NGO Services Research Articles

Population size estimation of survivors of violence against women and girls in Tirana

Abstract Survivors of violence against women and girls (VAWG) are often stigmatized, resulting in unreported cases and missed opportunities for support services. In this analysis we aimed to estimate the real size of VAWG in Tirana district between 2019-2022. Size estimation was based on capture-recapture methodologies using two independent databases; from the Counselling Line for Women and Girls (CLWG), a non-governmental agency providing counselling to survivors of VAWG, and the Registry of Violence in Albania (REVALB), the official registry of VAWG. There were 155 and 895 cases respectively in CLWG and REVALB. 48 women were found in both registries. The first points of contact for survivors of VAWG were Police, Court/Judge and Municipality services while none of the women recorded in REVALB reported accessing health, education or NGO services. The estimated number of reportable VAWG cases in Tirana district between January 2019- August 2022 was 2890 (95% CI:2218-3562). The estimation is highest for 2021 with 1418 cases (95% CI:766-2069) and lowest for 2020 with 251 cases (95% CI:101-400). Real number of reportable survivors and victims of VAWG is at least 3 times higher than the cases officially registered in the national database in Tirana. The estimation for 2020 is highly affected by an important decrease in registration of cases during first year of COVID-19 pandemic. More efforts should be made, especially by the health services, to identify and refer as needed potential cases of VAWG. Key messages • Real number of reportable survivors and victims of VAWG is at least 3 times higher than the cases officially registered in the national database in Tirana • ore efforts should be made, especially by the health services, to identify and refer as needed potential cases of VAWG.

Less Equality and More Risks: The Global COVID-19 Impact on Women and Girls

Before the global COVID-19 pandemic, women and girls faced significant inequalities. Result of the pandemics fast spread, increasing variables widened the gender gap and affected gender equality. It has increased disputes, crises, and barriers for women and girls, including imbalanced house-care work, severe gender-based violence, and the digital gender divide. This article illustrates the global gender inequality during the pandemic to highlight the severity of the gender gap and the importance of ensuring equal rights for women and girls. According to the articles findings, the protection of womens and girls rights was greatly affected by the blockade policy, school closures, and the reduction of NGO services due to COVID-19. In addition, the shortage of digital knowledge and development resources further exposed women and girls to higher social risks. As a result, gender gaps and inequalities are aggregated, creating social conflict worldwide. Through this papers further exploration of the key issues that led to the reversal of gender equality during COVID-19, the study aims to bring attention to the relevant backlashes of this particular period of gender equality and also targets to provide insightful reflections on those problems the world still face in future normalization society. This will allow researchers to intervene in the future in relation to each of the main priorities presented in this article to improve gender inequality in many ways.

Fishermen's Livelihood Adaptation in Response to Climate Change: An Empirical Study on South-Western Coastal Zone of Bangladesh

This study aimed to understand the livelihood status of the fishery-dependent communities in the South- Western coast of Bangladesh and their livelihood adaptation in response to climate change. The study was carried out in two villages of Dacope upazila in Khulna District. Data were collected from a purposively drawn sample of 60 fisher’s households through household interviews, key informants’ interviews, and transect walk as well as from secondary sources. The adverse climatic variability influences all the livelihood capitals and strategies of fishing communities. Most households have lower access to sanitation, market transportation, health facilities, GO, and NGO services during the adverse climatic situation. Increased levels of cyclones and floods result in greater damage to fishing equipment, livelihood assets, and lower level of fish catch. Income generation from fisheries-related activities is reducing gradually which affects the livelihoods of the fishers. The study has identified four different practices of adaptation to climate change by those fishing communities where about 71.67% adopted livelihood diversification. To cope with the changing climate and variability most of the fishing households (95%) have taken multiple adaptation strategies while the rest (5%) did not. The fishermen are exploited financially by the local credit facility provider. Diversification of livelihoods included agriculture (23.26%), fish trading (2.33%), fish farming (18.60%), and other different types of diversification found in the study area due to climate impacts but not always sufficiently fruitful. This situation may worsen over the next few decades and an improved level of responsiveness would be required.
 Vol. 9, No. 3, December 2022: 337-351

Digitalization as a form of marketization: The performativity of calculative practices in framing and overflowing NGO performance and accountability

This study examines a disability services funding reform which produced calculative (accounting) practices to frame non-governmental organizations' (NGOs') performance and accountability, and the role of digitalization, as a form of marketization, in reframing that performance and accountability. Drawing on insights from Callon's (1998) concepts of framing and overflowing, this study analyses one NGO's pursuit of performance and accountability via calculative and digitalized forms. Through a qualitative interpretive case study approach, the study traces how new calculative practices inspired by a disability services funding reform and an online service platform act to (re)frame the NGO's accounts of performance. Analysis of this (re)framing work finds that NGO accountability is reduced by a performance object – cost management – which is supported by digitalization. Further, we find that the performativity of calculative practices constructed new forms of marketization for NGO realities, thoughts and actions, reducing the NGO services for disabled persons to economic exchanges. Our study offers insights into the counter-productive dangers of calculative practices when they generate digitalization for cost management performance objectives. In addition to marketization reframing NGO performance and accountability, concepts of framing and overflowing enable us to better understand the impact of calculations and digitalization on NGOs' service performance.

The Political Economy of NGO Service Provision

AbstractThe share of basic services that NGOs deliver has grown dramatically in developing countries due to increased receipt of aid and philanthropy in these countries. Many scholars and practitioners worry that NGOs reduce reliance on government services and, in turn, lower demand for government provision and undermine political engagement. Others argue that NGOs prop-up poorly performing governments that receive undeserved credit for the production, allocation, or welfare effects of NGO services. Using original surveys and a randomized health intervention, implemented in parallel to a similar universal government program, this article investigates the long-term effect of NGO provision on political attitudes and behavior. Access to NGO services increased preferences for NGO, relative to government, provision. However, political engagement and perceptions of government legitimacy were unaffected. Instead, the intervention generated political credit for the incumbent president. This study finds that citizens see NGOs as a resource that powerful government actors control, and they reward actors who they see as responsible for allocation of those resources.

Police abuse and care engagement of people with HIV who inject drugs in Ukraine

ABSTRACT Police abuse affects people who inject drugs (PWID), including those with HIV, and negatively impacts care engagement. This cross-sectional study evaluated police abuse among PWID receiving MOUD (medication for opioid use disorder) living with HIV and associations with HIV treatment adherence and receipt of NGO services. We assessed lifetime and past six-month rates of police abuse among a cohort of Ukrainian PWID with HIV receiving MOUD (n = 190) from August to September 2017. Logistic regression models evaluated associations between past six-month police abuse and past 30-day antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence, and past six-month NGO service receipt. Almost all (90%) participants reported lifetime police abuse: 77% reported physical violence and 75% reported paying the police to avoid arrest. One in four females (25%) reported police-perpetrated sexual violence. Recent police abuse was reported by 16% of males and 2% of females and was not associated with ART adherence (aOR: 1.1; 95% CI:0.3–5.0) or NGO service receipt (aOR: 3.4; 95% CI:0.6–18.3). While lifetime police abuse rates were high, few participants reported recent police abuse, which was not linked to care engagement. These trends should encourage the Ukrainian government for public health-public safety partnerships and legal interventions to eliminate human rights violations against PWID living with HIV.

Unpacking the Complexities of NGO Participation among the Youth of Makhanda, South Africa

The primary feature of NGO development intervention is the role that organisations play in extending access to services and opportunities to marginalised populations. Participation, however, as an ideal and central organising principle in these efforts, comes with a host of complexities that requires careful navigation of the cross-cutting contexts within which organisations exist and function. This paper discusses the intricacies of NGO participation within the context of youth-centred initiatives carried out in Makhanda in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province. In particular, the paper outlines the dynamics and trends of NGO participation among school-going and out-of-school youth living in a context of acute inequity and socio-economic exclusion. Data collected from young people, parents, teachers and community members in the Makhanda-east township of Joza, indicate that access to NGO services and consistent participation therein are differentiated and unequal in ways that sustain existing inequities in prospects and opportunity. A network of pre-existing features at an institutional, community, family and individual level sustains unequal access to non-state support that replicates dominant trends of inequity among the youth in this context. Consequently, this bears heavily on the choice and likelihood of who—among the youth in Joza—participates in NGOs; and more significantly, why, and why not? In an age where “popular participation” is heralded as the hope for a more egalitarian society, this paper proposes more careful consideration of the fact that NGO intervention exists within a dense and multi-layered network of inequities that, if not met with equally unbridled mediation, will persist and find refuge within a sector that seeks to confront the existing orders of inequity and exclusion.

Emergency homeless shelter use in the Dublin region 2012–2016: Utilizing a cluster analysis of administrative data

Arising out of a decade of economic recession and austerity, Ireland is currently in the grip of a severe housing crisis marked by weak housing supply, rapidly rising house prices and rents and a dramatic increase in homelessness that is placing severe pressure on the State's emergency accommodation system. This article utilises data from a national homelessness services database (PASS system), which captures live information on service user interactions for all state funded NGO and local authority homeless services, to examine the patterns of emergency accommodation use by the homeless population in Dublin City. The paper applies a k-means cluster analysis to determine different subgroups of Dublin's homeless population (n = 12,734) and analyses their rate of movement through homeless services between the years 2012 and 2016. A temporary cluster (78%) experienced a small number of homeless episodes for relatively short periods of time, while an episodic cluster (10%) experienced multiple homeless episodes also for a short period of time. The chronic cluster (12%) experienced a small number of homeless episodes but with long stays in emergency shelter. Results for Ireland show patterns similar to those reported in the US, Canada and Denmark, where a small number of chronic users of homeless accommodation account for a disproportionately large share of resources (i.e. 50% of total bed nights). The findings have implications for the operation of emergency homeless accommodation in Ireland and, in particular, the targeting of interventions and the re-directing of resources away from emergency accommodation responses towards a more effective emergency accommodation system for all stakeholders.

Virtual Paths and Autism: access to health services from the perspective of Social Network Analysis

The prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder in the world population and in Brazil is increasing. The Internet has become an important source of information regarding access to health services, including mental health. It remains to be seen if the virtual paths in search of information are related to the outcomes of the line of care for mental disorders advocated by the SUS, such as Autism. Therefore, this article sets out to analyze the virtual network of access to information about care for Autism in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro in 2017 through the perspective of Social Network Analysis. In this regard, virtual data were collected, such as: virtual information sources; care services cited by the virtual sources and type of service (Public, Private or NGOs). Through the use of Gephi software, a sociogram was generated and analyzed. The results point to a predominance of NGO services in the network, greater centrality of degree and power of intermediation in NGO services, in addition to the isolation of public health services. The result implies that the information system about access to public health services for the treatment of ASD is expanded to the general population by contributing to improved access to these services.

SOCIAL INTEGRATION OF INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS IN PRIMORSKY KRAY: PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES

Primorsky kray is among most developed regions of Russia’s Far East. However, the region is depopulating as mortality rate exceeds birth rate and due to out-migration of a local population. Labor migration partly compensates labor deficiency in the local labor market. Integration of international migrants becomes a vital issue. The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that facilitate or hamper international migrants' integration to a local labor market, medical care and institutions of cultural integration of Primorski kray, as well as practices used by migrants to overcome the barriers. The research is based on statistical data and data from prior published research as well as on the results from 12 expert interviews. The experts are specialized in the field of migration in Primorsky krai. International migrants encounter barriers when obtaining the legal work permissions and with a limited access to the medical care services. To overcome the barriers, migrants use a wide range of resources including services of intermediary firms specialized on migrants from the APEC countries as well as NGO services. To reduce social risks related to labor migration and to enhance migrants’ social integration, a system of the organized recruitment of labor migrants in their countries of origin is needed for their consequent employment in Primorsky kray. In addition, to facilitate migrants’ ethno-cultural and linguistic adaptation, further development of civic organizations is needed.

Using administrative data to inform operational and policy developments relating to family homelessness in the Dublin Region

BackgroundSince 2014 Ireland has seen an unprecedented growth in the number of families being accommodated in emergency accommodation, particularly in the Dublin Region. Indeed, family homelessness has become an issue of concern across Europe but there is also a widespread lack of data about the specific situation of homeless families (Baptista et al., 2017).
 ObjectivesThis research uses administrative data to address this gap in knowledge and provide robust quantitative data on trends in family homelessness in the Dublin Region.
 MethodsThe research was compiled using a combination of PASS data and data recorded from assessment forms completed with homeless clients by the housing sections in the four local authorities across the Dublin region. PASS, the national shared services database for all state funded NGO and local authority homeless services has uniquely allowed for analysis of data relating to the entire population of families newly experiencing homelessness in the Dublin Region since January 2016.
 FindingsDedicated data collection and analysis of such administrative data has produced interesting findings covering not only profiles and reasons for family homelessness but also families’ rates of progression through homeless services. Of note was that one in six families departed homeless services without active engagement with support services, a figure previously unreported.
 ConclusionsThe combined use of administrative and PASS data gives a more complete picture of patterns of service use and engagement with homeless services among families newly experiencing homelessness. Detailed findings were passed on to operational staff to both plan for services to support families experiencing homelessness and to assist in developing a regional and national response to the issue of housing supply.

Using administrative data from a national shared services database to target the delivery of homeless services in the Dublin Region

BackgroundPASS is a national shared services database that captures live information on service user interactions with all state funded NGO and local authority homeless services. In the Dublin region, which accommodates in excess of 70% of the nationalhomeless population, this data was mined and cleansed in order to carry out a k-mean cluster analysis.
 ObjectiveThe objective was to determine the rate of movement through homeless services and the consumption of resources of different clusters cohorts and to compare these findings with other regions internationally.
 MethodsFollowing extensive data preparation, the Kuhn and Culhane (1998) k-mean cluster analysis was applied in 2017 to five years of PASS data (2012-2016) and results categorised to align to their typology of homelessness.
 FindingsResults for Dublin showed patterns similar to those reported in the US, Canada and Denmark, with approximately 80% of services users transitioning quickly through services. These transitional service users accounted for just over one third of total bed-nights while the remaining 20% of episodic and long-term service users accounted for almost two thirds of the bed-nights over the five years. Uniquely, the analysis also considered the patterns of engagement of people sleeping rough and results revealed similar but more extreme patterns with 86% of those rough sleeping accounting for only 28% of outreach contacts with a small number adults accounting for over 70% of all street contacts.
 ConclusionThe results from the analysis of administrative data were used to inform operations so appropriate ‘Housing First’ responses were developed for those episodically or chronically experiencing homelessness and engaged in sleeping rough.

Mismatch between NGO services and beneficiaries' priorities: examining contextual realities

The proliferation of NGOs, particularly in developing countries over the last five decades, has prompted debates on the extent to which NGO services have been able to match the priorities of disadvantaged groups such as low castes and ethnic groups in Nepal. This paper explores the development priorities of villagers from a village in Nepal (Thecho), and their views regarding the match between services offered by NGOs and those priorities. Additionally, the paper highlights the importance of NGOs understanding contextual realities while implementing development activities.

A Study on NGO Services for Children in Mumbai, India

Abstract: The present research was conducted to study NGOs services for children in Mumbai through a child rights perspective. The study was exploratory in nature and aimed to assess the implementation of child rights by the NGOs. 35 NGOs working for children in the city of Mumbai comprised the sample and were studied using a questionnaire and rating scale as tools. Findings revealed that education (74 percent) and health (54 percent) were the most common concerns of the organizations. Only 17 percent of the NGOs considered child rights to be a concern. The NGOs implemented the right to participation better than any other right. The right to survival was, however, grossly neglected. It was concluded that there are several gaps and areas of lack in the services offered to children. There is also an urgent need to spread awareness amongst the NGO workers themselves to make child rights a part of organizational mandates.

Social Exclusion in Non-Government Organizations’ (NGOs’) Development Activities in Bangladesh

This paper explores the nature and causes of social exclusion of the NGOs’ activities in Bangladesh. Data gathered from two NGOs (Proshika and Practical Action Bangladesh) working for the socio-economic development in Bangladesh. The paper shows that now a day the NGOs’ target groups and services have been specified to the people who are able to return back their micro-credit. As a result many people are now being excluded from NGO services who are known as ‘ultra poor’. The findings of this paper show that many blacksmiths and goldsmiths were out of services from both NGOs rather the NGOs selected purposeful target groups, replicate of program, and their short-term development approach, high-flying profile, rent seeking attitude, monolithic development approach, lack of accountability, complex loan procedure and high interest rate, and cut-off budget from their development project were helpful for such kind of social exclusion. The paper argues that that without inclusion of such groups of people, the overall socio-economic development would not be possible.

A Survey of NGO Participation in Reconstruction after the Wenchuan Earthquake: The Social Work Perspective

AbstractAfter the Wenchuan earthquake, large numbers of NGOs entered the quake area and provided large amounts of social services. Analysis of survey responses from 149 NGOs has allowed three basic models to be identified among NGOs engaging in post-quake reconstruction: (1) university social work stations; (2) civil organizations; and (3) government-embedded organizations. Because reconstruction is a long-term task, adjustments to current strategies may merit consideration. First, the disproportionate weight currently placed on heavy infrastructure over social services and society-building must be rebalanced. Second, all of society ‐ and especially the government ‐ should recognize the enormous significance and the enormous role NGO services have played in post-quake reconstruction. Third, cooperative arrangements should be explored between grant makers like the government, enterprises, and foundations and NGOs. Fourth, trial introduction of people-run non-enterprise units to the quake area should be explored. Fifth, relations between NGOs and the government should be smoothed to ensure that NGOs have a legal space in which to conduct their social work. Sixth, NGOs must put more work into capacity building.

Reaching the unreachable: barriers of the poorest to accessing NGO healthcare services in Bangladesh.

The NGO Service Delivery Program (NSDP), a USAID-funded programme, is the largest NGO programme in Bangladesh. Its strategic flagship activity is the essential services package through which healthcare services are administered by NGOs in Bangladesh. The overall goal of the NSDP is to increase access to essential healthcare services by communities, especially the poor. Recognizing that the poorest in the community often have no access to essential healthcare services due to various barriers, a study was conducted to identify what the real barriers to access by the poor are. This included investigations to further understand the perceptions of the poor of real or imagined barriers to accessing healthcare; ways for healthcare centres to maximize services to the poor; how healthcare providers can maximize service-use; inter-personal communication between healthcare providers and those seeking healthcare among the poor; and ways to improve the capacity of service providers to reach the poorest segment of the community. The study, carried out in two phases, included 24 static and satellite clinics within the catchment areas of eight NGOs under the NSDP in Bangladesh, during June-September 2003. Participatory urban and rural appraisal techniques, focus-group discussions, and in-depth interviews were employed as research methods in the study. The target populations in the study included males and females, service-users and non-users, and special groups, such as fishermen, sex workers, potters, Bedes (river gypsies), and lower-caste people-all combined representing a heterogeneous community. The following four major categories of barriers emerged as roadblocks to accessing quality healthcare for the poor: (a) low income to be able to afford healthcare, (b) lack of awareness of the kind of healthcare services available, (c) deficiencies and inconsistencies in the quality of services, and (d) lack of close proximity to the healthcare facility. Those interviewed perceived their access problems to be: (a) a limited range of NGO services available as they felt what are available do not meet their demands; (b) a high service-charge for the healthcare services they sought; (c) higher prices of drugs at the facility compared to the market place; (d) a belief that the NGO clinics are primarily to serve the rich people, (e) lack of experienced doctors at the centres; and (f) the perception that the facility and its services were more oriented to women and children, but not to males. Others responded that they should be allowed to get treatment with credit and, if needed, payment should be waived for some due to their poverty level. While the results of the study revealed many perceptions of barriers to healthcare services by the poor, the feedback provided by the study indicates how important it is to learn from the poorest segment of society. This will assist healthcare providers and the healthcare system itself to become more sensitized to the needs and problems faced by this segment of the society and to make recommendations to remove barriers and improvement of access. Treatment with credit and waived payment for the poorest were also recommended as affordable alternative private healthcare services for the poor.

The Political Economy of Improving Health Care for the Poor in Rural Africa: Institutional Solutions to the Principal–Agent Problem

Both governments and private for-profit markets have been disappointing in meeting the needs of the African poor for health care. NGO services provide a much more attractive alternative for this clientele, despite the fees they charge. They do so because they represent an institutional solution to the ‘imperfect information’ problem in health care. Through simulations based on data from Cameroon, we demonstrate that if fee-charging NGOs replace the highly subsidised but poorly managed facilities operated by African governments the poor would be better off. Those NGOs that are decentralised in their financial and personnel management are most effective. The politics of making the recommended changes are assessed.

La traction animale pour le transport en Afrique subsaharienne et à Madagascar : implications pour l’évolution des rôles des gouvernements et de la société civile

L’utilisation des animaux pour le transport continuera d’augmenter en Afrique. Les animaux sont utilisés pour la monte, le bât et le trait de charrettes, chariots et traîneaux. Les équidés sont utilisés dans les zones semiarides et les plateaux ; l’utilisation des ânes se développe. Le nombre des charrettes à boeufs augmente, bien que limité par le nombre insuffisant d’essieux, de roues et le manque de crédit. Le transport animal augmente l’intégration durable de l’agriculture élevage et l’accès au marché. La location informelle des animaux est courante. Les services de transport commercial pour les marchandises et les passagers sont pratiqués dans les zones périurbaines. Quelques animaux sont utilisés pour le débardage, le transport d’ordures urbaines et la maintenance routière. Ce document présente une perspective historique de l’évolution du transport par traction animale dans la région, et des rôles joués par les gouvernements et le secteur privé. Au cours du XXe siècle, les services de vulgarisation ont introduit la traction animale qui s’est développée à travers les contacts entre paysans. Le crédit a accru l’accès aux charrettes et il reste important. Avec la libéralisation économique, les services de l’Etat ont diminué leurs appuis, maintenant fournis par le secteur privé informel, les artisans et les ateliers privés. L’appui des gouvernements, des groupements et des ONG est toujours nécessaire dans des zones où les boeufs et les ânes sont introduits. Les gouvernements ont des rôles cruciaux dans la facilitation de l’expansion de la traction animale et dans la réglementation pour des utilisations améliorées. Les politiques de libéralisation devraient encourager la complémentarité du transport attelé et motorisé avec des échanges appropriés entre ces différents modes. Les marchés hebdomadaires, espacés et organisés pour favoriser une utilisation optimale de la traction animale en matière de chargement de camions pour long trajet, peuvent accroître la rentabilité globale du transport. L’interdiction du transport animal est rarement appropriée. Les gouvernements, associations de transport, utilisateurs et ONG devraient encourager le développement et la mise en place des réglementations en matière de sécurité et d’entretien des animaux, de technologies adaptées, d’autorisations, de contrôles, d’assurances et d’une infrastructure appropriée pour le transport par traction animale.

The view from the field: Perspectives from managers of microfinance institutions

By examining three different institutional frameworks and performances, this paper portrays the challenges and potential for microfinance programmes to solve some of the key constraints in the field today. Tracing the growth of BancoSol, a new, private Bolivian commercial bank dedicated almost exclusively to microenterprise, many lessons about the institutional development of profitable micro-lending organizations emerge. The Kenya Rural Enterprise Programme provides evidence of the complementary roles technical assistance and other NGO services play in the strengthening of both microenterprises and microfinance programmes. Finally, the long track record and diverse lending programmes of Thailand's Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives draw lessons in the criteria and methods of effective financial intermediation. Elements of success and differences among the cases are highlighted.