Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
David Forkuor, Andrews Korah
Summary: Rural communities in Ghana face deprivation of basic social amenities, infrastructure, and livelihood skills, leading to widening inequality between rural and urban spaces. Efforts have been made by the government and development partners to bridge this gap and achieve sustainable development in rural areas. This study examines the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in sustaining rural livelihoods in the Upper West Region of Ghana. The results show that NGO intervention programs have positively contributed to improving various aspects of beneficiaries' lives, but there are challenges in ensuring the long-term sustainability of these interventions.
ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
ManMohan S. Sodhi, James Knuckles
Summary: This study examines development-aid supply chains (DASC) used for long-term recovery after a disaster or economic development in a region, with a focus on how donor funding affects the collaboration and data flow between various stakeholders. While donor cash plays a crucial role in connecting different entities in these supply chains, it may also lead to increased dependence on aid, as highlighted in the conceptual model proposed in the research.
PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Emily Aiken, Suzanne Bellue, Dean Karlan, Chris Udry, Joshua E. Blumenstock
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant damage to low- and middle-income countries, leading to widespread food insecurity and declining living standards. A study shows that mobile phone network data can improve targeting for humanitarian assistance by training machine-learning algorithms to recognize poverty patterns, enabling aid to be prioritized for the poorest mobile subscribers.
Article
Development Studies
Woojin Jung
Summary: Development aid has the potential to alleviate poverty more effectively when directed towards areas of concentrated need. This study addresses the limited research on subnational aid targeting by examining its orientation towards poor villages in Myanmar. The findings show that densely aided areas are brighter and have a lower proportion of vulnerable populations, but aid tends to go to areas with fewer resources when comparing villages with similar brightness. The study also reveals variations in aid targeting practices among different donors with different ideologies. These findings suggest that analyzing aid at a fine-grained level using high-resolution spatial data can provide a more nuanced understanding of aid targeting.
Article
Economics
Musharavati Ephraim Munyanyi, Sefa Awaworyi Churchill
Summary: This study contributes to the understanding of foreign aid effectiveness and its impact on energy poverty. The findings suggest that foreign aid reduces the likelihood of energy poverty in Senegal, particularly when aid projects are within a 25-km radius. Income poverty, education, and economic growth are identified as the main channels through which aid influences energy poverty.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Md Ariful Hoque, Brent Lovelock, Anna Carr
Summary: This study examines the role of NGOs in tourism-related poverty alleviation in a rural Indigenous community in Bangladesh and finds that the sustainability is affected by various issues. NGO interventions create economic opportunities, but the involvement of multiple stakeholders and diverse goals complicate the partnership implementation.
JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
(2022)
Article
Area Studies
Yunus Turhan
Summary: This article focuses on the changes in Turkish foreign aid behavior following the Arab Uprisings and the foiled coup d'etat, particularly examining the impact of the existence of Gulenist schools in recipient states on aid disbursement. The study found that while cooperation with Turkey on the matter of Gulenist schools is a factor in determining the volume of Turkish aid, there is no uniform orientation towards countries collaborating or not collaborating with Turkey on this issue. The orientation is primarily driven by humanitarianism, ensuring continuity in humanitarian aid post-July 15.
JOURNAL OF BALKAN AND NEAR EASTERN STUDIES
(2021)
Article
Development Studies
Vien Chu, Belinda Luke
Summary: The study found that NGOs emphasize organizational development in their understanding of success at the organizational level, but focus on short-term outputs rather than long-term outcomes and impacts at the program level, with limited follow-up. Potential misconceptions regarding understandings of success from an internal versus external perspective were identified, highlighting the need for long-term monitoring to assess the sustainability of NGOs' program outcomes.
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT
(2021)
Article
Development Studies
Jamelia Harris
Summary: This article examines donor-driven skills training programmes and projects at the technical and vocational level in post-war Sierra Leone, using dependency theory as an analytical framework. Based on qualitative data collected from fieldwork in 2017, it emerges that such programmes and projects are driven by donor strategies and largely detached from local market demands. These interventions promise employment but instead deliver informal self-employment and focus heavily on outputs rather than outcomes. Thus, the article argues that donor-driven skills development is unlikely to contribute meaningfully to national growth and development in Sierra Leone.
THIRD WORLD QUARTERLY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ekanem Abasiekong Etuk, Josephine Oluwatoyin Ayuk
Summary: The Commercial Agricultural Development Project (CADP) in Nigeria has shown positive impacts on poverty status and commercialization of beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries. However, the study concludes that it is not pro-poor and there is a need to effectively target the poor in designing development intervention programs.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Hanxiao Xu, Rui Dong, Yuhu Cui, Wenchuan Zang
Summary: Photovoltaic poverty alleviation projects (PVPA), introduced by China to promote green development and poverty alleviation, have attracted attention. This study uses panel data from 852 counties in China to examine the effects of PVPA on county economy. The findings show that PVPA can significantly promote county economy, with stronger effects in certain types of counties and weak spillover effects on neighboring areas.
Article
Education & Educational Research
Alix Ziff
Summary: While the hope is that foreign aid allocation is determined by the needs of recipients, evidence suggests that political agendas of both donors and recipients play a significant role. This study examines the distribution of education aid in Kenya and finds that aid does not flow to the neediest areas, highlighting the role of political preferences in aid allocation.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
(2023)
Article
Political Science
James Christensen, Miranda Simon
Summary: This article explores the use of aid as a means to control migration, called 'inducement aid'. Two objections to inducement aid are examined, focusing on the message it sends to potential migrants and other developed countries. The first objection is countered by a powerful reply, reinforcing the perception of inducement aid as a non-compulsory and option-enhancing form of migration control. However, the second objection, which highlights the potential harm of inducement aid on international norms and the well-being of the poorest people, holds greater weight.
Article
Law
Shaun Ossei-Owusu
Summary: In recent years, the insidious effects of poverty on poor people who lack legal representation have been highlighted, leading to calls for a right to counsel in civil cases. The sharp distinction between civil and criminal legal aid remains unclear, prompting a re-examination and alternative reflections on how to best deliver legal services to poor people.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LAW REVIEW
(2021)
Article
Environmental Studies
Jia Li
Summary: We investigated the impact of Chinese foreign aid on energy poverty in 11 sub-Saharan African countries using matched data on geo-referenced Chinese aid projects and household information from the Demographic and Health Surveys. Our findings show that Chinese aid projects improve access to clean cooking fuels, but not electricity, in the recipient countries' treatment areas. The effect of Chinese aid on energy poverty varies between rural and urban areas. Improvements in access to clean cooking fuels have been driven by Chinese aid projects through employment and education.
ENERGY RESEARCH & SOCIAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Health Policy & Services
Daniel Kpienbaareh, Raymond Elikplim Kofinti, Irenius Konkor, Daniel Amoak, Moses Mosonsieyiri Kansanga, Isaac Luginaah
Summary: The study found a negative association between lack of knowledge about pregnancy complications and the utilization of maternal health services. Therefore, it is recommended to strengthen maternal health education in existing programs.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Daniel Amoak, Isaac Luginaah, Gordon McBean
Summary: Climate change poses threats to human health, food security, and ecological sustainability. This paper examines the transdisciplinary practice of agroecology as a means to address climate change and promote sustainable development in marginalized communities. By combining science with local knowledge, agroecology can mitigate the impact of climate change on rural communities and contribute to healthier and more equitable food systems.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Daniel Amoak, Joseph Asumah Braimah, Williams Agyemang-Duah, Nancy Osei Kye, Florence Wullo Anfaara, Yujiro Sano, Roger Antabe
Summary: There is growing interest in the impact of food insecurity on the health of older adults in sub-Saharan Africa, including Ghana. However, little is known about the association between food insecurity and self-rated oral health. This study examines this association using a representative survey of adults aged 60 or older from three regions in Ghana and found that older adults who experienced mild, moderate, and severe food insecurity were more likely to rate their oral health as poor compared to those who did not experience any type of food insecurity.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Daniel Amoak, Nancy Osei Kye, Florence Wullo Anfaara, Yujiro Sano, Roger Antabe
Summary: Poverty and low education levels are among the main reasons for low maternal tetanus toxoid vaccination rates in Benin.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Daniel Amoak, Satveer Dhillon, Roger Antabe, Yujiro Sano, Isaac Luginaah
Summary: Deworming medication utilization among pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa, including Benin, is not well studied. This study analyzed the Benin Demographic and Health Survey data from 2017-2018 to explore the factors associated with deworming medication utilization. The findings revealed that 65% of pregnant women in Benin received deworming medication, with age, religion, education level, household wealth, employment status, and antenatal care visits being significant factors influencing utilization.
TROPICAL MEDICINE AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE
(2023)
Article
Health Policy & Services
Satveer Dhillon, Daniel Amoak, Yujiro Sano, Roger Antabe, Isaac Luginaah
Summary: This study aimed to explore the association between the knowledge of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV and antenatal care (ANC) utilization in HIV endemic regions such as Cameroon. Using the 2018 Cameroon Demographic and Health Survey, the study found that pregnant women with adequate MTCT knowledge were more likely to have higher ANC visit numbers and early ANC initiation, as well as giving birth in healthcare facilities. These findings remained robust after controlling for relevant variables. The study provides implications for policymakers and recommendations for future research.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)