Publications

A landlocked Sahelian country, Burkina Faso has an estimated population of
around 12 million inhabitants and covers 274 000 km2. Its location presents considerable challenges for the economic development of the country. The climate can be classified as Sudanese, with two contrasting seasons, a rainy and a dry season lengthening into the more northern reaches of Burkina. Rainfall varies from one year to another and droughts can take a heavy toll on agricultural production, which is the mainstay of the Burkinabé economy.

This study examines the relationship between medical practice and type of clinic ownership in HeBei province in the People’s Republic of China. The objective was to find out whether the kind of clinic ownership affects health care delivery patterns and access to health care. The study was carried out between 1995 and 2000 by a team of researchers from China, Israel and the Netherlands.

AIDS has become the most devastating global epidemic the world has ever faced. At the end of 2004, an estimated 40 million people globally were infected with HIV. More than five million people are newly infected each year and more than 6,000 lives are lost every day to the disease.

A literature review was conducted to review work done to date on measuring stigma related to leprosy. References were obtained through a PubMed (Medline) search and through examining relevant bibliographies. Twelve papers were selected that addressed the issue of measurement of stigma and that contained a sample of the instrument used. Three unpublished studies were also included in the review

In the 19th century smallpox vaccination was introduced into what are now called developing countries. In the 20th century both the range of available vaccines and immunization coverage increased considerably. In course of time the emphasis in immunization shifted from the containment of epidemics to their prevention. Vaccination technology also proved to be an instrument for the eradication or elimination of infectious diseases, with smallpox and polio as outstanding examples, although the initial optimism about this has become less. Presently, in immunization in developing countries emphasis is on routine vaccination of pregnant women and children, with occasionally a vaccination campaign in case there is or might be an epidemic. This picture will change significantly when a vaccine to prevent HIV becomes available to restrict the further transmission of HIV and as a consequence contain the HIV/AIDS epidemics that profoundly affect society in many developing countries.

TUBERCULOSIS (TB) is an increasing public health problem, presently accounting for 3% of global mortality.1 To tackle this problem, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the directly observed treatment, short course (DOTS) TB control strategy, which entails the use of short- course regimens of effective drug combinations, direct supervision of treatment for at least the first 2 months, and evaluation of treatment for each patient.2 As a broad TB control strategy, DOTS also includes drug supply, monitoring and case detection based on microscopy. Directly observed treatment (DOT), as opposed to DOTS, refers to the treatment component alone.

This publication is based on a study carried out between February 1997 and August 2000 by researchers from Nicaragua, Israel and the Netherlands. It identifies the pros and cons of the participation of rural households in production cooperatives in Nicaragua and their motives for affiliation with various other types of rural organisations, such as secondary service cooperatives, farmers’ associations, traders’ networks, rural finance institutions, NGOs and development projects. It presents an innovative approach which makes use of the concept of social capital.

This booklet presents the synthesis of the project “Local knowledge and local action in the Mandara mountains, North Cameroon”. The project encompassed the studies of one Dutch and two Cameroonian PhD researchers, which were carried out from 1994-1998. The project was co-funded by the Netherlands Israel Development Research Programme (NIRP), while fellowships from WOTRO (the Netherlands) and the French government were granted for the work of Zuiderwijk and Hiol Hiol, respectively. What is presented here as the project results refers to all the activities of the researchers, irrespective of their funding source. The emphasis is, however, on policy-relevant issues.