Internationalization and Localization of the Ghana Model: Lessons Learned, Opportunities for Upscaling, and Future Directions

Many government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and academic and research institutions have over the past two decades conducted studies and implemented actions aimed at developing frameworks, models, and tools to assess the resilience to climate and ecosystem changes of vulnerable communities. However, actions and studies encompassing empirical field tests of the assessment instruments are relatively few. This chapter reports the outcomes of an empirically applied resilience assessment framework, hereafter referred to as the “Ghana Model,” which was initiated as part of the “Enhancing Resilience to Climate and Ecosystem Changes in Semi-Arid Africa: An Integrated Approach (CECAR-Africa)” project, implemented in Ghana’s semiarid ecosystem. The chapter provides a concise description of the “Ghana Model” as an integrated resilience assessment framework as underpinned by seven principles while highlighting the concrete actions and steps taken in operationalizing it. As a clinically valid approach for resilience assessment, the Ghana Model provides valuable evidence to aid decision and policymakers in Ghana in designing and implementing adaptation strategies for climate change in vulnerable communities and households. As a resilience assessment template, it can be applied in other ecosystems within other sub-Saharan African countries as well as other developing economies. The Ghana Model can enrich ongoing discourse on global sustainability as well as provide relevant output toward the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.

The main findings of a study on forest administration and related institutional arrangements (PFA) are highlighted. The relevance and changing roles of PFA in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries are covered in the context of new paradigm for sustainable forest management (SFM). The current weak capacities and low profiles of PFA in SSA countries are addressed and some recommendations are made on actions for positive changes. It is recommended that SSA countries should take appropriate steps to stabilize and strengthen their PFAs through improved governance and to actively participate in the emerging initiative on African forest law enforcement and governance (AFLEG). It is recommended that SSA countries should take immediate steps to mobilize additional resources for PFAs through forest income retention schemes, national forest funds/trusts and through collaboration with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector. It is also recommended that SSA countries should mobilize resources through continental and/or regional initiatives on capacity building for PFA.

Elizabeth Mapella: prioritising adolescent health in Tanzania

Dans un pays en voie de developpement comme l'Inde, la fracture numerique menace d'accentuer les inegalites entre riches et pauvres. L'acces aux connaissances constitue pourtant la fondation du developpement de ces pays. L'efficacite du role des ONG (Organisations Non-Gouvernementales) repose sur l'utilisation de l'internet et la mise en reseau de leurs informations. Le projet indev doit permettre de resorber la fracture numerique au sein des ONG et de repondre a leurs besoins en matiere d'information du developpement, de technologie, de logiciel et de formation.

In 2011, a collaborative project focused on climate and ecosystem change adaptation and resilience studies in Africa (CECAR-Africa) with Ghana as the focal country, was initiated. The goal was to combine climate change and ecosystem change research, and to use that combination as a basis for building an integrated resilience enhancement strategy as a potential model for semi-arid regions across Sub-Saharan Africa. The Project is being financially supported by the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS), a collaborative programme of the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). CECAR-Africa involves the following leading climate and ecosystems research organizations in Ghana and Japan: The University of Tokyo; Kyoto University; United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS); University of Ghana; Ghana Meteorological Agency; University for Development Studies; and United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNUINRA). CECAR-Africa has been operating fully since 2012, with a focus on three thematic areas, namely: Forecast and assessment of climate change impact on agro-ecosystems (Agro-ecosystem resilience); Risk assessment of extreme weather hazards and development of adaptive resource management methods (Engineering resilience); and Implementing capacity development programs for local communities and professionals (social institutions-technical capacity development) using the assessment results derived from work on the first two themes. This special issue presents major outcomes of the Project so far. The articles featured used various techniques and methods such as field surveys, questionnaires, focal group discussions, land use and cover change analysis, and climate downscaled modelling to investigate the impacts of climate and ecosystem changes on river flows and agriculture, and to assess the local capacity for coping with floods, droughts and disasters, and for enhancing the resilience of farming communities. We are happy to be able to publish this special issue just in time for an international conference on CECAR-Africa in Tamale, Ghana, on 6-7 August, 2014. It is hoped that the shared research outcomes will facilitate discussions on the project research themes and interactions and exchange of ideas among academics, professionals, and government officials on the way forward for the CECARAfrica Project. We find it only appropriate to conclude by thanking the authors and reviewers of the articles, and by acknowledging, with gratitude, the local knowledge and other bits and pieces of information contributed by the many anonymous farmers and other people of northern Ghana.

Global financing for the HIV response has reached unprecedented levels in recent years. Over US$10 billion were mobilized in 2007, an effort credited with saving the lives of millions of people living with HIV (PLHIV). A relatively unexamined aspect of the global HIV response is the role of the private sector in financing HIV/AIDS services. As the nature of the response evolves from emergency relief to long-term sustainability, understanding current and potential contributions from the private sector is critical. This paper examines trends in private sector financing, management and resource consumption related to HIV/AIDS in five sub-Saharan African countries, with a particular emphasis on the effects of recently scaled-up donor funding on private sector contributions. We analysed National Health Accounts HIV/AIDS subaccount data for Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia between 2002 and 2006. HIV subaccounts provide comparable data on the flow of HIV/AIDS funding from source to use. Findings indicate that private sector contributions decreased in all countries except Tanzania. With regards to managing HIV/AIDS funds, non-governmental organizations are increasingly controlling the largest share of resources relative to other stakeholders, whereas private for-profit entities are managing fewer HIV/AIDS resources since the donor influx. The majority of HIV/AIDS funds were spent in the public sector, although a considerable amount was spent at private facilities, largely fuelled by out-of-pocket (OOP) payments. On the whole, OOP spending by PLHIV decreased over the 4-year period, with the exception of Malawi, demonstrating that PLHIV have increased access to free or subsidized HIV/AIDS services. Our findings suggest that the influx of donor funding has led to decreased private contributions for HIV/AIDS. The reduction in private sector investment and engagement raises concerns about the sustainability of HIV/AIDS programmes over the long term, particularly in light of current global economic crisis and emerging competing priorities.

With societies, communities, and households continually experiencing changes in social, economic, and environmental conditions, building resilience to mitigate and adapt to shocks and stresses associated with these inherent changes has become an urgent matter. Development of a comprehensive resilience assessment framework with the active engagement of multiple relevant stakeholders can foster the adoption and promotion of plausible and practical resilience enhancement strategies among vulnerable groups. The interdisciplinary research project called ‘Enhancing Resilience to Climate and Ecosystem Changes in Semi-Arid Africa: An Integrated Approach’ (CECAR-Africa) was initiated in 2010 as part of the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) program for international research into pressing global issues by researchers in Japan and developing countries. CECAR-Africa aimed to contribute to filling gaps in resilience assessment whilst proposing tested, practical and sustainable resilience enhancement strategies for use in socio-ecological regions with a special focus on flood and drought-prone rural communities and households in semiarid Northern Ghana.

The abilities and qualities of labour that influence productivity include higher education, on-the-job training and health. Investment in these improves the abilities of the labour force to innovate and adopt new technologies. Thus, policy dimensions towards building human capital make the difference between inclusive growth and jobless economic growth that leaves large segments of the society behind. However, Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries are bedeviled by poor performance of their labour markets mostly characterized by rising rate of unemployment, low labour productivity, among others. This study examines the effect of human capital development on labour market outcomes in Sub Saharan African countries while capturing labour market outcomes with labour productivity. Given that education, health and life expectancy are integrals of human capital investments and often viewed as factors determining a country’s labour force, they are employed within a dynamic panel analysis framework using the Generalized method of Moments for 30 SSA countries from 2000-2019. In most developing countries, particularly SSA, the public sector is often significantly larger than the private sector. Given the role of policymakers in labour market performance, the study introduces government effectiveness as a control variable. Empirical results reveal that government expenditure on health and life expectancy exert significant effect on labour productivity, with government expenditure on health being positive and life expectancy being negative. Similarly, the effect of government expenditure on education is insignificant for labour productivity. Government effectiveness affects labour productivity positively and significantly. The study reiterates the importance of human capital in labour market outcomes while suggesting the need for policies that will ensure adequate investment in human capital. Keywords: Education, Health, Labour Productivity, Sub-Saharan Africa, Human Capital. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/13-6-05 Publication date: March 31 st 2022

NGOs, the Government, and the Private Sector in Chile

The Private Sector Coalition against COVID-19 (CACOVID) was established on the 27th of March 2020 to mobilize private sector resources toward supporting the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, CACOVID set out to provide leadership functions, raise public awareness, provide buy-in for COVID-19 prevention, and provide direct support to strengthen the health system's capacity to respond to the crisis. In this paper, we examine the contextual factors that shaped the private sector's engagement in the fight against the pandemic with a view to identifying progress and learning opportunities. A desk review of the existing literature and documents from relevant stakeholders (government, organized private sector, and civil society organizations) was carried out. Using both the Grindle and Thomas (1) and Husted and Salazar (2) frameworks, we identified individual characteristics (industry expertise and position, philanthropy, and personal/economic interest); the economic crises created by the pandemic; a weak health system; and the multi-sectoral nature of the response to the pandemic.as contextual factors that influenced public-private collaboration in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. That is, the private sector collaborated with the government based on several interrelated contexts that confront them with issues they need to address; determine what options are feasible politically, economically, and administratively; set limits on what solutions are eventually considered; and respond to efforts to alter existing policies and institutional practices. The identified contextual factors provide learning opportunities for enhancing public-private partnership in advancing healthcare not just in Nigeria, but also in related countries in Africa and other developing countries.

What's going on at the World Health Organization?

In the late 1990s, voluntary initiatives and particularly the Voluntary Challenge and Registry Program (VCR), were thought to be preferred instruments for implementing Canada's commitments under the Framework Convention on Climate Change and later under the Kyoto Protocol. However, in January 2005, the Toronto Globe and Mail reported in a headline story on a leaked Government of Canada document entitled ‘Climate Change: Lessons Learned and Future Directions’. The draft document was quoted as stating that the ‘voluntary approach and limited incentives [are] not sufficient to drive substantial change’. Policy-makers would, ‘need more consideration of regulation and taxation to drive behavioural change and technology development and uptake’. This chapter documents and assesses this shift from voluntary to regulatory through a case study of the VCR. It relies on a review the development of Canadian Climate Change policy and on key informants from the energy sector, from government, and from the environmental non-governmental organization (NGO) community.

The contribution of civil society organisations (CSOs) to national HIV/AIDS responses in sub-Saharan African countries, with Global Health Initiatives’ (GHIs) funding channelled through National AIDS Commissions (NACs), is well researched. Less well understood are the governance models and funding mechanisms being used to successfully engage CSOs in the HIV/AIDS response. Using data from government, donor, CSO and documentary sources, this article characterises the organisational principles and practices and unique funding models adopted by the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) to effectively and efficiently engage CSOs in the HIV/AIDS response. It found four major governance principles and practices that target: 1) strategic planning for service delivery; 2) focussed expressions of interest; 3) competitive tendering and contracting for service delivery; and 4) adoption of results-based management. It also identified three predominant funding models that illustrate the application of these guiding principles to harness the inherent strengths of CSOs to more effectively respond to HIV/AIDS, namely: 1) direct funding of locally-based CSOs; 2) funding international and national NGOs to engage local CSOs in partnership; and 3) funding umbrella organisations. These findings are significant for Ghana but they may also have relevance for other low- or middle-income countries (LMICs) that have limited experience delivering HIV/AIDS services through state–civil society partnerships, as well as broader debates on the role of donors, governments and CSOs working in partnership to fight HIV/AIDS.

Introduction. Improving the quality of social services financed from regional budgets and provided by non-governmental social organizations is directly related to improving the efficiency of social programs and projects. Both the governing bodies and executors of the project and the target audience to which the project or program is directed are interested in the effective work of social projects and programs. Thus, providing feedback from beneficiaries on their satisfaction with the services provided under the project or from the expert community on the effectiveness of the program greatly encourages NGOs and governments to improve the quality and effectiveness of their work. Management of social projects is carried out directly by non-governmental public organizations, but state and regional authorities that finance these projects should also take part in this process. At the same time, the state is generally responsible for social policy, so the implementation of social projects, regardless of who implements them, ultimately fits into the system of public administration. One of the most important mechanisms that ensure the quality of management components in general and project management in particular is monitoring and evaluation. Goal. The purpose of the article is to determine the mechanism for improving the quality of social services provided by the private sector at the expense of regional budgets using methodological approaches to monitoring and evaluation. Method. The theoretical and methodological basis of this article is based on the use of basic provisions of economics, public administration and social work, legislation, as well as the main provisions of scientific developments of Ukrainian and foreign authors on the market of social services in Ukraine, monitoring and evaluation of social programs and projects. financed from regional budgets and implemented by non-governmental organizations. Methods of system and structural-functional analysis are also used (theoretical and methodological generalizations, study of the essence of the monitoring and evaluation process). Results. It was found that one of the priorities of the state policy of reforming social services is to create a market for social services and participation in this market of organizations of all forms of ownership, including non-governmental social organizations. It is proved that non-governmental organizations have a strong potential for the implementation of state policy in the reform of social services. An analysis of methods for monitoring and evaluating the quality of social services in Ukraine. Methodological approaches to assessing the effectiveness of social projects financed from regional budgets and implemented by non-governmental organizations are proposed.

To explore the economic costs and sources of financing for different public-private partnership (PPP) arrangements to tuberculosis (TB) provision involving both workplace and non-profit private providers in South Africa. The financing required for the different models from the perspective of the provincial TB programme, provider, and the patient are considered. Two models of TB provider partnerships were evaluated, relative to sole public provision: public-private workplace (PWP) and public-private non-government (PNP). The cost analysis was undertaken from a societal perspective. Costs were collected retrospectively to consider both the financial and economic costs. Patient costs were estimated using a retrospective structured patient interview. Expansion of PPPs could potentially lead to reduced government sector financing requirements for new patients: government financing would require $609-690 per new patient treated in the purely public model, in contrast to PNP sites which would only need to $130-139 per patient and $36-46 with the PWP model. Moreover, there are no patient costs associated with the treatment in the employer-based facilities and the cost to the patient supervised in the community is, on average, three times lower than in public sector facilities. The results suggest that there is a strong economic case for expanding PPP involvement in TB treatment in the process of scaling up. The cost to the government per new patient treated could be reduced by enhanced partnership between the private and public sectors.