scholarly journals Targeting ‘highly vulnerable’ households during strict lockdowns

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (1&2) ◽  
pp. 38-62
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Ducanes ◽  
Sarah Lynne Daway-Ducanes ◽  
Edita Tan

In this brief article, we attempt to quantify the number of households in the country which are ‘highly vulnerable’ to hunger and poverty due to sudden and highly restrictive lockdowns, such as the enhanced community quarantine, and other social distancing measures, as well as estimate the budget that will be needed to address their vulnerability. ‘Highly vulnerable’ households are defined in this study as those unlikely to have incomes during strict lockdown periods because of the employment characteristics of their employed members and which likely have little or no savings to tide them over. Using nationally-representative household data, we define a job loss index to identify the employment characteristics that are most sensitive to the lockdown measures, and given these employment characteristics, identify the ‘highly vulnerable’ households. Depending on the pre-lockdown income threshold eligibility used, we estimate the number of ‘highly vulnerable’ households in the country at anywhere from 7.4 million to 11.3 million. At ₱5,000 per ‘highly vulnerable’ household, the estimated costs amount to ₱36.9 billion to ₱56.5 billion, again depending on the income threshold used. We also propose a way for the government to operationalize the process of identifying and helping ‘highly vulnerable’ households.

Author(s):  
Nopphol Witvorapong ◽  
Yong Yoon ◽  
Wiraporn Pothisiri

Abstract Based on nationally representative data (N = 8,901), this study investigates the extent to which expectations for intra-family transfers and government assistance in old age impact the probability of saving for retirement among working-age individuals in Thailand. Results show that expectations for financial non-self-reliance and expectations that family support would constitute the most important source of old-age financial security reduce the probability that working-age individuals would save for retirement. Expectations for government support have no impact on average. Given that filial piety is weakening in Thailand, this study suggests that the government encourage pre-retirement savings more strongly.


2021 ◽  
pp. 026010602098234
Author(s):  
Pradeep Kumar ◽  
Himani Sharma ◽  
Kamalesh Kumar Patel

Background: Despite various programmes initiated by the Government of India, the nutritional indicators are not encouraging, as several problems like undernutrition, malnutrition and anaemia – still persist in the country, especially in the Empowered Action Group (EAG) states. Aim: Because of the dearth of studies regarding anaemia among men in India, the present study aimed to determine its prevalence in this population in the EAG states and to analyse its geographical and socio-demographic determinants. Methods: The study utilized nationally representative, cross-sectional survey data from round 4 of the National Family Health Survey conducted in 2015–16. Bivariate analysis along with binary logistic regression were performed to assess the predictors of anaemia among men in the EAG states. Results: Around a quarter of the men in the EAG states suffered from anaemia. A similar high-prevalence pattern was observed across the EAG states. Wherein, Bihar and Jharkhand had the highest prevalence of anaemia while Uttarakhand showed the lowest. Age, place of residence, marital status and caste were positively associated with the likelihood of anaemia among men in the EAG states. Conclusions: Focusing on the EAG states, this study considered the severity of anaemia as a public health problem among men. Strategies to reduce the burden of anaemia among this population are needed. The government should formulate programmes targeting anaemia specifically, and improving the nutritional status among men in general in the EAG states.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (s1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Said Gounane ◽  
Yassir Barkouch ◽  
Abdelghafour Atlas ◽  
Mostafa Bendahmane ◽  
Fahd Karami ◽  
...  

Abstract Recently, various mathematical models have been proposed to model COVID-19 outbreak. These models are an effective tool to study the mechanisms of coronavirus spreading and to predict the future course of COVID-19 disease. They are also used to evaluate strategies to control this pandemic. Generally, SIR compartmental models are appropriate for understanding and predicting the dynamics of infectious diseases like COVID-19. The classical SIR model is initially introduced by Kermack and McKendrick (cf. (Anderson, R. M. 1991. “Discussion: the Kermack–McKendrick Epidemic Threshold Theorem.” Bulletin of Mathematical Biology 53 (1): 3–32; Kermack, W. O., and A. G. McKendrick. 1927. “A Contribution to the Mathematical Theory of Epidemics.” Proceedings of the Royal Society 115 (772): 700–21)) to describe the evolution of the susceptible, infected and recovered compartment. Focused on the impact of public policies designed to contain this pandemic, we develop a new nonlinear SIR epidemic problem modeling the spreading of coronavirus under the effect of a social distancing induced by the government measures to stop coronavirus spreading. To find the parameters adopted for each country (for e.g. Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Algeria and Morocco) we fit the proposed model with respect to the actual real data. We also evaluate the government measures in each country with respect to the evolution of the pandemic. Our numerical simulations can be used to provide an effective tool for predicting the spread of the disease.


Author(s):  
Sandile Mthethwa ◽  
Edilegnaw Wale

Using a nationally representative dataset from rural areas in South Africa, the study examines vulnerability to food insecurity using the Vulnerability as Expected Poverty framework. The dataset used was large and comprehensive to develop robust profiles of vulnerable households. This is executed employing the sustainable livelihoods framework. The findings show that human and financial capital plays a critical role in making rural households resilient from vulnerability to food insecurity. The failure of natural resources to support agricultural livelihoods emerged as an important factor for rural household vulnerability to food insecurity. Gender-based imbalances still prevail, explaining most of the rural household vulnerability to food insecurity. Female-dominated households still endure most of the prevailing vulnerabilities to food insecurity, and this is even worse for households headed by younger females. Policies, strategies, and institutions in South Africa have not been able to address household vulnerability to food insecurity. The study identified Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal as the most vulnerable provinces where food policy has to be a top priority agenda.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3179
Author(s):  
Minh Hieu Nguyen ◽  
Jimmy Armoogum

The rapid and widespread of COVID-19 has caused severe multifaceted effects on society but differently in women and men, thereby preventing the achievement of gender equality (the 5th sustainable development goal of the United Nations). This study, using data of 355 teleworkers collected in Hanoi (Vietnam) during the first social distancing period, aims at exploring how (dis)similar factors associated with the perception and the preference for more home-based telework (HBT) for male teleworkers versus female peers are. The findings show that 56% of female teleworkers compared to 45% of male counterparts had a positive perception of HBT within the social distancing period and 63% of women desired to telework more in comparison with 39% of men post-COVID-19. Work-related factors were associated with the male perception while family-related factors influenced the female perception. There is a difference in the effects of the same variables (age and children in the household) on the perception and the preference for HBT for females. For women, HBT would be considered a solution post-COVID-19 to solve the burden existing pre-COVID-19 and increasing in COVID-19. Considering gender inequality is necessary for the government and authorities to lessen the adverse effects of COVID-19 on the lives of citizens, especially female ones, in developing countries.


Author(s):  
Trang H.D. Nguyen

ABSTRACT While many nations are struggling to slow the transmission rate of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Vietnam has seen no new locally acquired cases since April 16. After implementing 22 d of nationwide social distancing, on April 23, the government of Vietnam announced the easing of social distancing measures. This allows the country to restart its socio-economic activities in a gradual, prudent manner. Domestic tourism and exports of agricultural and anti-COVID-19 medical products take priority over the other sectors in this postpandemic economic recovery. Importantly, the country needs to stay vigilant on the fight against the disease to prevent a possibility of another outbreak.


2021 ◽  
Vol 108 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
J Eskander ◽  
A Khallaf ◽  
S Zaki ◽  
M Elkawafi ◽  
R Makar

Abstract Background Since the outbreak of COVID-19; social distancing and recognized effective precautions were recommended by various governments to fight the viral spread. Our aim was to assess the inpatient knowledge and compliance with the government guidelines during their hospital stay and at their discharge in two different NHS hospitals. Method The study took place in two hospitals: Berrywood hospital, UK and Countess of Chester hospital, UK. We invited inpatients to answer an anonymized questionnaire which was designed to include the contemporary government guidelines. We excluded patients with cognitive impairment and those who were not expected to be discharged within days. Results Out of 209 patients, 50% were male. Patients showed good awareness of the main symptoms of the virus (90%). However, A significant number of patients were not fully aware of the recommended precautions to minimize viral spread (28%) and the method of spread (43%). About 41% did not know the recommended safe distance. Conclusions Despite being aware of the main symptoms of COVID-19, a significant number of patients lack essential information needed to minimize the spread of the virus in the society and hospital. We recommend providing patients with information leaflets and direct advice on admission and discharge.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filippo Pavanello ◽  
Teresa Randazzo

<p>Do remittances improve how households adapt to global warming? We explore this question exploiting a nationally-representative household data from Mexico - a country that experiences a large flow of remittances. Mexican households respond to excess heat by purchasing air conditioning and remittances can be used to adopt and use cooling devices that contribute to maintaining thermal comfort at home. Our results show that recipient households have a higher probability to adopt air conditioning at home with important implication on electricity consumption. The effect is even larger for those households living in high-temperature areas showing an important role of remittances in the climate adaptation process.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeyu Lyu ◽  
Hiroki Takikawa

BACKGROUND The availability of large-scale and fine-grained aggregated mobility data has allowed researchers to observe the dynamic of social distancing behaviors at high spatial and temporal resolutions. Despite the increasing attentions paid to this research agenda, limited studies have focused on the demographic factors related to mobility and the dynamics of social distancing behaviors has not been fully investigated. OBJECTIVE This study aims to assist in the design and implementation of public health policies by exploring the social distancing behaviors among various demographic groups over time. METHODS We combined several data sources, including mobile tracking data and geographical statistics, to estimate visiting population of entertainment venues across demographic groups, which can be considered as the proxy of social distancing behaviors. Then, we employed time series analyze methods to investigate how voluntary and policy-induced social distancing behaviors shift over time across demographic groups. RESULTS Our findings demonstrate distinct patterns of social distancing behaviors and their dynamics across age groups. The population in the entertainment venues comprised mainly of individuals aged 20–40 years, while according to the dynamics of the mobility index and the policy-induced behavior, among the age groups, the extent of reduction of the frequency of visiting entertainment venues during the pandemic was generally the highest among younger individuals. Also, our results indicate the importance of implementing the social distancing policy promptly to limit the spread of the COVID-19 infection. However, it should be noticed that although the policy intervention during the second wave in Japan appeared to increase the awareness of the severity of the pandemic and concerns regarding COVID-19, its direct impact has been largely decreased could only last for a short time. CONCLUSIONS At the time we wrote this paper, in Japan, the number of daily confirmed cases was continuously increasing. Thus, this study provides a timely reference for decision makers about the current situation of policy-induced compliance behaviors. On the one hand, age-dependent disparity requires target mitigation strategies to increase the intention of elderly individuals to adopt mobility restriction behaviors. On the other hand, considering the decreasing impact of self-restriction recommendations, the government should employ policy interventions that limit the resurgence of cases, especially by imposing stronger, stricter social distancing interventions, as they are necessary to promote social distancing behaviors and mitigate the transmission of COVID-19. CLINICALTRIAL None


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