Sector In sub-Saharan Africa Research Articles

Improving farmers’ net revenue in traditional context: Analytic Hierarchy Process, Expert System, and Linear Programming

The low yield of the agricultural sector in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is not solely due to the type of agriculture (mainly traditional), but also to the crop selection process which is typically based on impressions or past experience. This approach cannot always ensure an optimal crop selection ev

Modelling the cost-effectiveness of introducing subsidised malaria rapid diagnostic tests in the private retail sector in sub-Saharan Africa

BackgroundOver the last 10 years, there has been a huge shift in malaria diagnosis in public health facilities, due to widespread deployment of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), which are accurate,...

Understanding Post Contractual Turbulence in Public Private Partnerships: Themes and Issues

Although complex realities of governing Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) at the post contractual phase are emerging as major foundations of discord that threatens PPPs sustainability in developing countries (DCs), the nascent nature of the model’s application in most DCs has meant that the specific issues of concern remain obscure and scattered. Using the concept of governance as an orienting lens, an intensive analysis of one of the pioneer PPP projects in the electricity sector in Sub-Saharan Africa is undertaken to explore the main issues. The evidence is drawn from transcripts of interviews with policy, regulative, and operative actors directly involved with and/or familiar with the project. These are supplemented by a review of exclusively accessed and publicly available documents. The findings underscore the primacy of eight governance issues that are organised in three thematic areas including; the roles and responsibilities of actors, regulatory and contractual control, and emergent and complex external stakeholder behaviour. The findings essentially suggest that at the post contractual phase, (a) PPP will be challenged by context specific realities related to how the sector is organized, the prevailing sources of authority, and end user behaviour, (b) PPP agreements are incapable of precisely providing for all emergent realities thus require adaptation and/or complementation, and (c) demonstrate that responses need to be deliberately concerted as well as inclusive of context-relevant actors to guard against a) severely undermining provisions of the existing contract, b) partner (and other external stakeholder) opportunism, and c) counterproductive distortion of balance of power.

Enhancing Information Technology for Value Added Across Economic Sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa

This study investigates how enhancing information and communication technology (ICT) affects value added across sectors in 25 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa using data for the period 1980-2014. The empirical evidence is based on the Generalised Method of Moments. The following findings are established. First, the enhancement of mobile phone and internet penetrations respectively have net negative effects on value added to the agricultural and manufacturing sectors.Second, enhancing ICT (i.e. mobile phone penetration and internet penetration) overwhelmingly has positive net effects on value added to the service sector. From an extended analysis, enhancing ICT in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors should exceed certain thresholds for value added, notably: 114.375 of mobile phone penetration per 100 people for added value in the agricultural sector and 22.625 of internet penetration per 100 people for added value in the manufacturing sector.

Re-balancing climate services to inform climate-resilient planning – A conceptual framework and illustrations from sub-Saharan Africa

Making climate-resilient planning and adaptation decisions is, in part, contingent on the use of climate information. Growing attention has been paid to the “usability gap” and the need to make information both useful and useable to decision-makers. Less attention has, however, been paid to the factors that determine whether, once created, useful and useable information is then actually used. In this Perspectives piece, we outline a framework that puts together the pieces necessary to close the “usability gap” – highlighting not only what is required to make information useful and useable, but also what is required to ensure that useful and useable information is actually used. Creating useful information is subject to understanding and being able to deliver metrics that address identified needs in a range of decision-making contexts. Creating useable information requires legitimate and credible information that is visualised and communicated in ways that are accessible and understandable. The framework highlights traditionally under-recognized enablers necessary to promote effective use of the growing availability of useful and useable climate information in decision-making; supportive institutions, appropriate policy frameworks, capacity of individuals and agency to make decisions. Whilst this is not enough in itself to effect information use, we argue that greater focus on these enablers can re-balance the activities promoted through climate services and increase the likelihood of successful use. We illustrate the framework with case examples of co-producing climate information for the tea and water sectors in sub-Saharan Africa.

Lessons Learned from Mbombela, South Africa, in Public-Private Partnerships in the Water Sector

For urban dwellers around the world, basic water services are provided by city administrations. However, in developing countries, cities lack both the human and financial resources to ensure adequate services, particularly to some of their most vulnerable populations. As a result, public entities often consider turning to the private sector for assistance, which may lead to a series of adverse and unintended consequences. The following case study describes the experiences of the South African city of Mbombela, arguably one of the most successful Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the water sector in sub-Saharan Africa, through its successes and challenges.

The burden of diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders in sub-Saharan African countries; As the world accelerates the pace of change

Sub-Saharan Africa is recognizably a region grinding under the suffocative weight of various shades of distressing issues. And bringing it into symphony with the rhythm of a rapidly-changing world becomes a daunting, but very necessary task. There are several negative indicators lucidly pointing to crippling deficits, and outright morbidities in the continent's social orientations and societal fabrics. The welfare ladders are tottering, and nearly all institutional tools/vehicles for driving towards functional/sustainable social welfare systems, are either rickety or outrightly ‘unroadworthy’. Health sector in sub-Saharan Africa particularly is an emergency situation. Neuroscience is one area of medical practice that is still filled with mystique and still evolving, but we are certain those in the developed countries have not the faintest idea of its ravaging impact in the developing countries of Africa. There is a very poor understanding of pathophysiology of these disorders. 1 in every 5 Nigerian patients, sometimes 3 or 4 in an emergency section of any general hospital for example, has neurological/neurosurgical condition and many of them fail to seek early medical attention due to misconception, myths and belief system. Ours is an environment affected to a larger extent by culture and religion. A lot of affected individuals are oblivious that they have neurological issues. When the fate of a people is hanging precariously on a precipitous threshold, no passionate Interface can be at ease. The distressing health needs of sub-Saharan Africa's indigent communities should constitute emotional burdens, as well as moral responsibilities for all genuine and committed intermediaries.

Aspirations to grow: when micro- and informal enterprises in the street food sector speak for themselves

The street food sector in Sub-Saharan Africa is a source of affordable and nutritious meals for the urban poor, while also being an important source of income for the women who dominate this sector. Despite the importance of this sector, many micro- and informal enterprises are labelled as “survivalist”, beyond the reach of common development policies, which give priority to so-called growth-oriented enterprises. When given the chance to speak for themselves, do enterprises express any aspirations to grow? Contrary to the literature, our findings show that necessity-driven enterprises do aspire to grow and that this is true for both those owned by men and women. Using contextual interaction theory, this paper explains why it is possible for previous authors to come to such a different conclusion.

The causal relationship between financial development and real sector in sub-Saharan Africa (1986–2015)

This study focused on investigating the causal relationship between financial development and real sector in sub-Saharan Africa during the period 1986–2015. This study used panel data containing 38 countries, while two-step generalised method of moment was used as the estimation techniques. In the full sample consisting of 38 countries, the study found bidirectional causality between financial development and real sector. In low-income countries, a bidirectional causality was found between financial development and real sector in the short run. The study found no causal relationship between financial development and real sector in the lower-middle-income countries except when domestic credit to the private sector was used as an indicator of financial development. The difference in the direction of causality of low-income countries and lower-middle-income countries was attributed to the heterogeneous characteristics of the income groups. The results also show that different income groups produce different causality relationships between financial development and real sector which is an indication that the causal relationship varies among different countries.

Do Openness and Democracy Deepen Banking Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa?

This article examines whether openness and democracy deepen the banking sector in sub-Saharan Africa, using a sample of 33 countries over the period 1991–2015. After controlling for the potential effects of some country characteristics, this article shows that simultaneous opening of trade and capital borders and higher levels of democratic governance deepen the banking sector. It also shows that increasing financial openness without increasing trade openness would result in a shallower banking sector but increasing trade openness alone is adequate to deepen the banking sector. This article provides evidence to support the simultaneous openness hypothesis and political economy theory of financial development.

The Impact of Digital Outside on Financial Sector of Sub-Saharan Africa

The Impact of Digital Outside on Financial Sector of Sub-Saharan Africa

The Impact of Digital Inside on the Financial Sector of Sub-Saharan Africa

The Impact of Digital Inside on the Financial Sector of Sub-Saharan Africa

Gendered governance and socio-economic differentiation among women artisanal and small-scale miners in Central and East Africa

ABSTRACTDrawing on qualitative research data from two gold artisanal and small-scale mining sites (ASGM), one in Democratic Republic of the Congo, the other in Uganda, this paper explores the authority arrangements that govern mining livelihoods in these sites, tracing their gendered forms and operation. The inter-relationship between these arrangements and women’s mining livelihoods is considered to further explore some of the socio-economic differentiation among women miners. In the context of increasing emphasis on formalizing the ASM sector in Sub-Saharan Africa, including through licenses and formation of associations and cooperatives, both the gendered organization of mine site governance and social differential among women miners have important implications. Formalization efforts in the ASM sector are rightly critiqued for failing to account for social differentiation that may allow elites to control licenses and associations. But also important, our research suggests, is the gendered inequalities that characterize existing authority arrangements, and the differentiation among women that may allow some women to organize and not others.

Do microsavings stimulate financial performance of microfinance institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the empirical relationship between microsavings and the financial performance of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).Design/methodology/approachThe approach in this paper is decidedly empirical, and employs data obtained from Microfinance Information eXchange (MIX). The data set consists of 350 microfinance MFIs domiciled in 36 Sub-Saharan African countries for the period covering 1998–2012.FindingsThe panel estimation results consistently show that there exists a negative and statistically significant relationship between microsavings and the financial performance of MFIs in SSA. This is perhaps surprising, albeit rational considering the exceedingly elevated operating expenses that ascend from mobilizing and managing microsavings, ceteris paribus, that could erode firm profitability. The paper draws policy implications from these important findings.Research limitations/implicationsEven though generalized method of moment estimation technique was employed and robustness checks, the issue of endogeneity cannot be eliminated entirely.Practical implicationsMicrofinance industry is one of the fastest growing segments of the financial sector in SSA. The industry is increasingly becoming the core of financial inclusion in the region where two-thirds of the adult population lack access to formal financial services. Therefore, gaining an in-depth understanding of the role microsavings play in the financial performance of MFIs can contribute to the growth of the industry.Originality/valueThis study is timely considering the significant growth in the number of microsavings – there are currently twice as many microsavings accounts in SSA as there are microcredits. More importantly, based on 400 MFIs, that reported data to MIX in 2016, the total microsavings stood at about US$11bn against an aggregate loan portfolio of about US$10.5bn. The remarkable growth of microsavings in SSA, from less than US$100m in 2000 to US$11bn in 2016, is the main motivation of undertaking this study.

The impact of exchange rate volatility on manufacturing sector in sub-Saharan Africa (1980-2015)

This study examined the impact of exchange rate volatility on manufacturing sectors in selected sub-Saharan Africa from the period 1980 to 2015. Panel data regression analysis was adopted in the study. Panel pooled OLS, panel fixed effect and Dynamic Generalised Method of Moment models were used for the estimation. The pooled OLS result shows that Gross Domestic Products and physical capital have positive impact on economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa while trade openness, interest rates and exchange rate volatility have negative impact on manufacturing sector. The results from fixed effect and Dynamic Method of moment model shows that trade openness, interest rate and exchange rate volatility have negative impact on manufacturing sector.

Demographic Factors as a Catalyst for the Retention of Academic Staff: A Case Study of Three Universities in Sub - Saharan Africa

The aim of the study was to determine the effect that demographic factors such as age, gender, marital status and education, as well as factors such as years of experience, income, academic rank, country of origin and area of specialisation have on academic staff working in the higher education sector in Sub Saharan Africa . A survey approach was adopted as the main data collection tool and data was collected from three public Universities - University of KwaZulu- Natal (UKZN), Addis Ababa University (AAU) and Haramaya University (HU). The first university is located in South Africa and the last two universities are situated in Ethiopia. The survey was employed as a research design. A self- administered survey questionnaire consisting of both demographic variables (age, tenure, educational level, academic rank, employment status, marital status, average income level, and fields of specialisation) and six item turnover intentions or intentions to stay variables (measured a five -point Likert Scale in which 1= Strongly Disagree; 2= Disagree; 3= Neither Agree Nor Disagree; 4= Agree and 5= Strongly Disagree) were completed by 596 respondents selected by means of the stratified sampling method. The data was analysed using the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences(SPSS) software packages version 24. Both descriptive (frequencies, mean and standard deviation) and inferential (one-way-ANOVA) statistics were applied to examine the effect of the various demographic and other factors on the academic staff members’ intentions to depart from or remain at the three universities. The study revealed that the effect of these factors on the academic staff’s intention to depart or remain varied across the three universities . The study concluded that age, educational level, rank, employment status, marital status and area of specialisation were significant at HU but not at UKZN, where none of these factors were found to be significant predictors of a staff member’s intention to depart from the university. The findings of this study will enable higher education leaders and human resource practitioners in general, but Ethiopian institutions in particular, to design an acceptable human resource strategy and policy, tailored to address diversity and overcome the temptations of “one- size - fits - all” retention strategies.

Combining value chain and social network analysis as a viable tool for informing targeted disease surveillance in the rural poultry sector of Zambia.

Diseases are among the greatest challenges to the rural poultry sector in sub-Saharan Africa. The lack of a sustainable poultry disease surveillance system and the possible existence of communities and occasions where the interaction between birds is high present an opportunity for targeted surveillance of poultry diseases in these regions. However, the establishment of such a system requires adequate knowledge of the sector in the targeted area. Zambia is an example of a developing country located in the tropics that faces the challenge of frequent poultry disease outbreaks. Consequently, an interview-based survey to study the poultry sector's market chain and social networks was conducted in Eastern Zambia to derive information required for configuring targeted surveillance. This survey involved a poultry value chain analysis that also included an assessment of trading practices to identify biosecurity hot spots within the chain that could be targeted for disease surveillance. A social network analysis of poultry movement within Eastern Zambia was also conducted using whole-network analysis and ego network analysis to identify poultry trade hubs that could be targeted for poultry disease surveillance based on their centrality within the network and their size and influence within their ego networks. Rural farmers, middlemen and market traders were identified as biosecurity risk hot spots whose poultry and utensils could be targeted for disease surveillance within the value chain. Furthermore, social network analysis identified four districts as poultry trade hubs that could be targeted for disease surveillance. This study is the first to formally describe poultry movement networks within Zambia and the surrounding region. Its findings provide data required to implement targeted surveillance in regions where resources are either inadequate or non-existent, and the results provide a deeper understanding of the cultural and practical constraints that influence trade in developing countries.

Improving social accountability processes in the health sector in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review

BackgroundSocial accountability is a participatory process in which citizens are engaged to hold politicians, policy makers and public officials accountable for the services that they provide. In the Fifteenth Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, African leaders recognized the need for strong, decentralized health programs with linkages to civil society and private sector entities, full community participation in program design and implementation, and adaptive approaches to local political, socio-cultural and administrative environments. Despite the increasing use of social accountability, there is limited evidence on how it has been used in the health sector. The objective of this systematic review was to identify the conditions that facilitate effective social accountability in sub-Saharan Africa.MethodsElectronic databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Sociological s, Social Sciences s) were searched for relevant articles published between 2000 and August 2017. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they were peer-reviewed English language publications describing a social accountability intervention in sub-Saharan Africa. Qualitative and quantitative study designs were eligible.ResultsFourteen relevant studies were included in the review. The findings indicate that effective social accountability interventions involve leveraging partnerships and building coalitions; being context-appropriate; integrating data and information collection and analysis; clearly defined roles, standards, and responsibilities of leaders; and meaningful citizen engagement. Health system barriers, corruption, fear of reprisal, and limited funding appear to be major challenges to effective social accountability interventions.ConclusionAlthough global accountability standards play an important guiding role, the successful implementation of global health initiatives depend on national contexts.

Access to emergency hospital care provided by the public sector in sub-Saharan Africa in 2015: a geocoded inventory and spatial analysis.

SummaryBackgroundTimely access to emergency care can substantially reduce mortality. International benchmarks for access to emergency hospital care have been established to guide ambitions for universal health care by 2030. However, no Pan-African database of where hospitals are located exists; therefore, we aimed to complete a geocoded inventory of hospital services in Africa in relation to how populations might access these services in 2015, with focus on women of child bearing age.MethodsWe assembled a geocoded inventory of public hospitals across 48 countries and islands of sub-Saharan Africa, including Zanzibar, using data from various sources. We only included public hospitals with emergency services that were managed by governments at national or local levels and faith-based or non-governmental organisations. For hospital listings without geographical coordinates, we geocoded each facility using Microsoft Encarta (version 2009), Google Earth (version 7.3), Geonames, Fallingrain, OpenStreetMap, and other national digital gazetteers. We obtained estimates for total population and women of child bearing age (15–49 years) at a 1 km2 spatial resolution from the WorldPop database for 2015. Additionally, we assembled road network data from Google Map Maker Project and OpenStreetMap using ArcMap (version 10.5). We then combined the road network and the population locations to form a travel impedance surface. Subsequently, we formulated a cost distance algorithm based on the location of public hospitals and the travel impedance surface in AccessMod (version 5) to compute the proportion of populations living within a combined walking and motorised travel time of 2 h to emergency hospital services.FindingsWe consulted 100 databases from 48 sub-Saharan countries and islands, including Zanzibar, and identified 4908 public hospitals. 2701 hospitals had either full or partial information about their geographical coordinates. We estimated that 287 282 013 (29·0%) people and 64 495 526 (28·2%) women of child bearing age are located more than 2-h travel time from the nearest hospital. Marked differences were observed within and between countries, ranging from less than 25% of the population within 2-h travel time of a public hospital in South Sudan to more than 90% in Nigeria, Kenya, Cape Verde, Swaziland, South Africa, Burundi, Comoros, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Zanzibar. Only 16 countries reached the international benchmark of more than 80% of their populations living within a 2-h travel time of the nearest hospital.InterpretationPhysical access to emergency hospital care provided by the public sector in Africa remains poor and varies substantially within and between countries. Innovative targeting of emergency care services is necessary to reduce these inequities. This study provides the first spatial census of public hospital services in Africa.FundingWellcome Trust and the UK Department for International Development.

Mobile phone adoption in agri-food sector: Are farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa connected?

In recent years user acceptance of a new technology has become of much interest. One of the most outstanding global problems facing Africa is the digital divide. However, the use and adoption of mobile phones is reducing the digital divide in Africa. In view of the role that mobile phones play in bridging the digital divide in Africa, this study extends the applicability of the technology acceptance model (TAM), without altering its parsimony and information technology focus, in mobile phone adoption. This paper extends the TAM model by adding two new constructs, perceived advantage and socio-economic characteristics. Consequently, the extended TAM was applied to adoption of mobile phones in farming communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study relies on a sample from 300 dairy farmers in Uganda which was analysed using structural equation modelling. Theoretically, it contributes to the limited literature on mobile phone adoption in agri-food sector in Sub-Saharan Africa and provides empirical evidence from Ugandan farmers. The research contributes to promoting mobile phone usage in farming communities beyond just normal communication. The research also has a strong practical implication for farmers as well as other stakeholders from the agri-food sector.