Articles

The present article documents the programme strategy that has been used to address the challenges of social assistance schemes in Orissa, India. Key aspects of the strategy are: community mobilisation; use of mobile technology, web and media for community-led evidence-based advocacy at the local level; and graduating this effort to address structural issues at the state level. Key challenges in the process were to minimise tension among different stakeholders, and to bring changes in attitude of communities who were habituated in receiving services instead of demanding them.

The aid effectiveness agenda has placed much emphasis on issues of recipient ownership, alignment, and donor harmonisation. It has affected the policies and practices of many donor agencies and promoted a drive to consult widely with partners in governments and civil society and encourage their active involvement in aid-funded development activities.

Advocacy communication is now a key action term in development discourse. Advocates are usually issue- or programme-oriented and do not often think in terms of an ongoing process of social change in general, or peacebuilding in particular. The resolution of an issue or the initiation of a programme are ends in themselves. Thus, the primary aim of advocacy is to foster public policies that are supportive to the solution of an issue or programme. Since public policies must be viewed as an integral part of development processes, the kind of advocacy we advocate is participatory.

NGOs have played a key role in development since the end of World War II, and more so since the 1970s. Like elsewhere in the world, the state and the market catered to the different needs of people in Pakistan. With the arrival of foreign funding, NGOs emerged as a channel for dispersing resources to far-flung communities. However, NGO fieldworkers are not valued. They suffer from personal and professional problems including job insecurity, poor salary structure, unhealthy working environments, and harassment.

Empowerment has become a mainstream concept in international development but lacks clear definition, which can undermine development initiatives aimed at strengthening empowerment as a route to poverty reduction. In the present article, written narratives from 49 international development organisations identify how empowerment is defined and operationalised in community initiatives.

The present article outlines a development project carried out in Namibia in 2006–2010 by the Icelandic International Development Agency and the Namibian Ministry of Education. The project aimed primarily to empower deaf people by building capacity in deaf education and developing Namibian Sign Language. Strong emphasis was placed on strengthening government structures and services to contribute towards equal rights and participation in society.

The Indian healthcare sector provides ripe ground for development as access to high-quality and timely medical diagnosis remains unrequited among its vast rural populace. With an acute shortage of doctors in rural areas, medical diagnostic software has been created as a surrogate, propelling non-physician workers to step in. For diagnostic software to function effectively, it is paramount to identify the user.

The present article provides evidence from a collaborative research programme in Nicaragua that suggests that Fairtrade is falling short of its equity-promoting potential. Providing an alternative framing of Fairtrade based on the gendered social determinants of health, it suggests how Fairtrade can be optimised towards equity. The programme is based on experiences of community-based organisations and women coffee producers who perceive contradictions in the rhetoric of gender equity in Fairtrade.

Rural support programmes in Pakistan are major players in rural development, with significant outreach. Owing to funding constraints, they are currently exploring an exit strategy whereby they facilitate the formation of multi-tier local support organisations (LSOs), including those exclusively run by women. The present article focuses on the impact of this exit strategy on rural women.

In recent years, increasing attention has been given to home herbal gardens (HHG) and numerous projects have been carried out. Despite this, the active participation of villagers in the cultivation of medicinal plants in HHGs is not very high. The present article analyses the challenges faced by local communities in participating in HHG programmes, paying particular attention to cultural aspects and caste and gender components.