The start of the 21th century is notable for the apparent lack of safe drinking water and sanitation. Over one billion people in all parts of the world lack access to clean water. Most live in developing countries, such as Africa. Unsafe water and poor sanitation have been primary causal factors in the vast majority of water-borne diseases, especially diarrheal ones. The South African Constitution (Act 108 of 1996, Chapter 2, Section 24) states: “Everyone has the right: (a) To an environment that is not harmful to their health and their wellbeing; and (b) To have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that prevent pollution and ecological degradation; promote conservation; ecologically sustainable development, and the use of natural resources, while promoting justifiable economic and social development.” Secondly, section 27 states that: “Everyone has the right to have access to: (a) Health-care services, including reproductive health care; (b) Sufficient food and water; and (c) Social security, including, if they are unable to support themselves and their dependants, appropriate social assistance.” These factors have prompted this research within the Ugu District Municipality on the perceptions of inadequate rural water service delivery. This study reveals information on those areas in the Ugu District Municipality, which do not have access to clean water, and on the health hazards that might lead to death if residents’ lack of access to clean water persists. The Ugu District Municipality, is situated in KwaZulu-Natal Province, and covers a surface area of 5866 km2. There are six local municipalities in this district. These are: Ezinqoleni, Umzumbe, Umziwabantu, Hibiscus Coast, Umdoni and Vulamehlo. The node is 77% rural and 23% urban, and the total population for this area is 704027 (Ugu District Municipality IDP 2nd 2011/2012:19). / M. Development and Management (Water Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

The start of the 21th century is notable for the apparent lack of safe drinking water and sanitation. Over one billion people in all parts of the world lack access to clean water. Most live in developing countries, such as Africa. Unsafe water and poor sanitation have been primary causal factors in the vast majority of water-borne diseases, especially diarrheal ones. The South African Constitution (Act 108 of 1996, Chapter 2, Section 24) states: “Everyone has the right: (a) To an environment that is not harmful to their health and their wellbeing; and (b) To have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that prevent pollution and ecological degradation; promote conservation; ecologically sustainable development, and the use of natural resources, while promoting justifiable economic and social development.” Secondly, section 27 states that: “Everyone has the right to have access to: (a) Health-care services, including reproductive health care; (b) Sufficient food and water; and (c) Social security, including, if they are unable to support themselves and their dependants, appropriate social assistance.” These factors have prompted this research within the Ugu District Municipality on the perceptions of inadequate rural water service delivery. This study reveals information on those areas in the Ugu District Municipality, which do not have access to clean water, and on the health hazards that might lead to death if residents’ lack of access to clean water persists. The Ugu District Municipality, is situated in KwaZulu-Natal Province, and covers a surface area of 5866 km2. There are six local municipalities in this district. These are: Ezinqoleni, Umzumbe, Umziwabantu, Hibiscus Coast, Umdoni and Vulamehlo. The node is 77% rural and 23% urban, and the total population for this area is 704027 (Ugu District Municipality IDP 2nd 2011/2012:19). / M. Development and Management (Water Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

Diese Dissertation basiert auf einer auf den Menschen bezogenen, multidimensionalen Betrachtung von Entwicklung. Sie soll empirisch Übereinstimmungen und Determinanten der Gesundheit von Kindern in Ländern mit niedrigem und mittlerem Einkommen analysieren. Der erste Essay – mit verfasst von Stephan Klasen - wendet bivariate Cluster Analyse an, um die Beziehung der Verbesserungen verschiedener Gesundheits- und Bildungsindikatoren der Millennium Development Goals (MDG) zu untersuchen. Die MDGs beinhalten Schlüsselaspekte des menschlichen Wohlbefindens und sollten daher eng miteinander verkoppelt sein. Trotz der substantiellen theoretischen Grundlage für enorme Synergien zwischen MDG Zielen, ist die empirische Heterogenität der Kopplung der Prozesse zwischen verschiedenen MDGs erheblich groß.  Die zentrale Fragestellung des ersten Essays dieser Dissertation ist daher, ob klare Gruppen eben jener Länder ausgemacht werden können, in denen derartige Synergien existieren (und in denen diese nicht existieren), und was die Zugehörigkeit in derartigen Gruppen treibt.   Unser Beitrag ist, den MDG Fortschritt durch Indikatoren relativer Leistung zu definieren. Diese bezeichnen die Änderungsrate, die die empirisch "erwartete" Änderungsrate bei gegebenen ursprünglichen Bedingungen übersteigt. Diese Maßnahme erlaubt es uns für den unterschiedlichen Grad an Ambition impliziert durch die MDGs bei Ländern mit unterschiedlichen Ausgangslagen zu kontrollieren und lässt uns im Grunde fragen ob Länder, die außerordentlichen Fortschritt bei der Erreichung von MDGs gemacht haben, von Synergien profitiert haben. Indem wir die Cluster Analyse auf diese Indikatoren der relativen Leistung in Bezug auf verschiedene MDG Indikatoren für Gesundheit und Bildung anwenden konnten wir jene Länder, in denen sich Indikatoren in die selbe Richtung ("gute" oder "schlechte" Performer) bewegten, von solchen Ländern unterscheiden, bei denen sich Indikatoren in unterschiedliche Richtungen ("partielle" Performer) bewegten. Unsere Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass Synergien existieren, diese jedoch nur bei einer eingeschränkten Gruppe von Ländern auftreten (die "guten" Performer, die mit Fortschritt einhergehen und die "schlechten" Performer, die mit Rückschritt einhergehen). Andererseits können wir zeigen, dass bei einer beträchtlichen Anzahl an Ländern Synergien schwach oder abwesend sind, was zu umgekehrten Bewegungen  im MDG Fortschritt bei mindestens einem oder zwei Paaren von nicht einkommensbezogenen MDG Indikatoren führt. Unsere Regressionsergebnisse zeigen, dass diese partielle Performance gut durch steigende Ungleichheit und niedrige institutionelle Qualität erklärt wird. Andererseits kann Wirtschaftswachstum, welches als die robusteste Determinante der Cluster-Zugehörigkeit erscheint, insbesondere gute von schlechten Performern unterscheiden. Der zweite Essay - in alleiniger Urheberschaft - analysiert die kurz- und langfristigen Determinanten von Errungenschaften bei der Gesundheit von Kindern unter Verwendung von Längsschnittsdaten aus Indonesien. Basierend auf dem analytischen Ansatz von Mosley und Chen (1984), werden insbesondere die Effekte einer Reihe von kindspezifischer, Haushalts- und Gemeindecharakteristika auf den Ernährungszustand von Kindern, gemessen in height-for age z-scores, betrachtet. Der besondere Beitrag dieser Studie ist die Verwendung von Paneldaten auf der Mikro-Ebene und einer Methodologie (dem Mundlak-Ansatz für fixe  Haushalteffekte), die  robuste und unverzerrte Schätzungen liefert. Desweiteren ermöglicht sie die Identificationkurz- und langfristiger Effekte unmittelbarer und sozioökonomischer Determinanten der Gesundheit von und trägt so zur bestehenden Literatur bei. Die Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass mütterliche Bildung einen positiven und langfristigen Einfluss auf die Gesundheit von Kindern hat. Dies zeigt sich teilweise in reproduktivem Verhalten und wird teilweise durch Praktiken im Umgang mit Kindern (d.h. Stillen) vermittelt. Andererseits zeigt sich kein langfristiger Effekt von Einkommen, obgleich temporäre Einkommenssteigerungen zu höheren Ausgaben und somit zu einer Verbessereung des Eernährungsstatus führen., Hierbei zeigt nur der Erwerb und die Verwendung von Vorleistungsgütern der Gesundheitsproduktion wie einer verbesserten Hygieneinfrastruktur einen ausgeprägten und signifikanten Einfluss auf die Gesundheit von Kindern. Insgesamt implizieren die Ergebnisse, dass eine Politik der Linderung von Einkommensarmut ergänzt durch Investitionen in grundlegende Gesundheitsinfrastruktur erheblich dazu beitragen, die Gesundheit von Kindern zu verbessern. Da der Zusammenhangzwischen der Bildung von Müttern, Praktiken der Kindesernährung und der Gesundheit von Kindern stark ausgeprägt ist, könnten auch Strategien, die die Qualität von Bildung erhöhen,  den Ernährungszustand von Kindern verbessern. Der dritte Essay - in alleiniger Urheberschaft - untersucht die Auswirkungen des Ernährungszustandes auf den Bildungserfolg. Dabei werden Paneldaten auf der Miko-Ebene aus Indonesien verwendet. Außerdem wird eine Spezifikation mit Mutter-Fixed Effects, die durch einen Instrumentalvariablen-Ansatz erweitert wird, verwendet um für mögliche Korrelationen zwischen verschiedenen Komponenten des Fehlerterms und der unabhängigen Variable zu kontrollieren. Wir nutzen Flächenbrände, die im Jahr 1997 in Inodensien zu einer Dürre führten, und Variation zwischen Geschwistern und identifizieren so den Effekt des Ernährungszustands in den frühen Lebensmonaten auf den späteren Bildungserfolg. Schätzungen zeigen, dass Gesundheitskapital (gemessen in height-for-age z-scores in der Kindheit) die Anzahl an abgeschlossenen Schuljahren und das Ergebnis bei kognitiven Testes signifikant positiv beeinflusst.  Dies impliziert, dass von einer politischen Perspektive aus Zielsetzungen im Bereich Schule und Ernährung nicht als rivalisierend betrachtet werden sollten, sondern eng miteinander verzahnt sind. Daher konkurrieren finanzielle Ressourcen, die der Kindesernährung gewidmet sind, nicht unbedingt mit solchen für Bildungszwecke. Im Gegensatz könnten sie - wie in diesem Essay beschrieben - als eine kosteneffizientere Art betrachtet werden, gegenwärtige und zukünftige sozio-ökonomische Entwicklung anzuheben.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / The South African schools act, (number 5, 1996), asserts that all learners have a right to access both basic and quality education without discrimination of any sort. Since the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals there has been a drive by the Department of Education to ensure that all learners have access to basic education by 2015. However what remains a challenge after almost 20 years of democracy is the poor quality of education and this is clear from the results of international assessment studies. Results from studies like the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study and Southern and East Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality, show that South African children perform well below international averages. In this study learner Mathematics achievement scores taken from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2011 cycle will serve as a proxy for educational quality. Using multilevel analysis the current study aims to use a 2-level Hierarchical Linear Model to firstly; determine the learner and family background factors associated with education quality. Secondly; factors at the school level will be identified and proven to be associated with education quality. Variables selected for the study was based on Creamer’s theory of school effectiveness which looked at school, classroom level inputs as well as learner background variables to explain student level achievement. The results show that at the learner’s level the most significant factors were the age of the leaner, in the sense that grade age appropriate learners obtained higher scores than overage learners. Learner’s perception of mathematics is extremely important and has a positive effect on mathematics performance. In the current study mathematics perception refers to learners valuing and liking mathematics as well learner confidence in learning mathematics. Learners who said they were bullied as school generally scored lower than learners who were not bullied. At the school level the most significant factors were teacher working conditions, teachers’ specialisation in mathematics, school socio-economic status, and general infrastructure. Interesting to note at the school level is when socioeconomic status was included in the model as a single variable the score difference between low socio-economic status and high socio-economic status schools was almost 46 points. However when the factors mentioned above were added to the model the difference in scores dropped by almost half.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:15:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 6431.pdf: 1795909 bytes, checksum: f53b24dcea4cd392276f6f4fba9db718 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-09-24 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / What influence Family Health Program‟ (in portuguese, Programa Saúde da Família, or PSF) had on Brazilian states in their attempt to achieve the Millennium Development Goals - especially on reducing infant mortality until 2015? In 2000, the United Nations along with global leaders established an international research agenda with eight Millennium Development Goals, intending to promote human dignity. The purpose of the present thesis is to evaluate the influence of the Family Health Program - the main strategy to reformulate the basic care - in reducing child mortality within Brazilian states. For this matter, I analyze descriptive and inferential statistics, with bi and multivariate techniques, and data from DATASUS, IBGE and SIGO databases. The present thesis covers the period from 2000 to 2011, when Brazil reached the goal. Throughout this time ten states went above the goal specified by ODM (1,79): in all of them the Program had low range. However, the states with higher PSF range presented higher average rates of reduction of infant mortality. Overall, the hypothesis that PSF has a positive influence on reducing infant mortality rate can be confirmed, considering that the states with higher reduction of the rate had a higher proportion of population benefiting from the PSF. / Qual a influência do Programa Saúde da Família para os estados brasileiros atingirem a meta do Objetivo de Desenvolvimento do Milênio redução da mortalidade na infância, até 2015? No ano 2000 a Organização das Nações Unidas em conjunto com líderes mundiais estabeleceu uma agenda global com oito Objetivos de Desenvolvimento do Milênio que visavam a promoção da dignidade humana. O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar a influência do Programa Saúde da Família, principal estratégia de reformulação da atenção básica, na redução da mortalidade na infância nos estados brasileiros. Para tanto, fazemos uso de estatística descritiva e inferencial, com técnicas de análise bi e multivariada, analisando dados oriundos do DATASUS, IBGE e SIGO. O recorte temporal foi de 2000 a 2011, ano que o Brasil atingiu a meta. Nesse período dez estados bateram a meta de 17,9 de mortalidade na infância estipulada pela ODM, todos com baixa cobertura do PSF. Contudo, os estados com maior cobertura apresentaram maior média de redução da taxa de mortalidade na infância. De modo geral foi possível afirmar que hipótese se confirma, isto é, existe uma influência positiva do PSF na diminuição da mortalidade infantil havendo uma maior redução da taxa nos estados com maior proporção populacional coberta.

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Magister Legum - LLM

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / Background: Professional health assistance is a significant indicator in monitoring progress towards Millennium Development Goal five to reduce the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters and child mortality by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015. It is also significant that mothers deliver their babies in an appropriate setting, where life saving equipment and hygiene can also help reduce the risk of complications that may cause death or illness to mother and child. But in developing countries access to health services is still an issue. Objective: From a fundamental research view point, this study aims to investigate the determinants of place of delivery and professional health providers by analysing the factors that are likely to influence young mothers’ accessibility and use of prenatal facilities in the developing world. Specifically in Kenya, Ethiopia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Guyana and Haiti. Methodology: Univariet and bivariet analysis were performed to determine a relation or association between dependent and independent variables. Using secondary data from Demographic and Health Survey secondary data requested from the DHS selected between 2005 and 2010, the analysis was performed by means of SPSS software. Bringing together the demographic variables and access and the use of health services related variables, the study captures the differences and similarities across these countries. Results: The study has identified the main factors influencing the use of professional health providers and health facilities according to the variables examined from the DHS. The finding showed the use health facilities for delivery, professional health providers were influenced by economic status of young mothers, level of education, place of residence, religion, marital status, in all six countries. Access to health facilities was much influence availability of transport, the presence of health providers at facilities and availability of drugs at facilities. Family members’ knowledge about the importance of delivering a baby at health facilities was found to be the strongest predictors of use of health facilities for delivery in all six countries. These findings suggest that these factors cited are associated with access and use of professional health providers and health facilities, and should be the target of interventions aimed to increase the use of prenatal facilities and professional health providers among young women in these countries in order to improve maternal and child health in accordance with Millennium Development Goals four and five.

The year 2015 is a big milestone in the history of United Nations development projects. The Millennium Development Goals, which were agreed on by United Nations member states in 2000, are followed by the Sustainable Development Goals. This thesis, using development projects of the United Nations and more specifically the indicator of extreme poverty, analyses the Chinese economy and discusses it´s persistent negative factors affecting progress towards sustainable development. The thesis is divided into four chapters. The first part focuses on the historical background of the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals. The second chapter then in particular studies extreme poverty, which is the fundamental component of the first target of the Millennium Development Goals. The third chapter provides an analysis of four thematic areas of the Chinese economy, which negatively affect economic development and which should become a government priority when speaking of further reduction of extreme poverty. The last part builds on the previous findings and presents specific sub-areas of the Sustainable Development Goals that address the defined problematics.

Several empirical studies have concluded that gender equality is a crucial ingredient for development. Gendered higher education institutions play an important role in this respect. The research problem that this dissertation sought to address was whether Addis Ababa and Unity Universities have mainstreamed gender throughout their systems in order to contribute towards gender equality and women empowerment in Ethiopia. The research employed various data collection methodologies and processed primary and secondary data sources using qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques. The key finding is that gender has not been integrated into the policies and practices of both Universities in any significant way. The study concludes that the Universities have an inadequate institutional framework and commitment to mainstream gender. Moreover, they lack gender analytical capacity, enforcement mechanisms for accountability, and have not forged strategic partnerships with development partners. / Educational Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)