Determinants of the Age of Motherhood for Women in Nepal and Analysis of Data from Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2016: Implications for Policies and Programmes

This article draws on the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey data of 2016 to explore the determinants of the age of motherhood for women in Nepal. It explores the association between the age of motherhood in Nepal (dependent variable) and conditions in a mother’s life, including her education, employment status, education of her husband, religion, age of the household head, gender of the household head, wealth index of the household, ownership of a bank account, decision-making around healthcare and region of residence (independent variables). Two models were tested using multiple regression analysis. The results revealed that improving the education of the parents and facilitating access to bank accounts can help increase the age of motherhood for women in Nepal. The findings inform policy for improving the reproductive health of women in the country.

Associating the Scale-Up of Insecticide-Treated Nets and Use With the Decline in All-Cause Child Mortality in the Democratic Republic of Congo From 2005 to 2014

Background To reduce the malaria burden and improve the socioeconomic status of its citizens, the Democratic Republic of Congo scaled up key malaria control interventions, especially insecticide-treated nets (ITNs), between 2005 and 2014. Since then, the effects of these interventions on malaria mortality and morbidity have not been assessed. This study aims to measure the impact of the National Malaria Control Programme’s efforts and to inform future control strategies.Methods The authors used data from the Demographic and Health Surveys 2007 and 2013-2014 to assess trends in all-cause childhood mortality (ACCM) against trends in coverage of malaria interventions at national and subnational levels. The authors used the plausibility argument to assess the impact of the malaria control interventions and used Kaplan-Meier survival probability and Cox proportional hazard models to examine the effect of ITN ownership on child survival. Contextual factor trends affecting child survival were also considered.Results Countrywide, household ownership of at least one ITN increased, from 9% in 2007 to 70% in 2013-2014. All provinces experienced similar increases, with some greater than the national level. ITN use increased between 2007 and 2013-2014 among children under five (6% to 55%). Severe anaemia (haemoglobin concentration <8g/dl) prevalence among children aged 6–59 months significantly decreased, from 11% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 9–13%) in 2007 to 6% (95% CI: 5–7%) in 2013-2014. During the same period, ACCM declined, from 148 (95% CI: 132-163) to 104 (95% CI: 97-112) deaths per 1,000 live births. The decline in ACCM was greater among children aged 6–23 months (relative reduction of 36%), compared to children aged 24–59 months (relative reduction of 12%). Cox regression indicated that household ownership of at least one ITN reduced the risk of mortality by 24% among children under five (risk ratio=0.76, 95% CI: 0.64–0.90). Contextual factor analysis revealed marginal improvements in socioeconomic indicators and other health interventions.Conclusions Given the patterns of the coverage of malaria control interventions, patterns in ACCM by province, and marginal improvements in contextual factors, the authors conclude that the malaria control interventions have plausibly contributed to the decrease in ACCM in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2005 to 2014.

Demography and determinants of dog and cat ownership in three towns of West Shoa Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Background The dog and cat population data is generally scarce in developing countries due to absence of surveys. The demography of owned dogs and cats, and the associated ownership characteristics, are essential for the control of pet population and zoonosis. This study was conducted in three towns of West Shoa Zone of Ethiopia with the objectives of assessing demographic characteristics of owned dogs and cats and determinants of ownership. Results About 65.1% (95% CI: 62.1 – 69.8%) of the householders own dogs, 39.2% (95% CI: 35.8 – 43.8%) own cats, and 30.6% (95% CI: 27.4 – 35.0%) own both. The majority of the dog-owning households own a single dog (74.8%) and cat (74.9%). There were significantly higher proportion of dog and cat-owning households in Bako than Ambo and Gojo towns. The human to owned-dog ratio was 6:1, and that of cat ratio was 10:1. There were more male dogs (72.1%) and more female cats (59.7%). The male to female sex ratio was estimated at 3:1 for the dog while nearly 1:1 for cats. About 37.5% of the owned dogs were indoor, and 62.5% have free access to outside. Dogs and cats were acquired as a gift from families, neighbors, and friends. The identified reason for not owning dogs/cats were fear of zoonosis, dislike, no time to devote, benefit not realized, and shortage of finance. Logistic regression analysis identified study town, community type, gender of head of household, ownership of other animals as determinants for dog/cat ownership. Besides, possessing dogs was significantly associated with cat ownership. Conclusion The current study provide insights into the determinants of dogs/cats ownership and their demographic characteristics in Ethiopia. Dogs are more commonly owned, but the household determinants for dog and cat ownership were comparable. Means of obtaining and reason of owning or abandoning dogs/cats is partly different from those reported in the developed countries. The results of this study could be used for the provision of veterinary services, quantifying health risks and benefits associated with dog/cat ownership, and control of pet population and related zoonosis.

Demography and determinants of dog and cat ownership in three towns of West Shoa zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Background The dog and cat population data is generally scarce in developing countries due to absence of surveys. The demography of owned dogs and cats, and the associated ownership characteristics, are essential for the control of pet population and zoonosis. This study was conducted in three towns of West Shoa Zone of Ethiopia with the objectives of assessing demographic characteristics of owned dogs and cats and determinants of ownership. Results About 65.1% (95% CI: 62.1–69.8%) of the householders own dogs, 39.2% (95% CI: 35.8–43.8%) own cats, and 30.6% (95% CI: 27.4–35.0%) own both. The majority of the dog-owning households own a single dog (74.8%) and cat (74.9%). There were significantly higher proportion of dog and cat-owning households in Bako than Ambo and Gojo towns. The human to owned-dog ratio was 6:1, and that of cat ratio was 10:1. There were more male dogs (72.1%) and more female cats (59.7%). The male to female sex ratio was estimated at 3:1 for the dog while nearly 1:1 for cats. About 37.5% of the owned dogs were indoor, and 62.5% have free access to outside. Dogs and cats were acquired as a gift from families, neighbors, and friends. The identified reason for not owning dogs/cats were fear of zoonosis, dislike, no time to devote, benefit not realized, and shortage of finance. Logistic regression analysis identified study town, community type, gender of head of household, ownership of other animals as determinants for dog/cat ownership. Besides, possessing dogs was significantly associated with cat ownership. Conclusion The current study provide insights into the determinants of dogs/cats ownership and their demographic characteristics in Ethiopia. Dogs are more commonly owned, but the household determinants for dog and cat ownership were comparable. Means of obtaining and reason of owning or abandoning dogs/cats is partly different from those reported in the developed countries. The results of this study could be used for the provision of veterinary services, quantifying health risks and benefits associated with dog/cat ownership, and control of pet population and related zoonosis.

Kemandirian Pangan Sumber Karbohidrat dan Protein untuk Mewujudkan Ketahanan Pangan Keluarga

This study aims to: formulate operational concepts to measure the level of household food endurance, to analyze indicators of household food endurance in terms of aspects of education, economics, and food consumption, identify the characteristics of households that experienced food unendurance. Household sample was pre-prosperous, prosperous I, prosperity II, prosperous III, and prosperous III +. Selection random sample coated with proportional allocation. Types of data collected include demographic characteristics of household, ownership of land, the economic characteristics of households, household social characteristics. Based on discriminant analysis, it found five variables that can be indicators of household food enduracnce is the wife of education backgaround, ownership of chickens, the frequency of eating rice consumption , cassava consumption frequency and the frequency of consumption of salted fish. The higher the wife's education, the more resistant the household food. While ownership of the chicken and salted fish consumption is indicated that is the opposite of more domesticated chickens and the higher the frequency of consumption of salted fish is the household food unendurance. Striking characteristic is the average frequency of consumption of salted fish, the frequency of household consumption of food endurance just 0.7 times per week, while the household does not endurance as much food frequency 3.9 times per week.

Shocks as a Source of Vulnerability: An Empirical Investigation from Pakistan

The objective of this paper is to investigate the incidence of different types of shocks in rural Pakistan and identify the household characteristics that are associated with this phenomenon. It is observed that one-third of households experience an adverse shock, be it natural/agricultural, economic, social or relating to health. The natural/agricultural shocks have major share in the total burden of shocks while the households‘ coping mechanism is overwhelmingly informal and largely asset-based. The poorest of the households adopt behaviour-based strategies like reducing food consumption, employ child labour, work more hours etc. Overall, households of with less educated heads, high dependency ratio, large household size, low welfare ratio, farm household, ownership of land and residing in south Punjab or Sindh are more vulnerable to suffer shocks, particularly of income. Vulnerability in terms of a decline in consumption is observed for households who are hit by natural/agricultural or health shocks. For all these reasons, a gradual shift from traditional emergency relief measures towards ex-ante actions to reduce and mitigate hazard impacts should be encouraged along with non- exploitative credit and more effective safety nets. JEL Classification: C21, C25, I32 Keywords: Shocks, Vulnerability, Poverty