Rights In Sub-Saharan Africa Research Articles

Support for sexual and reproductive health and rights in Sub-Saharan Africa: a new index based on World Values Survey data

BackgroundAddressing attitudes is central to achieving sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and Agenda 2030. We aimed to develop a comprehensive index to measure attitudinal support for SRHR, expanding opportunities for global trend analyses and tailored interventions.MethodsWe designed a new module capturing attitudes towards different dimensions of SRHR, collected via the nationally representative World Values Survey in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe during 2020–2021 (n = 3,711). We used exploratory factor analysis of 58 items to identify sub-scales and an overall index. Adjusted regression models were used to evaluate the index according to sociodemographic characteristics, stratified by country and sex.ResultsA 23-item, five-factor solution was identified and used to construct sub-indices reflecting support for: (1) sexual and reproductive rights, (2) neighborhood sexual safety, (3) gender-equitable relationships, (4) equitable masculinity norms, and (5) SRHR interventions. These five sub-indices performed well across countries and socioeconomic subgroups and were combined into a comprehensive “SRHR Support Index”, standardized on a 1–100 scale (mean = 39.19, SD = 15.27, Cronbach’s alpha = 0.80) with higher values indicating more support for SRHR. Mean values were highest in Kenya (45.48, SD = 16.78) followed by Ethiopia (40.2, SD = 13.63), and lowest in Zimbabwe (32.65, SD = 13.77), with no differences by sex. Higher education and being single were associated with more support, except in Ethiopia. Younger age and urban residence correlated with more support among males only.ConclusionThe SRHR Support Index has the potential to broaden SRHR attitude research from a comprehensive perspective – addressing the need for a common measure to track progress over time.

Internal Conflicts and the Moderating Role of Property Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa: Implications for Property Taxation

Internal Conflicts and the Moderating Role of Property Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa: Implications for Property Taxation

The landscape of physical sexual violence in Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Nigeria: A systematic review

The present study aimed to determine the trending country-specific common forms and patterns of sexual violence in Sub-Saharan African countries considering the multi-component nature of the menace. We systematically reviewed the population-based studies, obtained from PubMed, Medline, Scopus, and Google Scholar, that dealt with all-encompassing physical sexual violence in Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Nigeria. The quality and significance of the data obtained were assessed, and similar events were grouped and reported found to have inspired policy recommendations for non-sexual violence initiatives and respect for sexual and reproductive health rights in Sub-Saharan Africa. This systematic review revealed that sexual violence is captured as sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual abuse, rape, coercive sex, incest, child sexual abuse, and intimate partner sexual violence. Botswana ranked first in worldwide rape statistics, while Nigeria and Kenya ranked 135th and 103rd, respectively. Ethiopia’s global rape ranking was not available at the completion of writing this paper, and further statistical proof(s) on these ranks were also not established in this review. The historic record for Botswana on forced sex reads 10.3% while forced marriage for Ethiopia shows 58%. Across the four countries selected, intimate partner violence ranges between 9.0% and 58.6%. While completed rapes, attempted rapes, and forced sexual initiation were mentioned in a few studies, the lifetime sexual violence ranges between 45.4% and 56%. In addition, the generic sexual violence was between 9.6% and 61.2%. In summation, sexual violence is prevailing at the locations of study, regardless of age, gender, or community. However, since the actual or suspected dominant perpetrators of sexual violence are overrepresented in the male populations, enlightenment campaigns should be implemented for boys and men so that they grow more conscious of other gender’s sexual rights in the conduct or pursuit of their sexual satisfaction and behavior. Effective community engagement (with parents, workers, academics, and students) should be prioritized by various governments and other stakeholders toward the achievement of improved sexual health, and well-being among the populace.

Using the Bioethical Principles of Solidarity and Subsidiarity to Advance Intersectional Feminism and Disability Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa

Gender is a social-cultural characteristic that links roles, identities and opportunities to the aspect of being male or female, while gender equity refers to the process of being fair to men and women in the treatment and access to opportunities. In sub-Saharan Africa, gender inequity among women persists and is worse for women with disabilities as they face additional barriers to accessing basic services such as education, housing, healthcare, mobility, employment and empowerment opportunities. Despite progressive reforms that mandate the participation of women, particularly women with disabilities at international and country levels, this group of women continue to face barriers to basic rights and participation. This opinion piece discusses the bioethical principles of solidarity and subsidiarity in advancing intersectional feminism and disability rights in sub-Saharan Africa. By definition, solidarity is the global coordination of a cause to protect human dignity based on the reality of our interconnectedness and quest for mutual flourishing. On the other hand, subsidiarity is the decentralization of decision-making processes among multiple stakeholders to empower populations with the greatest need. Hence, the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity are progressive rights-based approaches that may be used to tackle structural inequalities and promote social protection systems for gender and disability. As such, sub-Saharan Africa stands to benefit from such frameworks to address forms of systemic oppression and facilitate respect for the rights and dignity of vulnerable populations such as women with disabilities. The rights of women with disabilities cannot be achieved in isolation as they are linked to other ethical principles of respect for difference, accessibility, and equality of opportunity. Therefore, if well implemented, acts of solidarity and subsidiarity transcend individual goals to advance collective action for intersectional and inclusive frameworks that meet the needs of women with disabilities in their complexities and diversity.

Structural adjustment programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 1980s and 1990s

The paper discusses the World Bank’s and International Monetary Fund’s Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 1980s and 1990s. Most countries in this region did not demonstrate autonomy in regard to national economic management and public policy processes, but acquiesced to the economic austerity prescriptions of the international financial institution, which were supposed to have resuscitated their economies. The paper seeks to provide some insights pertaining to how multilateral financial agencies engaged national governments, not as partners in a contractual relationship, but as servile actors. This situation was not mutually beneficial to both parties as interventions in local economies through financial injections had not resulted in easier repayment of loans by Sub-Saharan African governments. However, conditionalities tied to loans resulted in the erosion of social policies and social rights in Sub-Saharan Africa in the said period. Instead of shoring up economies of the countries in the region, SAPs had helped to weaken or even implode them. SAPs also eroded the social policy gains which were attained in the decade of independence in this region. The paper’s main contention is that Sub-Saharan African countries should bolster their institutions, policy-making mechanisms, and not make the same mistakes they did during that period, if they want to develop and be prosperous this century.

Training of copyright and related rights in sub-saharan Africa

Training of intellectual property rights has been close to the heart of Professor Marianne Levin and she has been a Master Trainer, welcoming participants from all corners of the world. This is why I have chosen the topic of training for my article, congratulating her on her anniversary. Understanding how international copyright law and realities on the ground affect the functioning of the copyright market in a given country or region, offers a possibility to review and evaluate developments. A well-functioning copyright market consists of three elements: legislation, enforcement and management of copyright and related rights. This article concentrates on management of rights, but deals also with some legislative and enforcement issues. Management of rights takes place either individually by the respective rightsholder or by collective management organizations (CMOs). The latter is a feasible solution when individual exercise of rights is either impossible or impracticable.

Impact of globalization on human rights: evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the impact of globalization and its multiple dimensions on human rights in Sub-Saharan Africa.Design/methodology/approachThe study extends the Poe and Tate (1994) model, which enumerates the various determinants of human rights. Ordered probit estimation is used to estimate the impact of globalization and its dimensions. For the purpose of empirical analysis, the period has been divided into three phases: short, medium and long term. This helps in understanding how the impact of the different dimensions of globalization has evolved over a period of time. Furthermore, analysis has been carried out to detect causality between human rights and globalization.FindingsAs per the results, overall globalization and social dimension of globalization do have a positive impact on human rights in long and medium term and, also, Granger-cause human rights. The political dimension of globalization has a positive relation with human rights, though there exists no causality between the two. On the other hand, the economic dimension of globalization fails to have a statistically significant impact on human rights. Impact of the social dimension of globalization dominates that of other dimensions of globalization.Originality/valueThis is one of the few studies that examine, in an empirical fashion, the impact of globalization on human rights in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Beyond ownership: women’s and men’s land rights in Sub-Saharan Africa

ABSTRACT Advancing women’s land rights is a priority for the international development agenda. Little consensus exists, however, on which rights should be monitored and reported, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa where individual property rights and customary tenure regimes coexist and where much agricultural land remains unregistered. In such contexts, land ownership statistics may provide only a limited picture of women’s and men’s land rights. While some surveys collect information on women’s land ownership, others collect information on women’s management of land or control over the output produced. Using recent waves of the Living Standards Measurement Study-Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) for six African countries, we examine who holds the different rights on each plot of agricultural land and the extent to which these rights are held by the same person. We focus on (a) reported ownership, (b) who decides and manages the agricultural activities, and (c) who controls the output of land. We find that these rights over land do not always overlap, indicating that concepts of ownership, management and economic rights should not be used interchangeably. Consistent measures of women’s and men’s land rights are fundamental for the development of policies to empower rural women and to contribute to poverty reduction.

Innovative Geospatial Solutions for Land Tenure Mapping

There are millions of unrecorded land rights in sub-Saharan Africa, which are still not mapped. Therefore, there is a clear demand for innovative solutions for land tenure recording, as also written in the target 1.4 of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In response to this need, the consortia of “its4land” European Commission Horizon 2020 project developed the “its4land toolbox” based on the continuum of land rights and fit-for-purpose approach. The advanced technological solutions of the toolbox include smart sketch maps, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), interactive boundary delineator, as well as sharing and publishing land information via geocloud services. The solutions are based on specific needs, market opportunities, and readiness of end-users. Moreover, aiming in scaling up broader governance implications are examined. During the project lifetime, the main technical tasks included tool development, prototyping, and demonstration of the tools to local, regional, national, and international users and stakeholders. Furthermore, equal emphasis was placed on needs assessment, governance, capacity, and business modeling. The current paper presents the unique its4land land administration toolbox in which the key exploitable results of the project are integrated in a joint used case in Rwanda.
 Keywords: Fit-for-Purpose; Land Tenure; UAV; Boundary Delineation; Land

Implementing Universal Human Rights Standards in and by Sub-Saharan African States in the Shade of Local Traditions

The article examines the roots of the conception of human rights in Sub-Saharan Africa and highlights some aspects of African human rights policies, considering some strengths and weaknesses, whilst drawing a realistic portrayal about the situation of universal human rights implementation in the continent. The paper demonstrates how African human rights priorities are translated into practice within the UN system in general and the UN Human Rights Council in particular. Besides the strong regional characteristics of Sub-Saharan African human rights policy, there are significant differences among states in the region towards approaches for addressing contemporary human rights challenges.

Concept of Culture Relativism and Women’s Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa

This article discusses the challenges of the realization of women’s rights in relation to the concept of culture relativism in sub-Saharan Africa. It examines how the concept of culture is misconstrued with a traditional hierarchy and patriarchy approach that intervenes in the realization of women’s rights in sub-Saharan African states. Many societies are concerned that the promotion of gender equality would interfere with local culture; hence they feel that gender equality should not be promoted for ethical reasons. Women have been left with the unpleasant situation of choosing between their rights or their culture. Through secondary analysis and a critical review of the literature, the article engages in the debate on cultural diversity and gender equality, to challenge the existing stereotypes in sub-Saharan African cultures. It argues that traditional and cultural practices should adhere to the values of equality and human rights. The article proposes that cultural considerations will have to yield whenever a clear conflict with human rights norms becomes apparent.

Social licence to operate and the granting of mineral rights in sub-Saharan Africa: Exploring tensions between communities, governments and multi-national mining companies

Traditional communities in Africa hold land in high esteem. As such, when rights to minerals are granted to Multi-National Mining Companies on community lands, it heightens tensions and sometime erode the trust relationship with local governments and the State. A factor which contributes to this, is the non-alignment of the interest between the States’ exclusive rights and communities’ right to land after minerals’ discovery. In addition, experiences from colonial practices infringing on customary and mineral rights heighten the tensions between traditional societies and governments. This paper discusses some of the root causes of such tensions vis-à-vis the assignment of mineral rights and their effect on customary land rights frameworks. The mineral rights’ frameworks of Ghana, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania are explored for a better understanding of the tensions that arise in mining communities. Recommendations in light of formalising communities’ rights with mining companies’ and social licence to operate may assist in building transparency and the ‘trust’ needed amongst stakeholders in mining regimes.

Expatriates as voters? The new dynamics of external voting in Sub-Saharan Africa

Expatriate voting has gained in importance over the last decade in Sub-Saharan Africa. This article gives an empirical overview of existing regulations in all independent states of the continent and examines some explanatory approaches in the African context. One approach claims that expatriate enfranchisement is a functional response to the increasing importance of migrants and their remittances. A second explanation refers to the role of domestic political structures and regime types. A third cluster of explanatory factors links external voting to the interests of political parties. Both in the broader comparative analysis and by looking more specifically at the cases of Ghana, South Africa, Cape Verde and Nigeria, all three approaches specifically contribute to understanding variation of external voting rights in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Mental Health Situation and Resilience among Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review

Africa is the continent most prone to strife like wars, political violence, communicable and non-communicable diseases, and violations of human rights. Vices like these result in mental health problems among children and adolescents. Children and adolescents who have experienced war, political violence, diseases or severe violations of human rights in Sub-Saharan Africa, tend to exhibit mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, withdrawal, and conduct disorders and many other psychological problems. Despite exposure to these stressful and traumatic experiences, survivors of these events tend to show resilience due to individual, family and community factors particularly family, peer, school and community support. Large scale interventions such as social cash transfer programs and small scale interventions such as Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy have proven to improve social capital of children and adolescents, and build their resilience amidst and after adversities.

The Protection and Licensing of Music Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Opportunities

IntroductionAfrica is a huge continent teeming with people-a vast sea of over one billion souls. Sub-Saharan Africa, which this research focuses on, boasts the majority of this population.2 All things being equal the region should have one of the biggest and most-thriving entertainment business sectors in the world. It is clear however that, to a large extent, the entertainment sectors in the region remain largely underdeveloped-at least in the conventional sense. In many instances it may be difficult to even clearly delineate an entertainment industry,3 despite a recognition of the great potential of the entertainment or creative sectors in spurring economic development in the region.4 The music industry is no exception in this regard.Even so, a lot of activity is in fact taking place, albeit largely on a low-scale, amateurish, or subsistence level with not much impact on GDP growth. Importantly, there have also been many success stories over the years. This makes the African music licensing environment at once enigmatic, interesting, and bemusing for the practitioner working in this market. Enigmatic because of the many activities in the industry that do not conform to the conventional understanding of how the industry works or how it should work; interesting because of the feeling of adventure and exhilaration arising from having to work with impassioned artist entrepreneurs delving into hitherto untapped areas; and bemusing because sooner or later the practitioner will have to face the fact that certain rough survival tactics, including the big-fish-eat-little-fish syndrome referred to by some earlier,5 may still be prevalent.6What will immediately be evident to one seeking to work in this market is the difficulty in finding any reliable information on the African music industry, both at a regional or national level. It is this lack of information that the Music in Africa project, an initiative of the Siemens Stiftung Germany and the Goethe-Institut, seeks to address.7 In this regard Edington Hatitye, Project Manager for the initiative, explained that the aim of the initiative is to foster a well-informed and African-driven music community and to facilitate an inter-African exchange, through creating an online-based portal for the dissemination of knowledge.8 Amongst others the project aims to have a directory of the various players in the African music industry, to have a section for useful resources about the industry (whether in the areas of entertainment law, the music business, music technology, or other relevant areas), and to have a section on education in which all information relating to music education and institutions will be reported. At this point, in the absence of this information this research had to depend on information gleaned from limited key players in the industry, as well as information available through research.The lack of a harmonized legal framework in the area of copyright and related rights protection on a pan-African basis, especially in the area of digital exploitation, may be another reason why the licensing of music rights in Africa poses some difficulties. Progress with regard to the African Economic Community formed in terms of the Abuja treaty of 1991 has been rather slow. This naturally affects regional integration and hampers any attempt at the harmonization of laws. The Southern and Eastern African Copyright Network (SEACONET), an ambitious non-governmental organization comprised of copyright offices, collective management organizations, rights holder organizations, and other organizations interested in copyright and related rights, was formed in 2008 with the support of a number of governments in Southern and Eastern Africa. One of the objectives of this organization is to harmonize the laws relating to copyright and related rights in this sub-region, especially in the area of enforcement and cross-border measures.9 In 2012 the organization adopted a model copyright law with rather noble ideals. …

P6.036 Stigma & Discrimination Among HIV-Infected MSM Population in the Sub-Saharan Africa

People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Sub-Saharan Africa face stigma and discrimination including significant health challenges. Social, religious and cultural contexts most often contribute to various forms of stigma and...

Measuring improvements in sexual and reproductive health and rights in sub-Saharan Africa

Recent studies on development aid from European donors revealed that their funding of the health sector in sub-Saharan Africa rarely includes performance measures suitable for tracking operational progress in improving sexual and reproductive health and rights. Analysis of health sector agreements verifies this. Particularly lacking are metrics related to four critically important areas: 1) reducing mortality and morbidity from unsafe abortion, 2) preventing and treating gender-based violence, 3) reducing unwanted pregnancies among the poorest women, and 4) reducing unwanted pregnancies among adolescents. During 2011 and the first half of 2012, the authors interviewed 85 experts in health service delivery, ministries of health, human rights, development economics and social science from sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and the United States. We asked them to identify measures to assess progress in these areas, and built on their responses to propose up to four practical performance measures for each of the areas, for inclusion in health sector support agreements. These measures are meant to supplement, not replace, current population-based measures such as changes in maternal mortality ratios. The feasibility of using these performance measures requires political commitment from donors and governments, investment in baseline data, and expanding the role of sexual and reproductive health and rights civil society in determining priorities.

Operationalising sexual and reproductive health and rights in sub-Saharan Africa: constraints, dilemmas and strategies.

BackgroundThe continued poor sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa highlight the difficulties in reforming policies and laws, and implementing effective programmes. This paper uses one international and two national case studies to reflect on the challenges, dilemmas and strategies used in operationalising sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in different African contexts.MethodsThe international case study focuses on the progress made by African countries in implementing the African Union’s Maputo Plan of Action (for the Operationalisation of the Continental Policy Framework for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights) and the experiences of state and non-state stakeholders in this process. The case was developed from an evaluation report of the progress made by nine African countries in implementing the Plan of Action, qualitative interviews exploring stakeholders’ experiences and perceptions of the operationalisation of the plan (carried out as part of the evaluation) in Botswana and Nigeria, and authors’ reflections. The first national case study explores the processes involved in influencing Ghana’s Domestic Violence Act passed in 2007; developed from a review of scientific papers and organisational publications on the processes involved in influencing the Act, qualitative interview data and authors’ reflections. The second national case study examines the experiences with introducing the 2006 Sexual Offences Act in Kenya, and it is developed from organisational publications on the processes of enacting the Act and a review of media reports on the debates and passing of the Act.ResultsBased on the three cases, we argue that prohibitive laws and governments’ reluctance to institute and implement comprehensive rights approaches to SRH, lack of political leadership and commitment to funding SRHR policies and programmes, and dominant negative cultural framing of women’s issues present the major obstacles to operationalising SRH rights. Analysis of successes points to the strategies for tackling these challenges, which include forming and working through strategic coalitions, employing strategic framing of SRHR issues to counter opposition and gain support, collaborating with government, and employing strategic opportunism.ConclusionThe strategies identified show future pathways through which challenges to the realisation of SRHR in Africa can be tackled.

Engaging media in communicating research on sexual and reproductive health and rights in sub-Saharan Africa: experiences and lessons learned

BackgroundThe mass media have excellent potential to promote good sexual and reproductive health outcomes, but around the world, media often fail to prioritize sexual and reproductive health and rights issues or report them in an accurate manner. In sub-Saharan Africa media coverage of reproductive health issues is poor due to the weak capacity and motivation for reporting these issues by media practitioners. This paper describes the experiences of the African Population and Health Research Center and its partners in cultivating the interest and building the capacity of the media in evidence-based reporting of reproductive health issues in sub-Saharan Africa.MethodsThe paper utilizes a case study approach based primarily on the personal experiences and reflections of the authors (who played a central role in developing and implementing the Center’s communication and policy engagement strategies), a survey that the Center carried out with science journalists in Kenya, and literature review.ResultsThe African Population and Health Research Center’s media strategy evolved over the years, moving beyond conventional ways of communicating research through the media via news releases and newspaper stories, to varying approaches that sought to inspire and build the capacity of journalists to do evidence-based reporting of reproductive health issues. Specifically, the approach included 1) enhancing journalists’ interest in and motivation for reporting on reproductive health issues through training and competitive grants for outstanding reporting ; 2) building the capacity of journalists to report reproductive health research and the capacity of reproductive health researchers to communicate their research to media through training for both parties and providing technical assistance to journalists in obtaining and interpreting evidence; and 3) establishing and maintaining trust and mutual relationships between journalists and researchers through regular informal meetings between journalists and researchers, organizing field visits for journalists, and building formal partnerships with professional media associations and individual journalists.ConclusionOur experiences and reflections, and the experiences of others reviewed in this paper, indicate that a sustained mix of strategies that motivate, strengthen capacity of, and build relationships between journalists and researchers can be effective in enhancing quality and quantity of media coverage of research.

‘The Law is to Blame’: The Vulnerable Status of Common Property Rights in Sub‐Saharan Africa

ABSTRACTThe context of this article is the surge in large‐scale land acquisitions of African lands by local and foreign investors for commercial food, livestock, oil palm and carbon trading purposes. Involuntary loss of rural lands at scale is not new to Africa's majority rural poor, nor is it driven by a single factor. Historically inequitable land relations within communities, compounded by a century of capitalist transformation, take their toll. This study argues, however, that the weak legal status of communal rights is the most pernicious enabler in their demise, allowing governments to take undue liberties with their citizens’ lands, and particularly those which are unfarmed and by tradition held in common. While international acquiescence to abusive domestic law helps entrench the diminishment of majority land rights, the domestic laws themselves are principally at fault and necessarily the target for change. This legal vulnerability is explored here through an examination of more than twenty African land laws.