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• (Journal Article) Fostering economic opportunities for youth in Africa: a comprehensive approach

  01.06.2015
  Youth unemployment and working poverty are large and growing development challenges. The barriers faced by young women and men in accessing sustainable livelihoods are many, so supporting their successful transition into employment and entrepreneurship requires a comprehensive and holistic approach. This article reflects on the evolving approach of The MasterCard Foundation-supported programmes in sub-Saharan Africa, within the broader context of wider research and evidence. It suggests that combining training in a range of market-relevant skills, with access to job and business opportunities and appropriate financial services, can foster economic opportunities for youth. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing the role of mixed livelihoods in contexts where formal jobs are lacking, and of supporting youth engagement in agriculture and agribusiness as viable livelihood opportunities. And it highlights that the challenge can only be adequately addressed via the meaningful engagement of a range of stakeholders, including the private sector, government and civil society, and, especially, youth themselves.

• (Journal Article) Menstrual hygiene management: education and empowerment for girls?

  01.01.2015
  This paper discusses the recent attention of the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector to resolving the menstrual hygiene crisis for young girls in developing countries. Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) interventions, including the use of sanitary pads, education, and awareness, and where possible separate, sanitary toilets, are identified to have far-reaching impacts on the education and empowerment of girls. Field research conducted in Ghana's Northern Region indicates a pronounced socialized, sexualized understanding and experience of menstruation among young girls and their families, school teachers, and local NGOs. Unfortunately WASH initiatives only allow interventions to manage menstrual hygiene, leaving the young girls and others in their social settings to deal with the larger subset of sexuality issues. We argue that opening the dominant discourse of a medicalized concept of menstruation to other meanings and experiences will have significant implications for the education and empowerment of young adolescent girls.

• (Journal Article) Incontinence in Zambia: initial investigation into the coping strategies of sufferers and carers

  01.07.2018
  There is little information on the management of incontinence in low-income settings. This article provides some initial insights, of particular relevance to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and health practitioners, into the coping strategies used by sufferers and carers in Zambia. Incontinence is rarely reported to medical professionals in Zambia, possibly due to a reluctance to disclose as a result of the stigma associated with the condition. Management and treatment of incontinence is subsequently limited, and both coping strategies and treatment received are determined by affordability and accessibility. If the global community is to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of universal sanitation (Goal 6) and well-being (Goal 3), future studies and programmes on incontinence in Zambia will need to involve collaborations between WASH and health practitioners that investigate how to reduce the stigma associated with the condition and increase awareness, and how to improve the availability and affordability of management and treatment, considering the potential preference for traditional medicine in rural communities.

• (Journal Article) Building frontline market facilitators' capacity: the case of the ‘Integrating Very Poor Producers into Value Chains Field Guide’

  01.06.2014
  Utilizing the case of the Integrating Very Poor Producers into Value Chains Field Guide, the article provides its strengths (extensive tools and worksheets, case studies from recovery and development settings) and limitations (very brief overview of market systems, only focuses on the implementation phase of market development, only focuses on integrating the very poor into markets). The knowledge assessment results of two workshops lead the author to question how much is learned in workshop settings. The online survey showed that the most used section of the Field Guide was ‘Linking Very Poor Producers with Buyers & Suppliers’. The 70 per cent experiential, 20 per cent from others, and 10 per cent formal ratios regarding learning led the author to recommend more on-the-job learning. Extensive feedback from the users provided lessons on improved tool design and capacity building for tool users. The article concludes with a number of recommendations: frontline workers need written guides; translate guides; include a monitoring and evaluation system; get organizational commitment to build frontline market facilitators' capacity; more research into the different methods of building capacity (workshops; written guides; a monitoring and evaluation system; and online and in person training events are likely the most effective combination).

• (Journal Article) A global assessment of budgeting and financing for WASH in schools

  01.10.2020
  The aim of this review is to assess the literature (published and grey) on capital and recurrent costs of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in Schools (WinS) facilities and services. The review presents life-cycle costs (e.g. consumables, repair, support, and maintenance) of WinS services and assesses the practical costing exercises and tools currently available for WinS. Furthermore, this review characterizes the typical costs and financial sources for WASH services in (primary) schools and explores the different financial mechanisms available to meet school-level WASH financing gaps.

• (Journal Article) Bringing together push and pull through local entrepreneurs

  01.03.2015
  Despite significant efforts in agriculture market development, millions of smallholder farmers remain isolated from markets, due to remoteness and low farm productivity. Push/pull approaches to market development suggest a dual strategy for bringing smallholders into agricultural markets: 1) reduce producer vulnerability and build capacities, based on market requirements; and 2) facilitate relationships for producers to deal in consistent, growing markets. While simple in concept and effective as an approach, the execution of push/pull is complex. In particular, it is difficult to connect push (producer capacity) and pull (market) elements, resulting in unsustainable market linkages. When applying a push/pull approach in areas where the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) works, AKF has noted that local entrepreneurs can link push and pull effectively and for the long term. This case study reviews how entrepreneurs link push and pull in AKF's market development programme in southern Tanzania. It outlines learning on how local entrepreneurs bridge gaps between producers and firms, taking the case of remote farmers accessing inputs (seed, fertilizer, implements, and pesticide) from larger suppliers. The paper describes the challenge of linking push and pull, outlines AKF's experience in southern Tanzania, and follows with points for discussion on incorporating local entrepreneurs into push/pull programmes.

• (Journal Article) Value chain financing: evidence from Zambia on smallholder access to finance for mechanization

  01.03.2017
  Smallholder farmers in Zambia comprise 85 per cent of the farmers’ population. Such farmers are regarded as not creditworthy and furthermore their agricultural productivity could be improved. The aim of this paper is to present recent evidence on value chain financing (VCF) as a framework to increase access to agricultural finance for Zambian smallholder farmers. Such financing will act as an enabler to mechanize and, in turn, might improve productivity. Qualitative data collection techniques were followed to provide the results as presented in three illustrative case studies. Each case study highlights the benefits of financing, using the value chain framework, but also emphasizes certain challenges and risks associated with the approach. The Zambian case is not perfect, but provides recent evidence of how various roleplayers in Zambia’s agricultural sector have applied the VCF framework to coordinate the actions of various chain actors, and by doing so allow smallholders access to finance within the local and country-specific context. Although two of the three VCF programmes have been discontinued, they still provide useful learning points: for instance, commercial banks should assign more resources to manage the VCF products; and the risk should be shared between all the VCF participants.

• (Journal Article) Measurement of handwashing behaviour in Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys and Demographic and Health Surveys, 1985–2008

  01.10.2015
  With this paper, we aim to describe handwashing worldwide, as measured in Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) in low- and middle-income countries between 1985 and 2008, and to explain the strengths, weaknesses and evolution of this data collection to inform future survey development. We searched reports of DHS and MICS conducted before 2009 and analysed data on handwashing measurements. We examined data according to geographic region, as well as demographic characteristics such as wealth quintile, education of the household head, and rural/urban location. Before 2009, eight MICS and 40 DHS included handwashing-related measurements, using a variety of self-reports and rapid observations. Internal triangulation of findings from surveys that collected multiple types of measurement shows that self-reports to closed questions overestimate behaviour. Observation-based data suggest low handwashing rates in many low- and middle-income countries with high prevalence of water and sanitation-related diseases, and high inter- and intra-country disparities. However, due to the widely disparate nature of the pre-2009 handwashing-related measurements, much of the data cannot be compared between countries, and only an incomplete picture of global rates can be formed. Efforts to increase the prevalence of handwashing with soap and water need to be strengthened in many low- and middle-income countries, especially among poorer, rural populations and where the household head has less formal education. Closed questions asking for self-reports of handwashing behaviour should be avoided. Findings support instead the inclusion of uniform observation-based measurements, as were integrated as core modules of MICS and DHS in 2009.

• (Journal Article) Impacts of emergencies on water and wastewater systems in congested urban areas

  01.01.2022
  The impacts of emergencies on society and structures are often reported in the media, but the impact of these emergencies on the water and wastewater system is less publicized. The safe operation of these systems is critical during hazardous events and the recovery process to ensure safe and clean water for the public. This need is magnified in congested urban areas where the number of people affected is greatest. A critical aspect to the safe operation of these systems during emergencies is a timely response by municipal leaders. Municipalities must develop plans to prevent and/or mitigate the damage to water systems during emergencies, which will speed the recovery process when these events occur. This paper discusses the impacts of hurricanes and flood events on the water and wastewater systems of densely populated urban areas and presents measures that could be taken to prevent and mitigate the impacts of these events in the future.