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South African cities and HIV/AIDS : challenges and responses

SOUTH AFRICAN CITIES NETWORK (SACN)
2004

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This is the first ever assessment on how South Africa's nine largest cities are managing HIV/AIDS. The report summarises the challenges faced by these cities and outlines the innovative responses developed by municipalities and city stakeholders. The report highlights that the most effective programmes have been those that succeeded in transcending the gap between policy development and consistent implementation. The challenges highlighted in the study are likely to become more acute in the near future. The report lists a number of key strategies that cities should adopt in the development of a comprehensive response to HIV/AIDS. These include taking stock of the current HIV/AIDS programmes that are being implemented in the cities; linking HIV programming with other development issues; developing clear guidelines for the mainstreaming of HIV/AIDS; and developing stronger intergovernmental relations with provincial and national government levels

The effect of a livelihoods intervention in an urban slum in India : do vocational counseling and training alter the attitudes and behaviour of adolescent girls?

MENSCH, Barbara S
et al
2004

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This paper examines whether an experimental intervention for girls aged 14-19 that provided reproductive health information, vocational counseling and training, and assistance with opening savings accounts in slum areas of Allahabad in Uttar pradesh, India, had an effect on their attitudes and behaviours. A quasi-experimental pre- and post-test design was used in which adolescent girls were compared with girls of the same age residing in control-area slums. Although the livelihoods program was acceptable to parents and feasible to implement, the project had only a minimal impact on the behaviour and attitudes of adolescent girls taking part in the project. Girls exposed to the intervention were significantly more likely to have knowledge of safe spaces, be a member of a group, score higher on the social skills index, be informed about reproductive health, and spend time on leisure activities than were the matched control respondents. No effect was found on gender role attitudes, mobility, self-esteem, work expectations, or on number of hours visiting friends, performing domestic chores, or engaging in labour market work

Transport for all : what should we measure?

RICKERT, Tom
2003

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Environmental factors are addressed in this paper in regard to accessibility. Asking questions alone raises awareness about access effectively. Including disabled people themselves in decision-making is essential and leads to empowerment, better planning of the urban development and relevant evaluation indicators

Moving forward : towards decent work for people with disabilities. Examples of good practices in vocational training and employment from Asia and the Pacific

PERRY, Debra
2003

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This book brings together more than 20 case-studies of programmes and approaches in helping disabled people gain skills, find employment and earn a living in the Asia-Pacific region. They include both centre- and community-based vocational training and income-generation programmes, employment services and partnerships

Strengthening the knowledge and information systems of the urban poor : policy paper

SCHILDERMAN, Theo
April 2002

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This brief policy paper summarises the findings of a research project that focused on the information needs of the urban poor, and the information sources they access. The study found that the main sources of information were social networks, key informants, and infomediaries. It ends with six suggestions for development agencies seeking to share their knowledge and information with the urban poor

Strengthening the knowledge and information systems of the urban poor

SCHILDERMAN, Theo
March 2002

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Presents the findings of a research project that focused on the information needs of the urban poor, and the information sources they access. The study found that the main sources of information were social networks, key informants, and infomediaries. It considers the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs), and impact assessment methods. It ends with suggestions for development agencies seeking to share their knowledge and information with the urban poor

Environmental health in emergencies and disasters : a practical guide

WISNER, B
ADAMS, J
Eds
2002

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This publication distills what is known about environmental health during an emergency or disaster. It is intended for practitioners as well as for policy makers and researchers, and covers both general and tecnical aspects of environmental health. Part 1 presents a conceptual framework for understanding environmental health issues in the context of disaster management. Part 2 pulls togetther a series of best pratices and stategies for risk reduction in a number of fields

Enhancing accessibility for people with disabilities living in urban areas

VENTER, C
et al
2002

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People with disabilities constitute a significant proportion of the poor in developing countries. If internationally agreed targets on reducing poverty are to be reached, it is critical that specific measures be taken to reduce the societal discrimination and isolation that people with disabilities continue to face. Transport is an important issue. This paper aims to further the understanding of the mobility and access issues experienced by people with disabilities in developing countries and to identify specific steps that can be taken to start addressing problems; produce a compendium of guidelines that can be used by government authorities, advocacy groups and agencies to improve the access to transport. The investigation into mobility needs was conducted in five case study countries: India, Malawi, Mexico, Mozambique and South Africa

Enhanced accessibility for people with disabilities living in urban areas

VENTER, C
et al
2002

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People with disabilities constitute a significant proportion of the poor in developing countries. If internationally agreed targets on reducing poverty are to be reached, it is critical that specific measures be taken to reduce the societal discrimination and isolation that people with disabilities continue to face. Transport is an important enabler of strategies to fight poverty through enhancing access to education, employment, and social services

Sustaining livelihoods across the rural-urban divide : changes and challenges facing the Beja pastoralists of north eastern Sudan

PANTULIANO, Sara
2002

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This paper examines the transformation of the Beja livelihood system in recent years in response to changing external circumstances, and charts how coping mechanisms have evolved to become adaptive strategies. In particular, the paper examines the abandonment of mobility and the migration of Beja pastoralists to urban centres in Halaib Province itself and to Port Sudan, and analyses the evolution of Beja livelihoods in the city and the nature and the extent of the linkages that people maintain with the rural areas. A brief critique of international development support to Beja pastoralists after the major droughts in the 1980s is given, followed by a presentation of a number of key policy options, arising from the analysis, which merit consideration by the development community

The child friendly cities initiative in Italy

CORSI, Marco
2002

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This paper reviews the strengths and limitations of different child friendly cities initiatives in Italy and the many measures by national, regional and local governments to support them. City initiatives have sought to respond to the constraints that industrialisation and urbanisation have placed on children’s safe mobility, use of city space and participation. Many of the initiatives described have promoted children’s participation in city governance, often through children’s councils that developed proposals for city governments. Also described are special provisions by municipal authorities to ensure more attention to children’s issues, many of them involving environmental improvements that benefit children (for example, making children’s routes between home and school safer, expanding parks, creating bicycle tracks). The paper also describes children’s assessment of impacts, also their critical views of administrators who failed to keep their promises and teachers who were too controlling in participatory projects

Equal opportunities for all : promoting community-based rehabilitation (CBR) among urban poor populations. Initiating and sustaining CBR in urban slums and low-income groups

ASSOCIATION AMICI DI RAOUL FOLLEREAU (AIFO)
October 2001

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Most CBR experience has come from rural areas in developing countries. However, even in large cities specific population groups - such as people living in slums or low-income areas in the urban peripheries - may face difficulties in accessing rehabilitation services. To address this, the World Health Organization set up a number of pilot consultations and projects in seven countries (Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Brazil, Bolivia, Egypt and Kenya) in 1995. This document gives a report of a final meeting of representatives of these pilot projects.

Can ICTs help the urban poor access information and knowledge to support their livelihoods?

SCHILDERMAN, Theo
2001

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This paper is based on a research project undertaken by ITDG and funded by DFID in to the knowledge and information systems of the urban poor. Using an action research approach, the research team found that the urban poor do require knowledge and information to improve their livelihoods, but there are gaps in what is offered; that social networks are the biggest information source, followed by key informants; that a wide range of 'infomediaries' supplies information, but again their are gaps; and that although there are a number of cases of strengthening the knowledge and information systems of the urban poor, ICTs are not yet playing a major role here

Meeting the challenge of poverty in urban areas : strategies for achieving the international development targets

DEPARTMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (DFID)
2001

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"This paper sets out the central role that well-governed and managed cities and towns can play in reducing poverty. The key message is that achievement of the International Development Targets will depend in part on the development of strategies which recognise the important role played by cities and towns in strengthening poor people's capacity to improve their socio-economic and political conditions. It underlies the need to address the particular characteristics of urban poverty which can constrain these opportunities."

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