Can Informal Savings Groups Promote Food Security and Social, Economic and Health Transformations, Especially among Women in Urban Sub-Saharan Africa: A Narrative Systematic Review

Akim Tafadzwa Lukwa,Feyisayo Odunitan-Wayas,Olufunke A. Alaba,Estelle Victoria Lambert

doi:10.3390/su14063153

Akim Tafadzwa Lukwa, Feyisayo Odunitan-Wayas + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063153

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Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: Mar 8, 2022
Citations: 6	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Stellenbosch University, University of Cape Town

Abstract

This narrative review aimed to identify if roles of common informal savings groups known as Accumulating Savings and Credit Associations (ASCAs) or Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) can play a significant role in mitigating food insecurity, socioeconomic inequality, promoting health, and/or increasing agency in women in urban sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). These organizations exist in most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) worldwide under various names. A comprehensive search of scholarly outputs across six electronic databases (Pub-Med, Google Scholar, EBSCOhost, Scopus, Sabinet, and Cochrane) from 2000 to 2021 was completed. Twenty-eight (28) records met our inclusion criteria, and their quality was appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) qualitative checklist. We identified through thematic analysis that ROSCAs/ASCAs play a crucial role in advancing social, economic, and health transformations, especially among women in urban SSA. However, while ROSCAs/ACSAs played important roles in food security, it was often not the primary motivation for participation. None of the selected studies identified the importance of dietary quality or access to healthy food in relation to food security. This review suggests a window of opportunity to promote partnerships and collaborations of ROSCAs/ASCAs with relevant stakeholders to leverage the functionalities of ROSCAs/ASCAs as vehicles for re-alignment of priorities, increased knowledge, and opportunities to encourage affordable healthy diets in urban SSA.

Highlights

The themes against which we examined the role of Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs)/ASCAs were (1) mitigating food insecurity, (2) promoting health and well-being, (3) increasing agency in women, and (4) encouraging economic leverage and behavioral economics in urban sub-Saharan African settings
This narrative systematic review shows that opportunities exist to leverage ROSCAs/ASCAs as a tool in advocating for healthy eating
Food suppliers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), public health practitioners, and other relevant stakeholders should maximize the open window of opportunity during the decision-making phases of ROSCAs/ASCAs to advocate healthier, more affordable food choices

Summary

Introduction

The “wicked” problem of food insecurity juxtaposed with overweight/obesity disproportionately affects women and the vulnerable urban poor globally, in the global south, including sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) [1–5]. Women in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are more likely to be food insecure than men, even though women play a more significant role in ensuring household food security [6]. Food insecurity has been linked to factors such as poverty, gender, unemployment, low educational attainment, and low socioeconomic status [7]. The continuous rise of the wicked problem

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