Community-based Non-governmental Organizations Research Articles

Enhancing COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake among Tribal Communities: A Case Study on Program Implementation Experiences from Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh States, India.

Tribal populations in India have health care challenges marked by limited access due to geographical distance, historical isolation, cultural differences, and low social stratification, and that result in weaker health indicators compared to the general population. During the pandemic, Tribal districts consistently reported lower COVID-19 vaccination coverage than non-Tribal districts. We assessed the MOMENTUM Routine Immunization Transformation and Equity (the project) strategy, which aimed to increase access to and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among Tribal populations in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand using the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance framework. We designed a qualitative explanatory case study and conducted 90 focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with Tribal populations, community-based nongovernmental organizations that worked with district health authorities to implement the interventions, and other stakeholders such as government and community groups. The active involvement of community leaders, targeted counseling, community gatherings, and door-to-door visits appeared to increase vaccine awareness and assuage concerns about its safety and efficacy. Key adaptations such as conducting evening vaccine awareness activities, holding vaccine sessions at flexible times and sites, and modifying messaging for booster doses appeared to encourage vaccine uptake among Tribal populations. While we used project resources to mitigate financial and supply constraints where they arose, sustaining long-term uptake of project interventions appears dependent on continued funding and ongoing political support.

An Alternative Approach to Teaching about NGOs Globally: A Comparative Country-Based View Seen through a Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention Lens

This paper describes a comparative approach to teaching Introduction to Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) in a master’s-level professional degree program. The approach addresses the challenge created due to significant differences in the NGO sector from country to country. This comparative approach utilizes a focus on five countries in different regions of the world, and partnerships with a community-based NGO in each country that addresses the prevention of genocide, mass atrocity, and inter-group violence. These partnerships enable students, working in teams, to compare NGO work across countries and apply theory to practice.

Outcomes and Mechanisms of Change of the Strengthening Families Program in a Clinical Sample of Children and Their Families in Austria.

Family context and parenting behavior have the greatest influence on children’s mental health and well-being, and interventions that take the whole family system into account are promising. This study aims to evaluate the outcomes, i.e., family strength, parenting behavior, and child behavior, of the Strengthening Families Program (SFP), developed by Kumpfer which was implemented in an outpatient clinic of a community-based non-governmental organization in Austria between 2012 and 2018. Furthermore, the program’s mechanism of change as formulated by the program authors (i.e., to what extent parenting behavior mediates the relationship between family strength and child behavior) was tested in this clinical sample. Instruments measuring family strength, parenting behavior, and child behavior were administered before, immediately after, and 6 months after participation in the SFP. To test the mechanisms of change, a half-longitudinal model was applied with two measurement points (before and after). A total of 62 families (50 boys, 24 girls, and 69 parents) participated in the culturally adapted SFP. Regarding the outcomes of the program, all variables yielded significant improvement in all variables. With respect to the mechanism of change, no significant association between the variables could be found. Implications for the implementation of the SFP in a clinical population and how further adaptation of the program could enhance the adherence of this target group are discussed.

Project BESPOKE (Integrated Bio-Behavioral Assessment of HIV and STI Among Young Tertiary Student Men Who Have Sex With Men in Nairobi, Kenya): A Respondent-Driven Sampling Survey Protocol.

Introduction: Globally, men who have sex with men (MSM) are a key population for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic. Among MSM, young men who have sex with men (YMSM) are disproportionately affected by HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STI). However, there is a dearth of research and interventions targeting HIV/STI prevention among YMSM. In Kenya, there is paucity of knowledge on the burden of HIV/STI and related factors among YMSM, including tertiary student men who have sex with men (TSMSM). The barriers TSMSM experience in accessing and utilizing health services in their learning institutions have seldom been explored. In the context of healthcare providers (HCP) working in tertiary institutions, little is known about their knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward providing services to TSMSM.Methods: The aims of the study are to: estimate prevalence and correlates of HIV/STI among TSMSM; estimate population size of TSMSM; explore experiences of TSMSM with access and utilization of health services; and assess HCP knowledge of, attitudes toward, and practices in provision of services to TSMSM. A mixed-methods approach will be used in three phases: Phase I—formative qualitative research will be conducted to understand TSMSM social networks, select “seeds”, and explore strategies for implementing a respondent-driven sampling (RDS) survey. Interviews will be conducted with at least three staff who work in community based/non-governmental organizations (CBO/NGO) that serve MSM and at least 10 TSMSM. Phase II—an integrated bio-behavioral assessment (IBBA) will be conducted, where 200 TSMSM recruited by RDS will be offered HIV/STI testing, complete a behavioral survey, and provide information for population size estimation (PSE). Phase III—in-depth interviews will be held with 20 TSMSM selected from 200 TSMSM in phase II, to explore their experiences with access and utilization of healthcare services. Focus group discussions (FGD) will be conducted with HCP working in tertiary institutions to assess their knowledge of, attitudes toward, and practices in providing services to TSMSM. Data collection started in September 2020 and is expected to end by September 2021.Discussion: Findings from this study will be useful in informing HIV/STI prevention programming for TSMSM, by policy makers such the Kenyan ministries of health and education, tertiary education institutions, service providers, advocacy groups, and other interested stakeholders.

Scaling Up Delivery of Biofortified Staple Food Crops Globally: Paths to Nourishing Millions.

Background:Micronutrient deficiencies affect over one quarter of the world’s population. Biofortification is an evidence-based nutrition strategy that addresses some of the most common and preventable global micronutrient gaps and can help improve the health of millions of people. Since 2013, HarvestPlus and a consortium of collaborators have made impressive progress in the enrichment of staple crops with essential micronutrients through conventional plant breeding.Objective:To review and highlight lessons learned from multiple large-scale delivery strategies used by HarvestPlus to scale up biofortification across different country and crop contexts.Results:India has strong public and private sector pearl millet breeding programs and a robust commercial seed sector. To scale-up pearl millet, HarvestPlus established partnerships with public and private seed companies, which facilitated the rapid commercialization of products and engagement of farmers in delivery activities. In Nigeria, HarvestPlus stimulated the initial acceptance and popularization of vitamin A cassava using a host of creative approaches, including “crowding in” delivery partners, innovative promotional programs, and development of intermediate raw material for industry and novel food products. In Uganda, orange sweet potato (OSP) is a traditional subsistence crop. Due to this, and the lack of formal seed systems and markets, HarvestPlus established a network of partnerships with community-based nongovernmental organizations and vine multipliers to popularize and scale-up delivery of OSP.Conclusions:Impact of biofortification ultimately depends on the development of sustainable markets for biofortified seeds and products. Results illustrate the need for context-specific, innovative solutions to promote widespread adoption.

Opinions Towards Key Operational Aspects for the Implementation of HIV Self-Testing in Spain: A Comparison between Stakeholders and Potential Users.

We assessed previous knowledge about the existence of HIV self-testing of stakeholders in Spain, as well as their personal position towards this methodology. We also assessed their views on potential users’ (PU) opinions towards several key operational aspects surrounding self-testing, and compared them to those expressed by a sample of PU comprised of men who have sex with men. In 2017, we recruited three types of stakeholders: public health professionals and policy makers (PHPPM) (n = 33), clinical providers (n = 290) and community-based/non-governmental organization (CBO/NGO) workers (n = 55). Data on PU (n = 3537) were collected in 2016. Previous knowledge about the existence of self-testing was higher in stakeholders than in PU, but being in favor was less frequent. PUs’ willingness to pay 25–30 euros for a self-test was higher than that which stakeholders considered. According to clinical providers and PHPPM, pharmacies would be PUs’ preferred place to obtain a self-test, which was in line with PUs’ actual choice. CBO/NGO workers on the other hand thought it would be CBO/NGOs. PHPPM and clinical providers considered primary care as PUs’ preferred setting to confirm a reactive self-test and CBO/NGO chose CBO/NGOs, but PUs preferred an HIV/STI testing service or clinic. Stakeholders’ opinions significantly differed from those of PUs. This divergence needs to be brought up to stakeholders as it could vary their position towards self-testing as well as the actions taken in the implementation of a testing option with the potential of increasing testing frequency.

Unraveling the Links between Organizational Factors and Perceptions of Community Sustainability Performance: An Empirical Investigation of Community-Based Nongovernmental Organizations

Community-based nongovernmental organizations have emerged as leaders in local economic development, with a growing capacity for undertaking community sustainability projects in distressed neighborhoods. Very little is known about what organizational and managerial characteristics contribute to community sustainability performance. This article seeks to address this gap in the literature. Survey data from 134 community action agencies in the U.S. were analyzed to determine which organizational and managerial factors influence the effectiveness of community-based organizations in meeting community sustainability goals. The findings from an ordinary least-square regression model suggest that community engagement, human resource capacity, county/regional government collaboration, government funding, and revenue diversification are important predictors of community sustainability performance.

Retention and mortality outcomes from a community-supported public-private HIV treatment programme in Myanmar.

IntroductionThere is a growing interest in the potential contribution the private sector can make towards increasing access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in low- and middle-income settings. This article describes a public–private partnership that was developed to expand HIV care capacity in Yangon, Myanmar. The partnership was between private sector general practitioners (GPs) and a community-based non-governmental organization (International HIV/AIDS Alliance).MethodsRetrospective analysis of 2119 patient records dating from March 2009 to April 2015 was conducted. Outcomes assessed were immunological response, loss to follow-up, all-cause mortality, and alive and retained in care. Follow-up time was calculated from the date of registration to the date of death, loss to follow-up, transfer out, or if still alive and known to be in care, until April 2015. Cox proportional hazards model was used to identify predictors of loss to follow-up and mortality. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis was used to estimate survival function of being alive and retained in care.ResultsThe median number of patients for each of the 16 GPs was 42 (interquartile range (IQR): 25–227), and the median follow-up period was 13 months. The median patient age was 35 years (IQR: 30–41); 56.6% were men, 62 and 11.8% were in WHO Stage III and Stage IV at registration, respectively; median CD4 count at registration was 177 cells/mm3; and 90.7% were on ART in April 2015. The median CD4 count at registration increased from 122 cells/mm3 in 2009 to 194 cells/mm3 in 2014. Among patients on ART, CD4 counts increased from a median of 187 cells/mm3 at registration to 436 cells/mm3 at 36 months. The median time to initiation of ART among eligible patients was 29 days, with 93.8% of eligible patients being initiated on ART within 90 days. Overall, 3.3% patients were lost to follow-up, 4.2% transferred out to other health facilities, and 8.3% died during the follow-up period. Crude mortality rate was 48.6/1000 person-years; 42% (n=74) of deaths occurred during the pre-ART period and 39.8% (n=70) occurred during the first six months of ART. Of those who died during the pre-ART period, 94.5% were eligible for ART. In multivariate regression, baseline CD4 count and ART status were independent predictors of mortality, whereas ART status, younger age and patient volumes per provider were predictors of loss to follow-up. Probability of being alive and retained in care at six months was 96.8% among those on ART, 38.5% among pre-ART but eligible patients, and 20.0% among ART-ineligible patients.ConclusionsEffectively supported private sector GPs successfully administered and monitored ART in Myanmar, suggesting that community-supported private sector partnerships can contribute to expansion of HIV treatment and care capacity. To further improve patient outcomes, early testing and initiation of ART, combined with close clinical monitoring and support during the initial periods of enrolling in treatment and care, are required.

Low willingness and actual uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV-1 prevention among men who have sex with men in Shanghai, China.

Little is known about the acceptance and actual uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and associated factors in men who have sex with men (MSM) in China. This study is the baseline survey of an intervention study designed to evaluate the effectiveness of tenofovirdisoproxil fumarate (TDF) on a daily use for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention among MSM in Shanghai, China. From October 2012 to December 2013, a total of 1,033 MSM in Shanghai were recruited by local district Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a MSM community-based non-governmental organization (NGO). Among them, 197 (19.1%) participants expressed willingness to use the TDF group at baseline survey, but only 26 (2.5%) participated in the TDF group and took TDF one tablet a day. Higher willingness to use PrEP was associated with being 45 years or older, non-local residents, having more male sex partners in the past 6 months and not using condom at last anal sex with man. Acutal uptake of PrEP was associated with having ≥ 11 male sex partners in lifetime and reporting no female sex partners in lifetime. Reasons for not participating in TDF group among those who expressed willingness to use PrEP at baseline survey included loss of contact, ineligiblity because of abnormal results for liver or renal function tests, change of mind, and HIV seroconversion before uptake of PrEP. Our findings suggest that promotion of PrEP in MSM remains challenging at current circumstancein China. Future research is needed to solicit effective education and intervention programs to promote acceptance of PrEP among Chinese MSM.

Civil Non-State Actors in Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding in West Africa

This paper advances the notion of civil non-state actors in peacekeeping and peacebuilding. Using Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d’Ivoire as cases studies, the paper identifies three kinds of civil non-state actors in war-torn countries: international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community-based NGOs, and ad hoc community organizations. In addition, it argues that civil non-state actors play a critical problem-solving role in peacekeeping and peacebuilding and complement the role of state actors. The paper examines the role of civil non-state actors through their dialectical affinity with state actors in the peacekeeping and peacebuilding processes. It further expands the notion of non-state actors in peacekeeping and peacebuilding to encompass community-based NGOs and ad hoc community organizations. Moreover, it points to the positive role of civil non-state actors and the wide range of activities they perform, especially in peace mediation and post-war reconstruction.

Beyond food security to realizing food rights in the US

The right to food is widely accepted by nations, with the notable exception of the United States (US) and four other countries. The US government deals with domestic food insecurity through an array of needs-based food assistance programs instead of rights-based approaches; and administration officials have resisted the right to food for several decades, claiming that accepting this right would bind US actions in undesirable and contradictory ways. Food insecurity persists in the US, where 48.8 million people including 16.2 million children lived in food-insecure households in 2010. Recognizing the right to food could be a meaningful first step in overcoming chronic domestic food insecurity. This paper clarifies the distinction between the responsibilities for food security that are currently respected, protected and fulfilled by the US government and those that would be necessary were the right to healthy food accepted in full. These responsibilities extend from the community to international levels, affecting Farm Bill-based domestic funding as well as foreign aid and development efforts of the US government and philanthropic organizations based in the US. Meaningful progress is being made toward realizing the right to healthy food in the US through community-based nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Although such organizations come closer to facilitating the right to healthy food than the federal government or national anti-hunger NGOs, this right cannot be achieved in full without coordinated efforts by community-based and national NGOs, the private sector and multiple levels of government. Broad adoption of a rights-based approach and responsibilities associated with the right to healthy food by government agencies and US-based philanthropic organizations can help to remove barriers to the right to healthy food and provide focus to food system reform efforts in the US; harmonization with international efforts to promote food security; and eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition (both under-nutrition and over-nutrition) in the US and globally.

Family involvement in a community-based mental health service for children and adolescents: A case study

It is a generally accepted assumption that the mental health of children and adolescents is best served if the context in which they live is taken into consideration. Therefore, interventions should be population-based and located in the community. “Pro Mente Kinder Jugend Familie” is a community-based non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to fostering the positive development of children and adolescents with mental health problems. It consists of an integrated network of different service domains. A central issue of this NGO is to provide support for children/adolescents and their families, although each of the different service domains tries to reach this goal in its own way. The purpose of this article is to illustrate, with the help of a case study: (1) how organizations can review the current state of their interventions (here family involvement) to analyse where improvement may be needed; and (2) the kinds of steps which can be taken, should a need for improvement be indicated. Within the framework of quality assurance, group discussions on “family involvement” were conducted in order to assess the corresponding goals, interventions and pitfalls and to gather ideas for potential improvements. Each service domain summarized the main results of their discussions, and these reports were subjected to a content analysis. The results showed that a broader discussion concerning the organization's main goals with regard to “family involvement” was needed, as was improvements of the interventions taken to reach these goals. A road map depicting the next steps planned, in the sense of organizational development, is discussed.

Justice reinvestment in community supervision

Theproposition of “justice reinvestment” is attractive on the surface. If the money now spent on reducing crime by keeping people in prison could prevent just as much crime, or even more crime, if spent some other way, then why not do so? And if the problem is a defective budget mechanism, unable to translate prison savings into funding for the programs that could replace prison, then the obvious solution is to change the budget mechanism. Such a change would be “justice reinvestment” as a policy, rather than merely as a slogan. In “A private sector, incentives-based model for justice reinvestment,” Todd Clear (2011, this issue) makes a valiant attempt to imagine such a policy, focused on privatesector employers and community-based nongovernmental organization program operators offering employment and housing to the particular offenders whose nonincarceration will pay for the programs. But each of those choices—community focus, services orientation, delivery to specific offenders, and nongovernmental actors—has alternatives, and the article offers us no clear reason to think that those are the right choices in terms of crime control. The literature on recidivism reduction via service delivery—the “reentry” literature—for themost part,makes for fairly depressing reading; a program thatmoves the 3-year return-toprison rate from 66% to 60% counts as a success. Given that the total annual prison budget is only $60 billion, the potential savings from reduced incarceration can hardly finance major increases in social-service budgets or fuel major upsurges in neighborhood economic activity, even if spent in ways that lead to respending within the affected neighborhoods. By contrast, there are strong reasons to think that improved probation and parole supervision—as opposed to enhanced services—can make a big difference in reoffending and reincarceration, and can do so for small sums compared with the savings from reduced

Improving Quality of Prevention of Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission Services in Ukraine: a Focus on Provider Communication Skills and Linkages to Community-Based Non-Governmental Organizations

Ukraine has the highest rate of HIV infection in Europe, with an estimated adult prevalence of 1.6 percent. The epidemic in Ukraine remains largely driven by injection drug use, and women of reproductive age are being increasingly affected. Prior research has highlighted the need to improve the quality of services for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) and to address other issues related to HIV counseling, testing, and care, especially in the context of antenatal and obstetric services. From 2004 to 2007, PATH led a collaborative effort to improve the quality of PMTCT services in Ukraine. Initial assessments included focus groups with Ukrainian women and review of existing educational materials. Interventions focused on training providers to improve skills in communication and referral to community-based support; they also addressed the underlying issue of stigma. Observational data demonstrated that providers who participated in the training intervention delivered PMTCT counseling of a consistently higher quality than did providers who did not undergo training. Exit interviews with clients confirmed these findings. An intervention focused on strengthening voluntary counseling and testing for HIV, forging partnerships with local organizations, and undoing HIV-related stigma can help to improve access to and quality of PMTCT services in antenatal care clinics.

Enhancing community‐based disaster preparedness with information technology

A critical component of community-based disaster preparedness (CBDP) is a local resource database of suppliers providing physical, information and human resources for use in disaster response. Maintenance of such a database can become a collaborative responsibility among community-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and public and private community organisations. In addition to mobilising resources, this process raises awareness within the community and aids in assessing local knowledge and resources. This paper presents the results of a pilot study on implementing a community-based resource database through collaboration with local American Red Cross chapters and public and private community organisations. The design of the resource database is described. The resource database is accessible via the internet and offline using laptops and handheld Personal Digital Assistants. The study concludes that CBDP is strengthened through a combination of appropriate information technology and collaborative relationships between NGOs and community-based organisations.

The Origins and Early Years of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition

, women in Northern Ireland were virtually absent from national political life. Rarely did the major parties in either the nationalist or the Unionist community grant women a meaningful voice in policy decisions, or serious leadership roles in the formal political process. During its fifty-year existence, only nine women served in the Northern Ireland Parliament (Stormont). Of the eighteen Northern Ireland MPs elected to the United Kingdom Parliament at Westminster in June, , three are women; only three others have ever sat at Westminster since the creation of Northern Ireland in . No Northern Ireland woman has yet been elected to the European Parliament. Gender discrimination in Ulster’s political life derives from several sources. From  to , Northern Ireland was ruled directly by the British government, the result of unrelenting civil and sectarian strife known in the province as the “Troubles.” A quarter of a century of sectarian violence certainly discouraged many women from trying to enter the formal political system, as public officials were frequently targets for both the Irish Republican Army and for Protestant paramilitaries. More important, polarization between the two communities bred mutual suspicion between Catholic and Protestant women, undermining their potential for collective political action.1 During the s and early s, women channeled their civic energies into community-based nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and avoided traditional political mechanisms. As one activist put it, “ What passes for politics in Northern Ireland is limited and the base for formal political participation is very narrow, structured as it is by both community divisions and violence.”2 Northern Ireland was, as one activist described it, an “armed patriarchy.” 3 Constance B. Rynder

Improving private practitioner care of sick children: testing new approaches in rural Bihar.

Private practitioners are a major source of care for childhood illnesses in developing countries, but the care they provide is often of poor quality. This study tested the effectiveness of two new methods for improving the quality of private practitioner care of sick children: the verbal case review (VCR) and INFECTOM. The VCR is a method for evaluating private providers' quality of care based on mothers' reports and INFECTOM is a package of interventions for improving private providers' quality of care. The study was conducted in 110 villages of Bihar State, India, by three local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). First, the VCR was used for interviews with mothers of approximately 600 children sick with diarrhoea, ARI or fever in the past 2 weeks. The VCR identified practitioners consulted for the treatment of the sick children and recorded providers' case management practices as reported by the mothers. Based on the results of the VCR, the INFECTOM intervention was carried out. This consisted of INformation sessions for the providers regarding standard case management guidelines for ARI, diarrhoea and fever, FEedback to providers on their performance based on the results of the VCR, ConTracting with practitioners to gain their commitment to practice specific guidelines, and Ongoing Monitoring of practitioners' practices with feedback of the results to the practitioners and the community. Seven months after the interventions were initiated, another cross-sectional VCR survey of approximately 300 sick children was carried out to evaluate the impact of the activities on practitioners' case management practices. The results of the study show statistically significant improvements in private practitioners' history taking, examination and counselling practices for ARI, diarrhoea and fever. It was concluded that the VCR and INFECTOM were feasible for implementation by community-based NGOs, and were effective in improving the technical quality of care provided by private health practitioners in rural India.

Border Management at the Millennium

Introduction On 14 December 1999, with the world focused on the coming millennium, Ahmed Ressam was arrested by U.S. Customs as he attempted to enter the United States from Canada with bomb-making materials. This arrest and the media attention that followed, as U.S. and Canadian agencies made further arrests across the border and unraveled a terrorist network, were the latest examples of the increasing attention being paid to the Canada-United States border. Abu Mezer, who intended to bomb the New York City subway system in 1997, also entered via the U.S.-Canadian border. For many Canadians and Americans, the sudden attention to this long-standing, functional, and peaceful border seemed quite startling. Why has the border, long taken for granted, suddenly become an issue in U.S.-Canadian relations? I argue that it results from the following four factors and their implications. The four factors are: unprecedented levels of cross-border movement of goods and people, security concerns, current political interest in both countries, and enhanced activism by local players. Project Description The analysis and conclusions presented in this article are based on fieldwork conducted from the fall of 1998 through the spring of 1999 as one component of the International Migration Policy Program's project entitled Self-Governance at the Border. This comparative international project undertaken by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace aimed to better understand how communities that straddle an international border, and at times form a single economic and cultural entity, manage migration issues in the context of managing other common cross-border challenges. The Canada-U.S. border was one of five different international border regions in this project. (1) During five extensive visits to three areas along the Canada-U.S. border, I visited over ten ports of entry and two capitals and conducted approximately one hundred interviews in both countries with local government officials, business leaders, federal immigration and customs officials, bridge operators, community-based nongovernmental organizations, researchers, and local residents. (2) The goal was to catalogue existing local initiatives, understand and explain similarities and differences, identify and contextualize best practices, and share these findings with a variety of stakeholders, including federal governments. Key Factors Background The United States and Canada share an 8,895-km border (approximately 5,000 miles), the longest undefended border in the world. The countries also share a language, historical tradition, an emphasis on democratic principles and the rule of law, and global alliances. Similar levels of social and economic development have contributed to the social and economic integration between the countries, particularly between border communities, as well as to the long-established access to each other's countries. The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service maintains over one hundred ports of entry staffed by inspectors along the border, while the border also is patrolled by approximately three hundred Border Patrol agents (compared to eight thousand agents along the two thousand-mile U.S.-Mexico border). (3) Legitimate Cross-border Movement Steady volumes of trade and the movement of businessmen, family members, vacationers, and students certainly are nothing new for the Canada-U.S. border. The sheer volume of goods and people today, however--which is higher than ever before and shows no signs of slowing down--is one of the factors contributing to the increased attention to the border. Clearly this tremendous growth in commercial and passenger traffic means that more people are coming into contact with the border, raising its visibility. More importantly, however, it is also an issue because of the degree of economic integration between the countries and the resulting impact on the existing infrastructure, raising questions of border management. …

From government to grass-roots reform: the Ford Foundation's population programmes in South Asia, 1959–1981

This article traces the history of Ford's involvement in population work in South Asia from the 1950s to the mid-1980s. The primary focus is on the transition from large-scale technical assistance programmes rooted in government and academe, to work with grass-roots women's groups and community-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs). In the process, the Foundation also moved from quantitative efforts designed primarily to distribute contraceptives, to a more holistic approach focusing on maternal and child health. The article concludes by relating these trends to a larger shift from a belief in the power of ‘disinterested expertise’ and university-based policymaking that marked the efforts of the major American foundations since the Progressive era, to a new emphasis on ‘self-interested expertise’ and grass-roots social activist and development NGOs that emerged in the 1970s. Changing development paradigms, political trends and a growing disillusionment with large-scale technical assistance all contributed to this transition.