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Social capital and children's wellbeing : a critical synthesis of the international social capital literature

FERGUSON, Kristin M
October 2004

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This literature review looks at main international studies on social capital and children's and youth's wellbeing, presents a critical analysis of the concept and discusses its relevance as a reliable predictor of positive future outcomes for children and young people. It outlines both family social capital indicators - including family structure, quality of parent-child relations, adult's interest in the child, parent's monitoring of the child and extended family exchange and support - and community social capital indicators - which comprise social support networks, civic engagement in local institutions, trust and safety, degree of religiosity, quality of school and quality of neighbourhood. The article calls for further empirical scrutiny of social capital predictors, while accepting that the impact of social capital on children's future attainments is second only to poverty

The development, implementation and evaluation of interventions for the care of orphans and vulnerable children in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe : a literature review of evidence-based interventions for home-based child-centred development

STREBEL, Anna
2004

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This short paper gives a literature review of many programmes aimed at supporting orphans and vulnerable groups in the southern Africa region. It is not an in-depth survey, but provides a compact and accessible guide to the many different community initiatives that have been undertaken. It finishes with a short section on the lessons to be learned from care programmes

Provision of antiretroviral therapy in resource-limited settings : a review of experience up to August 2003

ATTAWELL, Kathy
MUNDY, Jackie
November 2003

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This background paper aims to increase understanding of the requirements for introducing and scaling up provision of antitetroviral therapy (ART) as part of comprehensive HIV/AIDS programmes in resource-poor countries. The paper provides an overview of experience and lessons learned with regard to the feasibility of ART in resource-poor settings, the different approaches being taken to delivery of ART, and the issues to be considered in scaling up ART provision. The review is based on published and unpublished literature, interviews with key informants, web searches and country information

Communication of research for poverty reduction : a literature review

HOVLAND, Ingie
October 2003

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This literature review maps current recommendations and emerging themes relevant to communicating research for poverty reduction. It draws on an annotated bibliography of over 100 documents produced by DFID and other development agencies, research institutes, academics and practitioners. It addresses the needs of different audiences, and identifies gaps in the literature around approaching communication as a systemic issue, improving the conditions under which reseach is communicated, facilitating user engagement in communication of research, at different levels, and investing in double-loop learning

HIV-infected women and their families : psychosocial support and related issues. A literature review

LINDSEY, Elizabeth
2003

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This review looks at global literature from academic institutions and UN agencies on psychosocial support and counselling, to HIV infected pregnant women and their families (from pre-conception to 2 years old). It also contains information about the efficacy of practices and projects that care for infected women and their families, especially methods used in relation to mother-to-child transmission during the perinatal period. There are also interesting examples of such projects from around the world. The final section of the review makes recommendations on psychosocial support and counselling for HIV infected women and families

HIV/AIDS prevention and care in Mozambique : a socio-cultural approach. Literature and institutional assessment and case studies on Manga, Sofala Province and Morrumbala District, Zambézia Province

UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANISATION (UNESCO)
June 2002

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This study aimed to identify cultural issues relevant to HIV and AIDS prevention and care in Mozambique; assess how organisations account for and use cultural resources in their work; assess how socio-cultural factors shape young people's behaviour relative to their sexual health and HIV and AIDS. It involved a literature review, interviews and questionnaires for NGOs and governmental organisations, and a series of case studies, which are documented in the second part of this report

Children, HIV/AIDS and communication in South Africa : a literature review

FOX Susan
OYOSI Salome
PARKER Warren
May 2002

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This literature review covers key issues relating to children aged 3-12 and HIV/AIDS, including discrimination, grief, children's rights, and knowledge and understanding of HIV/AIDS. The impact on the child, family and community is discussed in detail, particularly in terms of the psycho-social impact of bereavement and how this impacts on the child at different stages in its development. Various community programmes within southern Africa are highlighted, which support children to develop life skills. The influence, role and practice of the media in working with and reaching children is addressed, and case studies of South African media projects such as Soul Buddyz and Takalani Sesame are provided

Information and communication technologies in Africa

ADEYA, Catherine Nyaki
2001

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[From foreward:] This literature review and annotated bibliography explore the evidence for the potential of ICTs (information and communication technologies) to assist in Africa's development, and the extent to which ICTs are changing the 'shape' of Africa. The review begins by introducing ICTs and the information economy in the African context. The literature selected for the bibliography is then reviewed thematically under a number of headings: Overview of ICTs in Africa; Information infrastructure; Information economy; Information management; Socio-cultural and political issues; Education and training; and Gender. The review reveals that, despite many constraints, the use of ICTs is growing in Africa and there have been successful developments in infrastructure, information management, networking and gender-related issues. However, the literature has also revealed considerable variation between different African countries in their adoption and use of these technologies. The literature reviewed relates primarily to anglophone Africa and generally excludes telecommunications issues, as these are already well documented in other publications. In essence it is hoped that this publication will act as a window of opportunity for more nationally and locally focused empirical research and will make a contribution to understanding the research opportunities and challenges that still face most African countries

Poverty and disability : a survey of the literature

ELWAN, Ann
1999

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This review summarises the literature on disability and its relationship to poverty, including education, employment, income, and access to basic social services. Despite the dearth of formal analysis, it is clear that in developing countries, as in more developed areas, disabled people (and their families) are more likely than the rest of the population to live in poverty. It is a two-way relationship -- disability adds to the risk of poverty, and conditions of poverty increase the risk of disability. Disability in developing countries stems largely from preventable impairments associated with communicable, maternal and perinatal disease and injuries, and prevention has to remain a primary focus. An increasing emphasis on community- based participatory rehabilitation reflects growing recognition of the inadequacy of past official programmes, particularly those involving specialised and exclusionary institutions

Evaluating health projects : lessons from the literature

STOUT, Susan
et al
1997

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This report reviews the literature on the causes of observed changes in health and fertility levels, the evaluation of policies, and programs designed to accelerate these changes; and presents the findings of earlier assessments of the World Bank's work in the Health, Nutrition, and Population (HNP) subsectors. A framework outlining the relationships between Bank activities in the sector, the characteristics of the health care system, household behavior, and changes in health outcomes is presented; and four evaluative criteria for assessing the performance of health care systems are identified. Broadly, the approach anticipates that Bank activities are more successful, as measured by their influence on system performance, when they achieve an appropriate fit between the institutional incentives, which determine the supply of health goods and services, the nature of those goods and services, and consumer demand. This report ends by describing a strategy for assessing the development effectiveness of the Bank's work in the HNP sectors. [Publisher's abstract]

Challenges and concerns

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This article follows on from several case studies presented on the Reproductive Health Outlook website. It draws together key issues based on a review of recent literature and project experiences. The main themes are around the significant financial, political, cultural and technological obstacles that affect the establishment of sustainable programmes, especially for computer-based ICTs. These obstacles have been identified as lack of affordability, lack of human capacity, lack of awareness of the benefits of ICT, lack of ability to use ICT proficiently, and lack of content suitable for local residents. ICTs that rely on access to the Internet need good-quality access to be truly useful

Applied research on disability in Africa : the East Africa report

WADDELL, Mary Ann

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“This literature review concerns the achievements of a project which started in 2014 and will last three years. The aim of this project is the dissemination and promotion of applied research results and disability to researchers and field stakeholders of the African continent (particularly to Disabled People Organizations), in order to increase knowledge on the situation of people with disabilities and the recommendations made to improve their social participation… The goal of this literary review is to report on existing knowledge about applied research on East Africa, regarding physical disability, mental health and less on learning disabilities, the concerns of people with disabilities and their carers’, adults and children, medical aspects of disability, identification of disability, experiences of disability, policy and policy implementation”

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