M.A. (Political Studies) / Sub-Saharan African governments have long expressed their support for increased intra-African trade, but official statistics show that this type of trade. remains Iess than 5% of the total. The continued emphasis on establishing supranational organisations to direct regional trade Iiberalisation through. phased tariff reductions is symptomatic of the strategies dominating most. deliberations on regional integration. Despite the continuing proliferation of multilateral treaties, protocols and resolutions concerned with promoting regional trade, intra-African exchange has stagnated. Recorded barter in Africa's major sub-regional communities has not significantly increased between the late 1970's and today (Barad, 1990: 102). The reason for this absence of progress in the promotion of intra-African trade is most clearly expressed in the fact that Sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing its worst economic crisis to date. According to Williams (1993: 5-6) this crisis is manifested in foreign .debt, poverty and trade.deficits. These conditions are the result of the following: deteriorating terms of external trade, the rise in debt-servicing obligations relative to both export earnings and gross domestic product, climatic conditions such as drought, civil wars and regional disputes, the lack of infrastructure and the overvaluation of African currencies, government and privatesector corruption, and the inability of African states to respond to the oil crisis of 1979-1980. Naldi (1989: 2) adds the neglect of the agricultural sector, unfeasible . industrial programmes, and wasteful prestige projects as factors contributing to the economic crisis. African states have of necessity turned to the industrial nations of the First World for their image and development, since these communities have the technology and finances fundamental to development. This may be themain reason that 95% of all African trade occurs outside the African continent However, African leaders. have long recognised the need for closer regional ties as a way of overcoming the fragmentation of the continent, one of the major constraints on economic development. Ndulo (1992: 17) claims that the economic integration of Africa was the centr8llheme of the 1980 Lagos ?Ian of Action and numerous other high-level statements and reports on African policy and development strategy. Economic integration is perceived by many African states as the ultimate type of regional economic collaboration, and as a promising vehicle for enhancing economic and social development, This idea is reinforced by the relative success of integration in Western Europe and through the United States-Canadian Free Trade Agreement.

Magister Legum - LLM / The objectives of the research was to critically analyse arguments for and against agricultural trade liberalization and its impact on food security, investigating the nexus between the three pillars of agriculture and food security, considering how the Agreement on Agriculture and the Food Aid Convention addressed the concerns that were raised by the different parties during the negotiation period, and finally it considered how the current multilateral negotiations in agriculture can provide a secure framework within which developing African countries can pursue effective policies to ensure their food security. / South Africa

Magister Public Health - MPH / The purpose of this study is to gain a greater understanding of the perceptions and barriers that influence condom use amongst male and female students at the Polytechnic of Namibia (Technical Vocational Education & Training Department). The specific objectives of this study include the following: To obtain a better understanding of knowledge amongst students about the correct use of condoms. To identify some of the problems students have in accessing condoms. To identify the common sources of information regarding condoms, the common perceptions that exist about condoms, and the extent to which students discuss condoms with others. / South Africa

Magister Public Health - MPH / The study utilized a qualitative case study design to explore the problem of poor access to ART in Benue State. PLWHAs, policy makers, program managers and health workers were involved in an effort to describe the factors influencing access to ART in the State. Semi structured interviews, exit interviews and focus group discussions were used. To analyse the findings, categorization was done into facilitators and barriers to access, in addition to the ways respondents believe these barriers can be overcome. Other sub-themes were also identified and sorted. Themes were linked to direct quotes from the respondents. Additional literature review was done to review available information on the themes identified. Facilitators of access included free cost and increased number of sites; beneficial effects of ART; disclosure, membership in a support group and having a treatment partner. Barriers included stigma and discrimination; hunger, poverty, transportation and opportunity costs; hospital factors; non-disclosure; inaccurate knowledge and perceptions about HIV and ART; certain religious beliefs and advice; coverage, capping of services and fear of non-availability of ART. In addition to stigma, patients bypass closer ART access points to further away hospitals because of business opportunities; financial assistance; perceived better standard of care and hope that a cure, when found, will be more accessible to patients in bigger hospitals. / South Africa

Magister Public Health - MPH / At the end of 2008, Nigeria had the third largest number of people living with HIV/AIDS(PLWHA) in the world, with an estimated 2.95 million people and an average prevalence rate of 4.6%. According to the 2008 prevalence survey, prevalence rates in Nigeria’s 36 states and capital ranges between 1.0% in Ekiti State, to 10.6% in Benue.In Benue State, as at December 2008, only 12% of those requiring treatment were enrolled in an ART programme and only about half of the 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs) had a health centre providing ART services. There are several possible causes for poor coverage of ART services. This study explores some of the barriers preventing PLWHAs from accessing treatment in Benue State.The study utilized a qualitative case study design to explore the problem of poor access to ART in Benue State. PLWHAs, policy makers, program managers and health workers were involved in an effort to describe the factors influencing access to ART in the State. Semi structured interviews, exit interviews and focus group discussions were used.To analyse the findings, categorization was done into facilitators and barriers to access, in addition to the ways respondents believe these barriers can be overcome. Other sub-themes were also identified and sorted. Themes were linked to direct quotes from the respondents. Additional literature review was done to review available information on the themes identified. Facilitators of access included free cost and increased number of sites; beneficial effects of ART;disclosure, membership in a support group and having a treatment partner. Barriers included stigma and discrimination; hunger, poverty, transportation and opportunity costs; hospital factors; non-disclosure; inaccurate knowledge and perceptions about HIV and ART; certain religious beliefs and advice; coverage, capping of services and fear of non-availability of ART.In addition to stigma, patients bypass closer ART access points to further away hospitals because of business opportunities; financial assistance; perceived better standard of care and hope that a cure, when found, will be more accessible to patients in bigger hospitals.In conclusion, improving health worker attitudes through training; reselection of non-ARV drugs used in HIV management to ensure an uninterrupted supply; highlighting the importance of membership in a support group through patient enlightenment; working with religious leaders to reduce stigma and improve access; income-generating programs for patients; decentralization of ART services and upgrading of primary healthcare centres are important strategies to improve ART access in the state.

This master's thesis deals with the topic of poverty in developing countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. The goal of the thesis is to identify the factors of poverty in this region and suggest possible solutions to the problem. The main causes of deprivation in the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa are deemed to be the governance system, war conflicts, dependence on natural resources and an insufficiently diversified economy. All these factors are applied to the example of Nigeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gabon. In order to make aid from more advanced countries more effective, it is proposed to participate more in the resolution of conflicts as a mediator in the negotiation, rather than trying to reform the developing countries politically.

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the determinants of Pap screening completion among sub-Saharan African immigrant women. Cervical cancer is a public health problem globally. The risk of invasive cervical cancer remains high among sub- Saharan African immigrant women in the US despite being a preventable cancer. Early detection through Pap screening is crucial for prevention, treatment and prognosis. The specific aims of this dissertation were to 1) examine Pap screening practices among African immigrant women and to identify gaps to guide future research; 2) explore barriers and motivators that influence Pap screening decisions among African immigrant women; and 3) explore African immigrant men’s knowledge of Pap screening and attitudes about supporting their wives/female partners to utilize Pap screening, and 4) explore predictors of Pap screening use among sub-Saharan African immigrant women, Specific aim one was addressed by a review and synthesis of literature focused on Pap screening among African immigrant women. Common factors influencing Pap screening completion included immigration status, health care interactions, knowledge deficiency, religiosity, and certain personal characteristics. Specific aim two was addressed by the conduct of a qualitative descriptive study of barriers and motivators contributing to Pap screening decisions in 22 African immigrant women. Women experienced different barriers including low knowledge of screening, cultural beliefs, fear and communication issues. Addressing knowledge gaps and other barriers related to Pap screening may improve Pap screening participation in this group. Specific aim three was addressed by a qualitative descriptive study of men’s attitudes and beliefs regarding Pap screening and support for their wives for Pap screening participation. African immigrant men demonstrated suboptimal knowledge and awareness of cervical cancer screening. Most men had a lack of knowledge regarding HPV and its link with cervical cancer. Despite knowledge deficiency men showed significant interest in supporting their wife/female partners. Specific aim four was addressed by conducting an analysis of cross sectional data collected from 108 sub-Saharan African women. Predictors of Pap screening completion was determined using logistic regression while controlling for age and education. Pap screening awareness and provider’s recommendations were independent predictors of Pap screening. Given the unequitable burden of cervical cancer experienced by this population, the findings from this dissertation point to the need for a multilevel targeted health interventions directed toward African immigrant population are needed to increase the rates of Pap screening among African immigrant women. Prevention efforts should focus on individual level factors and develop culturally relevant strategies that will effectively provide educational outreach interventions and alleviate barriers to Pap screening. Engaging spousal support and addressing social norms related to spouses/partners’ roles that may influence partaking in cervical cancer screening is important among African immigrant women. Cervical cancer is preventable; Pap screening will lead to early detection of cervical cancer in female African immigrants.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is a significant source of capital for economic growth in developing countries. The increasing financial links across countries, especially between industrial and developing countries have been associated with the liberalization of international financial markets. Moreover, globalization in production, due to technological innovations in communications and transport coupled with better policies in developing countries, are often considered to be the primary forces that drove globalization and foreign direct investment in the 1990s and recent times. The literature on FDI can be categorised into three main groups: the first group investigates the effect of FDI on macroeconomic indicators, such as economic growth, exchange rate, rate of inflation, balance of payments, and rate of unemployment. The second group examines the impact of FDI on different factors such as technology transfer to recipient countries, management practices by national firms, and labour skill and productivities in hosting countries. The third group focuses on the characteristics of FDI and the driving forces for its inflows and outflows to different countries. This research focuses on the latter strand thereby enabling an investigation of the location characteristics of MNEs location decision in the banking sector. The main aim of this thesis is to examine and analyse FDI location characteristics in the Ghanaian banking sector. This has been achieved by making use of both qualitative and quantitative data series’ to ascertain whether the major location factors are the characteristics/determinants of MNEs location decision in relation to a specific industry (banking) and a specific country (Ghana). Using a multimethod approach, the findings of this thesis reveal that political and legal factors are very significant, followed by macroeconomic policy factors and infrastructure factors. Market factors and labour market factors which have been found in previous studies (Lall 2001; Asiedu; 2003; Dunning 2004; Helpman; 2006 and Felbermayr et al. 2011) to be important determinants of FDI inflows have been found in this thesis to be the least important factors for MNEs’ location decision in relation to FDI inflows to Ghana.

A model of development aid, which has been known for more than 50 years is clearly ineffective in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is because such assistance demonstrably negatively affects local governments and strongly contributes to the proliferation of corruption and deterioration of the elements od democracy. The theory of the vicious circle of poverty as one of the main arguments of the proponents of this aid is refuted in the thesis and replaced by the theory of the vicious circle of political instability, which is associated with that governments and their policies. It is necessary tu support a citizens' initiative, which will seek the establishment of democratic institutions, not governments, which are responsible for poverty of their country. Development aid is not the only thing that harms poor countries. Less visible, but with a strong negative effect there are protectionist measures in the form of non-tariff barriers, the Common Agricultural Policy of the EU and its export subsidies, or debt relief of bad governemtns. The failure of these policies are so fundamental that the best advice would probably be to end the government subsidies for poor countries and a focus on small development projects helping specific people, instead of grand plans and aid volumes sounding into space.

The main goal of master thesis is to proof that investment into renewable energy may have a positive impact on standard of living for local community and the region of Sub-Saharan Africa. The thesis is divided into three main chapters, while the first one is dedicated to detailed analysis of renewable energies, demographic and geographical indicators, the second one is focused on investment and financing of energy projects. The last chapter leads readers through case study of small hydropower plant into findings that are essential in proving the main idea of whole thesis.