Francis Enu-Kwesi

Poverty is a global development challenge. However, its incidence and prevalence rates are higher in specific regions of the global South. To this end, one of the ways to appreciate the dynamics of poverty is to situate the discussion within the context of geography. Whereas studies are showing that several geographic poverty traps exist in the global South previous scoping reviews did not give the geography of poverty sufficient consideration, and those that attempted did not cover the entire global South. Consequently, this study draws on the extensive data and literature on global incidences and prevalence of poverty to investigate the geographies of poverty in the global South. To achieve this, a scoping review was conducted using PRiSMA-ScR criteria. The review revealed that sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia were the hotspots of poverty, with deterministic and possibilistic elements accounting for the phenomenon. It is proposed that enough consideration be given to geographical variables when designing poverty reduction programmes to achieve equity in the fight against global poverty.

IMPACT STATEMENT
Poverty poses a significant global challenge, particularly prevalent in specific regions of the global South, commonly referred to as developing countries. Crafting an efficient poverty reduction strategy necessitates pinpointing the geographic concentrations of impoverished populations and understanding the factors contributing to their predicament. Adopting a geographical perspective of poverty is essential in this regard. Evidence suggests that poverty is predominantly concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. The root causes of poverty in these regions stem from the interplay between physical conditions, human activities, and the environmental context in which communities reside. Consequently, practical poverty reduction efforts in developing nations must tailor programmes to target impoverished populations based on their geographical locations while addressing their unique environmental challenges.

Governments and development agencies have used several microfinance programmes to fight poverty. However, these programmes can only be sustainable if loans are repaid, because non-payment of loans can deny the poor of access to future credit, and reduce the interest income, profits and on-lending funds of financial institutions whose major asset is loans. This study examined the effects of borrower characteristics on loan repayment of participants in the Credit With Education Programme (CWE) implemented in the Tamale Metropolis. Cross sectional data collected from 375 borrowers were analyzed using a logistic regression model. Results of the estimation indicate that repayment is positively influenced by age, access to market and number of loans received but negatively influenced by household size of borrowers. The study recommended replication of the CWE programme by other MFIs, but called for intensification of screening of borrowers by peers and increased education on market access...

The rate of agricultural land conversion in peri-urban communities due to peri-urbanisation and inefficient use of agricultural lands has raised concerns at both local and global levels. This paper surveys the literature and synthesises the key arguments for and against peri-urbanisation. A review of the literature demonstrates that the focal arguments focus on employment, diversification and intensification of agriculture, cash-income activities, livestock rearing, access to goods and services, unsanitary conditions, social vices, weakening social relations, deforestation, high cost of living, and out-migration. We conclude that peri-urbanisation brings about the betterment of living conditions and at the same time displaces local livelihoods, while breeding poverty for local residents. Hence, we recommend the design and implementation of policies that will secure agriculture lands, while promoting urban activities to enable farmer households to cultivate their land and at the same...

The Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme was established in Ghana to tackle poverty, yet studies on LEAP yielded inconclusive results on its effects. This article reports on an assessment of the effects of LEAP on poverty reduction, using an “after-only” study design. Results suggest that beneficiaries saw improvement in food consumption, income levels, savings levels, access to healthcare, and school attendance following participation in LEAP. The study concludes that LEAP contributed to poverty reduction as it enhanced beneficiaries’ living conditions. It  recommends that LEAP targeting be based on the
Ghana National Household Registry’s database to eliminate inclusion errors.

Social cash transfers as a strategy for poverty reduction acquired prominence in Latin America
but spread later to the rest of the developing world because earlier poverty reduction strategies
did not make many gains. Most studies on cash transfer schemes seem tilted towards evaluating
their impacts while neglecting the arguments surrounding their design and operations. As
such, this paper reviews some of the debates that engulf social cash transfers as a form of social
assistance. The review showed that debates about social cash transfers generally centre on
targeting, affordability, conditionalities, poverty reduction ability, utilisation of cash, market
effect, cash versus food stamp, and dependency. It is concluded that the debates are crucial as
they lay the pedestal upon which policy makers take the decision as to whether to set up, change
or end an existing cash transfer programme.

In order for the people of a country or district to achieve their individual aspirations and collectively contribute toward development they need to be entrepreneurial. This requires some form of training and education in order to develop the relevant skills, knowledge and attitudes requisite for meaningful employment. Using descriptive statistics, this paper examines the links between unemployment situation and youth enterprise in the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam District (AEED) in the Central Region, one of the four poorest administrative regions of Ghana. It found that majority of the youth had at most secondary education, and were unemployed, under-employed or self-employed in informal micro-enterprises. Though entrepreneurial opportunities existed in the District, the youth were adequately involved in the requisite entrepreneurship training programmes that would enable them to take advantage of the existing opportunities in order to reduce youth unemployment or under-employment. It concludes that though the youth have entrepreneurial potentials, their low educational attainment has been a challenge to training. It has therefore been suggested that the District Assembly encourages training and educational institutions that incorporate entrepreneurship in their curriculum in order to provide trainees with the needed knowledge, skills and competencies for employment.