Browsing by Author "Garba, Faisal"

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    An exploratory study highlighting the complexities in the targeting of beneficiaries in Malawi's social cash transfer programme
    (2021) Mwanza, Desire; Garba, Faisal
    “The rise of social protection in form of social safety nets is attributed to the forceful return of poverty onto the international development agenda credited to World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)” (Chisinga, 2007:3). The basis of the discussion of social protection as a new model for development derives from the vision of the initiative as a path to sustainable economic development due to its holistic approach to poverty eradication and capability deprivation (Taylor, 2008)."In Africa, where pre-existing welfare regimes are often absent or comparatively very weak, the origins of cash transfer schemes stem from the search for alternatives to food and input transfers to tackle hunger"(Slater,2011:256). In the sub-Saharan region, for example, countries such as South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Namibia and Malawi have similarly embraced the trend by adopting social grants and cash transfers as a solution to poverty and capability deprivation. Malawi, portrays a vivid image of a country with little resources for 17 million inhabitants, leaving more than half of the population below the poverty line (Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MDGS) III report (2017). The goal of the Malawi Social Cash Transfer Program (SCTP) is to reduce poverty, hunger and increase school enrolment among the poorest 10% of households. Targeting the correct 10% is key to the success of the program. The World Bank Group, Malawi Poverty Assessment (2016), calls into question the likelihood of precisely targeting the chronically poor people in such initiatives. On the other hand, Houssou et al., 2007 and Slater, 2011 insist on the need to evaluate the foresee-ability of contextual intervention programs, especially if a country does not have the capacity for widespread social grants as targeting becomes a matter of concern. The idea is that social cash transfers will be successful in reducing poverty if the right individuals are targeted. Considering the high poverty rate in Malawi and the gaps between the lower poverty deciles and the income profile are marginal (Ellis, 2008), how accurate is the decentralized targeting process? Based on this rationale, this exploratory research explored and highlights the complexities in targeting of beneficiaries in the program which, as a result has contributed to the derailment of the program. Findings show that the Government of Malawi (GoM) has overlooked the necessary control mechanisms to achieve effective targeting. As such, the study identifies anomalies in the targeting process that play a significant role in affecting the achievement of the goal of the program. Thus, SCTP falls short of combating poverty in a multi-dimensional manner.
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    Migrant women's access to public health care services in Makhado, Limpopo: a case of Zimbabwean women
    (2020) Tshililo, Takalani Yolanda; Garba, Faisal
    Migrant women are often omitted within the migrant discourse/research, with that in mind, the research study brings to the fore migrant women's experiences when accessing public health care services within underdeveloped communities. The study explored Zimbabwean migrant women's experiences in accessing public health care services in Makhado, a small town based in Limpopo, South Africa which has only two public health care services namely, Louis Trichardt Memorial Hospital and Louis Trichardt clinic. To conduct this study, ethical clearance was obtained in November 2018 from the Department of Sociology at the University of Cape Town. The qualitative research method was adopted in collecting the data. The study conducted in-depth interviews with five Zimbabwean migrant women who had made use of the two public health care services in Makhado. Field notes, diary entry, an impromptu focus group were used to collect the study data. The sample for the study was purposively selected. The study worked with a total of twelve participants, in-depth interviews with five Zimbabwean women, and a focus group with seven health care workers. The collected data was manually transcribed and was analyzed using the framework analysis. Main themes and sub-themes were extracted from the transcribed interview scripts. The study revealed that migrants accessing the two hospitals in Makhado faced challenges such as language barriers, discrimination, and adverse health personnel attitudes based on the patient's citizenship status. Furthermore, the challenges that nurses are faced within their workplace, which include lack of resources, absenteeism, long working hours and overcrowded public health care services within their workplace contributed towards their negative attitude in assisting patients. As a result, migrants bore the challenges faced by the nurses within the public health care services. Therefore, the migrants reverted to having other alternatives such as traditional healers, churches, connections with nurses working in the hospitals, private hospitals and over the counter medication. However, participants underscored that in order for betterment within the public health care services, the following measures ought to be implemented, these include the introduction of independent centres, an increase of mobile clinics, increased number of interpreters, better working environment for the health personnel within the public health care facilities and intensive education training of the health personnel around the awareness migrant issues when accessing public health care services. Foucault's (1980) theory on power and knowledge, played a significant role in understanding the operational systems of public health care services. It also assisted in understanding how public health care services function, to exclude and control migrant patients, through the introduction of fees and required documentation to access public health care services.