scholarly journals Trends in overweight by educational level in 33 low- and middle-income countries: the role of parity, age at first birth and breastfeeding

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 806-817 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Lopez-Arana ◽  
A. Burdorf ◽  
M. Avendano
Keyword(s):  
Educational Level ◽  
Age At First Birth ◽  
First Birth ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Low And Middle Income

scholarly journals The Effects of Adolescent Childbearing on Literacy and Numeracy in Bangladesh, Malawi, and Zambia

Demography ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 1899-1929 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie R. Psaki ◽  
Erica Soler-Hampejsek ◽  
Jyotirmoy Saha ◽  
Barbara S. Mensch ◽  
Sajeda Amin
Keyword(s):  
Adolescent Mothers ◽  
School Dropout ◽  
Academic Skills ◽  
First Birth ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Adolescent Childbearing ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
English Literacy ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Abstract Global investments in girls’ education have been motivated, in part, by an expectation that more-educated women will have smaller and healthier families. However, in many low- and middle-income countries, the timing of school dropout and first birth coincide, resulting in a rapid transition from the role of student to the role of mother for adolescent girls. Despite growing interest in the effects of pregnancy on levels of school dropout, researchers have largely overlooked the potential effect of adolescent childbearing on literacy and numeracy. We hypothesize that becoming a mother soon after leaving school may cause the deterioration of skills gained in school. Using longitudinal data from Bangladesh, Malawi, and Zambia, we test our hypothesis by estimating fixed-effects linear regression models to address the endogeneity in the relationship between childbearing and academic skills. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the effects of adolescent childbearing on academic skills in low- and middle-income countries. Our results indicate that among those with low levels of grade attainment, first birth has a negative effect on English literacy and numeracy. Among those with higher levels of grade attainment, we find little evidence of effects of childbearing on academic skills. Childbearing also has little effect on local language literacy. Beyond the immediate loss of English literacy and numeracy, if these skills lead to better health and more economic productivity, then adolescent childbearing may have longer-term repercussions than previously understood. In addition to ongoing efforts to increase educational attainment and school quality in low- and middle-income countries, investments are needed to strengthen the academic skills of adolescent mothers to secure the demographic and economic promise of expanded education for girls and women.

The role of primary care in low- and middle-income countries

2013 ◽  
pp. 96-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Goldberg ◽  
Graham Thornicroft ◽  
Nadja van Ginneken
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Low And Middle Income

scholarly journals Monitoring Sustainable Development Goals 3: Assessing the Readiness of Low- and Middle-Income Countries

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joy Belinda Nabukalu ◽  
James Avoka Asamani ◽  
Juliet Nabyonga-Orem
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Communicable Diseases ◽  
Service Planning ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Background: The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) availed opportunities for scaling up service coverage but called for stringent monitoring and evaluation (M&E) focusing mainly on MDG related programs. The Sustainable Development Goals 3 (SDGs) and the universal health coverage (UHC) agenda present a broader scope and require more sophisticated M&E systems. We assessed the readiness of low- and middle-income countries to monitor SDG 3. Methods: Employing mixed methods, we reviewed health sector M&E plans of 6 countries in the World Health Organization (WHO) Africa Region to assess the challenges to M&E, the indicator selection pattern and the extent of multisectoral collaboration. Qualitative data were analysed using content thematic analysis while quantitative data were analysed using Excel. Results: Challenges to monitoring SDG 3 include weak institutional capacity; fragmentation of M&E functions; inadequate domestic financing; inadequate data availability, dissemination and utilization of M&E products. The total number of indictors in the reviewed plans varied from 38 for Zimbabwe to 235 for Zanzibar. Sixty-nine percent of indicators for the Gambia and 89% for Zanzibar were not classified in any domain in the M&E results chain. Countries lay greater M&E emphasis on service delivery, health systems, maternal and child health as well as communicable diseases with a seeming neglect of the non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Inclusion of SDG 3 indicators only ranged from 48% for Zanzibar to 67% for Kenya. Although monitoring SDG 3 calls for multisectoral collaboration, consideration of the role of other sectors in the M&E plans was either absent or limited to the statistical departments. Conclusion: There are common challenges confronting M&E at county-level. Countries have omitted key indicators for monitoring components of the SDG 3 targets especially those on NCDs and injuries. The role of other sectors in monitoring SDG 3 targets is not adequately reflected. These could be bottlenecks to tracking progress towards SDG 3 if not addressed. Beyond providing compendium of indicators to guide countries, we advocate for a more binding minimum set of indicators for all countries to which they may add depending on their context. Ministries of Health (MoHs) should prioritise M&E as an important pillar for health service planning and implementation and not as an add-on activity.

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