Research Reports (1998): Social Studies, Vol – XX

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10361/13458

Browse

Now showing 1 - 10 of 10

The urban poor in Dhaka City: their struggles and coping strategies during the floods
(BRAC Research and Evaluation Division (RED), 1998-09) Rashid, Sabina
Poorer groups are exposed to increased vulnerabilities during periods of floods. Some of the difficulties faced by them include loss of possessions, fears of extortion and looting, and separation from their social network. The poor undertake different coping strategies to adapt to the floods such as abandoning land or housing, salvaging household items, selling land or livestock, and moving housing or family members to safer places. Perceptions of loss of the poor seem to be far more affected by damages in personal livelihood, and less by the overall scale of losses in the area. Women and children are often the most vulnerable groups during such disasters. Lack of sanitation facilities affected women badly. A majority of the latrines were submerged and inaccessible. This resulted in loss of privacy and shame for the women, with most being forced to defecate in their own homes. Some women were able to access, with great difficulty, latrines outside their neighbouring area. Floods usually result in an acute scarcity of safe drinking water clue to the contamination of water sources, such as tube-wells and reserve tanks. This adversely affects the existing poor health conditions of slum dwellers. There were numerous reports of diarrhoea and other illnesses amongst both children and adults. The floods left most of the urban poor unemployed. This resulted in an increase in tension and domestic violence, particularly towards women. In some areas, BRAC members were pressured into repaying loans even though most were severely affected by. the floods. Furthermore, NGOs chose to implement separate flood relief strategies instead of co-ordinating their efforts.
National Immunization Day in slums of Mohakhali, Dhaka
(BRAC Research and Evaluation Division (RED), 1998-02) Khan, Suhaila H.
Lead pollution in Dhaka city
(BRAC Research and Evaluation Division (RED), 1998-05) Rahman, Amina
Environmental examination of BRAC poultry farms and feed mills
(BRAC Research and Evaluation Division (RED), 1998-09) Tareq, Md. Ashiqul Hasib; Akter, Nasima
The study aimed to identify activities of poultry rearing that are environmentally sensitive; to investigate waste disposal system, health risk and impacts of various poultry programme activities on environment and also identify the areas and steps for further consideration for sustainable environment. The study data were collected through a checklist and interviews of the people. The major findings of the study were categorised under health effects and environmental assessment of the programme. The poultry farms were found not to be environmentally hazardous. The litter as a waste bfrom the poultry was found to be managed properly by selling it as a compost to local farmers. Sometimes the rice husk and the poultry litter was found to be damped into the nearby water sources but it was observed that it was a good fish feed. It was also found that there are no health risk involved with poultry farms but too much exposure of the workers to dust may cause asthma or other bronchial diseases. The results indicate that the health and environmental problem related to the programme is not acute. Even then some recommendations and monitoring criteria were made to overcome some of the environmental health hazards created by the poultry farmers and feed mills production.
Environmental assessment guidelines for BRAC’s rural development programme
(BRAC Research and Evaluation Division (RED), 1998-04) Child, Emma
The study aimed to provide some guidelines for BRAC's fisheries and sericulture projects to minimise the negative environmental impacts. The methodologies described here are the simple EIA (Environmental Initial Assessment) methodologies. The guidelines provided here are organized into four different categories. These are: (A) habitat, wildlife (B) chemical use (C) natural resource use and (D)waste management. Environmental assessment guidelines are commonly conceptualized and organized according to the different environmental effects. The guidelines here have been formulated to combine this anthropocentric perspective within an ecological framework, with the intention of making the guidelines relevant to many rural development sectors. These are general guidelines for application to any rural development project, which when applied to specific sectors or types of projects will result in more specific recommendation.
Emotional stress and coping mechanisms: experience of poor rural women from Matlab, Bangladesh
(BRAC Research and Evaluation Division (RED), 1998) Ahmed, Syed Masud; Chowdhury, Mushtaque; Bhuiya, Abbas
Poverty is increasingly being recognised as a risk factor_ for both the development and the maintenance of common mental problems such as anxiety and depression. T-his study explored the experience of emotional stress by poor Bangladeshi rural women involved in credit-based income generating activities, using data from BRAC-ICDDR, Joint Research Project at Matlab. Out of 3,831 ever married women between 15 to 55 years, 39% from BRAC households reported suffering emotional stress in last four months, compared to 44% and 29"/o among poor and non-poor non-member households respectively. The single major reason was related to poverty (around 40%). The multivariate analysis identified currently married status, good health, generating family income and owning land by household as important predictors for better mental health. Disputes with neighbours, need to sell household assets. having poor health and having children, contributed to greater emotional stress. Around 44% of the women manifested symptoms of depression while coping with such situations. Also, change in women's economic roles within household was found to be initially met with resistance/ resentment, and in extreme cases, with physical violence. Thus, stresses resulting from newly adopted non-traditional role by women might act as risk factors for initiating mental health problems.
Differentials of the immunization program in rural Bangladesh and the issue of userfee
(BRAC Research and Evaluation Division (RED), 1998) Kamal, Firoz Mahboob; Hadi, Abdullahel; Chowdhury, A Mushtaque R.
This study investigated some aspects of the sustainability of the immunization program by exploring the association between immunization coverage and price affordability with some selected socioeconomic variables in rural Bangladesh. It was conducted in 75 villages in I 0 areas of five administrative districts. Eligible interviewees were 1145 resident mothers having a child of age 12 to 23 months. Both paternal and maternal education were found to have a significant influence on immunization. There was no significant association between immunization coverage and child's sex, household's cultivable land, labor sale and NGO involvement. Exposure to media like radio increases predictability of immunization by about two folds. Most people wish to pay none or minimal userfee, therefore restrict the financial sustainability of the program on its own. An increase in parental education enhances the willingness to pay userfees.
A visit to a flood shelter in Dhaka City
(BRAC Research and Evaluation Division (RED), 1998) Karim, Fazlul; Sultan, Sania; Chowdhury, Mushtaque
Political commitment of immunization Programme in Bangladesh
(BRAC Research and Evaluation Division (RED), 1998) Chowdhury, AMR; Chowdhury, Osman Haider; Islam, Shafiqul
Social demand for immunization: results from the Bhairab study
(BRAC Research and Evaluation Division (RED), 1998) Bhuiya, Abbas; Mol, Dineke; Mahbub, Amina; Sultana, Shagufta; Begum, Shamim Ara; Begum, Insana; Chowdhury, AMR; Karim, Fazlul

Browse

Recent Submissions