Can Informal Savings Groups Promote Food Security and Social, Economic and Health Transformations, Especially among Women in Urban Sub-Saharan Africa: A Narrative Systematic Review

dc.contributor.authorLukwa, Akim Tafadzwa
dc.contributor.authorOdunitan-Wayas, Feyisayo
dc.contributor.authorLambert, Estelle Victoria
dc.contributor.authorAlaba, Olufunke A.
dc.contributor.authoron behalf of the “Savings for Health” IDRC Collaborators,
dc.date.accessioned2022-04-11T11:20:04Z
dc.date.available2022-04-11T11:20:04Z
dc.date.issued2022-03-08
dc.date.updated2022-03-24T14:47:28Z
dc.description.abstractThis narrative review aimed to identify if roles of common informal savings groups known as Accumulating Savings and Credit Associations (ASCAs) or Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) can play a significant role in mitigating food insecurity, socioeconomic inequality, promoting health, and/or increasing agency in women in urban sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). These organizations exist in most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) worldwide under various names. A comprehensive search of scholarly outputs across six electronic databases (Pub-Med, Google Scholar, EBSCOhost, Scopus, Sabinet, and Cochrane) from 2000 to 2021 was completed. Twenty-eight (28) records met our inclusion criteria, and their quality was appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) qualitative checklist. We identified through thematic analysis that ROSCAs/ASCAs play a crucial role in advancing social, economic, and health transformations, especially among women in urban SSA. However, while ROSCAs/ACSAs played important roles in food security, it was often not the primary motivation for participation. None of the selected studies identified the importance of dietary quality or access to healthy food in relation to food security. This review suggests a window of opportunity to promote partnerships and collaborations of ROSCAs/ASCAs with relevant stakeholders to leverage the functionalities of ROSCAs/ASCAs as vehicles for re-alignment of priorities, increased knowledge, and opportunities to encourage affordable healthy diets in urban SSA.
dc.identifierdoi: 10.3390/su14063153
dc.identifier.apacitationLukwa, A. T., Odunitan-Wayas, F., Lambert, E. V., Alaba, Olufunke A., & (2022). Can Informal Savings Groups Promote Food Security and Social, Economic and Health Transformations, Especially among Women in Urban Sub-Saharan Africa: A Narrative Systematic Review. <i>Sustainability</i>, 14(6), http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36328en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationLukwa, Akim Tafadzwa, Feyisayo Odunitan-Wayas, Estelle Victoria Lambert, Olufunke A. Alaba, and "Can Informal Savings Groups Promote Food Security and Social, Economic and Health Transformations, Especially among Women in Urban Sub-Saharan Africa: A Narrative Systematic Review." <i>Sustainability</i> 14, 6. (2022) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36328en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationLukwa, A.T., Odunitan-Wayas, F., Lambert, E.V., Alaba, Olufunke A. & 2022. Can Informal Savings Groups Promote Food Security and Social, Economic and Health Transformations, Especially among Women in Urban Sub-Saharan Africa: A Narrative Systematic Review. <i>Sustainability.</i> 14(6) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36328en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Lukwa, Akim Tafadzwa AU - Odunitan-Wayas, Feyisayo AU - Lambert, Estelle Victoria AU - Alaba, Olufunke A. AU - on behalf of the “Savings for Health” IDRC Collaborators, AB - This narrative review aimed to identify if roles of common informal savings groups known as Accumulating Savings and Credit Associations (ASCAs) or Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) can play a significant role in mitigating food insecurity, socioeconomic inequality, promoting health, and/or increasing agency in women in urban sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). These organizations exist in most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) worldwide under various names. A comprehensive search of scholarly outputs across six electronic databases (Pub-Med, Google Scholar, EBSCOhost, Scopus, Sabinet, and Cochrane) from 2000 to 2021 was completed. Twenty-eight (28) records met our inclusion criteria, and their quality was appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) qualitative checklist. We identified through thematic analysis that ROSCAs/ASCAs play a crucial role in advancing social, economic, and health transformations, especially among women in urban SSA. However, while ROSCAs/ACSAs played important roles in food security, it was often not the primary motivation for participation. None of the selected studies identified the importance of dietary quality or access to healthy food in relation to food security. This review suggests a window of opportunity to promote partnerships and collaborations of ROSCAs/ASCAs with relevant stakeholders to leverage the functionalities of ROSCAs/ASCAs as vehicles for re-alignment of priorities, increased knowledge, and opportunities to encourage affordable healthy diets in urban SSA. DA - 2022-03-08 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town IS - 6 J1 - Sustainability KW - informal savings groups KW - ROSCAs KW - ASCAs KW - food (in)security LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PY - 2022 T1 - Can Informal Savings Groups Promote Food Security and Social, Economic and Health Transformations, Especially among Women in Urban Sub-Saharan Africa: A Narrative Systematic Review TI - Can Informal Savings Groups Promote Food Security and Social, Economic and Health Transformations, Especially among Women in Urban Sub-Saharan Africa: A Narrative Systematic Review UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36328 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/36328
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.3390/su14063153
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationLukwa AT, Odunitan-Wayas F, Lambert EV, Alaba Olufunke A, . Can Informal Savings Groups Promote Food Security and Social, Economic and Health Transformations, Especially among Women in Urban Sub-Saharan Africa: A Narrative Systematic Review. Sustainability. 2022;14(6) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36328.en_ZA
dc.publisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
dc.rights.licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.sourceSustainability
dc.source.journalissue6
dc.source.journalvolume14
dc.source.urihttps://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability
dc.subjectinformal savings groups
dc.subjectROSCAs
dc.subjectASCAs
dc.subjectfood (in)security
dc.titleCan Informal Savings Groups Promote Food Security and Social, Economic and Health Transformations, Especially among Women in Urban Sub-Saharan Africa: A Narrative Systematic Review
dc.typeJournal Article
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