bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reflections on the Macro-Micro Linkages in the Analysis of Development Policy: A Developing Country Perspective
Authors: Rutasitara Longinus , Rutasitara Longinus , Ngasamiaku Wilhelm , Selejio Onesmo
Published: January 2024

Better understanding of the macro-micro linkages in the analyses of economic development policies, programmes and strategies is important for those poor countries that have recorded slow progress in poverty reduction after years of development initiatives and aid inflows. This paper reflects on how analyses of the policy linkages can be improved to look beyond just the economic setting of the macro-meso-micro policy channels covering policy makers and economic agents (households, firms and institutions), and include non-economic explanations of development. It is noted that quantitative (macroeconomic/microeconomic) models of development do not often capture all facilitating or inhibiting factors; hence the need to supplement the assessment by qualitative methods of analyses. The study emphasises the need for analysts to sharpen capacity in the application of “double-Q methodologies” and multi-disciplinary approaches to research and analysis of development policies and programmes.
Student’s Understanding and Awareness Of Reproductive Health and their Future Fertility Prospects: Findings from University of Dar es Salaam
Authors: Sigalla Huruma
Published: January 2024

This paper discusses student’s understanding, awareness of reproductive health issues, and their future fertility prospect. It is based on the findings of a social survey conducted at the University of Dar es salaam in Tanzania. The purpose of the survey was to describe student’s understanding, awareness of reproductive health, as well as their future fertility prospect. The study revealed that student’s understanding of reproductive health is poor. Income poverty, culture, lack of awareness and misconceptions are among the factors which causes many reproductive health problems. Most of respondents (students) wish to get married, have a family and start their child-bearing at the age between 25-30 years. The analysis shows a slight difference between men and women as to when one wishes to start child-bearing. Men prefer to start childbearing soon after marriage, whereas women prefer to start childbearing a year after marriage. However, the majority do not prefer to have the same number of children as their parents had: the ideal number of children is 2. The findings suggest that unwanted pregnancy and abortion are among the major reproductive health problems confronting students. Abortion was noted to be a function of external pressure, particularly economic insecurity. Notable was the fact that abortion was perceived negatively, and that it should not be legalized. Thus, this paper generally concludes that student’s poor understanding and awareness of some fundamental reproductive health issues is a reflection of poor accessibility to information and education on reproductive health. It recommends that there is a need to incorporate reproductive health education in secondary school and higher learning curricula in order to empower young people to overcome reproductive health problems caused by rapid social changes.
Outcomes of Rural-Urban Migration in Tanzania
Authors: Banyikwa W.
Published: January 2024

This article discusses outcomes of rural-urban migration as part of a wider debate on urbanization and socio-economic development in mainland Tanzania. It presents empirical evidence from cities in the south-western, north-western and north-eastern parts of mainland Tanzania, and from a municipality in the eastern part of the country that links rural-urban migration to sanguine outcomes in selected elements of urban livelihoods. The results show that, while the earlier crop of migrants in the country comprised target workers, the current one is comprised of people who have more permanent interests in the towns. Also, where vertical mobility was a significant component of the drift to towns, rural-urban migration, urbanisation and socio-economic development in the studied towns were compatible. Migrants are a vital resource that should be harnessed for socio-economic development of the country.
Compliance with the National Health Insurance Fund in Tanzania: Could Out-of-Pocket be a Better Option?
Authors: Mtei Gemini , Mushi Deograsias
Published: January 2024

This study analyzes the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) in Tanzania with the objective of determining the level of compliance with this scheme, and the factors that would determine such compliance. Primary data from primary school teachers in Kilimanjaro and Dar es Salaam regions were collected through a questionnaire that required respondents and their households to give the history of their health status, and their valuation of NHIF. The results show that compliance with NHIF is correlated with age, sex, marital status, and location of the residence of the members. Other factors that have been found significant in determining compliance of the members include presence of an old aged dependant, use of public health facility, number of sick household members, occupation status, availability of drugs when using NHIF, and the type of disease episode befalling the household. A majority of members still prefer out-of-pocket compared to NHIF, though the former seems be expensive and not poor friendly. The study proposes a balance between the provision side of health care and the membership to NHIF as the latter has influence on compliance.
Assessment of Traditional Practices Aggravating Maternal Mortality in Temeke District, Tanzania
Authors: Mbwana E. , Kivelia J.
Published: January 2024

A study to assess traditional practices aggravating maternal mortality in urban and mixed rural-urban populations was carried out in Toangoma and Tandika Wards in Temeke District. Data were collected using questionnaire interviews, un-structured interviews, and in-depth interviews. Data collected were mainly qualitative, and this necessitated use of content analysis. In addition, quantitative analyses were also performed where necessary. Findings indicate that most maternal deaths and complications were associated with cases of anaemia, eclampsia and haemorrhage. The factors behind were more less related to traditional practices. Young age at birth, poor nutrition associated with taboos on types of foods to be eaten during pregnancy, as well as short child spacing instigated by preference of male children were the main factors behind problems related to anaemia and women failure to push during delivery. Also, poverty and lack of control over household resources, male dominated decisions on when and where to seek medical help, and adherence to other cultural norms and values are part of the traditional practices that acted as barriers on women towards seeking modern medical care. Other traditional practices aggravating maternal mortality in the area include belief systems on the causes and cures of diseases. The study recommends that people should be given more modern education about maternal problems associated with over-reliance on traditional practices, right kind information about traditional medicines and herbs, and the discouragement of early marriage to alleviate the problem.
Agriculture Through Ages: Modern Challenges Towards Biofuels and Bioenergy Crops Agriculture
Authors: Msuya D. G.
Published: January 2024

Human civilization has been through culminations of great achievements. This paper explores agricultural development in ancient and modern times, and the challenges yet to be resolved. At the beginning man invented how to cultivate, how to make fire, and moved from wild lifestyle to more settled livelihoods. He learnt and practised extensive systems such as slash-and-burn cultivation for millennia, and as population increased and knowledge accumulated he developed intensive systems such as greenhouse agriculture. Great developments have been associated with the industrial revolution of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, especially in areas of mechanization and use of industrial agricultural inputs. Both agricultural practices and industrial production have cost the world greatly in terms of environment degradation and environmental pollution. While the world is looking for remedies to environment degradation and pollution that are now intolerably threatening climate change, a new agricultural economic opportunity has emerged, which is not only important because of economic necessity, but it is also an important option towards solving the global warming and climate change threats. This is the use of biofuels and bioenergy as alternatives to fossil fuels use as a source of energy and power. The urgency of bio-fuels agriculture, particularly, seems to overwhelm what is the basic ecological role of world food subsistence agricultural production, with an additional role of producing almost the same food products to satisfy also the bio-fuels industry. This will obviously conflict on land use choices and commodity priority, and needs very thorough effort in planning and appropriate use of resources to avoid probably un-manageable consequences in near future.
Barmaids as an HIV/AIDS High Risk Group in Tanzania
Authors: Akarro Rocky
Published: January 2024

The aim of this article is to show how alcohol use renders women into high risk behaviour in Tanzania. Increasing HIV/AIDS prevalence rates and its impact on physical and psychosocial health is a worldwide public health concern. Engagement in multiple sex relations is hereby regarded as a proxy to high risk behaviour. Intrinsic factors associated with alcohol are responsible for high risk behaviour among barmaids. Understanding the factors leading to high risk behaviour will help to go for appropriate interventions programs. To ascertain this, this study selected three areas of Tanzania: two with high HIV/AIDS prevalence rate, and one with low prevalence to act as a control. The study selected a sample of 2820 barmaids from 447 bars in three different settings of Dar es Salaam, Mbeya, and Zanzibar. The barmaids were assessed through self administered structured questionnaire. Chi-square testresults show that age, education background, marital status, number of children, wage rate and use of alcohol were significant at 5% level in enhancing high risk behaviour. In the case of those who drink alcohol, odds ratio shows that they were 41.6 times (1/.024) more likely to have sex with several men without using a condom, thus significantly enhancing risk behaviour. Significant predictor high risk factors are wage rate, number of children, and alcohol use. Intervention of this risk behaviour should be tackled by addressing the significant predictor factors.
Access to Mass Media and Rejection of Gender Inequitable Norms among Unmarried Youth in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Authors: Rweyemamu Datius
Published: January 2024

Despite extensive evidence on the link between gender norms and adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH), less research has been conducted to assess the role that access to mass media plays in shaping these norms. This article is based on a study that sought to contribute to filling this research gap. The primary objective of the study was to determine young males’ and female’s attitudes and perceptions towards traditional gender norms. The second objective was to investigate the association between mass media consumption by youth and rejection or acceptance of gender equitable norms. Using a scale called Gender Equitable Men (GEM), this study conducted a cross-sectional survey among 777 unmarried youth (52.1% male and 47.9% female) in selected wards of Temeke municipality in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania between December 2011 and January 2012. The results show that youth support to gender equitable norms is relatively high (91% male and 83% female). Also, there are important correlations between youth’ support for gender-equitable norms and their background characteristics. Comparatively, unmarried male youth have higher support to gender equitable norms than unmarried female youth. However, the relationship between access to mass media and support for gender equitable norms is not linear. The conclusion is that access to mass media alone is not sufficient to determine support to gender equitable norms, which later impact on adolescent sexual and reproductive health. Thus, more attention needed on broad social contexts that mediate linkage between the two. Programmatic and policy implications of these findings are also discussed.
Determinant of Effective Participatory Forest Management in Tanzania
Authors: Lokina Razack
Published: January 2024

Participatory forest management (PFM) was introduced in Tanzania in 1998. PFM has been adopted as an official strategy to allow for wide participation of stakeholders in forest resource management, with a view that forests can be better managed under close involvement of forest users in decisions regarding appropriate management plans, rules and obligations pertaining to the resource. PFM has three main policy objectives: improved forest quality, improved livelihoods through increased forest revenue, and secure supply of subsistence forest products; and improved forest governance at district and village levels through effective and accountable resource management institutions. Thus PFM has been proposed as a way of both protecting Tanzania's forests and reducing rural poverty. The study utilizes data collected from face-to face interviews with 1000 villagers distributed among 50 villages in two regions of Tanzania. The level of success was assessed in terms of perceived conservation of the reserve forests, and the perceived influence of PFM on the welfare of individuals’ households.The data collected incorporates explicitly spatial elements of NTFP extraction and the enforcement of PFM regulations. Given the nature of the responses, we analyse the data using an ordered Logit model. Preliminary findings indicate that men, larger households, and those households that have their own source of fuelwood are more likely to perceive a particular PFM initiative as successful.
SACCOS and Women’s Poverty Reduction In Morogoro District, Tanzania
Authors: Assenga Emiliana , Mwageni Eleuther , Kayunze Kim
Published: January 2024

This paper intends to look at the role of SACCOS in poverty reduction using data from a research done in 2007 to a sample of 120 women in Morogoro District, Tanzania. The specific objectives of the research were to calculate income from income-generating activities (IGAs); compare income earned per month between women in SACCOS and their counterparts who were not in SACCOS; determine wealth status based on assets owned; and compare poverty levels between SACCOS members and non-SACCOS members. The study revealed that income of women SACCOS members was three times that of non-SACCOS members, implying the effectiveness of credit on poverty reduction. Besides, results of a t-test showed significant differences in the incomes (p = 0.000) between members and non-members. This led to the conclusion that SACCOS have improved women’s living standards. The study recommends that formal, semi-formal, and informal micro-financial institutions and individual money lenders should continue giving credit to poor women, while improving their schemes to bring more positive impact. In addition, credit providers need to review their policies on the amount of credit provided and interest rate so as to increase the number of women getting credit for IGAs. Moreover, women should be encouraged to join SACCOS, and SACCOS dealing with women should be supported by financial institutions and policy makers.
Coastal and Marine Environment Management Projects and Communities’ Livelihood: The Case of MACEMP
Authors: Lokina Razack , Gervas Joyce
Published: January 2024

The Marine and Coastal Environmental Management Project (MACEMP) was conceived as a response to local, national and global concerns on sustainable conservation and use of marine and coastal resources. It has been involved in facilitating fisheries management for the purpose of empowering coastal communities to access opportunities so that they can request, implement and monitor sub-projects that contribute to improve livelihoods and sustainable marine ecosystem management, e.g., aquaculture. This paper assesses MACEMP by looking at the welfare implication between the treatment group and the control group using household and village level survey data collected from Mafia District in Coast region. Data were collected using questionnaire, interviews and field observation. In analyzing the information collected the study utilized Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method, descriptive statistics, and regression analysis. Results of all methods of analysis show that the project has positive impact on poverty reduction in Mafia District as revealed by the differences in poverty status between the treatment group and the control group.
The Challenges of Rural-Urban Migration In Developing Countries
Authors: Katuli Farida
Published: January 2024

Migration is the movement of people from one geographical location to another, involving permanent or temporary settlement. One noticeable aspect in the society today is the rate at which people migrate from rural to the centres. While urban centres are increasing in population, rural areas are decreasing in population. For these reasons, there is a widespread concern that the rates of rural-urban migration should be slowed. But more importantly to policy makers is that urban unemployment and high rates of urbanization pose strong social and political challenges for reducing the flow of migrants to urban areas. This paper discusses the challenges that face rural-urban migration. It analyzes migration theories that provide theoretical reasoning behind rural-urban migration. This paper draws from the empirical literature review of studies on rural-urban migration through collection of secondary data and reviewing information that has been gathered from various studies and reports in research and academic institutions, as well as from internet sources in and outside Tanzania.
High Fertility, High Infant and Child Mortality And the Tragedy of the Commons in Tanzania
Authors: Maghimbi Sam
Published: January 2024

Tanzania has reduced the rates of infant and under-five mortality to below the national goals of 50/1,000 and 70/1,000. However, current rates are still high by international standards, and maternal mortality and fertility rates are high. Tanzania parents have a fatalistic mental attitude towards birth and death. The presence of a commons in child rearing helps to make parents view it rational to add more children to the commons. The existence of the moral economy in subsistence is related to a commons, and has the same impact. The theory of the tragedy of the commons is drawn from Lloyd, and is used to show how parents’ faith in the commons leads to the tragedy of high infant and child mortality. Infant and child mortality is a complex question for parents but their reasoning tends to be fallacious as they answer it with more births and more deaths. The conclusion is that although infant and under-five mortality rates are declining, given the current conditions in Tanzania, parents may continue to attribute false causes to infant and child mortality and many children may continue to be born and die.
An Assessment of Communication about Family Planning on Desired Fertility: The Case of Rwanda
Authors: Gasafari Willy , Dungumaro Esther
Published: January 2024

Despite the recognition of the importance of spousal communication in family planning programs, it remains a challenge to many couples in sub Saharan Africa. This paper uses the 2000 Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey (RDHS) to assess spousal communication about family planning on desired fertility. Analysis is done on married people aged 15–49 years. Results indicate that communication about family planning is a significant covariate of the desire to have no more children. The direction of causation in this relationship is plausibly two-way: occurring when already established fertility desires are articulated to the partner, and when a discussion of advantages of child spacing or birth limitation is translated into lower fertility desires, for one or both partners. Results show that fertility desire of wives and husbands are shaped by the partner’s desire, whether or not these are explicitly communicated. Multivariate results show that current age has a small but highly significant effect on the desire for additional children among both men and women. Older men and women are more likely to want no more children. Urban residence is significantly related to desired fertility, indicating the overall level of wanting no more children in urban areas than in rural areas. The paper recommends various alternatives to encourage spousal communication about family planning, taking into consideration various challenges that prevail in African societies.
Adolescents and Leisure: The Case of Makurumla Kagera, Dar es Salaam
Authors: Kissling Franziska , Pfeiffer Constanze , Obrist Brigit
Published: January 2024

Adolescents are a rapidly growing group in Tanzania. One out of five Tanzanians are below the age of 19, and a specific concern is their sexual and reproductive health. Although adolescent issues are now featuring high up on the agenda of policy makers and practitioners, little is known about the interactions between adolescents in Tanzania, especially with regard to leisure activities. This article presents findings from a research into social interactions between females and males aged between 15-19 years. The research was conducted in leisure places in the urban neighbourhood of Makurumla Kagera, located in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Using a qualitative approach, a total of 20 adolescents were interviewed in a semi-structured style. Findings indicate that leisure places and adolescents’ representations are a controversial topic of discussion in Makurumla Kagera, especially with regard to appropriate female behaviour. This is not merely between generations, but also within the generation itself. A complex mosaic of attitudes and opinions about leisure places and related gender-based representations of adolescents can be observed.
Women Strategizing Through Inyumba Mboke Marriage in Tanzania
Authors: Mhando Nandera
Published: January 2024

This article explores the politics of a wife’s house and ways in which women act to maintain or build their ‘houses’. Inyumba mboke marriagesconsist of two Kuria words: inyumba, meaning the physical house, and also referring to a mother and her children; and mboke, which refers to the need for that house to stand or progress by marrying a wife to bear children for that house.The paper explains the position that both women and men play in marriage arrangements, and the reasons for continuing the practice. Gender is in some contexts flexible, as there are prospects for negotiation and even change in role and status, rendering gendered identities highly fluid. Yet biological sex is also of enormous significance because only women can give birth to children. Thus, infertility and even death can be overcome as sonless or childless women (dead or alive), and dead men may acquire offspring. In this regard, rather than seeing these relationships as ‘woman-to-woman marriage’ or ‘ghost marriage’, this study suggests that they comprise various different kinship and marriage relations that allow women to reproduce for the lineage, and to make descendants for themselves, even in the absence of husbands, lovers, and/or ‘real’ sons.
Integrated Cropping Systems in Njombe and Mvomero Districts in Tanzania: Constraints and Opportunities for Intensification Among Smallholder Dairy Producers
Authors: Mhando D. G. , Mdegela R. H. , Urio N. A. , Mtengeti E. J.
Published: January 2024

Smallholder farming still dominates most agricultural systems in Tanzania. In Njombe and Mvomero districts, it was found out that smallholder farmers face many constraints. The main constraints identified are insufficient skills on dairy cattle husbandry such as proper feeding and animal diseases. This article shows that although there are many constraints in smallholder farming, there are also many opportunities like the availability of land for intensification of agriculture and increased manure production which could be used to improve both soil fertility and increase crop production; and the production of biogas which would reduce the dependence on fuel wood. The article concludes that the key for the advancement of smallholder farming in Njombe and Mvomero districts is increased skills on how to take advantage of crop livestock integrated production.
Hazardous Settlements and their Implications in Urban Tanzania: A Case Study of Iringa Town
Authors: Ngalalikwa Maksizia , Kiduanga Juma
Published: January 2024

Rapid urbanization and inadequate capability to cope with the housing needs of urban populations have contributed to the development of hazardous settlements in urban areas. This study examines the patterns of growth of hazardous settlements in Iringa, Tanzania, the associated risks and their implications. Due to the complexity of the problem, the study employed mixed research approaches in data collection and analysis, including documentary review, interviews and questionnaires, focus group discussions, field observations and photography. The findings revealed that residents of age group of between 18 and 44 years were the majority in hazardous settlements, and the majority of household heads were married females. Factors contributing to people to reside in hazardous settlements include failure to get surveyed plots, proximity to work places, business opportunities, clashes with landlords, and chances to get free plots. Hygienic risks were cited to be the main problems facing residents in hazardous settlements. Other problems were inadequate social services, environmental risks, crimes, fear from forceful evictions and urban poverty. To resolve the problems associated with hazardous settlements, the study recommends, among others, that the government reviews urban planning policies, plans and standards; and that urban authorities should collaborate with utility service institutions to plan and institutionalize policies for urban settlements.
Examining Women’s Agency, High Fertility and Maternal and Child Health in Tanzania
Authors: Maghimbi Sam
Published: January 2024

The paper considers why reproductive health has stalled in Tanzania. The individual woman in Tanzania gives birth to many children (TFR = 5.2). The demographic and economic transition is slow and the most striking characteristics is poor and lowlyeducated women having many children. The patterns of mortality among girls and women (and men) are still characterized by a predominance of infectious diseases. This makes women’s agency in bringing social and economic development so important. The argument is advanced that child-bearing will go down to replacement level and the wellbeing of women and children improve if women themselves become active agents of change or the dynamic promoters of social transformations that can alter their lives and the lives of children and men. The fundamental changes required to bring this in Tanzania is to put emphasis on the role of women’s agency. Some decline in infant and under-five mortality is observed in Tanzania, but it is argued that there is still much space for further decline in infant, under-five, and maternal mortality. It is further stated that there is much space to increase life expectancy by promoting active women’s agency.
The Need for Mutual Healthcare Interactions in Building Patients’ Trust: The Case of Muleba And Chato Districts, Tanzania
Authors: Kamugisha Gozibert
Published: January 2024

The centrality of patients’ trust in healthcare providers cannot be underestimated given its influence on healthcare outcomes. Analysts and researchers have focused on the conceptualization of trust and factors for the development and lose of trust in healthcare encounters. The notable gap in these discussions has been the lack of analysis on the interrelation between the nature of patient-health provider relationship and patients’ trust. A study of 390 systematically sampled healthcare users was conducted in Chato and Muleba districts to find out the connection between the two aspects of healthcare. As per the analysis of this paper, there is a strong positive correlation between patients’ trust and the nature of patient-health provider relationship as patients’ trust increases with the improvement in patient-health provider relationships. High level of patient’s trust in healthcare providers is associated with mutuality in health care encounters, while low level of trust is associated with paternalism. Therefore, the assurance of patients’ trust in healthcare providers and healthcare institutions demands the provision of necessary illness and treatment information to patients, and minimal involvement of patients in therapeutic decision-making.
Social Networks and Local Collaboration in Natural Resources Management in Developing Countries: A Review of the Theoretical and Empirical Literature
Authors: Senga Mathew , Payne Diane
Published: January 2024

While there has been a growth of literature in the area of social networks and natural resources management (NRM), the theoretical and empirical literature on social network dynamics of local collaboration in NRM in developing countries, and Africain particular, remains underdeveloped. This paper reviews the theoretical and empirical literature of social networks and local collaboration in NRM, and develops a conceptual framework for examining social network dynamics of local collaborationin NRM. Its discussion centres on considerations for applying a stochastic actor-based modelling approach of network dynamics, which offers one of the several noteworthy approaches to social network analysis. The paper concludes that understanding themechanisms that underpin the dynamic nature of social networks and local collaboration in NRM helps in developing appropriate policies that encourage collaborative efforts, and foster local commitment to sustainable NRM.
‘Race’, Religion, Romance: Youth Striving for an Optimal Dating Experience
Authors: Bapumia Fatima
Published: January 2024

This paper discusses how social actors engage with the notion of race and religion in private spheres. It specifically shows how young people use religion to rationalise their dating preferences, and in so doing are inclined to heighten the existing ethno-racialboundaries. The interview excerpts used as examples in this paper are drawn from an ethnographic study that I conducted in Dar es Salaam and Mbeya from 2012-2015. In this paper I demonstrate that the common knowledge and personal experiences of secondary school students—with regards to norms and values of self and others—tend to influence their choice of dating partners, their everyday experiences of being in an intimate relationship, and their overall opinion of inter-racial marriages. Also, whereas closed groups such as the Balouch and South Asian communities advocate for racial endogamy and perpetuate sexual double standards, teenagers from these groups use religion as a tool to manipulate given community norms and values.
International Labour Out-Migration In Mzimba District, Malawi: Why Persistent?
Authors: Niboye Elliott
Published: January 2024

This article is based on a study that sought to examine the socio-economic impacts of labour migration on families in Mzimba district in terms of education, health, labour supply, intra-family roles, norms, decision-making, and others. Eight villages with the highest number of out-migrants out of 27 in the district were studied. Fifty respondents of households with a migrant member were randomly selected as a sample for the study. Another random sample of 20 respondents from households without-migrants was selected to serve as a control group. The field data were obtained using in-depth interviews, observations, and focus group discussions. Secondary data were obtained mainly through library research. The study reveals that, overall, households with migrant relatives in South Africa have experienced a change in their welfare; ranging from positive change in socio-economic conditions and/or positive change in their social and family relations. Negative consequences included loneliness, especially for spouse left at home; psycho-social problems, especially for children due to the absence of fathers; and low esteem that females feel when their husbands are absent to the extent of not being involved fully in family matters. On the part of the migrants themselves, they live in untenable working conditions, often illegally, and in most circumstances very unwelcome in the host country.
High Fertility is no Longer a Dividend: The Dynamics of a Big Young Population and Unemployment
Authors: Maghimbi Sam
Published: January 2024

The problem of youth unemployment has been discussed many times in the current development debate. Pro-natalists like Professor Kamuzora have argued that a youth population is the ultimate resources for Africa for all time. The idea that the high rates of population growth (which lead to high population density) can be compatible with economic growth was advocated by Boserup. The paper considers the limitation of the assumed compatibility between high fertility and development in Tanzania. It is argued that the rapid increase of the many young people in the population is not compatible with their rapid upward social mobility. Youth unemployment is likely to remain a principle social economic problem for a long time because of high fertility. Some solutions to youth unemployment like vocational training and agricultural development are critically considered.
The Role of Women in Re-Orienting Mangrove-Based Practices Into Praxis in the Eastern Coast of Tanzania
Authors: Sabai Daniel
Published: January 2024

Women are currently assuming a leading role in shaping mangrove-based management practices, as opposed to a historical tradition of men serving as the main actors. This paradigmatic shift is believed to be a result of change-oriented learning programmes implemented through the Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) approach, adopted in the mid-1990s. This article employs the concept of ‘power’ from the critical realism theory, and compliments it with the concept of ‘capability’ from the capability approach, to communicate key findings that ‘change-oriented learning’ can potentially foster agentive power. This power is necessary for creativity and reflexivity among women, and may also maximize their ecological-restorative potentials, a condition that is required for re-orienting mangrove-based practices into praxis. The paper is enriched by analysed primary data collected between 2007 and 2017 along the Dar es Salaam and Mkinga coastal sites of Tanzania, and is also supplemented with secondary data sources. This work affirms that the re-orientation of ecological practices into praxis requires a combination of enabling conditions, including exposure to different forms of learning.
Paddy Production of Maliwanda and Namhula Irrigation Schemes in Bunda District: Status and Challenges
Authors: Leo Mululi , Tindichebwa Tilumanywa
Published: January 2024

This study assesses the production trend of two irrigation schemes in Bunda district, namely Maliwanda and Namhula. It employs quantitative and qualitative research designs. Data was collected through questionnaires, interviews, observation, and documentary review. The findings indicate a positive trend in paddy production of the two schemes. The findings further reveal that after the application of irrigated agriculture, paddy yield increased from less than 2 tons per hectare to over 5 tons per hectare. The high yield was attributed not only to irrigation, but also to improved knowledge on rice production and the use of improved seeds that are highly productive and adaptive to local conditions. We recommend that to achieve sustainability of the two schemes, the current water association should be strengthened, annual fees be increased, and human activities around the schemes be restricted to avoid silting of the dams.
Reflection on Electoral Democracy and Peaceful Transfer of Power: The Tanzanian Experience
Authors: John Masabo Conrad
Published: January 2024

This paper revisits the Africa’s electoral democracy trajectories with the focus on Tanzanian experience of electoral democracy and political transitions. It analyses the conduct of electoral democracy and peaceful transfer of power in Tanzania and gauges whether such experiences may be emulated by other countries particularly those facing crises of political transition in Africa. To do so, the paper adopts documentary review method supplemented by hermeneutic techniques as the most feasible and effective methodology best suited for studying a phenomenon using secondary sources. From this analysis, it is evident, then, although the balance sheet on Tanzania’s experience with democratisation over the last two decades or so shows progressive trends; major power transition remains within the confinements of the ruling party, but Tanzanian experience, still, provides some important lessons for other countries can emulate. Notwithstanding such positive trends, the paper recommends for urgent legal and institutional reforms on the mandate and independence electoral management institution and continuous periodic updating of voters for feasible and the regular processes for individuals opportunity to join with their fellows in replacing, or reinstating the government of their country by means of the ballot-box and without to violence.
Farmers ‘Access to Institutional Support for Climate Change Adaptation in Rural Tanzania
Authors: Mwamfupe Asubisye
Published: January 2024

Smallholder farmers in rural areas need access to institutional support for their effective responses to climate change and related challenges. Rural Local Institutions (RLIs) are very close to farmers and thus have the potential to deliver institutional support and enhance smallholder farmers’ adaptability to climate change and variability. This article responds to two important questions; one, what institutional support that smallholder farmers perceive as relevant in addressing their adaptation challenges? and, how farmers access to that institutional support? To answer these questions, I conducted a study framed within mixed methods design targeting smallholder farmers in 5 villages of Rufiji district in Southern Tanzania. Data collection protocol started with qualitative approaches; Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and FGDs, to explore the nexus between local understanding of climate change adaptation and institutional roles in adaptation. This informed and was complemented by quantitative survey of 416 farming households obtained through stratified random sampling. Quantitative data analysis was done with the assistance of the Statistical Package for Social Sciencies (SPSS v.16) software. Qualitative analysis followed content analysis framework using Nvivo 12 software. The study found that smallholder farmers perceive a mismatch between their perceived adaptation needs and available institutional support. Farmers identified access to markets, access to climate information; access to agricultural inputs, skills and technologies, land tenure security and access to credits as critical institutional factors necessary for their effective adaptation to climate change and variability challenges. Also that their access to the available institutions for adaptation support is poor due social, environmental, political and economic barriers.The paper argues that RLIs require capacity building to enable them comprehend, design, prioritize, and coordinate farmers’ adaptation actions in relation to other development actions.
Education and Labour Market Earnings in Low Income Countries
Authors: Joseph Cornel
Published: January 2024

This paper intends to examine the private returns to education in Tanzania using three different Integrated Labour Force Survey data collected in 2001, 2006 and 2014. The estimation of the rate of returns to education was presented separately by each year data. The estimation was also carried out by comparing between males and females sub-samples. Using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) technique, we find private returns to education increases with the levels of education over the 2001-2014 periods. We observed further the patterns tend to decrease over time, despite rising average levels of schooling attainment. Additionally, females experience a higher rate of return than males. These findings have important policy implications with respect to strengthening the public funding of tertiary education suggesting that increasing public expenditure on tertiary education is necessary for greater equality and poverty alleviation in Tanzania.
Exploring Factors Influencing Dropping-out of CommunityBased Health Insurance Schemes in Mpwapwa District, Tanzania
Authors: Alex Michael , Mwamfupe Asubisye
Published: January 2024

Community-Based Health Insurance schemes are meant to expand the coverage of healthcare provision to, especially, the majority poor in the rural areas of the Developing World. Despite high sensitization and mobilization campaigns, enrolment, re-enrolment and utilization of such schemes have been unexpectedly low. This is also the case with the Redesigned Community Health Fund (rCHF) in Tanzania. We took a qualitative approach to explore the reasons for the drop-outs of the rCHF in Mpwapwa District in central Tanzania. We reviewed various rCHF-related documents and used Key Informant Interviews and Focused Group Discussions to collect data from randomly selected drop-out cases. The findings suggest the availability of drugs, premium costs, quality of healthcare facilities as key reasons influencing households to enrol, re-enrol or drop-out of the rCHF. In this paper we argue that rCHF should integrate more participatory approaches to understand local concerns and re-design the scheme to address the challenges.

Keywords: Drop-outs; Community Based Health Insurance; rCHF

Community-Based Health Insurance schemes are meant to expand the coverage of healthcare provision to, especially, the majority poor in the rural areas of the Developing World. Despite high sensitization and mobilization campaigns, enrolment, re-enrolment and utilization of such schemes have been unexpectedly low. This is also the case with the Redesigned Community Health Fund (rCHF) in Tanzania. We took a qualitative approach to explore the reasons for the drop-outs of the rCHF in Mpwapwa District in central Tanzania. We reviewed various rCHF-related documents and used Key Informant Interviews and Focused Group Discussions to collect data from randomly selected drop-out cases. The findings suggest the availability of drugs, premium costs, quality of healthcare facilities as key reasons influencing households to enrol, re-enrol or drop-out of the rCHF. In this paper we argue that rCHF should integrate more participatory approaches to understand local concerns and re-design the scheme to address the challenges.
Waiting time and Resource Allocation for Out-patient Department
Authors: Msengwa Amina S. , Rashidi Jumanne , Mniachi R. A.
Published: January 2024

Long waiting time in Health care facilities remains a major problem in Tanzania, mostly due to increased demand, shortage of medical health professionals and underdeveloped health care system. We attempted to estimate the average waiting time and find the best scenario in reducing out-patient waiting time. Mwananyamala Hospital was selected purposively, as a Regional government hospital in Kinondoni District, Dar es Salaam. A total of 200 selected patients attended OPD from 16th July to 15th August 2018 were observed and recorded the arrival time at each one-minute interval. Results show that patients at Mwananyamala hospital spend an average waiting time of 167 minutes, with a maximum waiting time of 243 minutes (4 hours). Simulation time was 540 minutes (9 hours) under the assumption that the OPD operates from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm. Simulation results suggested the best resource allocation at the OPD be obtained after adding two more staff, a medical doctor and a registration staff, leading to an average waiting time of 38 minutes, which is almost 4 times less than the current situation. These findings demonstrate how simulation can be used to inform hospital management with valuable data to enhance efficiency in managing outpatients.
Climate Variability and Feminization of Poverty in Tanzania: The Contribution of Gendered Ownership and Access to Household Assets
Authors: Haule Tiemo
Published: January 2024

This cross-sectional study assesses the contribution of gendered ownership, control and access to household assets to feminization of poverty in Iringa District, Tanzania, by using a climate variability lens. The study involved 328 respondents from five villages. Data collection methods included structured interviews, focused group discussions, in-depth interviews and documentary review. The data collected was quantitative and qualitative. The study revealed that households in Iringa District are vulnerable to the effects of recurrent droughts and intermittent floods. Furthermore, it was found out that although men and women in Iringa District are affected by climate variability, women are more vulnerable than men. Women’s limited voice in ownership, control, access and equal share of the benefits accrued from household resources increased their vulnerability; this results to feminization of poverty. The study concludes that despite global and local efforts to achieve gender equality by empowering women and girls, in Iringa District, women remain more vulnerable to the effects of climate variability due to, among others, unequal control, ownership, access to and share of the benefits accrued from household assets. It is recommended that women should be placed at the centre of all efforts to realize equality in ownership, control and access to household assets. This will increase women’s resilience to the effects of climate variability, thereby reducing climate-induced feminization of poverty.
Public Health Expenditure and Economic Growth in Tanzania: Evidence from Autoregressive Distributed Lag And Causality Approaches
Authors: Mosha Dimpna , Aikaeli Jehovaness , Osoro Godwin
Published: January 2024

This article investigates the effect of public health expenditure on economic growth in Tanzania using time series data from 1980 to 2017, extracted from the World Bank database. Co-integration and Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model in Error Correction Model framework was employed in the analysis. The results revealed a significant positive effect of the lag of public health expenditure on economic growth in the short-run, while there was an insignificant effect of the relationship in the long-run. The study also found that improvement in health status has a significant positive impact on economic growth, supported by the causality results. Concerning the causality test, it was found that there was a bidirectional relationship between public health expenditure and economic growth; and between health status (infant mortality) and economic growth. This strictly signifies the effectiveness of government spending on health on economic growth, through enhancing worker productivity and output. Besides, rising household consumption expenditure was found to have a significant positive impact on boosting economic growth in Tanzania. However, the revealed insignificant long-term coefficient of public health expenditure on economic growth should not necessarily be taken as a reason to reallocate health expenditure from the health sector. Based on the findings, the study recommends that for Tanzania to sustain its economic growth, it needs to pay attention to measures that would improve the health of its citizens through allocating adequate budgetary expenditure to the health sector. Nevertheless, this has to go hand in hand with the establishment of a strong institutional system to ensure effective utilization of the allocated resources.