This paper uses data from a pilot pre- and post-intervention study that was conducted in eight secondary schools in Nairobi, Kenya, between 2010 and 2011 to examine the effectiveness of using comic books to deliver HIV and AIDS messages to in-school young people. Information was collected through structured self-administered interviews with 3,624 and 2,914 students at baseline and endline respectively. Qualitative feedback from students was also obtained through drop-boxes. The findings show that the comic books were effective in improving students’ knowledge about modes of infection, enhancing communication about the epidemic among them, positively changing their attitudes towards people living with HIV, reducing their fear and increasing their likelihood and intention of getting tested for HIV, as well as positively changing their sexual behaviours. The study underscores the need for age-appropriate communications channels to reach young people with HIV and AIDS information in settings that are affected by the epidemic .

Botswana exhibits a medium fertility rate (i.e.4.0-5.0 births per woman). One of the three countries in sub-Sahara Africa (Kenya and Zimbabwe are the other two) reported to be experiencing incipient fertility decline, an indication of the subcontinent's entry into the second phase of the fertility transition after undergoing significant changes in the proximate determinants of fertility over the past few decades. The magnitude and socioeconomic and demographic determinants of the declines in the three countries have become major preoccupations of researchers. This article examines some aspects of these topical issues in relation to fertility trend in Botswana. It also draws attention to the need to develop intellectual capacity for studying these phenomena and provide adequate and reliable information and appropriate tools for monitoring and evaluating demographic trends in the sub-continent.

The fact that the permanent registration system of demographic events at the vital registration centre does not work well in Sub-Saharan Africa can be explained by the fact that most of the data on which researchers base their work come from population surveys (be they single passage or repeated passage surveys). But these data are often marred by non-negligible declaration mistakes, and it is therefore necessary to resort to indirect mortality estimate. But all approaches of adult mortality estimate (be it direct estimate or indirect estimate) are based on concepts and assumptions (be they implicit or explicit) which do not go beyond cultures. This is why these concepts and assumptions are exposed to major cultural disturbances which are not without consequences on the reliability of mortality estimates in Black Africa. This text draws attention on these risks and urges to take them into consideration in the collection and analysis of data on the African population in general, and more particularly on those relating to adult mortality. It is on these conditions that it is possible to hope for a better adult mortality estimate.

High fertility (HF) remains a public health problem and intention to reduce fertility is a global phenomenon. The health hazards and economic burden of HF on women are enormous. Contraceptive is widely known as a fertility reduction method. Achieving desirable MDGs and PoA of 1994 ICPD will be an illusion if research on the relationship between fertility intention and contraceptive use is neglected. The study which focused on 2,257 women of childbearing age who do not have any intention to bear more children utilized Nigeria Demographic Health Survey, 2008 dataset. Data was analysed using Chi-square, binary and multinomial logistic regression (=5.0%). Mean age of the women and children ever born were 40.91±5.73 years and 6.28±2.62 respectfully. The prevalence of Current Use of Any Contraceptive Method (CUACM) was 37.6% with 12.4% and 25.2% currently using natural and modern family planning methods respectively. About 7.0% of women in poorest wealth quintile are CUACM compared to 61.8% of those in richest wealth quintile. Current use of modern contraceptive prevalence rate was strikingly higher among Yorubas (41.8%) than the Hausas (3.6%). Multivariate analysis identified age, region, residence, education, ethnicity and family planning media exposure as significant predictors of CUACM. In addition; religion and decision on how to spend family income were identified as predictors of current use of modern contraceptive method (p<0.05). The use of contraceptive is not adequately practiced in Nigeria. The identified predictors of contraceptive use in this study should be considered while designing strategies to improve contraceptive prevalent rate in Nigeria.

This paper focuses on the links between employment and fertility among women residing In Kinshasa, Zaire’s capital city of over three million people. We use a unique data set to examine fertility behavior and fertility differentials with respect to educational attainment and employment status, among other factors. The analyses differentiate among women who are employed by someone else (the overwhelming proportion of whom are employed In the modern or formal sector), and those not Involved In work for pay or proflt.(1) In addition to considering fertility outcomes, we also analyze the links between employment and education and key proximate determinants of fertility: age at first union, contraception, breastfeeding, and postpartum abstinence.

Population has become an important research issue because its consideration has significant implications for change, development and quality of life in the society. Infrastructure such as water, transport, drainage and sanitation on the other hand have been recognized on the other hand as critical to ensure the quality of living and sustainable urban development in contemporary times. This paper examines the change in population growth of Ondo state with a view to determining the extent at which infrastructure in the study area has been improved on and what will be required to meet the MDGs for infrastructural development. The paper discusses the consequences of inadequate infrastructure in Ondo state as well as identifies how the MDGs targets can be achieved to reduced urban poverty in Africa. Data utilized in the study were derived systematic survey of household characteristics, indicators of accessibility to basic infrastructure in the city. Population figures were obtained from National Population Commission and distribution of regular households by main characteristics of infrastructure during the last census (2006) in Ondo State. The study showed that as typical of a Nigerian State, majority of the residents of Ondo state do not have access to basic infrastructure.

This study examined the impact of sources of AIDS education on HIV-related behavioural changes, and its implications for HIV prevention and service delivery in Nigeria. We analysed cross-sectional data obtained from a structured face-to-face interview with 1,373 respondents aged 15-50, who have ever had sex in Ibadan, Nigeria. Knowledge of HIV/AIDS, its route of transmission and prevention strategies was high. About 20 % of the respondents were exposed to the AIDS prevention campaigns. A majority reported sexual behavioral changes, which included restriction of sex partners, use of condoms, sexual abstinence and avoidance of casual sex. Thirty-nine percent took some steps to reduce risk of infection by avoiding transfusion with unscreened blood and testing for HIV status. Using multiple logistic regressions, the factors affecting the reported changes were identified. The application of health belief model shows that the model cannot wholly explain the changes in behavior. The role of female powerlessness in safer sex decision-making is noted. Despite the limitations of the study, the need for a sustained AIDS prevention campaign is stressed. The implications of the study for AIDS programs and research are highlighted.

En Cote d’ivoire, comme dans d’autres pays africains les migrations traditionnellement domineespar les hommes se feminisent progressivement. Les resultats de l’Enquete Ivoirienne sur les Migrations et l’Urbanisation (1993) indiquent clairement que les femmes migrent presque autant sinon plus que les hommes, notamment en ce qui concerne les migrations urbaines. Parallelement a cette forte migration feminine, se deroulent d’autres processus dont celui de l’autonomisation des femmes migrantes tres longtemps negligees et considerees comme des « migrantes passives ». Des etudes recentes montrent que les femmes sont de plus en plus autonomes dans leur migration par rapport a la famille, d’autres insistent sur le role determinant des rapports de genre qui obligent les femmes a migrer en association avec un autre membre de sa famille. Dans ce contexte, comment interpreter l’importante migration feminine actuelle ? Est-elle le signe d’une plus grande autonomie ou alors la consequence de l’affaiblissement du controle familial et social ? S’agit-il d’une evolution des migrations en general ou tout simplement une mutation de la situation et des aspirations personnelles des femmes ? Quels liens peut-on etablir entre ces migrations et les relations de genre ? Cet article reexamine la question de l’autonomie des femmes dans la migration. L’analyse est axee sur la prise de decision et le motif de la migration et utilize les donnees de l’Enquete Ivoirienne sur les Migrations et l’Urbanisation (EIMU). Elle montre que pour les femmes, la famille et les roles sexuels restent determinants dans la capacite a prendre une decision individuelle ou pour faire une migration economique independante. L’autonomie desfemmes dans la migration est par consequent tres limitee et reste un mythe.

The prevalence of high maternal and infant morbidity/mortality among the Ibani of Rivers State, Nigeria, is linked to socio-cultural factors that influence perceptions, attitudes and practices of the people with regard to pregnancy. This study investigates the factors affecting pregnancy outcomes among the Ibani by examining 19 cases identified through Exit-interviews (EIs). Findings indicate that pregnancy outcomes depend on the interaction of complex variables such as male role, socioeconomic status of women, child spacing, access and use of maternal health facilities, among others. The results show that there are 4 principal types of pregnancy outcomes among the Ibani, which include: Type-1 representing maternal and infant survival; Type-2 which is synonymous with maternal survival but infant mortality; Type-3 or spontaneous abortion; and Type-4 which represents maternal mortality but infant survival. The findings suggest that multiple social, cultural and ideological factors condition behaviours among the Ibani and that pregnancy outcomes are only comprehensively understood in the context they occur.

The study on Female Adolescent Reproductive Change was undertaken as part of the ongoing effort at understanding some of the problems that confront adolescents in Ghana. The study uses a sample of 1,828 female adolescents aged 12-24 years (1,503 from Cape Coast and 325 from Mankrong) in the Central Region of Ghana as a case study. This has the primary purpose of comparing the situation in an urban vis-à-vis a rural area. The general objective of the study is to examine the possible changes in the reproduction among female adolescents within the context of overall fertility decline in Ghana as a way of assessing the progress made in addressing adolescent reproductive health problems following the adoption of a national adolescent reproductive health policy in Ghana. The study examines age at first sex, first marriage, first pregnancy and first birth as a way of finding out any changes that might have occurred in the recent past. It also looks at issues pertaining to pregnancy incidence and wastage as may be related to school attendance. Throughout, comparisons are made with reports from the Ghana Demographic and Health Surveys (GDHS) and other small-scale studies that have been done in certain areas in Ghana. Overall, the study finds that major positive changes have occurred among female adolescents first with respect to the proportion of female adolescents ever having sexual activity. More and more female adolescents continue to abstain from sex. However, among the small proportion that ever indulges in sex, sexual initiation appears to be earlier when age is controlled for.