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Drawing on the reflections and discussions from a special session at the 2021 Global Health Bioethics Network summer school, this paper has summarised the key challenges faced by Frontline Workers (FWs) across research sites in Africa and Asia in performing the everyday 'body work' entailed in operationalising global health research. Using a 'body work' lens, we specifically explore and map key challenges that FWs face in Africa and Asia and the physical, social, ethical, emotional, and political labour involved in operationalising global health in these settings. The research encounter links with wider social and economic structures, and spatial dimensions and impacts on the FWs' performance and well-being. Yet, FWs' 'body-work' and the embedded emotions during the research encounter remain hidden and undervalued. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1980s, inequality has been rising in Europe, North America and parts of Asia. How does our understanding of global inequality dynamics change if coverage is extended to the rest of the developing world? To rebalance the perspective on global inequality trends, this paper surveys data and literature on recent inequality trends in Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. It finds that in these regions there are more countries with falling than rising inequality over the past 20 years, as measured by Ginis of income or consumption inequality. At the global level, therefore, there are signs of inequality convergence, as inequality has been falling in countries with high inequality in the 1990s (particularly Latin America), and rising in historically low-inequality countries. We discuss the political and economic drivers of inequality decline in countries with a steady fall in the Gini. This suggests some common trends across the globe, including the role of democratisation, the rise of new social movements, and the expansion of education and social safety nets and favourable commodity prices, in reducing income disparities. This paper calls for more country-level comparisons of inequality trends, to highlight the multiplicity of paths in this latest phase of globalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many Asian and African constitutional and statutory texts use the phrase personal laws in order to determine the rules applicable to family matters such a marriage, divorce, maintenance and in some countries inheritance. However, this term is extremely vague and often without a clear definition in the legal texts. This paper tries to show the high degree of un-determination of the statutory references to personal laws. This chaotic situation can be explained by historical and political factors. Nevertheless, the paper proposes to stipulate a conventional definition of personal laws in order to facilitate the comparison between the Asian and African countries with a plurality of personal laws. Based on common features of these legal systems knowing a plurality of personal laws, such a definition can be useful for practical as well as for theoretical purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Navicula nielsfogedii was recently described from tropical and sub-tropical Africa. New data on its distribution from several countries in Asia are provided in this paper, together with morphological observations and environmental information about the habitats where it was found. Since N. nielsfogedii was previously misidentified as Navicula heimansioides the morphology of both taxa is compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydropower dams are back in the spotlight owing to a shifting preference for low carbon energy generation and their possible contribution to mitigating climate change. At the forefront of the renaissance of large hydropower dams are Chinese companies, as the builders of the world's largest dams at home and abroad, opening up opportunities for low- and middle-income countries. However, large hydropower dams, despite their possible developmental and carbon reduction contributions, are accompanied by huge economic costs, profound negative environmental changes and social impacts. Using fieldwork data from four hydropower projects in Ghana, Nigeria, Cambodia and Malaysia, this paper evaluates the behaviour of Chinese stakeholders engaged in large hydropower projects in Asia and Africa. We do this by first exploring the interests of the different Chinese stakeholders and then by investigating the wider implications of these Chinese dams on the local, national and international contexts. The paper concludes that hydropower dams will continue to play a prominent role in future efforts to increase energy security and reduce energy poverty worldwide, therefore the planning, building and mitigation strategies need to be implemented in a more sustainable way that takes into account national development priorities, the needs of local people and the impacts on natural habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Despite a greater need for social protection among people with disabilities, there is limited evidence of their inclusion into social protection programmes in low- and middle-income countries. This paper presents the findings from a review of regional and global data sources for Asia-Pacific and Africa to identify social protection programmes that aim to include people with disabilities. It finds a substantial number of programmes in both regions, although there is considerable variation in the quantity and types of programmes within and between regions and countries, as well as between low- and middle-income countries. Further, the quality of data is not sufficient to assess the degree to which these programmes are genuinely inclusive of people with disabilities. As such, it highlights important limitations in the way data is currently being collected that require further attention in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals and the commitment to 'Leave No-one Behind' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though many African and Asian countries share a common history of European colonialism and thus a model of economic development shaped within the aegis of center-periphery analysis, many Asian countries have been able to ride through the burden of center-periphery economics and built more successful political economies than most African countries. This state of affairs has often led many African analysts to point to Asian success stories like China and South Korea for comparative analysis and often see these Asian countries as models of socio-economic and socio-cultural success to emulate. In particular, Africans in the Diaspora, especially Africans in China, tend to compare very frequently the socio-economic and socio-cultural conditions of their host countries with those of their source countries. This paper outlines and discusses how a group of Africans living in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia see Korea and Korean culture through the prism of Korean television dramas, which constitute a popular cultural phenomenon among Hong Kong/Asian youths. Through qualitative and quantitative survey methods, participant-observation, and questionnaire surveys, the paper reports on how African community members of Hong Kong and others think of Koreans. We show that Africans draw a lot of comparisons between Korean and African ways of conceptualizing the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Because most deaths in Africa and Asia are not well documented, estimates of mortality are often made using scanty data. The INDEPTH Network works to alleviate this problem by collating detailed individual data from defined Health and Demographic Surveillance sites. By registering all deaths over time and carrying out verbal autopsies to determine cause of death across many such sites, using standardised methods, the Network seeks to generate population-based mortality statistics that are not otherwise available. Objective: To build a large standardised mortality database from African and Asian sites, detailing the relevant methods, and use it to describe cause-specific mortality patterns. Design: Individual demographic and verbal autopsy (VA) data from 22 INDEPTH sites were collated into a standardised database. The INDEPTH 2013 population was used for standardisation. The WHO 2012 VA standard and the InterVA-4 model were used for assigning cause of death. Results: A total of 111,910 deaths occurring over 12,204,043 person-years (accumulated between 1992 and 2012) were registered across the 22 sites, and for 98,429 of these deaths (88.0%) verbal autopsies were successfully completed. There was considerable variation in all-cause mortality between sites, with most of the differences being accounted for by variations in infectious causes as a proportion of all deaths. Conclusions: This dataset documents individual deaths across Africa and Asia in a standardised way, and on an unprecedented scale. While INDEPTH sites are not constructed to constitute a representative sample, and VA may not be the ideal method of determining cause of death, nevertheless these findings represent detailed mortality patterns for parts of the world that are severely under-served in terms of measuring mortality. Further papers explore details of mortality patterns among children and specifically for NCDs, external causes, pregnancy-related mortality, malaria, and HIV/AIDS. Comparisons will also be made where possible with other findings on mortality in the same regions. Findings presented here and in accompanying papers support the need for continued work towards much wider implementation of universal civil registration of deaths by cause on a worldwide basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces Kohonen self-organizing maps to the scholarly discussion of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). We use data through the MDGs' approximate mid-point (2000–2008) to analyze three world regions: Africa, Asia and Latin America. We observe a handful of countries that showcase noteworthy progress, including Ghana, Senegal, China, Vietnam, India, and Brazil, and then examine more closely the three major regions of developing countries: Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Major statistical differences within Africa separate the northern and southern regions from the central, eastern and western regions. In contrast, Latin America and Asia are largely homogeneous in the MDG measures with the exceptions of Afghanistan, Haiti, and Bolivia, which lag far behind. The substantial differences between Africa and the other continents (and indeed within Africa itself) appear to be mainly attributable to deficiencies in education and information and communications technology infrastructure, both areas that are imperative for the achievement of other MDGs. The paper demonstrates self-organizing maps to be a useful tool in evaluating differential convergence over the three time periods under investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The contribution of copper-bearing intrauterine devices (IUDs) to overall contraceptive protection has declined in many countries, despite their well-known advantages. In response, initiatives to promote this method have been undertaken.Objective: To review and interpret the experience of interventions to promote use of IUDs in low- and middle-income countries in order to provide strategic guidance for policies and programs.Methods: We conducted a systematic search of Medline, Popline, Embase and Global Health electronic databases for relevant journal papers, reports and gray literature since 2010. Telephone interviews were held with two donors and six international family planning organizations.Results: We identified a total of 31 publications. Four reported the results of randomized control trials and three were derived from quasi-experiments. The majority were based on service statistics. Eight publications concerned interventions for HIV-positive women or couples, nine for postpartum or postabortion cases and 14 for general populations. Intervention approaches included vouchers, franchising of private practitioners, mobile outreach services, placement of dedicated staff in high-volume facilities and demand creation. Most publications adduced evidence of a positive impact and some reported impressively large numbers of IUD insertions. Results to date on the uptake of IUDs in postpartum interventions are modest. There is also almost no evidence of effects on IUD use at national levels. Implant uptake generally exceeded IUD uptake when both were offered.Conclusion: The evidence base is weak and offers few lessons on what strategies are most effective. The overall impression is that IUD use can be increased in a variety of ways but that progress is hampered by persistent adverse perceptions by both providers and potential clients. Provider enthusiasm is a key to success. The lack of a population impact stems in part from the fact that nearly all interventions are initiated by international organizations, with limited national reach except in small countries, rather than by government agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This special issue has presented some of the specific findings of the RE-Impact Project which was commissioned and funded by the EuropeAid Cooperation Office from 2007 until its conclusion in 2010. The project aimed to provide impact assessment frameworks and influence relevant policies through direct involvement in bioenergy projects and policy analysis in South Africa, Uganda, India and China. The papers summarised here have covered issues related to Jatropha curcas and forest-based bioenergy in these countries. Taking an overall look at the project findings we can identify a number of general conclusions relevant for the future of bioenergy and rural development in Africa and Asia. First, only local and context-specific sustainability assessment can identify the risk and responsibilities of the different groups and the exact impact on the environment. Second, many initiatives both in biofuels and forest-based bioenergy are marred by a lack of understanding of the life-cycle financial analysis. Third, careful consideration of local physical and social conditions and the economics of the production chain can identify real opportunities for rural development using bioenergy. The current global impasse in bioenergy policies could actually be advantageous to the development of bioenergy in developing countries. Without the pressure from America and Europe to develop bioenergy systems for climate change mitigation, countries in Africa and Asia may have the breathing room to shape bioenergy systems for their own internal energy supply in an orderly fashion. However, in order to avoid environmental and social impacts it will be necessary to articulate together elements of a number of measures including market-based certification, national policy formulation, national legislation, impact assessments, sustainability planning, land use planning, research, monitoring and evaluation taking into account country and project specific sustainability criteria. Unfortunately, many of the countries in Africa and Asia where bioenergy can play an important role still lack institutional structures able to articulate this sustainable development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

CONSENT AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEment (CE) in health research are two aspects of a single concern--that research is carried out in a respectful manner where social value is maximized. There are important overlaps and interdependencies between consent and CE; for example, CE can provide insights into how best to tailor consent to context and can be an important component of consent processes. Engaging communities can also have intrinsic and instrumental value beyond consent; for example, as a means of showing respect and identifying appropriate ways of working respectfully. In this paper we critically examine how CE and consent processes are characterized, conducted, and evaluated in diverse health research contexts, and propose a preliminary research agenda to support future learning in these critical areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a conceptual model of sustainable employee motivation and enterprise performance (based on job characteristics) through the juxtaposition of the internal marketing, job characteristics, uncertainty and in/equity theories. It reasons that job characteristics and their effect on motivation and performance in African small- and medium-sized enterprises depends on the degree to which uncertainty in the business environment, perceived inequity and job insecurity resulting from migrant competition can be minimized. Theoretical, managerial and policy implications are elaborated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A social franchise in health is a network of for-profit private health practitioners linked through contracts to provide socially beneficial services under a common brand. The early 21st century has seen considerable donor enthusiasm for promoting social franchises for the provision of reproductive health services. Based on a compendium of descriptive information on 45 clinical social franchises, located in 27 countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America, this paper examines their contribution to universal access to comprehensive reproductive health services. It finds that these franchises have not widened the range of reproductive health services, but have mainly focused on contraceptive services, and to a lesser extent, maternal health care and abortion. In many instances, coverage had not been extended to new areas. Measures taken to ensure sustainability ran counter to the objective of access for low-income groups. In almost two-thirds of the franchises, the full cost of all services had to be paid out of pocket and was unaffordable for low-income women. While standards and protocols for quality assurance were in place in all franchises, evidence on adherence to these was limited. Informal interviews with patients indicated satisfaction with services. However, factors such as difficulties in recruiting franchisees and significant attrition, franchisees' inability to attend training programmes, use of lay health workers to deliver services without support or supervision, and logistical problems with applying quality assurance tools, all raise concerns. The contribution of social franchises to universal access to reproductive health services appears to be uncertain. Continued investment in them for the provision of reproductive health services does not appear to be justified until and unless further evidence of their value is forthcoming. Dans la santé, une franchise sociale est un réseau de praticiens privés à but lucratif tenus par contrat d'assurer des services socialement bénéfiques sous une même marque. Au début du XXIe siècle, les donateurs ont encouragé avec beaucoup d'enthousiasme les franchises sociales pour les services de santé génésique. Se fondant sur un recueil d'informations descriptives relatives à 45 franchises sociales cliniques, situées dans 27 pays d'Afrique, d'Asie et d'Amérique latine, cet article examine leur contribution à l'accès universel à des services globaux de santé génésique. Il révèle que ces franchises n'ont pas élargi l'éventail de services de santé génésique, mais se sont principalement centrées sur la contraception et, dans une moindre mesure, les soins maternels et l'avortement. Dans de nombreux cas, la couverture n'avait pas été étendue à de nouvelles zones. Les mesures prises pour garantir la viabilité vont à l'encontre de l'objectif d'accès des groupes à faible revenu. Dans près des deux tiers des franchises, le coût total de l'ensemble des services devait être payé par les patients et était inabordable pour les femmes à faible revenu. Les normes et les protocoles d'assurance qualité étaient en place dans toutes les franchises, mais on dispose de données limitées sur leur observance. Des entretiens informels avec des patients ont indiqué qu'ils étaient satisfaits des services. Néanmoins, les difficultés pour recruter des franchisés et une certaine usure, l'incapacité des franchisés de suivre des programmes de formation, l'utilisation d'agents de santé profanes pour assurer des services sans soutien ni supervision et des problèmes logistiques pour appliquer les outils d'assurance qualité sont autant de facteurs préoccupants. La contribution des franchises sociales à l'accès universel aux services de santé génésique paraît incertaine. Il ne semble pas justifié de continuer d'investir en leur faveur pour la prestation de services de santé génésique, à moins que de nouvelles données ne prouvent leur utilité. Una franquicia social en salud es una red de profesionales de la salud particulares con fines de lucro, vinculados mediante contratos para ofrecer servicios de beneficio social bajo una marca en común. A principios del siglo XXI se ha visto un considerable entusiasmo por parte de donantes para promover las franquicias sociales para la prestación de servicios de salud reproductiva. Basado en un compendio de información descriptiva sobre 45 franquicias sociales clínicas, situadas en 27 países de Ãfrica, Asia y Latinoamérica, este artículo examina su contribución al acceso universal a los servicios integrales de salud reproductiva. Se encontró que estas franquicias no han ampliado la gama de servicios de salud reproductiva, sino que se han centrado principalmente en servicios de anticoncepción y, a menor grado, en servicios de salud materna y de aborto. En muchos casos, no se había extendido la cobertura a nuevas áreas. Las medidas tomadas para garantizar sostenibilidad eran contrarias al objetivo de acceso para grupos de bajos ingresos. En casi dos terceras partes de las franquicias, las pacientes tuvieron que pagar el costo total de todos los servicios, inasequible para mujeres de bajos ingresos. Aunque todas las franquicias habían establecido normas y protocolos para garantizar la calidad, había limitada evidencia de su cumplimiento. Las entrevistas informales con pacientes indicaron satisfacción con los servicios. No obstante, preocupan factores como las dificultades en reclutar franquiciados y una considerable amortización de puestos de trabajo, la imposibilidad de los franquiciados de asistir a programas de capacitación, el uso de trabajadores de la salud laicos para proporcionar servicios sin apoyo o supervisión, y los problemas logísticos aplicando las herramientas de garantía de la calidad. La contribución de franquicias sociales al acceso universal a los servicios de salud reproductiva parece ser incierta. A menos que surja más evidencia de su valor, no se justifica continuar invirtiendo en ellas para la prestación de servicios de salud reproductiva. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Economic regulation is being introduced into the water services sector in developing economies, where widespread poverty and service inadequacies affect regulatory rationales. This paper analyzes the regulatory experience in 11 metropolitan areas with respect to the challenge of reaching all urban consumers, particularly the poor. Case study evidence suggests that pro-poor regulatory outcomes have been constrained by inadequate framework conditions and a limited understanding of alternative providers. In many cases regulatory governance has been equally vulnerable, although some regulators have demonstrated a capacity and willingness to achieve a balance between the social and financial objectives of water service regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In 2006 a report on the analysis for lead in 80 new residential paints from four countries in Asia revealed high levels in three of the countries (China, India and Malaysia) and low levels in a fourth country (Singapore) where a lead in paint regulation was enforced. The authors warned of the possible export of lead-painted consumer products to the United States and other countries and the dangers the lead paint represented to children in the countries where it was available for purchase. The need for a worldwide ban on the use of lead in paints was emphasized to prevent an increase in exposure and disease from this very preventable environmental source. Since the earlier paper almost 300 additional new paint samples have been collected from the four initial countries plus 8 additional countries, three from Asia, three from Africa and two from South America. During the intervening time period two million toys and other items imported into the United States were recalled because the lead content exceeded the United States standard. High lead paints were detected in all 12 countries. The average lead concentration by country ranged from 6988 (Singapore) to 31,960ppm (Ecuador). One multinational company sold high lead paint in one country through January 2007 but sold low lead paint later in 2007 indicating that a major change to cease adding lead to their paints had occurred. However, the finding that almost one-third of the samples would meet the new United States standard for new paint of 90ppm, suggests that the technology is already available in at least 11 of the 12 countries to produce low lead enamel paints for domestic use. The need remains urgent to establish effective worldwide controls to prevent the needless poisoning of millions of children from this preventable exposure. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Society for International Nutrition Research sponsored a Symposium titled "Women's Voices, Women's Choices: The Challenge of Nutrition and HIV/AIDS in Asia and Africa" at Experimental Biology 2004 to highlight the challenges facing RIV-positive women living in resource-poor settings of Asia and Africa, when it comes to the everyday decisions they are forced to make about their own health and nutrition, and the health and the nutrition of their children. This introductory paper summarizes the rationale for this session, including a summary of the evidence for women's increased vulnerability to HIV, the nutritional impacts of HIV infection, and the special infant feeding and nutritional concerns facing HIV-positive pregnant and lactating mothers in Africa and Asia. The issue of nutrition and HIV/AIDS is addressed here from an intergenerational perspective, using new data from qualitative research, clinical trials, and behavioral interventions in India, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, to illustrate important concerns, using study participants' own words to convey key messages, The focus is on women, because they are shouldering much of the burden of HIV infection in terms of their numbers and in their responsibilities for providing food and care for orphans and HIV-affected family members. Infant feeding choices are also considered in this review, because of the vast implications that not breast-feeding at all and stopping breast-feeding early have on the nutritional well-being of HIV-exposed children, as well as the positive contribution of breast-feeding to child nutrition and survival worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines OpenStreetMap data quality at different stages of a participatory mapping process in seven slums in Africa and Asia. Data were drawn from an OpenStreetMap-based participatory mapping process developed as part of a research project focusing on understanding inequalities in healthcare access of slum residents in the Global South. Descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis were employed to examine the following research question: What is the spatial data quality of collaborative remote mapping achieved by volunteer mappers in morphologically complex urban areas? Findings show that the completeness achieved by remote mapping largely depends on the morphology and characteristics of slums such as building density and rooftop architecture, varying from 84% in the best case, to zero in the most difficult site. The major scientific contribution of this study is to provide evidence on the spatial data quality of remotely mapped data through volunteer mapping efforts in morphologically complex urban areas such as slums; the results could provide insights into how much fieldwork would be needed in what level of complexity and to what extent the involvement of local volunteers in these efforts is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]