Food Co-ops Toolkit

More and more communities are setting up food co-ops so they can get good food atan affordable price and have more control over where their food comes from. Co-operation is all about two or more people joining forces and working together to achieve something they probably couldn't do on their own. In the case of food co-ops a group of people join forces in order to be able to buy foodsthey may otherwise find it hard to get hold of at aprice they can afford.By volunteering their time and pooling their buying power they cangetproducedirect from local farmers or wholesalers. This toolkit was produced as part of the Big Lottery fundedMaking Local Food Work programmeto help morecommunitiesset up their own food co-ops and buying groups.The Food Co-ops project has now ended but the toolkit and other resources will all remain on-line.To find moreabout food co-opsyou can visit our main website www.foodcoops.org

Epidemiology of visceral leishmaniasis through spatial analysis, in Belo Horizonte municipality, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil

The geographic information system approach has permitted integration between demographic, socio-economic and environmental data, providing correlation between information from several data banks. In the current work, occurrence of human and canine visceral leishmaniases and insect vectors (Lutzomyia longipalpis) as well as biogeographic information related to 9 areas that comprise the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, between April 2001 and March 2002 were correlated and georeferenced. By using this technique it was possible to define concentration loci of canine leishmaniasis in the following regions: East; Northeast; Northwest; West; and Venda Nova. However, as for human leishmaniasis, it was not possible to perform the same analysis. Data analysis has also shown that 84.2% of the human leishmaniasis cases were related with canine leishmaniasis cases. Concerning biogeographic (altitude, area of vegetation influence, hydrographic, and areas of poverty) analysis, only altitude showed to influence emergence of leishmaniasis cases. A number of 4673 canine leishmaniasis cases and 64 human leishmaniasis cases were georeferenced, of which 67.5 and 71.9%, respectively, were living between 780 and 880 m above the sea level. At these same altitudes, a large number of phlebotomine sand flies were collected. Therefore, we suggest control measures for leishmaniasis in the city of Belo Horizonte, giving priority to canine leishmaniasis foci and regions at altitudes between 780 and 880 m.

Supporting Equity in Higher Education

The rationale for this review centres solely on the need to broaden access to third-level education in order to improve equity and social justice. It is founded on the Government’s social and economic policy objective of reducing and eliminating educational disadvantage, and increasing participation at third level by lower socio-economic groups. The Agreed Programme for Government of June 2002 commits the Government to building a caring and inclusive society and to achieving real and sustained social progress. Similar commitments are reflected in the National Development Plan, the National Anti-Poverty Strategy, the National Children’s Strategy and successive national partnership agreements, including Sustaining Progress. Tackling educational disadvantage is a core principle of social justice. The issues of educational disadvantage and social inclusion, therefore, are key priorities for the Government and, since taking up office, the Minister for Education and Science has emphasised his commitment to improving participation and achievement at every level of education. The need for interventions throughout the education system is well recognised. It is well established that addressing educational disadvantage requires intervention in the context of a continuum of provision from early childhood through to adulthood. Successive governments, of all political persuasions, have recognised this fact and have introduced a range of initiatives at pre-primary, primary and post-primary levels aimed at increasing pupil retention and achievement. These initiatives are currently being reviewed in order to ensure that individuals are enabled to obtain the appropriate supports they require to maximise the benefit they derive from the education system.

Community Development Strategy May 2012

The Community Development Strategy for Health and Wellbeing has been developed jointly by the Health and Social Care Board and the Public Health Agency.�The main purpose of the strategy is to recognise and support the important and pivotal role that community development plays in improving health and wellbeing.�The HSCB and PHA want to see strong, resilient communities where everyone has good health and wellbeing - places where people look out for each other and have community pride in where they live.�We seek to narrow the gap in health inequalities and improve the health and wellbeing of the population.�This means working to address the determinants of ill health and reducing risk factors, including those associated with poverty and social exclusion, and this can only be achieved in partnership with the community.The strategy was influenced by a widespread consultation in 2011 - details available here - during which over 300 individuals and organisations attended workshops and 60 written responses were received.�The following documents are attached below:Community Development Strategy - Consultation ResponsesCommunity Development Strategy - Executive SummaryCommunity Development Action PlanCommunity Development Strategy Community Development Strategy - Performance Management Framework

Environmental risk factors for Cryptosporidium infection in an island from Western Venezuela

Few investigations have been conducted on risk factors for Cryptosporidium infection in communities from developing countries. A study was conducted to determine the prevalence and risk factors for cryptosporidiosis in San Carlos island, Venezuela. A sample of 515 subjects (mean age ± SD: 21.4 ± 17.8 years) was surveyed. Single fecal specimens were collected and modified Ziehl-Neelsen carbolfuchsin staining of formalin-ether concentrate stools were examined for identification of the parasite. Infections with Cryptosporidium (67 of 515, 13%) were common. Prevalence of the parasite varied among sectors of the community; 34 of 67(50.7%) cases of cryptosporidiosis clustered in two sectors with extreme poverty. Variables strongly associated with a higher risk for the infection (p < 0.01) were residing in these sectors versus the remainder, living in a hut or small residence versus a brick or larger house, using an area of backyard rather than a toilet or latrine for defecation, and having contact with soil contaminated with human feces. Crowding was also a risk (p < 0.05). Contact with human feces contaminated-soil may be an important mode of transmission and poverty a predisposing factor for the infection.

Gender identity in urban poor mobilizations: evidence from Bengaluru

This paper draws on field research conducted among a group of resettled slum(1) dwellers in the west of Bengaluru, and analyzes women's collective engagement to improve the provision of urban services in low-income neighbourhoods. The paper argues the need to deepen the focus on urban poor mobilizations below the level of the urban poor as a group - to look at the various groups, and the differences, divergences and contradictions within. Using gender as a differential, the paper focuses on women who dominate local neighbourhood level initiatives within low-income settlements, and analyzes their specific opportunities and constraints as actors within the larger domain of urban poor mobilizations. It proposes that these seemingly insignificant day-to-day negotiations diverge from more individual forms of "leadership", creating a political space at the lowest level of the neighbourhood where the projects of material improvement and emancipation take place simultaneously.

Conceptualising 'precarious prosperity' - Empirical and Theoretical Elements for Debate

Empirical studies have recently pointed towards a socio-structural category largely overlooked in social inequality research: the dynamic positions of households adjacent to those of the poor and yet not representing those of the established, more prosperous positions in society. These results suggest that the population in this category fluctuates into and out of poverty more often than moving into and out of secure prosperity. This category - still lacking theoretical conceptualization - is characterized by both precariousness and a certain degree of prosperity; despite a restricted and uncertain living standard it holds a range of opportunities for action. We seek analytical elements to conceptualize 'precarious prosperity' for comparative empirical research by subjecting various concepts of social inequality research to critical scrutiny. We then operationally define 'precarious prosperity' to screen for this population in three countries. Based on qualitative interviews with households in precarious prosperity, we present first analyses of perceptions and household strategies that underline the relevance of the concept in different countries.

Asegurar el bienestar de las familias, informe de la OCDE

Boletín semanal para profesionales sanitarios de la Secretaría General de Salud Pública y Participación Social de la Consejería de Salud

2010, año europeo de lucha contra la pobreza y la exclusión social

Boletín semanal para profesionales sanitarios de la Secretaría General de Salud Pública y Participación Social de la Consejería de Salud

2015, declarado año europeo del desarrollo

Boletín semanal para profesionales sanitarios de la Secretaría General de Calidad, Innovación y Salud Pública de la Consejería de Igualdad, Salud y Políticas Sociales

Valoración de la Situación Actual de la Infancia frente a la Pobreza y Desigualdad Económica

Especial XXII Congreso Español de Pediatría Social

Improving the organisation and commercialisation of small coffee and cocoa producers in the Northern Amazon Region of Ecuador

Coffee and cocoa represent the main sources of income for small farmers in the Northern Amazon Region of Ecuador. The provinces of Orellana and Sucumbios, as border areas, have benefited from investments made by many public and private institutions. Many of the projects carried out in the area have been aimed at energising the production of coffee and cocoa, strengthening the producers’ associations and providing commercialisation infrastructure. Improving the quality of life of this population threatened by poverty and high migration flows mainly from Colombia is a significant challenge. This paper presents research highlighting the importance of associative commercialisation to raising income from coffee and cocoa. The research draws on primary information obtained during field work, and from official information from the Ministry of Agriculture. The study presents an overview of current organisational structures, initiatives of associative commercialisation, stockpiling of infrastructure and ownership regimes, as well as estimates for both ‘robusta’ coffee and national cocoa production and income. The analysis of the main constraints presents different alternatives for the implementation of public land policies. These policies are aimed at mitigating the problems associated with the organisational structure of the producers, with processes of commercialisation and with environmental aspects, among others.

A importância do sector microcrédito e o perfil do microempresário: Ilha de Santo Antão Cabo Verde

As microempresas desempenham um papel fundamental na promoção do emprego, na inovação, na criação de rendimentos e no desenvolvimento económico e social. Para os países em vias de desenvolvimento, crê-se que a dinamização das microempresas pode ser um instrumento privilegiado de promoção e combate à pobreza, na medida em que esta poderá ser a via para incentivar as camadas mais pobres das populações rurais e urbanas a criarem os seus próprios negócios e a providenciarem os seus próprios rendimentos. A criação e o crescimento das microempresas estão, todavia, condicionados por vários constrangimentos. A inexistência de capital inicial (Start-Up Capital) é apontada na literatura financeira como uma das mais relevantes. O recurso ao capital externo, como fonte de financiamento, dependerá, por sua vez, de vários factores. O presente estudo foi realizado em Santo Antão, a ilha mais a norte e a mais montanhosa do Arquipélago de Cabo Verde. O sector micro crédito chama atenção pelo facto de ser um instrumento de importância primordial para Cabo Verde e, particularmente, para a ilha de Santo Antão que possui uma estrutura económica e social muito vulnerável o que nos leva a compreender melhor, o funcionamento das microempresas, instaladas nos três municípios da Ilha (Paul, Ribeira Grande e Porto Novo). Ao longo do estudo definimos o perfil sócio económico do micro empresário Santantonense, com o objectivo de compreender e quantificar o contributo do sector para o desenvolvimento empresarial da ilha, sem esquecer os constrangimentos e dificuldades que se colocam aos micros empresários na procura de financiamento. O processo de recolha de informação foi efectuado com recurso a pesquisas de campo, a partir da elaboração e aplicação de entrevistas de uma forma semi-estruturada, no sentido de identificar as principais características/perfil do empresário. Os dados recolhidos pelas entrevistas têm por base uma apreciação crítica da gestão para melhor compreender e comparar as fragilidades existentes e analisar a capacidade de sucesso dos micros empresários. A configuração da actividade económica foi feita com base na análise quantitativa e qualitativa, dos dados obtidos na aplicação dos questionários. De igual modo, analisamos e comparamos os casos de sucesso e insucesso nas microempresas em estudo, casos de sucesso no que diz respeito aos benefícios de micro créditos para a redução da pobreza e do desemprego, de criação do auto-emprego, e da formação/informação aos micros empresários santantonenses. Nos casos de insucesso analisamos as causas que estiveram na sua origem assim como as consequências daí advenientes. Uma das constatações do estudo, como se verá pela análise dos dados, é que o micro empresário Santantonense, possui um baixo nível de escolaridade e que na sua maioria são mulheres. Um outro resultado evidenciado pelo estudo, é que há uma necessidade da política pública de desenvolvimento no sentido de definição de incentivos à criação e à promoção de micro negócios, atendendo às características demográficas e às necessidades específicas dos beneficiários. Micro enterprises perform a fundamental component in promoting employment, innovation, and earnings-generation and in socio-economic development. For countries en route to development, the belief is that the dynamic engine of the micro enterprises could be a privileged instrument to promote in the battle against poverty, in the hope that this could be the venue to incentivize the poorest of the rural and urban populations to create their own businesses and forecast their own earnings. The creation and the growth of micro enterprises is, however, conditional upon various constraints. The inexistence of initial capital is cited in financial literature as one of the more important. To resort to external capital as a financing source, is itself dependent on various factors. The current study was conducted in Santo Antão, the most northern and mountainous island in the Archipelago of Cape Verde. The micro credit´s sector calls attention to the fact that it is an essential instrument in Cape Verde, particularly in the island of Santo Antão which has an economic and social structure extremely vulnerable, leading us to a better understanding of how micro enterprises operate in the three municipalities of the Island (Paul, Ribeira Grande and Porto Novo). During the course of the study we defined the socio-economic character of the micro entrepreneur Santantonense, with the goal of understanding and quantifying the sector´s contribution to the Island´s entrepreneurial development, keeping in mind the contraints and difficulties that confront the entrepreneurs when seeking financing. The process for gathering the information was performed through field research, beginning with elaboration and application of interviews, designed to identify the entrepreneur´s major characteristics and the importance of micro credit for the island of Santo Antão. The data gathered through the interviews have un underlying basic and critic appreciation of management for a better understanding and comparing the existing fragilities and for analyzing the micro entrepreneurs´ capacity to succeed. The configuration of economic activities was designed based on quantitative and qualitative analysis from data obtained from the questionnaires. Likewise, we analyzed and compared the success and non-success cases of the micro enterprises in the study, success cases with respect to the benefits of micro credit in reducing poverty and unemployment, creation of self-employment, and the education/information for the micro entrepreneurs of Santo Antão. In the non-success cases we analyzed the original causes as well as the impending consequences. One of the study´s contentions, as the data analysis shows, is that micro entrepreneur of Santo Antão has a low level of education with the majority of them being women. In addition the study shows that there is a need for a public discourse in terms of defining and developing incentives for creating and promoting micro businesses given the demographic characteristics and the specific necessities of the beneficiaries.