In this paper we review the evidence on the impact of large shocks, such as drought, on child and adult health, with particular emphasis on Zimbabwe and Ethiopia. Our focus is on the impact of shocks on long-term outcomes, and we ask whether there are intrahousehold differences in these effects.
The evidence suggests substantial fluctuations in body weight and growth retardation in response to shocks. While there appears to be no differential impact between boys and girls, adult women are often worse affected by these shocks. For children, there is no full recovery from these losses, affecting adult health and education outcomes, as well as lifetime earnings. For adults, there is no evidence of persistent effects from transitory shocks in our data.
Malaria still claims a heavy human and economic toll, specifically in sub-Saharan Africa. Even though the causality between malaria and poverty is presumably bi-directional, malaria plays a role in the economic difficulties of the region. This article provides an analysis of the economic consequences of malaria (with an emphasis on human capital accumulation and productivity), and a discussion of policies aimed at reducing its incidence.
A major initiative has been the distribution of insecticidal bed-nets at a highly subsidized price. An economic-epidemiology model is used to explain why such policy is doomed to fail in presence of a very high poverty incidence, as observed in the African region.
Women play a crucial role in providing care and support, and also in the use and management of the water resources and sanitation at the household level. In addition, voluntary community care work is done mostly by women, rather than men, thus as caregivers women experience further pressures brought on by the spread of HIV/AIDS in rural communities. While HIV/AIDS is not a direct water related disease, it is important to recognise that people living with this disease are much more vulnerable to infections or diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera and other diseases linked to poor water supply and sanitation, thus it is essential that such diseases are prevented.
Having acknowledged this fact, it is important to note that there is still a low level of participation of women, particularly in decision-making and as a result, women still suffer the consequence of poor water and sanitary facilities,
The world’s highest HIV prevalence and the increasing number of deaths due to AIDS is having unprecedented impact on Swaziland. Worryingly, with a generation of orphans and rapidly escalating poverty, this desperate situation is being accepted as ‘normal’. HIV/AIDS in Swaziland has been characterized by a slow onset of impacts that have failed to command an emergency response.With insufficient resource allocation and a lack of capacity, slow onset events can become emergencies.The absence of an agreed definition of “disaster” or “emergency” has helped to sustain this characterisation.
The nature of these terms is changing.The case of Swaziland emphasizes that they can be long- term, complex, widespread events that evolve over years.Allocating humanitarian funding according to need is important. The current paradigm of emergencies is inadequate for assessing situations that develop slowly and quietly. There is broad agreement within humanitarianism that reflects a concern with reducing suffering and preserving human dignity.
Malawi has experienced rapid economic growth in recent years, but the gains of this growth have not been spread evenly and the gap between rich and poor has widened at an alarming pace. Today, half of all Malawians live in poverty.This report examines the sharp rise in inequality in Malawi between 2004/5 and 2010/11, and models the link between poverty, inequality and growth from 2015 to 2020.
It analyses inequality in Malawi across a number of dimensions, including education, health, wealth and income/consumption, and also looks at how inequality is reinforced by corruption, gender inequity and an unequal distribution of political power. The authors warn that unless the government takes action, many more Malawians will live in poverty by 2020.
The paper discusses strategies for meeting the needs of the poor in a pluralist health sector. It argues that the first step in defining such strategies must be a realistic assessment of the complex and unregulated market for health services that exists in many parts of Africa. It suggests that simplistic calls for government and donors either to cease or substantially increase funding for existing public health services are misguided in a situation where even the labels ‘public’ and ‘private’ require careful analysis. Instead it proposes that governments should use their resources and influence to promote the substantial changes required to establish effective health services.
It also calls for a fundamental reassessment of the relationship between government, health services providers, civil society organisations, communities and households in the health sector. It concludes that a new vision for pro-poor health services will emerge from a process of listening to the needs of the poor,
