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International Donors (international + donor)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Mapping capacity in the health sector: a conceptual framework

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2002
Anne K. LaFond
Abstract Capacity improvement has become central to strategies used to develop health systems in low-income countries. Experience suggests that achieving better health outcomes requires both increased investment (i.e. financial resources) and adequate local capacity to use resources effectively. International donors and non-governmental agencies, as well as ministries of health, are therefore increasingly relying on capacity building to enhance overall performance in the health sector. Despite the growing interest in capacity improvement, there has been little consensus among practitioners and academics on definitions of ,capacity building' and how to evaluate it. This paper aims to review current knowledge and experiences from ongoing efforts to monitor and evaluate capacity building interventions in the health sector in developing countries. It draws on a wide range of sources to develop (1) a definition of capacity building and (2) a conceptual framework for mapping capacity and measuring the effects of capacity building interventions. Mapping is the initial step in the design of capacity building interventions and provides a framework for monitoring and evaluating their effectiveness. Capacity mapping is useful to planners because it makes explicit the assumptions underlying the relationship between capacity and health system performance and provides a framework for testing those assumptions. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

The Contribution of Long-Term Research at Gombe National Park to Chimpanzee Conservation

CONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2007
ANNE E. PUSEY
chimpancé; conservación de simios mayores; Parque Nacional Gombe; Tanzania Abstract:,Long-term research projects can provide important conservation benefits, not only through research specifically focused on conservation problems, but also from various incidental benefits, such as increased intensity of monitoring and building support for the protection of an area. At Gombe National Park, Tanzania, long-term research has provided at least four distinct benefits to wildlife conservation. (1) Jane Goodall's groundbreaking discoveries of chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) tool use, hunting, and complex social relationships in what was then a game reserve drew attention to the area and created support for upgrading Gombe to national park status in 1968. (2) The highly publicized findings have earned Gombe and Tanzania the attention of a worldwide public that includes tourists and donors that provide financial support for Gombe, other parks in Tanzania, and chimpanzee conservation in general. (3) Crucial information on social structure and habitat use has been gathered that is essential for effective conservation of chimpanzees at Gombe and elsewhere. (4) A clear picture of Gombe's chimpanzee population over the past 40 years has been determined, and this has helped identify the greatest threats to the viability of this population, namely disease and habita loss outside the park. These threats are severe and because of the small size of the population it is extremely vulnerable. Research at Gombe has led to the establishment of conservation education and development projects around Gombe, which are needed to build local support for the park and its chimpanzees, but saving these famous chimpanzees will take a larger integrated effort on the part of park managers, researchers, and the local community with financial help from international donors. Resumen:,Los proyectos de investigación de largo plazo pueden proporcionar beneficios importantes a la conservación, no solo a través de investigación enfocada específicamente a problemas de conservación, sino también a través de varios beneficios incidentales, como una mayor intensidad de monitoreo y construcción de soporte para la protección de un área. En el Parque Nacional Gombe, Tanzania, la investigación a largo plazo ha proporcionado por lo menos cuatro beneficios a la conservación de vida silvestre. (1) Los descubrimientos innovadores de Jane Goodall sobre el uso de herramientas, la cacería y las complejas relaciones sociales de chimpancés en lo que entonces era una reserva de caza atrajeron la atención al área y crearon el soporte para cambiar a Gombe a estatus de parque nacional en 1968. (2) Los hallazgos muy publicitados han ganado para Gombe y Tanzania la atención del público en todo el mundo incluyendo turistas y donadores que proporcionan soporte financiero a Gombe, otros parques en Tanzania y a la conservación de chimpancés en general. (3) Se ha reunido información crucial sobre la estructura social y el uso del hábitat que ha sido esencial para la conservación efectiva de chimpancés en Gombe y otros sitios. (4) Se ha determinado un panorama claro de la población de chimpancés en Gombe durante los últimos 40 años, y esto a ayudado a identificar las mayores amenazas a la viabilidad de esta población, a saber enfermedades y pérdida de hábitat fuera del parque. Estas amenazas son severas y la población es extremadamente vulnerable por su tamaño pequeño. La investigación en Gombe ha llevado al establecimiento de proyectos de desarrollo y de educación para la conservación en los alrededores del parque, lo cual es necesario para encontrar soporte local para el parque y sus chimpancés, pero el rescate de estos famosos chimpancés requerirá de un esfuerzo más integrado de parte de los manejadores del parque, investigadores y la comunidad local con la ayuda financiera de donadores internacionales. [source]

Food Security in Complex Emergencies: Enhancing Food System Resilience

DISASTERS, Issue 2005
Prabhu Pingali
This paper explores linkages between food security and crisis in different contexts, outlining the policy and institutional conditions needed to manage food security during a crisis and to rebuild the resilience of food systems in periods of relative peace. The paper reviews experiences over the past decade of countries in protracted crisis and draws lessons for national and international policy. It assesses the different alternatives on offer in fragile countries to address, for example, the disruption of institutional mechanisms and the decreasing level of support offered by international donors with respect to longer-term expectations. It proposes a Twin Track Approach to enhance food security resilience through specific policies for protracted crises that link immediate hunger relief interventions with a long-term strategy for sustainable growth. Finally, the article analyses policy options and the implications for both short- and longer-term responses vis-à-vis the three dimensions of food security: availability; access; and stability. [source]

Accountability, Participation and Foreign Aid Effectiveness

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES REVIEW, Issue 2 2010
Matthew S. Winters
Foreign aid involves a chain of accountability relationships stretching from international donors through national governments and implementing agencies to a set of ultimate end users of the goods and services financed by the aid. In this paper, I review five different accountability relationships that exist in foreign aid projects among donors, governments, implementing agencies and end users. Then I summarize existing empirical evidence demonstrating that foreign aid functions better,both at the macro-level of aid flows and at the micro-level of individual aid projects,when there is more government and implementing agency accountability. Specifying several mechanisms that facilitate accountability, I emphasize that participation is a tool often used to produce accountability within aid projects. However, in terms of donor accountability to aid-receiving countries and the end users in them, recent pushes for increased participation have not resulted in more accountability in the design of aid programs. Ultimately, although enthusiasm for participatory models of aid design and delivery is warranted, participation is not a panacea for all the accountability problems in foreign aid programs. [source]