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Background: The European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) is a partnership of European and sub-Saharan African countries that aims to accelerate the development of medical interventions against poverty-related diseases (PRDs). A bibliometric analysis was conducted to 1) measure research output from European and African researchers on PRDs, 2) describe collaboration patterns, and 3) assess the citation impact of clinical research funded by EDCTP. Methodology/Principal Findings: Disease-specific research publications were identified in Thomson Reuters Web of Science using search terms in titles, abstracts and keywords. Publication data, including citation counts, were extracted for 2003–2011. Analyses including output, share of global papers, normalised citation impact (NCI), and geographical distribution are presented. Data are presented as five-year moving averages. European EDCTP member countries accounted for ~33% of global research output in PRDs and sub-Saharan African countries for ~10% (2007–2011). Both regions contributed more to the global research output in malaria (43.4% and 22.2%, respectively). The overall number of PRD papers from sub-Saharan Africa increased markedly (>47%) since 2003, particularly for HIV/AIDS (102%) and tuberculosis (TB) (81%), and principally involving Southern and East Africa. For 2007–2011, European and sub-Saharan African research collaboration on PRDs was highly cited compared with the world average (NCI in brackets): HIV/AIDS 1.62 (NCI: 1.16), TB 2.11 (NCI: 1.06), malaria 1.81 (NCI: 1.22), and neglected infectious diseases 1.34 (NCI: 0.97). The NCI of EDCTP-funded papers for 2003–2011 was exceptionally high for HIV/AIDS (3.24), TB (4.08) and HIV/TB co-infection (5.10) compared with global research benchmarks (1.14, 1.05 and 1.35, respectively). Conclusions: The volume and citation impact of papers from sub-Saharan Africa has increased since 2003, as has collaborative research between Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. >90% of publications from EDCTP-funded research were published in high-impact journals and are highly cited. These findings corroborate the benefit of collaborative research on PRDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shares new insights on the dynamics of entrepreneurship in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, focusing on the case of sub-Saharan Africa. Despite being the region's most important rural nonfarm activity, and generating finance that sustains a sizable portion of its subsistence/smallholder agricultural economy, ASM has barely featured in the business and management literature. It has rather been scholars from other disciplines who have shared opinions on the individuals who pursue work in this sector and why. They are in broad agreement that in sub-Saharan Africa, ASM sites attract, at the one extreme, people who are desperate for income (the "poverty-driven" category) and, at the other extreme, individuals motivated by the possibility of becoming wealthy (the "get-rich-quick" category). These two narratives map, virtually wholesale, on to the necessity-based-opportunity-based typology of entrepreneurship that business and management scholars have interrogated for decades. This paper fuses these narratives with the typology, with the goal of showcasing ASM within an evolving body of literature on entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa. It then draws on a case study of Kéniéba District (Mali), the location of one of the region's more dynamic gold-panning industries, to articulate more clearly the sector's different entrepreneurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The mobilising domestic resources, in particular, taxation, is key to unlocking the resources required for public investment in infrastructure, growth and sustainable finance. This study aims to share the perception that the tax arrangements of states and the transnational corporations (TNCs) of developed states have a critical effect on the development prospects of the less powerful states in developing countries. Design/methodology/approach: This paper locates the role of TNCs tax practice within the broader dynamics of globalisation and the pursuit of profits, to argue that the drive of TNCs for higher profits can enrich our understanding of why some TNCs engage in tax dodging. This paper used publicly available evidence to shed light on the role played by TNCs in tax dodging practices in developing countries. Findings: The evidence shows that tax havens and offshore financial centres, shaped by globalisation, are major structures facilitating the sophisticated tax schemes of highly mobile TNCs. This paper further shows that the corrosive effect of low-tax jurisdictions ("tax havens") continues to represent a major obstacle to a regulation of global economic relations, which is required for maintaining sustainable social and economic development of poorer states. Research limitations/implications: This paper used publicly available evidence to illuminate the role played by TNCs in tax dodging practices in Sub-Saharan Africa. Practical implications: This paper, therefore, advocates a radical reform that could minimise the attendant problems created by the activities of TNCs and the enabling structures that facilitate these practices. Social implications: Tax dodging has played a major role in causing serious damage to the economic and social landscape in developing countries. This in turn, has undermined social welfare and also investment in the public services, thereby eroding the quality of life and producing a decline in average life expectancy. Originality/value: This paper is a general review of literature and evidence on contemporary developmental issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, 40 million people need palliative care; about 69% are people over 60 years of age. The highest proportion (78%) of adults are from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where palliative care still developing and is primarily limited to urban areas. This integrative review describes strategies used by LMICs to establish palliative care in rural areas. A rigorous integrative review methodology was utilized using four electronic databases (Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Emcare, Embase classic+Embase and CINAHL). The search terms were: 'palliative care', 'hospice care', 'end of life care', 'home-based care', 'volunteer', 'rural', 'regional', 'remote' and 'developing countries' identified by the United Nations (UN) as 'Africa', 'Sub-Saharan Africa', 'low-income' and 'middle- income countries'. Thirty papers published in English from 1990 to 2019 were included. Papers were appraised for quality and extracted data subjected to analysis using a public health model (policy, drug availability, education and implementation) as a framework to describe strategies for establishing palliative care in rural areas. The methodological quality of the reviewed papers was low, with 7 of the 30 being simple programme descriptions. Despite the inclusion of palliative care in national health policy in some countries, implementation in the community was often reliant on advocacy and financial support from non-government organizations. Networking to coordinate care and medication availability near-patient homes were essential features of implementation. Training, role play, education and mentorship were strategies used to support health providers and volunteers. Home- and community-based palliative care services for rural LMICs communities may best be delivered using a networked service among health professionals, community volunteers, religious leaders and technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper contributes towards deciphering and decoding the misery of the urban poor in light of the COVID-19 scourge. The paper unpacks urban poverty in light of the corona virus. The emergence of the COVID-19 and the lack of any vaccines requires physical distancing as preventative measures to contain and reduce the spread of the virus. Governments across the world, including in Anglophone Sub Saharan Africa have implemented lockdown measures. The COVID-19 pandemic is happening within settlements where the majority of the population lives from hand to mouth. In Anglophone sub-Saharan Africa because of urbanisation and increased urban poverty, COVID-19 scourge has had a huge impact on the urban poor. The COVID-19 is likely to devastate economies and the community. For rapidly growing, densely populated and poorly planned settlements, the situation is tragic for these inhabitants. Nation states lockdown and social and physical distancing in response to the pandemic have escalated their misery. The paper adopts a critical review of literature anchored in case study analysis, document analysis and scanning from reports. Results point to redefining the way humanity has related, functioned and conceptualised realities. There is need to go beyond prevention from infection as majority of urban dwellers are in the informal sector or unemployed. For the urban poor, strategies for social distancing may not be possible or effective. People are being asked to make choices between being hungry and risk of getting infected. The paper recommends planning response at national, regional and local level bearing in mind informal settlements, high densities and forms of overcrowding which have been placed as hotspots for the virus. There is need for rebuilding societies, during and beyond COVID-19 calling for immediate disaster risk planning adaptation and transformation to promote resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Occupational groups at high-risk of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) may be at increased risk of substance use because of occupation-related factors. We synthesised qualitative data on determinants and context of alcohol misuse and illicit drug use in these groups. We systematically searched five databases for qualitative studies reporting on alcohol misuse or illicit drug use in fisherfolk, uniformed personnel, miners, truckers, motorcycle taxi riders, and sex workers in SSA. Qualitative data and interpretations were extracted and synthesised using a systematic iterative process to capture themes and overarching concepts. We searched for papers published prior to January 2018. We identified 5692 papers, and included 21 papers in our review, published from 1993 to 2017. Most studies were conducted among fisherfolk (n = 4) or sex workers (n = 12). Ten papers reported on alcohol use alone, three on illicit drug use alone and eight on both. Substance use was commonly examined in the context of work and risky behaviour, key drivers identified included transactional sex, availability of disposable income, poverty, gender inequalities and work/living environments. Substance use was linked to risky behaviour and reduced perceived susceptibility to HIV. Our review underscores the importance of multilevel, integrated HIV prevention and harm reduction interventions in these settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically examines the quantitative relationship between financial inclusion and inclusive growth in sub-Saharan Africa using a panel of 46 countries for the period 2004–2018. The evidence suggests that usage of financial services, among other covariates, has a quantifiable and discernible impact on inclusive growth compared with availability and knowledge of financial services. Precisely, a unit increase in the usage of financial products and services improves inclusive growth by 0.03 units in sub-Saharan Africa. The paper contributes to literature by initially constructing a broader index of inclusive growth and subsequently estimating the separate quantitative effects of three categories of financial inclusion indicators on inclusive growth by employing the Arellano–Bover/Blundell–Bond system Generalized Method of Moment estimator. The findings underscore the need for policymakers to develop innovative, sustainable and inclusive financial systems capable of distributing growth benefits equitably. This can be achieved through moderate lending rates and transaction charges, improved access to retail and corporate loans, mortgages, overdrafts, credit cards, letters of credits and user-friendly financial technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sub-Saharan Africa faces immense challenges in spurring economic development and alleviating poverty, while these countries also should protect the environment amid population growth and industrial development. This study analyses the interrelationships between demographic change, economic growth, and pollution in four East African countries -- Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda -- from 1990-2019. Using panel data and econometric analysis, the paper examines whether declining fertility rates and parallel diminishing of the youth dependency burdens are associated with accelerated growth and rising emissions. The results affirm that falling fertility has opened a window of opportunity through the 'first demographic dividend', which can catalyse growth by increased shares of working-age individuals. However, this growth has been accompanied by rising carbon dioxide emissions, underscoring potential trade-offs between environmental and economic objectives. The findings highlight the importance of complementary health, education, governance, and sustainable production investments for countries to leverage their demographic dividends for inclusive and green growth. Successfully doing so will be vital to achieve multiple Sustainable Development Goals simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of six governance indicators published by the World Bank on multidimensional poverty, poverty headcount ratio, intensity of poverty, vulnerability to poverty, severity of poverty, as well as inequality among the poor. Unlike previous studies, this study first considered non-monetary measures of poverty which captures various dimensions of deprivations experienced by poor people. Secondly, the paper examines the impact of different components of governance successively on six different measures of poverty. Unbalance panel data covering 43 countries in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) is analysed using Fixed Effect within and Random Effect GLS estimators. The most appropriate method between the two is chosen using the Hausman specification test. The findings reveal that voice and accountability is the most influential political institutional factor in reducing poverty in SubSahara Africa (SSA). It is also revealed that government effectiveness is influential in reducing the intensity and severity of poverty, while the rule of law is significant in reducing inequality among the poor and improvement in regulatory quality is equally important in reducing the severity of poverty. Therefore, it is recommended that political reform should focus on making governance more participatory with sufficient freedom for the majority of the people. It is also important to improve the quality of public service to enhance government effectiveness, while judicial reforms that will augment adherence to the laws of the land should be undertaken across the SSA sub-region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper studies the phenomenon of poverty in underdeveloped/third-world countries, particularly within the context and the failure of international organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa. The article analyzes that the increasing problem of poverty in the region's countries/Africa is a replication of the failure of the organizations such as the IMF and the World Bank policies such countries. Despite some projects such as Millennium Development Goals (MDG), Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and many more by the United Nations. Many of these programs have failed to eradicate or reduce poverty. Instead, the situation has worsened most, especially in Africa, where the rate of poverty is increasing, with several regions in the continent experiencing the worse hunger epidemic in recent times. Therefore, the research posits that the failure of international institutions, the World Bank, and IMF policies have immensely become a significant contributing factor to the poverty level in Sub-Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While we have extensive information on the trends in income poverty, little is known about the trends in multidimensional poverty. The paper tries to fill this gap by assessing the changes in multidimensional poverty in 54 countries since 2000. The analysis relies on two individual‐based indices, the G‐CSPI and the G‐M0, which combine three dimensions: education, health, and employment, derived through the constitutional approach. The G‐CSPI is a distribution‐sensitive index, while the G‐M0 allows decomposition by dimension. The results reveal that more than 80 percent of the countries have reduced multidimensional poverty. However, progress was very limited in sub‐Saharan Africa. Different decomposition analyses indicate that poverty alleviation was mainly driven by a reduction in the incidence of poverty and a decline in health deprivations. A comparison with changes in income poverty suggests that the correlation is not strong and that multidimensional poverty has decreased significantly less. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are exposed to several challenges and risk factors, linked to historical legacies. Sub-Saharan Africa has one of the highest rates of poverty and inequality in the world, is one of the regions most negatively affected by climate change, performs poorly on many health measures, and has high rates of different forms of violence, especially gender-based violence. These contextual challenges impact adolescent mental health outcomes, preventing them to access resilience-enabling pathways that support positive outcomes despite adversity. This study aimed to contribute to knowledge generation on resilience of young people in the understudied SSA region by investigating which variables directly (or indirectly) affect the resilience of adolescents. Methods: Purposive sampling was used to collect quantitative survey data from 3,312 adolescents (females = 1,818; males = 1,494) between the ages of 12 and 20 years, participating in interventions implemented by a non-governmental organization, the Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative. Data were collected in Angola (385, 11.6%), Eswatini (128, 3.9%), Kenya (390, 11.8%), Lesotho (349, 10.5%), Mozambique (478, 14.4%), Namibia (296, 8.9%), South Africa (771, 23.3%), Uganda (201, 6.1%), and Zambia (314, 9.5%). The survey collected data on socio-demographic status, resilience (CYRM-R), depression (PHQ-9), self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale) and feelings of safety (self-developed scale). Mental health was defined as lower levels of depression, higher levels of selfesteem and higher levels of feeling safe. A mediation analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between the predictors (the socio-demographic variables) and the output (resilience), with the mediators being depression, self-esteem and feeling safe (which all link to mental health). Results: This study contributes to a gap in knowledge on country-level comparative evidence on significant predictors that impact resilience outcomes (directly or indirectly) for adolescents in sub-Saharan African countries. The results indicate that, when considering all countries collectively, feeling safe is the only predictor that has a significant direct effect on overall resilience and personal resilience, but not on caregiver resilience. When considering each country separately, feeling safe has a direct effect on overall, personal and caregiver resilience for all countries; but not for South Africa and Mozambique. Discussion: The results provide evidence on which to craft youth development interventions by measuring mediators (depression, self-esteem and feeling safe) and resilience for adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa. The overall results of the present paper point toward a contextually relevant pathway to supporting their resilience, namely, the need to systemically target the creation and/or strengthening of structures that enable adolescents to feel safe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many migrant groups, particularly those that are politically and economically marginalised, such as asylum seekers and refugees (ASRs), face inequities in access to health care as well as poorer physical and mental health outcomes. The role of post-arrival experiences in contributing to these inequities is increasingly being explored, and it is suggested that being a migrant is itself a determinant of health outcomes. Drawing on the theoretical concept of structural vulnerability, this paper explores ASRs' experiences of health, wellbeing, and health practices in the context of their lived realities in Scotland. 24 semi-structured interviews were conducted with ASRs from Sub-Saharan Africa between January and December 2015. Data were explored using thematic analysis. Experience of the UK asylum system, both alone and in conjunction with other sources of vulnerability including racism, poverty, and language barriers had a negative and ongoing impact on the physical and mental health of ASRs. These impacts continued, even once refugee status was obtained. Efforts to engage ASRs in preventive health programmes and practices must take into account the ways in which the asylum system acts as a determinant of health, affecting both what it means to be healthy and what capacity individuals have to engage with their health. Political choices in how the asylum process is enacted have far-reaching implications for individual and population health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sub-Saharan African cities have been growing at historically unprecedented rates. Since the early 1970s, they have received considerable international assistance, involving a succession of major thematic objectives. The main agency involved in urban assistance has been the World Bank. But as its goals have changed, it has been obliged to operate increasingly through a decentralised, more democratically structured local-government system. Overall, the success of this international-assistance regime has been positive but modest, given the overwhelming needs of African cities. Still, African cities are increasingly finding solutions both co-operatively and on their own. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical data shows that large natural resource endowments have not translated into better quality of life in Sub-Saharan Africa ('Africa' for short). The problem is becoming more urgent, as new exploration technologies are rapidly expanding the number of countries whose fiscal revenues will grow, in many cases massively, with new oil, gas and mineral discoveries. A search is on for innovative approaches in managing this commodity bonanza. This paper focuses on the distribution of resource rents as cash transfers to citizens, so-called 'Direct Dividend Payments' (DDPs). It expands on recent related literature by calculating such transfers, whether universal or targeted, for every African country for which data is available, and compares them to measures of poverty depth under both national and global definitions. Furthermore, it extends the analysis to a different kind of resource flow enjoyed by most African countries-foreign aid. We found that DDPs can account for a large proportion of the income Africa's poor need to step over the poverty line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the direct effect of institutions on poverty and explores whether the remittances and poverty link can be strengthened by institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa. The results suggest that a country characterized by sound financial development and good and stable government with systems to control corruption and attract investment will provide the enabling environment to reduce the rate, depth and severity of poverty. Such quality institutional attributes reinforce the effectiveness of international remittances in reducing poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the relationship between energy poverty and public expenditure for a sample of 20 Sub-Saharan countries over the period 2006–2020. This paper focuses on three research objectives. First is using a panel data threshold model with fixed effects proposed by Hansen (J Econom 93(2):345-368, 1999) to detect the presence of the nonlinear effect of public expenditure on energy poverty. Second, we try to explain the effect of public expenditure transmission channels on energy poverty. Third, we explore the impact of public expenditure on energy poverty considering the role of institution factors. Thus, our analysis approves the existence of a link between energy poverty and public expenditure with a threshold of about 17.65% of GDP. In addition, CO2 emissions can accelerate the growth of energy poverty in SSA countries. Indeed, the results show that in countries with high energy poverty, there is a bidirectional causal link between CO2 emissions and energy poverty. This would provide a better understanding of the relationship between public expenditure and energy poverty suggesting useful implications for policymakers in targeting sustainable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews some key models and best practices used in the financing of small businesses with Sub-Saharan Africa as a focus. For a region where poverty is the highest in the world, the need to develop sustainable microlending schemes is of paramount importance if Sub-Saharan Africa is to eradicate poverty. Over the last twenty years, donor agencies had been the key drivers in the microlending sector. However, there is now evidence to suggest that the approach by donor agencies in the financing of small businesses has not been sustainable. This paper examines some of the successful models in use and outlines some of the reasons why some of these models have been largely unsuccessful. The paper proceeds to identify the necessary steps to be taken by governments and other stakeholders in a bit to promote sustainable microlending models. The significance of venture capital in small business development is also discussed. From a managerial perspective, the key models outlined in this study are of significant importance in the promotion of sustainable microlending schemes. One of the key problems facing managers in this sector is in the area of training and research. Not many staff in this sector are trained enough to manage sustainable microlending projects. There is also lack of adequate research and managers therefore rely on outdated and, largely, unsuccessful schemes for future projects. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the impact of democracy and trade openness on poverty. To this end, we estimate a poverty model using the generalized method of moments (system-GMM) on a sample of 24 sub-Saharan African countries during the period 2005–2016. The econometric estimates provide two main sets of results. On the linear effects side, we find that democracy increases income poverty in non-oil producing countries and has no effect in oil producing countries, while trade openness has no impact on poverty. On the non-linear side, we find that imports improve household living conditions in democratic oil-producing countries on the one hand, and contribute to reducing monetary poverty in democratic non-oil-producing countries on the other. Our results are robust to estimates by different democracy indicators. Democracy and trade openness should therefore not be considered in isolation, and simultaneous policies are needed to enhance their impact on poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study queries the notion of slum as an anathema to the growth and prosperity of cities in sub-Saharan Africa. Slum tourism is discussed as an emerging intervention to address the challenge of slums in the global south. Using ethnographic account and personal reflection of 5 slum settlements and key institutions in Lusaka, a novel approach is proposed: Absolute Slum Tourism (AST) and Relative Slum Tourism (RST), to contribute to the discourse on slum interventions. The study shows that navigating informal settlements through RST approach could significantly influence urban rejuvenation, empower local narratives, giving voice to the marginalised in slum communities and promoting equity. The paper further proposes a new framework for the co-creation of slum interventions, introducing a shift in how informal urban space and residents are perceived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review examines the nexus of poverty, malnutrition and diseases in Africa, the challenges, implications and their mitigation. The paper takes a critical look at available literatures on the primary causes, modes, implications and solutions to the problems of poverty, malnutrition and diseases in Africa continent. Poverty and malnutrition are outcomes of uncontrolled rapid population growth, inefficient agricultural and industrial practices, high debt profile of many African countries due to poor governance and corruption, diseases such as AIDS epidemic, malaria, Ebola virus and COVID-19 pandemic, poor and inadequate health infrastructure and armed conflicts. African poverty scenario entails non-availability of basic human needs which makes many Africans to be very poor. Despite abundance of natural resources, the gross domestic product per capita of many African countries is among the lowest of list of nations of the world. According United Nation in 2009, 22 of 24 nations among the "Low Human Development" nations of the world on the UN's Human Development Index were found in sub-Saharan Africa. Out of the 50 countries on the United Nation list of least developed countries, 34 of them were in Africa. According to FAO data over 200 million people in sub-Saharan Africa were undernourished in 2014-2016. The prevalence of undernourishment in sub-Saharan Africa rose from 181 million in 2010 to 222 million in 2016. In 2016, Africa had the highest prevalence of undernourishment in the world and estimated to be 20% of the population. While this was alarming in Eastern Africa where one-third of the population is suspected to be undernourished. In a similar data, World Bank also found that sub-Saharan Africa Poverty and Equity Data was 47% with over 500 million people in abject poverty in 2012. Poverty is the major cause of hunger and malnutrition in Africa while hunger and malnutrition escalated the problem of diseases in African continent. Poverty has continued to torment Africa as a result of poor and harmful economic policies, conflict and war, environmental factors like drought and climate change and population growth, poor leadership and greed. With the advent of COVID-19, the problem of poverty, malnutrition and diseases has been escalated and in many African countries people find it difficult to make ends meet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the main task of electricity development in other countries of the world is to expand the production of electricity or to improve the way it is generated, the problems faced by sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) countries are more immediate and urgent ‐ here less than half of the population has access to electricity. This study aims to examine whether aid projects can alleviate energy poverty. Since the assisted power facilities will affect neighbouring countries across borders, this study constructs a dynamic spatial Durbin model to take spatial spillover effects into account. The results of the spatial correlation test indicate that the spatial distribution of aid projects is random, which is an important finding that evenly distributed aid policies lead to disorderly aid. Further analysis shows that the mismatch effect of aid resources hinders the development of electricity in recipient countries. Urbanisation and technical assistance are the key factors to accelerate the development of electric power and improve the benefit of assistance. This paper suggests that aid policies should be implemented on a long‐term and stable basis, with a focus on those recipient countries that are highly urbanised to take advantage of their unique advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the authors discuss various articles within the issue on topics including the comparability of gross domestic product (GDP) estimates in Sub-Saharan Africa, the rise in asset ownership in Africa and the body mass index of adults in Southern Africa.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) give aid to Africa a new emphasis. Yet aid flows to Africa have trended downward over the last decade, and as a consequence more Africans now live in poverty. This is especially true of Sub-Saharan Africa. Any progress towards the main MDG target of halving the number of people living in poverty clearly requires more aid. It also requires a better understanding of what drives aid volumes to Africa and precisely how these flows impact on African economies. This paper examines trends in official aid to Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa in particular, over the period 1960 to 2002, highlighting falls in aid since the early 1990s. It concludes with consideration of future challenges for aid to Africa. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper examines the relationship between foreign aid, institutional democracy and poverty. The paper explores the direct effect of foreign aid on poverty and quantifies the facilitating role of democracy in harnessing foreign aid for poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Design/methodology/approach: The paper attempts to address the endogenous relationship between foreign aid and poverty by employing the two-stage least squares instrumental variable (2SLS-IV) estimator by using GDP per capita of the top five Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries sending foreign aid to SSA countries scaled by the inverse of the land area of the SSA countries to stimulate an exogenous variation in foreign aid and its components. The initial level of democracy is interacted with the senders' GDP per capita to also instrument for the interaction terms of democracy, foreign aid and its components. Findings: The results suggest that foreign aid reduces poverty and different components of foreign aid have different effects on poverty. In particular, multilateral source and grant type seem to be more significant in reducing poverty than bilateral source and loan type. The study further reveals that democratic attributes of free expression, institutional constraints on the executive, guarantee of civil liberties to citizens and political participation reinforce the poverty-reducing effects of aggregate foreign aid and its components after controlling for mean household income, GDP per capita and inequality. Research limitations/implications: The methodological concern related to modeling the effects of foreign aid on poverty is endogeneity bias. To estimate the relationship between foreign aid, democracy and poverty in SSA, this paper relies on a 2SLS-IV estimator with GDP per capita of the top five aid-sending OECD countries scaled by the inverse of land area of the SSA countries as an external instrument for foreign aid. The use of the five top OECD's Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC) countries is due to the availability of foreign aid data for these countries. However, non-OECD-DAC countries such as China and South Africa may be important source of foreign aid to some SSA countries. Practical implications: The findings further suggest that the marginal effect of foreign aid in reducing poverty is increasing with the level of institutional democracy. In other words, foreign aid contributes more to poverty reduction in countries with democratic dispensation. This investigation has vital implications for future foreign aid policy, because it alerts policymakers that the effectiveness of foreign aid can be strengthened by considering the type and source of aid. Foreign aid and quality political institution may serve as an important mix toward the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and the Africa Union Agenda 2063. Social implications: As the global economy faces economic and social challenges, SSA may not be able to depend heavily on foreign partners to finance the region's budget. There is the need for African governments to also come out with innovative ways to mobilize own resources to develop and confront some of the economic challenges to achieve the required reduction in poverty. This is a vision that every country in Africa must work toward. Africa must think of new ways of generating wealth internally for development so as to complement foreign aid flows and also build strong foundation for welfare improvement, self-reliance and sustainable development. Originality/value: This existing literature does not consider how democracy enhances the foreign aid and poverty relationship. The existing literature does not explore how democracy enhances grants, loans, multilateral and bilateral aid effectiveness in reducing poverty. This paper provides the first-hand evidence of how institutional democracy enhances the poverty-reducing effects of foreign aid and its components. The paper uses exogenous variation in foreign aid to quantify the direct effect of foreign aid and its components on poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development emphasises the quintessential role that energy plays in achieving the global sustainable development objectives. Renewable energy is vital to achieving many of the seventeen targets of Sustainable Development Goals. These, among others, include the ending of poverty; the ensuring of healthy lives and well-being for all; ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for all; the promotion of sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth; and taking urgent action on combating climate changes and its impacts (goals 1, 3, 4, 8, and 13). With its high rate of lack of access to electricity, national governments in sub-Saharan Africa are, through energy policies, encouraging the utilisation of renewable energy resources to improve electricity access in the region. This paper examines the current trends in policy framework for energy in light of the feasibility and promotion of ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy to the rural population in Ghana. This paper argues that much of the emphases in promoting rural electrification in the policy framework should be put on educating the rural population on the benefits of having non-connected grid access to electricity. This will encourage its acceptance in those communities where the usefulness and significance of decentralised electrification from renewable energy sources are highlighted the most. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the debate on the link between poverty and artisanal and small‐scale mining (ASM) – low‐tech, labour‐intensive mineral extraction and processing – in sub‐Saharan Africa. It specifically seeks to advance discussion on the idea that throughout the region, the sector's operators are trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty. Drawing on ongoing research being conducted on marginalised women engaged in ASM in Ghana, an attempt is made to further nuance the "poverty trap‐ASM" narrative. In the context of sub‐Saharan Africa, debates on this issue should focus on the challenges faced by marginalised groups such as women, in particular how their growing dependence on monies earned from the sector for their livelihoods has increased their vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Government and parastatal crop purchase programs have regained popularity in sub‐Saharan Africa, with many citing improving smallholder farmers' welfare as a key goal. Yet there is limited empirical evidence on the topic. This paper analyzes the effects of the Zambian Food Reserve Agency's (FRA's) maize purchase activities on smallholder welfare. The FRA buys maize at a pan‐territorial price that often exceeds market prices in surplus production areas. Using two household panel survey datasets spanning 15 years and exploiting variation in the scale of FRA activities over time, we employ fixed effects and control function approaches to estimate the effects of a smallholder household's maize sales to the FRA on its welfare, as well as the effects of more intense FRA maize purchase activity in a given district on the welfare of smallholder households in the district. Results suggest positive direct welfare effects on the minority of smallholders that sell to the FRA. We also find that, in the early years of the program, more intense FRA maize purchase activity in a district was associated with reductions in smallholder welfare, particularly among maize autarkic and net buying households. In later years, we find no evidence of such negative effects and some evidence of positive district‐level effects on maize net buyers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International poverty estimates for countries in Africa commonly rely on national consumer price indexes to adjust trends in nominal consumption over time for changes in the cost of living. However, the consumer price index is subject to various types of measurement bias. This paper uses Engel curve estimations to assess bias in the consumer price index and its implications for estimated poverty trends. The results suggest that in 13 of 16 Sub-Saharan African countries in this study, poverty reduction may be understated because of consumer price index bias. With correction of consumer price index bias, poverty in these countries could fall between 0.4 and 5.2 percentage points per year faster than currently thought. For two countries, however, the paper finds the opposite trend. There is no statistically significant change in poverty patterns after adjusting for consumer price index bias for only one country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy is a crucial resource which can contribute towards the development and growth of a nation. Therefore, energy poverty can significantly undermine economic, environmental, and social progress of a country. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the most deprived electricity region across the world, and hence, the energy poverty situation is more severe here compared to other regions. This paper intends to examine the determinants of energy poverty in SSA region considering data from 2004 to 2019. The study specifically focuses on the role of financial inclusion and education in eradicating energy poverty of this region with trade openness, economic growth, and natural resources being used as control variables. The study employs advanced econometric techniques such as pooled OLS, fixed effect model and Driscoll–Kraay standard error methodology. The findings demonstrate that financial inclusion and education significantly reduce energy poverty as both variables increase access to electricity and access to clean cooking fuel and technologies. Trade openness and natural resources have been found to be increasing energy poverty in SSA, while economic growth tends to alleviate it. Based on the above findings, the study provides several policy directions for effective elimination of energy poverty by the means of financial inclusion and education improvement in SSA region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the effect of energy poverty on respiratory health for a sample of 34 sub-Saharan African countries over the period 2000–2020. Using ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed effect, Driscoll-Kraay, Lewbel 2SLS, Kiviet and S-GMM, the results provide strong evidence of a negative and significant effect of access to electricity and access to clean energy for cooking on respiratory disease in sub-Saharan Africa. This result remained robust to changes in the variables of interest and to alternative estimation techniques. Furthermore, the results showed the existence of a non-linear relationship between energy indicators and respiratory diseases, including a U-shape and an N-shape. Based on these results, we encourage policy makers to better orient their energy policies towards the least polluting sectors in sub-Saharan Africa. In this way, the respiratory health of the inhabitants of sub-Saharan Africa can be improved. • This paper differs from existing work on energy poverty worldwide in the following respects: • It proposes a relevant determinant of respiratory health that has not been sufficiently studied in Sub-Saharan Africa. • It uses robust analytical methods to produce these estimates (Lewbel 2SLS and Kiviet). • It proposes useful policy recommendations for reducing energy poverty and reducing respiratory disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyse the effect of foreign aid, moderated by governance effectiveness variables, on economic development in sub-Saharan Africa. Data on foreign aid, gdp and governance variables were from the World Bank governance archives covering five sub-Saharan African countries. The paper applied the ols and fixed effect panelmultiple regression analysis. From the first analysis, findings show a negative link between external aid and gdp per capita in sub-Saharan Africa. In the second analysis with governancemoderating variables, findings indicate a positive relationship between foreign aid and gdp with rule of lawproviding a positive boost toforeignaidand gdp growth, but corruptionandgovernancehave a negative relationship with economic growth. The paper highlights policy implications for the need to bridle corruption and to strengthen governance institutions to enable foreign aid to function effectively toward economic growth. The paper suggests an agenda for further research to apply more governance institution variables in further analysis of aid effectiveness in sub-Saharan Africa economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of this paper is to share the results of a systematic review on the state of inequalities in access to and utilization of maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) services in the sub-Saharan African region. The focus of the review was on urban settings where growing needs and challenges have been registered over the past few years due to rapid increase in urban populations and urban slums. Methods: The review was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Studies published in English between 2000 and 2019 were included. A narrative synthesis of both qualitative and quantitative data was undertaken. The record for registration in PROSPERO was CRD42019122066. Results: The review highlights a great variation in MNCH services utilization across urban sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The main aspects of vulnerability to unequal and poor MNCH services utilization in urban settings of the region include poverty, low level of education, unemployment, lower socioeconomic status and poor livelihoods, younger maternal age, low social integration and social support, socio-cultural taboos, residing in slums, and being displaced, refugee, or migrant. At the health system level, persistent inequalities are associated with distance to health facility, availability of quality services and discriminating attitudes from health care personnel. Conclusion: Context-specific intervention programs that aim at resolving the identified barriers to access and use MNCH services, particularly for the most vulnerable segments of urban populations, are essential to improve the overall health of the region and universal health coverage (UHC) targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing attention to social protection in urban settings is not being paired with increasing evidence. This paper offers a single ex‐ante evaluation methodology that simulates the monetary poverty effects of changing eligibility conditions, unitary benefits, and the composition of cash transfer programs aimed at expanding coverage in urban areas. We apply this methodology to Ghana, a growing, middle‐income country committed to reducing poverty but with a weak social protection system with little urban presence. We show that while a flagship cash transfer program, the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty program (LEAP), transfers less than GHS 34 million (US$7.6 million) a year, ending extreme poverty in Ghana would require spending around GHS 1,800 million ($400 million). Efforts to tackle urban poverty through transfers will prove unsuccessful without enough fiscal resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on a systematic review of evidence of the impact of microfinance on the lives of poor women, men and children in sub-Saharan Africa. It focuses specifically on longer-term non-financial outcomes related to health and nutrition and education. The paper contrasts microfinance's early days' initially refreshing and encouraging promises of a development initiative that empowers people to help themselves while 'paying for itself' with a more gloomy picture that derives from the synthesis results of our systematic review. It presents two simple models that show the pathways from microfinance to increased investment in improved health and education, contrasting theory with our synthesis results. Our discussion highlights that thinking through microfinance makes it necessary to thoroughly investigate both the theory behind interventions and the evidence for their impact. It raises the essential question: Is microfinance about providing banking services to the unbanked, or is microfinance a development intervention that concerns itself with the attainment of long-term sustainable responses to high levels of poverty? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the extent to which an increase in food crop yield strengthens the relationship between agricultural commercialisation and rural poverty reduction in Burkina Faso. Based on data collected in 2011 from a sample of 1 178 smallholder farm households in rural Burkina Faso, a logit model, which includes an interaction term between crop commercialisation index and food crop yield, is estimated. The results show that, at a low yield of food crops, commercialisation can result in welfare loss, while the intensity of crop supply becomes a crucial factor of poverty reduction with a high level of yield. This suggests that structural transformation of the agricultural sector in Sub- Saharan Africa has the potential to bring about significant growth in rural income, particularly when staple crops are the driver of this transformation. Therefore, to enhance the contribution of agricultural commercialisation to poverty reduction, policy should also be designed to promote the growth of food crop yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent economic performance of Sub Saharan Africa has been very disappointing. Its poverty has many dimensions and causes, both internal and external. This paper focuses on the role of institutions in promoting or hindering economic development in Africa and the implications for doing business on the continent. It questions our understanding of institutions and how they develop and warns against simplistic assumptions in this regard. The paper examines how it is that institutions come to affect economic growth and the characteristics of what makes for good institutions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyse the effect of foreign aid, moderated by governance effectiveness variables, on economic development in sub-Saharan Africa. Data on foreign aid, gdp and governance variables were from the World Bank governance archives covering five sub-Saharan African countries. The paper applied the ols and fixed effect panelmultiple regression analysis. From the first analysis, findings show a negative link between external aid and gdp per capita in sub-Saharan Africa. In the second analysis with governancemoderating variables, findings indicate a positive relationship between foreign aid and gdp with rule of lawproviding a positive boost toforeignaidand gdp growth, but corruption and governance have a negative relationship with economic growth. The paper highlights policy implications for the need to bridle corruption and to strengthen governance institutions to enable foreign aid to function effectively toward economic growth. The paper suggests an agenda for further research to apply more governance institution variables in further analysis of aid effectiveness in sub-Saharan Africa economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the relationship among trade openness, economic growth and poverty level in 40 sub-Saharan Africa countries from 1990 to 2017. Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model, Panel Vector Auto-regression (VAR) and the System of Generalised Method of Moments (SYS-GMM) were employed. A robustness test was also applied. The sensitivity analysis was done through the Panel ARDL model. The results revealed that trade openness, foreign direct investment and institutional quality significantly increase economic growth in the long term, while institutional quality reduces economic growth in the short run. Furthermore, trade liberalisation, institutional quality and population growth rate lead to poverty reduction in the long run, while trade openness has adverse effects in the short run. Moreover, poverty does not have a significant response to trade and growth shocks. Poverty presented a positive change but the level was not significant. The Pairwise Dumitrescu Hurlin Panel Causality results highlight feedback effects among trade, economic growth and poverty level in the region. Based on these findings, the study recommends that governments in Africa should reviewed their poverty reduction programmes in order to move towards achieving the sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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As the COVID‐19 pandemic unfolded, sub‐Saharan African countries faced the dilemma of how to minimize viral transmission without adversely affecting the poor. This study proposes an index of lockdown readiness, taking into account housing conditions and income security, and analyses how this predicts the pandemic responses of governments. Drawing on Afrobarometer data, we document that less than two in 10 urban households were fully ready for a lockdown and that neither institutional nor community trust levels offset this challenge. We find that the prior degree of lockdown readiness was predictive of the stringency of restrictions adopted but not of social unrest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study employs recent World Bank data to shed light, in a global context, on the transformation of changes in income and inequality into poverty reduction for a large number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The study begins by discussing SSA's progress on poverty. Next, it presents data on how various African countries have fared in terms of the incidence of poverty relative to other countries, with special emphasis on the period since the mid-1990s, when SSA generally experienced a growth resurgence. The paper then decomposes performance on poverty into changes in income and inequality for a sample of SSA countries that have the requisite data. The paper finds that recent progress on poverty has been considerable, in contrast to the earlier, 1980–early 1990s, period. Compared with the progress in a global sample of countries, however, progress has been mixed: nonetheless, although African countries lag behind the Brazil, India, China and Russia group of countries as a whole, many of them have outperformed India. Furthermore, while income growth is found to be the main engine for poverty reduction in SSA in general, the role of inequality is crucial in certain countries. Viewed in a global context, moreover, the low levels of income have inhibited the effectiveness of income and inequality improvements in reducing poverty in many African countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Food security is one of the most impressive arguments that international cooperation is facing today. Considered a common purpose for all nations, food security arises as a major problem intimately connected to development, especially when nations start to negotiate within international trade or environmental framework. Despite the efforts of the international community in eradicating poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa nations and consequently eliminating food insecurity, these least-developed nations are still the home for the largest number of undernourished people in the world. This paper discusses the relationship between China's economic future development and potential structural changes in the economy of African LDCs. Emphasizing the influence of environmental constraints for Chinese development, the paper analyzes in a descriptive manner whether cooperation between China and LDCs has the perspective to become a positive-sum game or is to remain the same zero-sum game experienced so far by the economies of this region in their interaction with developed nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Explore the relationship between energy poverty and public health of 185 countries. • Apply a partial linear function coefficient method to analyze the relationship. • Results show that energy poverty has a significant negative influence on public health. • Urbanization level has a mediating effect on the link among energy poverty and public health. • Countries that exceed the threshold of urbanization significantly reduce the adverse influence of energy poverty on public health. Research on energy poverty and its impact has been quite extensive, but the impact of such poverty on public health is still lacking. This paper thus presents the relationship between energy poverty and public health of 185 countries from 2000 to 2020 as well as the role of urbanization development levels in this nexus. To achieve this goal, this study uses a partial linear function coefficient (PLFC) method to analyze the relationship between them, which can also clearly exhibit the non-linear impact of energy poverty on public health. First, both linear and non-linear regression results show that energy poverty has significantly negative impacts on public health. Second, urbanization level plays a significant moderating effect in the energy poverty and public health nexus, meaning that energy poverty affects public health under the influence of urbanization. According to the PLFC model results, countries that exceed the threshold of urbanization have significantly reduced the adverse effects of energy poverty on public health. Third, this study investigates the heterogeneous impact of energy poverty across different regions, comparing the Sub-Saharan Africa region with other areas. The results reveal in the Sub-Saharan Africa region that affordable energy under the influence of urbanization provides a new pathway for improving public health in that region, whereas this effect is considerably smaller in other regions. Additionally, a series of tests confirm the robustness of the results. This paper offers a reference for the development and implementation of renewable energy-related public health policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of agriculture in economic development remains much debated. This paper takes an empirical perspective and focuses on the relationships between agriculture productivity and poverty reduction. The contribution of agriculture sector to poverty is shown to depend on its own growth performance, its indirect impact on growth in other sectors, the extent to which poor people participate in the sector, and the size of the sector in the overall economy. Bringing together these different effects and taking into consideration the role played by technological innovation, we use an aggregate annual panel data, on a sample composed of 32Sub-SaharanAfrica (SSA) countries, from 1990-2011 to estimate a simultaneous equation model that capture the interrelationship between agriculture productivity, technological innovation and poverty. Findings show first that agricultural productivity contributes significantly to economic growth and poverty in SSA. Second, technological innovation appears to have a positive and significant impact on poverty through its direct and indirect impact through agriculture productivity and growth [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Good institutions were pivotal to the emergence of capitalism and hence the creation of wealth, prosperity and development in the world. In this paper, the authors argue that one of the reasons for the poverty and underdevelopment in sub-Saharan Africa is the weak institutional framework which exists in these countries. The laws, rules and regulations governing businesses and entrepreneurial activities are either too weak or ineffective, and could be riding roughshod over any political interest or individual. The paper presents evidence from the literature to amplify the view that strong and effective institutions are fundamental to reinvigorating economic growth and development. Finally, the authors suggest that a complete overhaul and rejuvenation of the institutional framework which exists in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa is crucial to the creation of jobs, and the alleviation of poverty and underdevelopment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative on under five mortality rate (U5MR) in Sub-Saharan Africa. The HIPC Initiative involves debt forgiveness and the redirection of funds that were meant to service external debt towards the provision of social services and poverty reduction in eligible countries. The Initiative is akin to a natural experiment since some countries benefited while some did not, and the timing of debt forgiveness varied across countries. We exploit these variations to identify the impact of HIPC Initiative on child mortality using a dynamic panel data estimator. We find that participation in HIPC Initiative is associated with statistically significant decreases in U5MR. On the other hand, the impact of actual debt cancelled is statistically insignificant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child labour is pervasive across sub-Saharan Africa. The common assumption is that monetary poverty is its most important cause. This paper investigates this hypothesis with empirical evidence by exploring structural, geographic, monetary, demographic, cultural, seasonal and school-supply factors simultaneously that can influence child labour. It is a first attempt in the literature to combine quantitative with qualitative methods to identify a broader range of potential factors-on the demand- and supply-side and at the micro and macro levels-for why children work in agrarian economies like Ghana. Interviews with the Minister of Education and with children enrich the multivariate regression results. The multiple sources of child labour appear to include, in particular, the structure of the economy, social norms and no returns to rural basic education. Policy responses are outlined especially on the demand side that are needed to help reduce harmful child labour that affects children's education and later opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, several scholars have argued that livelihood diversification in terms of off-farm activities is key for rural households to escape from poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Although the continuous growth of tourism in many SSA countries has created an additional off-farm income activity, empirical evidence is lacking to substantiate the poverty alleviating impact of tourism employment as being consistent and universal at the household level. Using the case of Kibale National Park in western Uganda, the aims of this paper are (1) to analyze the actual income composition of different types of rural livelihood strategies by means of cluster analysis, and (2) to compare the financial impact of tourism employment with alternative off-farm income activities. Results show a large differentiation in income compositions of households around Kibale National Park. In general, households engaged in off-farm income activities have higher levels of overall household welfare. Tourism employment generates low incomes compared to alternative off-farm activities, but still enables households to strengthen livelihood strategies by investments in on-farm or alternative off-farm activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on the link between financial development and poverty have been inconclusive. Some claim that deeper financial sectors should improve the allocation of capital by allowing entrepreneurs greater access to finance, which should particularly favour the poor. Others argue that improvements in the financial system primarily benefit the rich and politically connected. The literature has also been ambiguous about the channels through which finance may be associated with lower poverty (deposits vs. credit). Looking at a sample of 37 countries in sub-Saharan Africa from 1992 through 2006, the paper suggests that financial deepening is associated with lower poverty through different channels depending on the strength of property rights. In the absence of well-defined and enforced property rights, wider access to saving and risk-sharing instruments is accompanied by a reduction in poverty. Only once property rights grow stronger, is credit associated with lower poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]