Community-driven approaches to rural electrification: insights and lessons from Lesotho

Determinants and welfare impacts of rural electrification in Ghana

The study aims to identify the economic activities of rural women and to examine the contributions they made to community development through their involvement in economic and developmental activities. Economic activities are gaining prominence in most developing countries in the world. In addition to their involvements in economic activities, they also engage in domestic chores such as home management. They play an active role in a trade transaction, agriculture, sewing and knitting, handcraft and creative art. Although this study employs a mixed methodology that is the combination of quantitative and qualitative approach, the discussion is more on qualitative with 11 respondents were selected for interview focus group discussion (FGD). A total of 380 women respondents were selected for a questionnaire survey at the study area, which were analyzed by Descriptive analysis. The findings indicate that rural women contribute to community development by providing work opportunities to the members of the community; they also help through imparting skills acquisition to members of the community, they also provide necessary commodities to the community members. From the analysis, it shows that women are good partners to economic development of every society, in general, they become important agents of addressing rural communities and their development, and they carried productive roles and contributors to community development through participation in economic activities. It is recommended that government as well as the non-governmental organization should provide basis for assisting and supporting rural women, through the provisions of funds in forms of cash and machineries,provision of literacy, vocational centers, and adequate public amenities. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s4p250

The purpose of the study was to explore how Indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) could be integrated with modern farming techniques in order to enhance sustainable agriculture in selected rural areas. The sustainable livelihoods approach and post-colonial theory were used as the theoretical framework for the study. The interpretive approach was adopted for data generation by the researchers. Data were generated using individual interviews, focus group discussions (FGD), and field observations. Data were presented and analyzed using thematic approach. The study found that sustainable indigenous farming strategies including indigenous land management strategies, indigenous water conservation methods, and biodiversity management strategies could be integrated with modern farming techniques to reduce land degradation, loss of biodiversity, and lessen the impacts of climatic change in rural communities. The study recommends that farmers incorporate indigenous strategies with modern forms of farming in enhancing sustainable agriculture.

The Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA) is very relevant in managing coffee commodities in Central Aceh through the Social Forestry program that allows communities to manage forests sustainably. This study used in-depth interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs), and field observations to understand the factors that influence the sustainability of community livelihoods. SLA assesses five main assets, namely natural, human, physical, financial, and social. Although human and physical assets have potential, there is an urgent need to strengthen access to social and financial assets. Limited education, skills, and less solid social networks can hinder community economic development. Although infrastructure and natural resources are supportive, dependence on financial access and cooperation between community members is still a major challenge. To improve community welfare and coffee sustainability, there needs to be increased training and more practical counseling, as well as access to capital through microfinance institutions. Building stronger social networks, with collaboration from external parties such as government and non-governmental organizations, is important to strengthen community solidarity. These steps are expected to increase the economic and social resilience of the community while maintaining environmental sustainability.

Light for all? Evaluating Brazil's rural electrification progress, 2000–2010

Background: Households are important elements in food disaster preparedness and play important role in its management. This study compared household food disaster preparedness in food-prone rural and urban communities in Kaduna State.
 Methods: The comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among households in foodprone rural and urban communities in 2019. The study population were household heads. The sample size for the study was 202 each for the rural and urban communities. Respondents were selected by multi- stage sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Community members, community leaders and staff of Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) were also purposively selected for focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS 23.0 and the qualitative data using content analysis.
 Results: The mean ages (+SD) of the household heads in the rural and urban communities were 39.4±12.9 years and 43.7±13.9 years, respectively. Ten (2.5%) of the households in the urban communities were very prepared against foods but none in the rural communities. The most available household disaster preparedness elements in the rural communities were radio 150 (74.3%), flashlight 139 (68.8%) while house food insurance was non-existent. For the urban communities, the most available elements were availability of non-perishable food 147 (72.8%), household evacuation destination 147 (72.8%) while the least was house food insurance 2 (1.0%).
 Conclusion: The household food disaster preparedness was poor in both the rural and urban communities. There is need for effective food disaster education and training by SEMA for both communities.

In the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), village health volunteers play an important role in providing health services including those to reduce the burden of malaria. Over the last two decades, the volunteer network has expanded to bring malaria services closer to communities and contributed to the reduction of malaria cases. However, as malaria test positivity rates decreased, many volunteers have lost motivation to continue providing routine malaria services, and other services they provide may not reflect growing healthcare demands for common diseases in the community. This study explored the perspectives, knowledge and inputs of key health stakeholders and community members in southern Lao PDR on community-delivered models in order to refine the volunteer model in the context of Lao PDR's primary health care sector and malaria elimination goals. Semi-structured interviews with multi-level health stakeholders, participatory workshops with community leaders, and focus group discussions with community members and current village health volunteers were conducted. Deductive followed by inductive thematic analysis was used to explore and categorise stakeholders' perspectives on community-delivered models for malaria elimination. Both stakeholders and community members agreed that village health volunteers are essential providers of malaria services in rural communities. Apart from malaria, community members identified dengue, diarrhoea, influenza, skin infections and tuberculosis as priorities (in descending order of importance) and requested community-based primary health care for these diseases. Stakeholders and community members suggested integrating prevention, diagnosis, and treatment services for the five priority diseases into the current malaria volunteer model. A divergence was identified between community members' expectations of health services and the services currently provided by village health volunteers. Stakeholders proposed an integrated model of healthcare to meet the needs of the community and help to maintain volunteers' motivation and the long-term sustainability of the role. An evidence-based, integrated community-delivered model of healthcare should be developed to balance the needs of both community members and stakeholders, with consideration of available resources and current health policies in Lao PDR.

BackgroundAfrican tick bite fever (ATBF) caused by Rickettsia africae and transmitted by Amblyomma spp. ticks is one of the zoonotic tick-borne fevers from the spotted fever group (SFG) of rickettsiae, which is an emerging global health concern. There is paucity of information regarding the occurrence and awareness of the disease in endemic rural livestock farming communities living in livestock-wildlife interface areas in South Africa.MethodsThe purpose of the study was to assess the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices on ticks and ATBF infection from a community living in livestock-wildlife interface areas in South Africa. A focus group discussion (FGD) was carried out followed by verbal administration of a standardized semi-structured questionnaire a month later to 38 rural livestock farmers (23 from Caquba area and 15 from Lucingweni area where A. hebraeum was absent). An FGD was conducted in Caquba (situated at the livestock-wildlife interface where Amblyomma hebraeum was prevalent on cattle and infected with Rickettsia africae) in the O.R. Tambo district of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.ResultsResults from the FGD and questionnaire survey showed that participants from the two rural communities were not aware of ATBF and were not aware that ticks are vectors of the disease. Respondents from Caquba reported of having frequent exposure to tick bites (91.3%, 21/23) specifically from the anthropophilic A. hebrauem which they were able to identify as Qwelagqibe in IsiXhosa (their vernacular). Thirteen out of 15 (86.7%) of respondents from Lucingweni reported that they had never been bitten by ticks, which corresponded with the absence of A. hebraeum from their locality as evidenced from results of a concurrent study on prevalence of ticks on livestock in the area. Both communities confirmed to being “very concerned” of tick bites and we presume this was more related to the localized wounds from the bites than to the diseases transmitted by the ticks.ConclusionsWe recommend future studies encompassing seroprevalence of ATBF in Caquba and other communities at risk in South Africa including establishing surveillance systems to monitor the seasonal infection rates in ticks, cattle and humans.

Background: The Alberta Healthy Communities Approach (AHCA) project aimed to strengthen supportive environments for cancer and chronic disease prevention in rural communities across Alberta. Approach: The Alberta Healthy Communities Approach (AHCA) is an evidence-based, participatory approach to creating supportive environments for health across key risk factors for cancer and chronic disease (e.g., healthy eating, mental health, UVR protection). In the AHCA project (209-2023), the Community Team in Cancer Prevention and Screening Innovation (CPSI), Alberta Health Services (AHS), collaborated with members from multi-sectoral teams (MSTs) across nineteen rural communities to implement and evaluate the AHCA. The MSTs included diverse representation from community-at-large, facilities and organizations, healthcare, schools, and workplaces. Using the AHCA five-step process, MSTs created connections; identified community strengths and capacity; co-created a shared vision and goal; and planned, implemented, and evaluated healthy community initiatives to address local priorities. Community surveys and assessments were developed and conducted by MSTs to determine the outcomes of their initiatives. Members of MSTs also participated in evaluation activities conducted by CPSI (e.g., focus groups, surveys) to contextualize findings and determine the overall impact and effectiveness of the AHCA in communities. Results: Despite facing challenges due to the COVID-9 pandemic, communities implemented 232 healthy community initiatives - including creating walking trails, building community gardens, and organizing cooking classes - with an estimated reach of over 72,000 community members. Pre-post assessments demonstrated statistically significant increases in community capacity in addition to improvements in supportive environments for health (i.e., social, physical, economic). Community surveys also indicated increased awareness of available resources and facilities, improved knowledge about healthy lifestyles, and adoption of healthy behaviors. Furthermore, MST members shared that the AHCA created new and strengthened existing relationships in their communities, supported investment in community, and reduced social isolation and mental health stigma. After the four-year project, most MSTs remain operational and have continued to maintain, enhance, and develop healthy community initiatives through the AHCA. Implications: By using a participatory approach, the AHCA project has demonstrated impact and effectiveness in strengthening community capacity and supportive environments for health. Building on the success of the AHCA in rural communities, CPSI is currently engaging urban communities in the AHCA process to develop, implement, and evaluate healthy community initiatives. In doing so, the AHCA Urban project will leverage lessons learned from the AHCA rural evaluation while adapting to a new context to increase reach and adoption. By combining community knowledge with rigorous research and evaluation, the AHCA is well-positioned to support community health and well-being for all Albertans.

Homelessness is often assumed to be mostly confined to urban spaces, leaving experiences of homelessness in rural contexts largely unexamined. The present study aims to understand the discursive context, or public understanding, of homelessness in rural communities. We examined community narratives related to the idea of “homelessness” in rural spaces. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 70 key stakeholders from four rural communities in the U.S. State of Maine. Participants were asked to give their impressions related to homelessness in their community. We conducted a systematic qualitative analysis of these interviews and our analysis was grounded in a critical discourse analysis perspective. Using Rappaport’s framework for understanding helpful and harmful community narratives, we identified three community narratives that harm by stereotyping or erasing homelessness in rural communities: Not Here, That One Guy, and Mainly Outsiders. We also examined counter-narratives that worked against each of the three primary narratives: It Looks Different, It’s More Hidden, and Local Struggle and Lack of Resources. The counter-narratives tell a different, more compassionate, story of homelessness in rural spaces. Our main goal was to analyze the “work” that each of these narratives were doing in terms of constructing different understandings of “rural homelessness.” The implications for policy and practice are discussed.

BackgroundHumanitarian crises can lead to the rapid change in the health needs of women and newborns, which may give rise to a complex situation that would require various interventions as solutions. This study aimed to examine the health education and promotion patterns, health-seeking behaviour of mothers, and barriers to the use of maternal health services from public health facilities in two rural areas of Yemen.MethodsWe used a qualitative approach. We conducted in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with frontline health professionals and mothers respectively. Nine in-depth interviews were conducted with the health professionals, including 4 health leaders and 5 midwives, and 2 focus group discussions with mothers aged 18–45 years in Abyan and Lahj. Thematic analysis approach was used to analyze the data in Atlas.ti (version 8) Software.ResultsOur data showed that health education and promotion activities on maternal health were ad hoc and coverage was poor. Maternal health services were underutilized by women. According to the data from the focus group discussions, the poor quality of services, as indicated by inadequate numbers of female doctors, lack of medical equipment and medicines, and costs of services were barriers to use maternal health services. Moreover, the use of prenatal and postnatal care services was associated with women’s’ perceived need. However, according to the health professionals, the inadequate human resource, workload, and inadequate funding from government have contributed significantly to the perceived quality of maternal health services provided by public health facilities. Despite the identified barriers, we found that a safe motherhood voucher scheme was instituted in Lahj which facilitated the use of maternal health services by disadvantaged women by removing financial barriers associated with the use of maternal health services.ConclusionThis study identified several obstacles, which worked independently or jointly to minimize the delivery and use of health services by rural women. These included, inadequate funding, inadequate human resources, poor quality of health services, and high cost of services. These barriers need to be addressed to improve the use of reproductive health services in Yemen.

In terms of the sustainable livelihoods approach (SLA), sustainable livelihoods are achievable by the presence of five specific capital assets including human capital. This article shows that human capital needs to be expanded beyond education, training, skills and health. The research was conducted in one rural area of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Using triangulation as well as target and random sampling methods, the study aimed to: (1) identify the capital assets of the people in that area; (2) identify the barriers that they still faced in taking an active role in the local tourism economy after a few years of democracy, and (3) also identify the economic opportunities that the local people could exploit. During the research it was found that young people had clearer and profound views about their conditions than the rest of the community members in terms of age differences. Based on the interviews with different categories of local community members, the article argues that young people in particular have clearer views about their conditions of poverty and unemployment. The article concludes therefore that age is critically fundamental in the realisation of sustainable human capital. In this regard, biological age should form part of the human capital component of the SLA. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p2533

IntroductionBroad Brush Surveys (BBS) are a rapid, qualitative assessment approach using four meta-indicators -physical features, social organization, social networks and community narratives - to gauge how local context interfaces with service/intervention options, implementation and uptake.MethodsIn 2021, responding to rapid urbanization and the accompanying need for water and sanitation services, BBS was innovatively applied by social scientists and engineers to assess water and sanitation infrastructure, both formal and informal, in two African cities - Lusaka and Cape Town. In four urban communities, identified with local stakeholders, BBS data collection included: four mapping group discussions with local stakeholders (participants = 24); eight transect walks/drives; 60 structured observations of water and sanitation options, transport depots, health facilities, weekends, nights, rainy days; seven mixed gender focus group discussions (FGDs) with older and young residents (participants = 86); 21 key-informant interviews (KII, participants = 21).ResultsFindings were rapidly summarized into community profiles, including narrative reports, maps and posters, and first discussed with community stakeholders, then at national/provincial levels. The meta-indicator framework and set sequence of qualitative activities allowed the detail on water and sanitation to gradually emerge. For example, the mapping discussion identified water sources considered a risk for waterborne infections, further observed in the transect walks and then structured observations, which compared their relative condition and social interactions and what local residents narrated about them. FGDs and KIIs elaborated on the control of these sources, with nuanced detail, including hidden sources and the use of different water sources for different activities also emerging.DiscussionWe demonstrated that despite some limitations, BBS provided useful insight to systems and social processes surrounding formal and informal water and sanitation infrastructure in and across designated urban areas. Furthermore, BBS had the potential to galvanize local action to improve infrastructure, and illuminated the value of informal options in service delivery.

Striped catfish, Pangasianodon hypothalamus (Sauvage, 1878), has gained popularity among the Bangladeshi commercial fish farmers because of its rapid growth and high tolerance of adverse ecological conditions. The study aims to examine the impact of farmers’ socio-economic and farming features on their livelihood outcomes of Pangas (LOP), considering the sustainable livelihood approach (SLA) and the negative impacts of commercial farming activities on the surrounding environment using a mixed-method approach. A quantitative survey was conducted using a pre-tested structured questionnaire, and qualitative data were explored through focus group discussions (FGDs), in-depth interviews (IDIs), and key informant interviews (KIIs) to assess the impact. Data were computed using descriptive statistics, rank order, correlation coefficient, and regression analysis. In terms of LOP, the highest progress was observed in human capital (87.5%), followed by physical capital (75.7%), financial capital (70%), social capital (55.7%), and natural capital (38%). The farmers’ education, experience, knowledge of fish farming, and adoption of modern farming technology correlated positively, whereas age correlated negatively with the LOP and significantly impacted the achievement of the outcomes. Farming intervention was encouraged to establish various upward and backward linkage industries and create employment opportunities, which contributed to economic progress. On the other side, rapid expansion of pangas farming impacted the surrounding environment by converting two or more croplands (37%) into a closed pond and discharging polluted water (52%) and bottom sludge (49%) into natural water bodies. Raising dikes of fish ponds caused waterlogging in the crop field during cultivation, which also hampered the navigation of aquatic animals during the breeding season. Moreover, harmful chemical discharges were blamed for the decline of aquatic animals. Therefore, it is necessary to implement sustainable aquaculture practices along with proper monitoring and evaluation processes to ensure safe aqua-food production in an environmentally friendly manner, thereby achieving sustainable development goals.

This study explores the impact of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) on households in Samoa, particularly those households that invested in the TVET qualification and certification of at least one member of their household. Significant benefits accrue to households through productive employment of the TVET‐certified household member, and this study is one of a kind designed to gather some base line socio‐economic data from 15 case study households to validate these claims. The study is framed within the sustainable livelihoods approach and capabilities approach. Improved skills of TVET persons provide a sustainable livelihood for their households and enabled strengthening of people's capabilities to make significant contributions to their families, community and national development agenda. Questionnaires and focus group discussions were methods engaged to answer the study question on the socio‐economic impacts of TVET‐certified members on their households. The results substantiated what we have always observed and believed, that the households with at least one TVET‐certified member is able to make positive physical and social contributions towards improving the livelihood of the entire household.