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Reducing multidimensional relative poverty is one of the important issues in the current global poverty governance field. This article takes 12 ethnic regions in China as the research object and constructs a multidimensional relative poverty measurement system. The calculated multidimensional relative poverty index is decomposed according to provinces, cities, dimensions, and indicators. Then, the Dagum Gini coefficient and convergence analysis are used to analyze spatiotemporal heterogeneity and convergence characteristics. The results show that the multi-dimensional relative poverty situation of various provinces in ethnic minority areas has improved from 2012 to 2021, among which Tibet province is the most serious and Shaanxi is the best. According to the analysis of convergence, it was observed that there is no σ-convergence of multidimensional relative poverty in ethnic areas in general, and there is absolute β-convergence in general and in the southwest and northwest regions, and there is no absolute β-convergence in the northeast region. Based on this, policy recommendations for reducing multidimensional relative poverty are proposed at the end of the article. Compared with previous studies, this article focuses on ethnic regions that are easily overlooked. Starting from the dimensions of economy, social development, and ecological environment, the poverty measurement system has been enriched. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper used the micro panel data from 2016 to 2019 of 2031 registered poor households in B Town, W County, Lu'an City of Anhui Province in China to analyze the diversified patterns and poverty alleviation effect of paired assistance based on the PSM-DID model. The empirical results show that paired assistance provided by social forces can significantly contribute to the poverty alleviation of poor households, promoting the poverty alleviation rate by 7.8%, which can be concluded through sample matching and control of relevant variables. Furthermore, based on the subsample of poor households with social assistance, we found that external social assistance subject to paired assistance can significantly improve the poverty alleviation rate of poor households by 14.26%, mainly hung on their economic base and strength of poverty alleviation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs a multilevel model, nesting firm observations within industry and province groups, to investigate the influences on corporate contributions to poverty alleviation while considering the industrial and provincial contexts. Using a sample of Chinese firms listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges between 2016 and 2019, we find that Herfindah-Hirschman Index (HHI) does not affect corporate contribution. The results show a significantly negative relationship between industry dynamism and a firm's substantial poverty contributions, as well as a significantly positive relationship between number of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in industry and the likelihood and extent of a firm's contributions. Moreover, a firm's likelihood to participate in anti-poverty activities and make substantial contributions is affected by more intense government intervention and lower per capita GDP. A province's poverty rate is positively associated with the extent of corporate investments in poverty alleviation. Additional analyses note that firms competitive in an industry that is less dynamic environment are more likely to invest funds into poverty alleviation instead of material contribution. Moreover, for firms headquartered in an industry with more SOEs and in provinces with a stronger government, a higher poverty rate and lower per capita GDP mean it is more likely for them to make both monetary and material contributions for anti-poverty campaigns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial hardship is a common challenge among patients with kidney failure and may have negative health consequences. Therefore, financial status is regarded as an important determinant of health, and its impact needs to be investigated. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify the differences in patient-reported and clinical outcomes among kidney failure patients with different financial status. A total of 354 patients with kidney failure were recruited from March to June 2017 at two hospitals in Hong Kong. The Dialysis Symptoms Index and Kidney Disease Quality of Life-36 were used to evaluate patient-reported outcomes. Clinical outcomes were retrieved from medical records and assessed using the Karnofsky Performance Scale (functional status) and Charlson Comorbidity Index (comorbidity level). Patients were stratified using two dichotomised variables, employment status and income level, and their outcomes were compared using independent sample t-tests and Mann-Whitney U-tests. In this sample, the employment rate was 17.8% and the poverty rate was 61.2%. Compared with other patients, increased distress of specific symptoms and higher healthcare utilization, in terms of more emergency room visits and longer hospital stays, were found in patients with poorer financial status. Low-income patients reported a decreased mental quality of life. Financially underprivileged patients experienced health inequity in terms of impaired outcomes. Attention needs to be paid to these patients by providing financial assessments and interventions. Additional research is warranted to confirm these findings and understand the experience of financial hardship and health equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural revitalization aims to consolidate the achievements of poverty alleviation. Furthermore, enhancing the sustainable poverty alleviation ability of farmers in poverty-stricken areas is a critical concern. Using samples of farmers in four regions of the Yunnan province in China, multidimensional poverty and sustainable poverty alleviation ability indexes were constructed. Furthermore, a multidimensional poverty double boundary method (A–F method) was used to identify multidimensional poverty, and binary logistic function in SPSS was used to perform a regression analysis between multidimensional poverty and sustainable poverty alleviation ability. Results showed that as the poverty dimension increased, poverty incidence rate in the four regions decreased, with middle poverty incidence rate being the highest. Ability poverty was then identified as the major type of poverty in the sample, with the group of poor farmers with a high dimension of poverty being the most affected. Therefore, based on the ability structure of sustainable farmers out of poverty, we analyze the prominent problem of the ability construction of sustainable poverty reduction and propose a path for promoting sustainable poverty reduction ability. Hence, we will effectively link poverty alleviation with rural vitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) present a huge threat to population health and in addition impose severe economic burden on individuals and their households. Despite this, there is no research evidence on the microeconomic impact of CVDs in Nigeria. Therefore, this study estimated the incidence and intensity of catastrophic health expenditures (CHE), poverty headcount due to out-of-pocket (OOP) medical spending and the associated factors among the households of a cohort of CVDs patients who accessed healthcare services in public and specialized heart hospitals in Ibadan, Nigeria. Methods: This study adopts a descriptive cross-sectional study design. A standardized data collection questionnaire developed by the Initiative for Cardiovascular Health Research in Developing Countries was adapted to electronically collect data from all the 744 CVDs patients who accessed healthcare services in public and specialized heart hospitals in Ibadan between 4th November 2019 to the 31st January 2020. A sensitivity analysis, using rank-dependent thresholds of CHE which ranged from 5%-40% of household total expenditures was carried out. The international poverty line of $1.90/day recommended by the World Bank was utilized to ascertain poverty headcounts pre-and post OOP payments for healthcare services. Categorical variables like household socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, CHE and poverty headcounts, were presented using percentages and proportions. Unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression models were used to assess the factors associated with CHE and poverty. Data were analyzed using STATA version 15 and estimates were validated at 5% level of significance. Results: Catastrophic OOP payment ranged between 3.9%-54.6% and catastrophic overshoot ranged from 1.8% to 12.6%. Health expenditures doubled poverty headcount among households, from 8.13% to 16.4%. Having tertiary education (AOR: 0.49, CI: 0.26–0.93, p = 0.03) and household size (AOR: 0.40, CI: 0.24–0.67, p = 0.001) were significantly associated with CHE. Being female (AOR: 0.41, CI: 0.18–0.92, p = 0.03), household economic status (AOR: 0.003, CI: 0.0003–0.25, p = <0.001) and having 3–4 household members (AOR: 0.30, CI: 0.15–0.61, p = 0.001) were significantly associated with household poverty status post payment for medical services. Conclusion: OOP medical spending due to CVDs imposed enormous strain on household resources and increased the poverty rates among households. Policies and interventions that supports universal health coverage are highly recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Equity in the access and use of health services is critical if countries are to make progress towards universal health coverage and address the systematic exclusion of the most vulnerable groups. The purpose of this study was to assess if the Co-ordinated Approach To Community Health programme implemented by Sightsavers was successful in reaching the poorest population, women, and people living with disabilities in Kasungu district, Malawi. Methods: Between April and September 2017, data on socio-economic status, household characteristics and functional disability were collected from patients attending at eye camps in Kasungu district, Malawi. Using asset-based tools to measure household wealth (EquityTool© and Simple Poverty Scorecard©) and the Washington Group Short Set of Questions, individuals were categorised by wealth quintiles, poverty status, and functional disability status and then compared to relevant representative national household surveys. In addition, a follow-up household survey was conducted to check the validity of self-reported household characteristics at eye camps. Results: A total of 1,358 individuals participated in the study. The study shows that self-reported data on household characteristics and assets are reliable and can be collected in clinical settings (instead of relying on direct observations of assets). Individuals attending outreach camps were poorer in terms of relative wealth and absolute poverty rates compared to the rest of the population in Kasungu. It was estimated that 9% of the participants belonged to the poorest quintile compared to 4% for the population in Kasungu (DHS 2015–2016). The ultra-poverty rate was also lower among respondents (13%) compared to 15% for Kasungu district (IHS 2017). The functional disability rate was 27.5% for study participants, and statistically higher than the general population (5.6%, SENTIF 2017). Even though women are more at risks than men, 54% of the participants were men. Conclusions: Our study shows that existing tools can be reliably used, and combined, if based on recent population data, to assess equity of access to health services for vulnerable groups of the population. The findings suggest that the programme was successful in reaching the poorest people of the Kasungu district population as well as those with disabilities through outreach camps but that more men than women were reach through the programme. Subsequently, our study showed that self-reported household characteristics are a reliable method to measure asset-based wealth of camps' attendee. However, it is essential to use sub-national data (district or regional level) from recent surveys for the purpose of benchmarking in order to produce accurate results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In sub-Saharan Africa growing season precipitation is affected by climate change. Due to this, in Cameroon, it is uncertain how some crops are vulnerable to growing season precipitation. Here, an assessment of the vulnerability of maize, millet, and rice to growing season precipitation is carried out at a national scale and validated at four sub-national scales/sites. The data collected were historical yield, precipitation, and adaptive capacity data for the period 1961–2019 for the national scale analysis and 1991–2016 for the sub-national scale analysis. The crop yield data were collected for maize, millet, and rice from FAOSTAT and the global yield gap atlas to assess the sensitivity both nationally and sub-nationally. Historical data on mean crop growing season and mean annul precipitation were collected from a collaborative database of UNDP/Oxford University and the climate portal of the World Bank to assess the exposure both nationally and sub-nationally. To assess adaptive capacity, literacy, and poverty rate proxies for both the national and regional scales were collected from KNOEMA and the African Development Bank. These data were analyzed using a vulnerability index that is based on sensitivity, exposure, and adaptive capacity. The national scale results show that millet has the lowest vulnerability index while rice has the highest. An inverse relationship between vulnerability and adaptive capacity is observed. Rice has the lowest adaptive capacity and the highest vulnerability index. Sub-nationally, this work has shown that northern maize is the most vulnerable crop followed by western highland rice. This work underscores the fact that at different scales, crops are differentially vulnerable due to variations in precipitation, temperature, soils, access to farm inputs, exposure to crop pest and variations in literacy and poverty rates. Therefore, caution should be taken when transitioning from one scale to another to avoid generalization. Despite these differences, in the sub-national scale, western highland rice is observed as the second most vulnerable crop, an observation similar to the national scale observation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Multidimensional Poverty Index is used increasingly to measure poverty in developing countries. The index is constructed using selected indicators that cover health, education, and living standards dimensions. The accuracy of this tool, however, depends on how each indicator is measured. This study explores the effect of accounting for water quality in multidimensional poverty measurement. Access to drinking water is traditionally measured by water source types. The study uses a more comprehensive measure, access to safely managed drinking water services, which are free from E. coli contamination, available when needed and accessible on premises in line with Sustainable Development Goal target 6.1. The study finds that the new measure increases national multidimensional headcount poverty by 5–13 percentage points, which would mean that 5–13 million more people are multidimensionally poor. It also increases the poverty level in urban areas to a greater extent than in rural areas. The finding is robust to changes in water contamination risk levels and Multidimensional Poverty Index aggregation approaches and weighting structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In spite of reliable and skilled healthcare resources, the prevalence rate of obstetric fistula in Uganda is high. The risk factors for obstetric fistula cut across due to high poverty rates and cultural barriers. The main objective of this study was to assess the impact of inability to access skilled healthcare at delivery and implications to the economy. The specific objective was to determine the best way of investment in getting women access to skilled healthcare before, during and after child birth. The question to be answered was whether it was more economical to invest in getting women access to skilled healthcare, or in expanding healthcare. The study was conducted using data from the Uganda Demographic Health Survey 2016. The data was from 18,506 women in the age group of 15-49 in 15 regions around the country. Results show that the highest investment in providing access to skilled healthcare is required when there are few skilled healthcare centres. On the other hand, if there is little investment in providing access to skilled healthcare during child birth, many skilled healthcare centres are required. Results show further that the minimum time taken to reduce fistula prevalence is attained when there are many women accessing skilled healthcare in the few equipped health centres. However, if there are many skilled healthcare centres but a few women treated for obstetric fistula, then it will take longer to reduce fistula prevalence. Fitting the model to data suggested that Uganda has a big backlog of women to treat for obstetric fistula as in all skilled healthcare centres, there were less women treated than expected. Although still under the expected figure, the benefit of these treatments for obstetric fistula is that for every one woman treated, 8 more would seek treatment for the condition. This would however cost the country a great deal in that the treatment funds would perhaps give more returns if diverted to outreach activities aimed to get women seek skilled healthcare during child birth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]