Overurbanization and underdevelopment in sub-Saharan Africa: a cross-national study

"This paper discusses both the urban bias and world-system theories of overurbanization and presents a cross-national analysis of 32 African nations to test these perspectives. The analysis is divided into three parts. First, the effects of urban bias (i.e., the disparity in welfare between rural and urban areas) and economic dependence on overurbanization are examined. Next, the association between overurbanization and (1) the structure of the labor force and (2) economic growth is tested. Finally, the relationship between the structure of the labor force and economic growth is evaluated." The results indicate that "the rural-urban disparity and foreign investment facilitate overurbanization, and that an increase in level of overurbanization has a deleterious impact on both the structure of the labor force and economic growth. Furthermore, there is strong evidence indicating that an increase in service-sector employment has a negative effect on economic growth."

A quest for better contraception: the Ford Foundation's contribution to reproductive science and contraceptive development 1959-1983

This review describes the Ford Foundation's program of support of research and training in reproductive science and contraceptive development from 1959 through 1983. An appraisal of some of the merits and limitations of that program and of its impact on the field is also presented.

Supply of essential drugs for church hospitals in Ghana

Based on the results of an inquiry, answered by 39 out of the 53 rural Church hospitals and clinics in Ghana, a list of 34 indispensable drugs was compiled. At a cost of less than US $600 000 it is possible to provide all Church health institutions (30% of all health facilities in Ghana) with these 34 essential drugs for one year (at 1982 prices). When the drugs are prepacked in Units, distribution can easily be carried out from a very limited number of distribution points, without the need for extensive logistic provisions such as trucks, stores, personnel and security checks.

Plundering the poor: the role of the World Bank in the Third World

The World Bank, the most important so-called development assistance agency, annually dispenses billions of dollars to Third World governments, ostensibly to "develop" their economics through a variety of loan projects. But even a superficial analysis reveals that the Bank is the perfect mechanism to help (i.e., subsidize) the large transnational corporations from the industrial countries to expand their industrial, commercial, and financial activities in the Third World, at the expense of the latter and particularly at the expense of the rural and urban proletariat. This article discusses Cheryl Payer's recent book, The World Bank: A Critical Analysis, in which she analyzes the Bank's role in the Third World and sets forth the major reasons why poverty, hunger, and malnutrition, as well as unemployment, and all the adverse social phenomena associated with them, are on the increase.

Primary health care according to African requirements

African conditions and circumstances present specific challenges to health service providers. These conditions have implications for primary health care (PHC), including problems of communication (geographical, educational and cultural), maldistribution of health manpower, political unrest and wars. Local PHC services must compete with the prestige of and faith in the hospitals. Manpower training should be stressed at all levels of education of all medical and paramedical personnel. The status of PHC in the Republic of South Africa is now well recognized, and provision of the required services has a high priority.

Population growth and economic growth: any connection?

The author examines the current evidence concerning the relationship between population growth and economic growth, with particular reference to the justification for U.S. assistance to programs designed to slow rates of population growth in developing countries. It is concluded that "the results of economic theory and research do not support the oft-repeated claims that population growth inhibits economic growth." The author suggests that the reason for continued U.S. support for population programs is the effectiveness of a population lobby that has a vested interest in the continuation of such assistance.