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1 – 10 of 564This chapter reviews the literature to contextualize the intervention in the post–cold war era characterized by the momentum of globalization dominated by informal actors beside…
Abstract
This chapter reviews the literature to contextualize the intervention in the post–cold war era characterized by the momentum of globalization dominated by informal actors beside the legal authority of the state. It indicates how these actors deviate the primary purpose of the humanitarian intervention and create an ungovernable environment of the state particularly when interventions are operated in countries endowed with natural resources. The case of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) serves as a model to ascertain such phenomenon in which actors such as states involved in intervention come in collusion with shadow elites, lobbyists and multinational companies to establish clandestine networks of illegal exploitation and smuggling of natural resources. The chapter winds up by suggesting the redefinition of policies of interventions to keep humanitarian intervention in its primary mission while holding actors involved in illegal and smuggling of natural resources accountable.
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This chapter aims to question the ways in which sexual and gender-based violence have been framed in international discourse and policy and thus to examine some of the causes of…
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter aims to question the ways in which sexual and gender-based violence have been framed in international discourse and policy and thus to examine some of the causes of the perceived failure of international responses to this violence.
Methodology
The chapter is based on qualitative research carried out through key informant interviews and focus groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Findings
The research highlights the ways in which limited understandings of sexual and gender-based violence lead to interventions which have unintended and sometimes negative consequences for gender relations in the DRC.
Social implications
The chapter calls on researchers, policy makers, and aid practitioners to rethink their approaches to tackling sexual and gender-based violence and to incorporate these into a more coherent overall approach to gender inequality.
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Lisette Mangaza, Denis Jean Sonwa, Germain Batsi, Jérôme Ebuy and Jean-Marie Kahindo
This paper aims to produce a framework for climate-smart agriculture (CSA) in the Yangambi landscape, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This would enable the authors to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to produce a framework for climate-smart agriculture (CSA) in the Yangambi landscape, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This would enable the authors to identify agricultural practices, assess vulnerability to climate change, identify options for improving agricultural systems from a climate change mitigation and adaptation perspective and finally provide climate-smart agricultural options.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used household survey methods of data collection. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire survey by interviewing 250 farm households, subdivided using three axes of the Yangambi landscape. Fisher’s exact test was used to determine relationships between two or more variables.
Findings
Results of the survey revealed that the vast majority (98%) of respondents perceived changes in temperature, rainfall and weather patterns. Reduction of crop yields and the emergence of new weed species and new crop pests are the main impacts on agricultural activities. Although 87.6% of respondents have no means of adaptation and resilience, some of them use crops rotation, fallow practice, fertilizers and bio-pesticides. A framework for CSA is proposed for the Yangambi landscape.
Practical implications
Policies and strategies to promote CSA in the study area should take into account local farmers' perceptions of climate change and consider first the adequacy of CSA practices for the specific conditions of the target area before its promotion. This study is thus useful for many REDD+ initiatives that are currently being promoted in DRC and particularly in the Tshopo Province.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first studies to focus on CSA in the Yangambi landscape, DRC. It assists the use of agriculture as a response to reducing deforestation while at the same time lowering agriculture’s carbon footprint and promoting a resilient and more productive farming system.
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Kulondwa Safari, Charity Njoka and Mugisho Guershom Munkwa
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of financial literacy on personal retirement planning in Bukavu city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of financial literacy on personal retirement planning in Bukavu city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which is a Sub-Saharan underdeveloped country with a weak pension and social security system.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a structural equation modeling and a sample of 361 public sector employees selected in Bukavu city in the DRC. The data were collected through a survey questionnaire, and the data were analyzed using SPSS and SMART PLS software.
Findings
The results from the study revealed that financial literacy has a significant impact on personal retirement planning. Two constructs of financial literacy, respectively, computation capability and financial knowledge were found to have a significant impact on personal retirement planning, while financial education and attitudes toward financial products were found not significant in explaining personal retirement planning.
Practical implications
The findings from this study can be used by policy makers in the DRC to design socioeconomic programs, aiming to increase the level of financial literacy in the country and awareness on personal retirement planning.
Originality/value
The reviewed studies were based mostly on developed countries, and countries were the social security system works effectively. We have not found a study on financial literacy and retirement planning that has been conducted in the DRC, which is a country with specific characteristics compared to developed countries.
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Eradicating Ebola from West Africa was struggled with from 2014 through 2016. While at first inefficient and ineffective, undeniable progress was made in responding to the…
Abstract
Eradicating Ebola from West Africa was struggled with from 2014 through 2016. While at first inefficient and ineffective, undeniable progress was made in responding to the outbreak once countries and organizations steeled themselves for the task at hand. A separate outbreak occurred concurrently in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during this period. This episode marked the seventh time that DRC had dealt with the virus over a roughly 45-year span. In 2017, there was an eighth occurrence. Moreover, in 2018, DRC faced its ninth and tenth outbreaks. Comparing the experiences of countries in West Africa facing the disease for the first time, with a state that has a long history addressing its impact, is offered here as a means of better understanding successful disease management where public health epidemics are concerned. Results indicate that early investment in cultivating disease-specific practices, combined with establishing cooperative networks of actors across levels of political response, enables improved mitigation and response during outbreaks.
Deogratias Bugandwa Mungu Akonkwa, Eddy Balemba Kanyurhi, Guillaume Bidubula Juwa and Albert Masheka Hongo
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One of the serious crises faced chiefly by the developing countries is the large influx of people from neighbouring poor and less developed countries as a result of civil wars…
Abstract
One of the serious crises faced chiefly by the developing countries is the large influx of people from neighbouring poor and less developed countries as a result of civil wars, political and social turbulence, to name some. Following UNHCR's latest available publication of data on refugees (2016), this chapter attempts to highlight the world's major refugee producing countries, inherent causes of such generation and destination of the emigrants on one hand and the scenario of world's major refugee hosting countries, refugees from countries received by them and their present condition, on the other. Disaggregation of data is done in each case to provide further insightful analysis.
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This paper attempts to discuss the synergies between the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and Ebola preparedness and response – with a specific outlook about how the five (5…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper attempts to discuss the synergies between the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and Ebola preparedness and response – with a specific outlook about how the five (5) targets in SDG.3 can be prioritized and integrated into the measures taken against the battle of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) as well as any other sporadic health disasters and emergencies elsewhere.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws on the published literature, including reports, peer-reviewed articles, statistical data and relevant documents identified from authenticated sources.
Findings
Sustainable development, which is the nitty-gritty of SDGs, is underscored as a germane in almost all regional and international frameworks. However, as traditional natural hazards persist, alongside the persistence of civil conflicts and instability, socioeconomic challenges such as EVD pose serious hindrances to SDGs, and achieving them by 2030 might be a deferred dream, especially in low- and middle-income countries such as DRC.
Practical implications
This paper will help to inform the decisions of bureaucrats at different levels, especially those aimed at promoting and integrating health into sustainable development.
Originality/value
The recent 2018 EVD outbreaks in DRC, which galvanized the regional and global attention, call for an approach that elucidates an interaction between the SDGs and countermeasures of responding to this deadly disease in the DRC and elsewhere.
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However, he also met his host, President Yoweri Museveni, to discuss the security situation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), including the possibility of an…