data were analyzed using a data screen designed in Microsoft Excel.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>RH expenditure per woman of reproductive age was US$148 and US$ 126 in the 2007/08 and 2008/09 financial years respectively. This is by far higher than what is observed in most African countries. RH expenditure constituted more than 10-12% of the total expenditure on health. Out-of-pocket payment for RH was minimal (less than 4% of the RH spending in both years). Government is the key source of RH spending. Moreover, the public sector is the main financing agent with programmatic control of RH funds and also the main provider of services. Most of the RH expenditure is spent on services of curative care (both in- and out-patient). The proportion allocated for preventive and public health services was not more than 5% in the two financial years.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Namibia's expenditure on reproductive health is remarkable by the standards of Africa and other middle-income countries. However, an increasing maternal mortality ratio does not bode well with the level of reproductive health expenditure. It is therefore important to critically examine the state of efficiency in the allocation and use of reproductive health expenditures in order to improve health outcomes.</p

Health financing in Malawi: Evidence from National Health Accounts

BACKGROUND: National health accounts provide useful information to understand the functioning of a health financing system. This article attempts to present a profile of the health system financing in Malawi using data from NHA. It specifically attempts to document the health financing situation in the country and proposes recommendations relevant for developing a comprehensive health financing policy and strategic plan. METHODS: Data from three rounds of national health accounts covering the Financial Years 1998/1999 to 2005/2006 was used to describe the flow of funds and their uses in the health system. Analysis was performed in line with the various NHA entities and health system financing functions. RESULTS: The total health expenditure per capita increased from US$12 in 1998/1999 to US$25 in 2005/2006. In 2005/2006 public, external and private contributions to the total health expenditure were 21.6%, 60.7% and 18.2% respectively. The country had not met the Abuja of allocating at least 15% of national budget on health. The percentage of total health expenditure from households' direct out-of-pocket payments decreased from 26% in 1998/99 to 12.1% in 2005/2006. CONCLUSION: There is a need to increase government contribution to the total health expenditure to at least the levels of the Abuja Declaration of 15% of the national budget. In addition, the country urgently needs to develop and implement a prepaid health financing system within a comprehensive health financing policy and strategy with a view to assuring universal access to essential health services for all citizens

Inequities in utilization of maternal health interventions in Namibia: implications for progress towards MDG 5 targets

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Inequities in the utilization of maternal health services impede progress towards the MDG 5 target of reducing the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015. In Namibia, despite increasing investments in the health sector, the maternal mortality ratio has increased from 271 per 100,000 live births in the period 1991-2000 to 449 per 100,000 live births in 1998-2007. Monitoring equity in the use of maternal health services is important to target scarce resources to those with more need and expedite the progress towards the MDG 5 target. The objective of this study is to measure socio-economic inequalities in access to maternal health services and propose recommendations relevant for policy and planning.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data from the Namibia Demographic and Health Survey 2006-07 are analyzed for inequities in the utilization of maternal health. In measuring the inequities, rate-ratios, concentration curves and concentration indices are used.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Regions with relatively high human development index have the highest rates of delivery by skilled health service providers. The rate of caesarean section in women with post secondary education is about seven times that of women with no education. Women in urban areas are delivered by skilled providers 30% more than their rural counterparts. The rich use the public health facilities 30% more than the poor for child delivery.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Most of the indicators such as delivery by trained health providers, delivery by caesarean section and postnatal care show inequities favoring the most educated, urban areas, regions with high human development indices and the wealthy. In the presence of inequities, it is difficult to achieve a significant reduction in the maternal mortality ratio needed to realize the MDG 5 targets so long as a large segment of society has inadequate access to essential maternal health services and other basic social services. Addressing inequities in access to maternal health services should not only be seen as a health systems issue. The social determinants of health have to be tackled through multi-sectoral approaches in line with the principles of Primary Health Care and the recommendations of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health.</p

National health accounts of the Republic of Botswana: 2000-2002

The objective of this study was to estimate the total health expenditure by various health financing sources and make recommendations for national health accounts (NHA) institutionalization. Data was obtained from government ministries, National AIDS Coordinating Agency, private for-profit/not-for-profit health care providers, public and private health insurance schemes, employers/firms, non-governmental organizations, and donors. NHA questionnaires were sent to all the 225 employers/private companies, 58 private health facilities, 27 NGOs, 12 donors and 8 insurance companies with health expenditures. The data were entered into NHA dummy matrix tables and analyzed using Excel software. The matrices were built in accordance to the International Classification of NHA to facilitate international comparison, but customized to the local situation. Total health expenditure (THE) was approximately P1172.3 million (US$218.6M) in year 2000; P1717.1 million (US$284.7M) in 2001; and P2139.3 million (US$342.9M) in 2002. That expenditure represented 6.43%, 9.27% and 10.54% of the Gross Domestic product (GDP) during the three years, respectively. NHA evidence is useful for health system governance and decision-making, design of comprehensive health financing policies and strategic plans, financial planning, monitoring and evaluation

Technical efficiency of district hospitals: Evidence from Namibia using Data Envelopment Analysis

BACKGROUND: In most countries of the sub-Saharan Africa, health care needs have been increasing due to emerging and re-emerging health problems. However, the supply of health care resources to address the problems has been continuously declining, thus jeopardizing the progress towards achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals. Namibia is no exception to this. It is therefore necessary to quantify the level of technical inefficiency in the countries so as to alert policy makers of the potential resource gains to the health system if the hospitals that absorb a lion's share of the available resources are technically efficient. METHOD: All public sector hospitals (N = 30) were included in the study. Hospital capacity utilization ratios and the data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique were used to assess technical efficiency. The DEA model used three inputs and two outputs. Data for four financial years (1997/98 to 2000/2001) was used for the analysis. To test for the robustness of the DEA technical efficiency scores the Jackknife analysis was used. RESULTS: The findings suggest the presence of substantial degree of pure technical and scale inefficiency. The average technical efficiency level during the given period was less than 75%. Less than half of the hospitals included in the study were located on the technically efficient frontier. Increasing returns to scale is observed to be the predominant form of scale inefficiency. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that the existing level of pure technical and scale inefficiency of the district hospitals is considerably high and may negatively affect the government's initiatives to improve access to quality health care and scaling up of interventions that are necessary to achieve the health-related Millennium Development Goals. It is recommended that the inefficient hospitals learn from their efficient peers identified by the DEA model so as to improve the overall performance of the health system