Aim: The aim of this paper is to provide a deeper understanding of the spread of NTDs but to also determine what is missing in the health interventions that are conducted in the countries affected by NTD.

Method and theory: The method used in this paper is the theory testing approach which is the Social Cognitive Theory. Development in the 1970s by A. Badura, it’s based on the concept of interaction between personal, environmental and social factors.

Results: The results showed that both the previous research and today’s health interventions lack the understanding of the roll social and personal factors play in the spread of NTD. They mainly target the environmental factors and medical. Therefore, the NTDs are still endemic despite the effort during many years.

This case study was conducted to give an in-depth analysis of the local stakeholder’s views on the role of education in Babati, Tanzania. The goal is to investigate differences and similarities between the views in Babati and mainstream western views, exemplified by the theory of Martha Nussbaum and Amartya Sen while being attentive to gender and socioeconomic differences. The purpose of this study is to examine local stakeholders' views, mainly guardians and educators on the role of education and to relate these to western mainstream views. The study results have been achieved with the help of the fieldwork executed in Babati, Tanzania where interviews and observations were made. 

Previous literature emphasizes that education is considered necessary for enabling problem-solving, and fostering individual and societal advancements. Further, education is declared to be a right for all on the justification that it works to strengthen the respect of human rights, fundamental freedom and the development of human personality. Despite the consensus on the importance of education, the role of education remains complex and differs across contexts and socioeconomic groups, including gender and socioeconomic differences. 

The quality, access, and attitudes to education in Tanzania have changed during recent years. These changes resonate with, among other things, higher enrollment, increased number of schools, educators with higher qualifications, and food served at school. The results show that education is perceived as central in the widely agreed upon quest to shape children into “good people” and that lead “good lives”. Although there are obstacles that hinder people from achieving these outcomes and reaching their fullest potential. 

Over the past decades, a convergence between civil and political human rights non governmental organisations (NGOs) and development NGOs have occurred. The fusion of the two disciplines have led to the construction of so called ‘Rights-Based approaches’ (RBA). One principal concept for RBA’s is the question of accountability. Functional accountability is no longer seen as sufficient and more focus on social accountability have advanced. In previous research NGOs are repeatedly questioned for their level of accountability. This comparative qualitative case study therefore aim to examine how three Swedish based NGOs perceive accountability, with the purpose to contribute to the academic discussion of NGO accountability.

By using grounded theory and selective coding, this study will contribute with new empirical data to the ongoing development of RBA theory. Empirical data is collected through interviews, NGOs official strategies documents and analysed in relation to the empirically grounded theory. The main findings in this comparative case study is that organisations different backgrounds and values influence how they perceive RBA and accountability, and which methods are used to reconcile with accountability claims. The collected empirical data concludes perceptions of accountability mostly focuses on four interconnected key principles; power relations, democracy, transparency and empowerment.

This study examines the concept of coloniality in relation to states' approach to indigenous people's rights, through the perspective of decoloniality. The two countries being compared are Bolivia and Sweden, two countries that differ in many ways. Indigenous peoples are living in the present time and have struggled since modern/Western interference in claiming their position and rights in the part of a reality of existing together. The states’ positioning towards indigenous peoples' rights is evidently contradicting depending on the context. Although international indigenous rights regimes are encouraging as well as setting new standards and norms, the challenges to fully implement them on a national level continue to exist.  Through a semi-systematic literature review, this study aims to analyze and compare how the two states (Bolivia and Sweden) position themselves towards indigenous rights. The theoretical framework for this study is based on decolonial reasoning and indigenous rights regimes, to determine what processes of coloniality are present. In Bolivia and Sweden, the context of indigenous challenges is markedly different, but this study strives to point to some similarities as also incongruencies and gaps when it comes to the state´s approach towards indigenous rights in the two countries.

This study investigates what role menstruation have for women in the village of Nakwa, Tanzania; how inadequate MHM affects the perception of women; and how menstruation is affecting the gender equality within a marriage in Nakwa. Most women in Nakwa village struggle to maintain high standards of cleanliness regarding their own Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM). This is due to many contributing factors relating to ingrained cultural beliefs that menstruation is something shameful and dirty. Most males within the household manage the finances, and menstrual hygiene products are not considered a priority, which further detaches the women from the possession of power over their own MHM. The theoretical framework used in this study is built upon two pillars, the woman as the inferior sex, and menstruation as something dirty and polluting, contributing to menstrual shame. These pillars are constructed upon two academic works; The Second Sex (1953) by Simone De Beauvoir, and Purity and Danger (1984) by Mary Douglas. Substantive previous research is accounted for to support the two pillars. Two weeks of field studies in Nakwa village during February and March 2017 included 23 individual semi-structured interviews and one group interview, with regularly menstruating married women. The results show a linkage between inadequate MHM, devaluation and inferiority of women and gender inequality. 

People´s access to safe health care is not as common as one might think. Today with new and different health insurances and improved health policies people should in theory have safe health care. Although numerous of health insurances exist, targeting large parts of populations, there are still many issues with them. The Behavioural Model of Health Services Use and Separate Spheres are the two theories that are used in this study. Where Separate Spheres describes men´s and women´s separate worlds, their responsibilities in them and how it effects them and the Behavioural Model of Health Services Use, which describes factors that either impede or enable people’s access to health care utilization. This study´s purpose is to see what different perceptions men and women have about the insurance and how these perceptions can affect families’ choice to enroll to the insurance. The study uses a qualitative approach and is based on semi-structured interviews. Results in this study showed that men and women have very different perceptions about the insurance. Men want the insurance because they want to save money and decrease health expenses. While women wants the insurance for their children to always have access to health care. The roles between men and women in households are significant and their different responsibilities affect their priorities and perceptions.

Ecotourism is seen as an outcome of environmental movements and uprisings that demonstrated the sustainability limitations of mass tourism. Ecotourism has five key principles which are to encourage community participation, empower vulnerable groups, stimulate environmental conservation, preserve local culture, and deliver economic benefits for the area. It is important with involvement of the community in ecotourism. The involvement of women in ecotourism is important, since women establish a large proportion of the sector and depend on tourism for their own and their families survival. Tourism in Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the fastest growing sectors, and a driving force for socio-economic development in the region. Women engage with ecotourism in different ways in the Sub-Saharan African region. Most of the women’s roles in ecotourism are linked to societal gender norms in the Sub-Saharan region. The study points out the importance of gender, empowerment, and intersectionality being considered for ecotourism. This, in order for ecotourism to fulfil its main purpose. 

The aim of this study is to investigate knowledge, perceptions and attitudes towards cardiovascular diseases and obesity among men and women and current health strategies in Babati, Tanzania. The results of this study can contribute to answers about where focus needs to be added for preventive health interventions. In order to answer the research questions of this study, a qualitative field study was conducted in Babati town, Tanzania during three weeks in February and March 2017. The theoretical framework used in this study is the Theory of planned behavior, a psychological theory that explains human behavior that is used to understand people’s behavior and decision making. The findings of this study shows that people in Babati have a substantial knowledge, which shows that knowledge does not play an important role in the fight against NCDs since it is increasing anyway. People have a negative attitude towards these diseases but claims that there is still people that has a positive attitude. This study conclude that the main problem is people’s behavior and accepting a lifestyle change rather than lack of knowledge as previous research claims.

Water stress is increasing globally, especially affecting arid regions of the world such as Egypt. Due to challenges related to intensifying effects of climate change and a rapidly growing population, the levels of and access to water is a continuous area of concern for the country – making it important to analyze how these water issues are managed. This study connects the hydrosocial cycle and commoning frameworks in analyzing how water is managed in a downstream, desert reclamation area in Fayoum, Egypt – and how this management, or lack thereof, affects the livelihoods of the people living there. In doing so, we examine how possible commoning practices are influenced by factors related to the hydrosocial cycle. Fieldwork has been conducted for this case study by holding participatory workshops, semi-structured interviews, and observations. Our findings imply that the hydrosocial cycle has shaped the management of water in our studied site, which has in turn affected the commoning practices that take place there. The low water levels and the saline quality of the water is what has created the prevalent forms of commoning that can be seen in the community.  The presence of a local agricultural association has also influenced the commoning practices. The quality and levels of water in the area are in part managed by neighbors borrowing irrigation minutes from each other, and by collective olive harvest. To a lesser extent there are also instances of neighbors helping each other with agricultural work throughout the year, and sharing reservoirs. There are indications that these commoning practices play a part in sustaining livelihoods in the community. The commoning practices found in the studied site have emerged in a relatively new social context and can be characterized as context specific patches of commoning, occurring on the peripheries of hybrid institutions – that have largely been shaped by hydrosocial forces. As the hydrosocial cycle is ever-changing, these commoning practices will likely also come to change.

This study examines and problematizes how the Resolution 1325 has impacted women's inclusion in two developing countries. The study focuses on how the resolution 1325 has affected and increased women's inclusion in peacebuilding since the implementation in Rwanda (2009) and Sierra Leone (2010). To analyse the results a theoretical framing is used, which is Empowerment theory and Feminist Approaches to Peacebuilding. This thesis uses a comparative literature method to compare the impacts in the two cases and critical reading is used while searching for material in e.g. scientific articles and in reports. Based on the theoretical framing and the material that are used in this thesis, the study concludes that Rwanda and Sierra Leone have experienced different results from the implementation of resolution 1325.

This study concludes that the implementation of resolution 1325 in Rwanda has worked as a tool to push gender equality further in peace processes as in the parliament and in the security sector, alongside women's organizations and activists since 2009. The results in Sierra Leone concludes that the implementation of resolution 1325 has progressed the work within peacebuilding as the proportion of women has increased in peace processes and in the police and security-sector since 2010. However, the development in Rwanda had come further before the implementation of resolution 1325 and therefore the results differ in these countries.

One of the countries where the basic academic education is problematic to achieve is Tanzania. Despite the multiple attempts to increase enrolments and decrease dropouts through new partnerships and organizations, high level of drop out still occur in the country. Two research questions were composed in aim to understand why this drop out phenomenon still occur. First question: “Which individual/ collective factors contribute to that girls and boys in the age group between 7 and 13 drop out of  primary schools?” and the second question: “What differences are there in the drop out causes between two more “privileged” and one more “marginalized” school?”.  The answers to these questions were found through the field work in Babati Town Council, Tanzania. There primary data was gathered in form of semi-structured interviews with three headteachers from three different schools. Two privileged schools; Maisaka Primary School and Primary School Oyster bay, and one marginalized school; Kiongozi Primary School. Also interviews with nine parents/other guardians of dropouts were conducted. Gathered data was summarized in short case stories, narratives which later on were analyzed with in a theoretical framework. This theoretical framework consisted of six different theories. These theories are; Academic Mediation theory, General Deviance theory, Deviant Affiliation theory, Poor Family Socialization theory, Structural Strains theory and lastly a theory of Institutional Departure. The conclusion of the study is that, even though the schools are located in the same area a major difference in dropout rates and its causes are existing. At the marginalized school there is a high level of drop out and at more privileged schools no dropouts occur. Factors which play a major role for this existing difference are; childrens and parents commitment to school, family structure and background, family's socio-economic status, relationships in the family and of course quality of the school.

Carbon offsetting has a growing presence on the global climate action agenda where it is promoted as a triple-win for the environment, business and development. However, the opinions on carbon offsetting are divided. Projects with agroforestry and participatory methods are highlighted as having more positive aspects, but critics emphasize that carbon offsetting can become an excuse for the Global North to continue business as usual while using the Global South as a carbon dump. Carbon offsetting can reproduce unequal power structures where countries, while formally decolonized, are still affected by coloniality. This study examines carbon offsetting through tree planting projects and the potential discrepancies between discourse and documented effects in East Africa with focus on Uganda. Four projects are compared with each other, focusing on documented social effects and impacts on land access. We analyze how power structures are expressed in carbon offsetting generally and in the projects. This is a literature study with a combined theoretical framework of political ecology and the decolonial approach. Findings imply that there, to varying degrees, are discrepancies between rhetoric and reality for the projects. Differences between the projects’ outcomes mainly boil down to their planting method, degree of participation and operating logic. All the projects are to varying degrees based on a coloniality, permeated by power structures and have some level of exclusion. However, findings also imply that best practices involve the local communities in a bottom up approach with an agroforestry method and carbon offsetting as a co-benefit. 

Outbreaks of novel influenza viruses are continually occurring on many places on our planet, with the ultimate and most extreme consequence being a full-scale pandemic. Modern communication technology is widely used for risk communication regarding recommended change in behavior patterns and other precautions in order to mitigate the transmission. However, the assumption and bias that modern communication technology constitutes the norm causes vulnerable groups to be at possible risk of systematic exclusion to correct and updated information. Through conducting a literature- and case analysis, the aim of this study is to identify insufficient or inadequate risk communication efforts in South Korea and Vietnam during influenza outbreaks, especially with concern of vulnerable groups. Further, to analyze how national influenza preparedness plans observe or ignore these insufficiencies. Results show that vulnerable groups are explicitly recognized in the preparedness plan of Vietnam. However, the South Korean preparedness plan show a more homogenous approach. Both South Korea and Vietnam showed a broad variety of channels used in their risk communication strategies which could be positive in terms of a broad outreach to a heterogenous population, including vulnerable groups. Four key factors that moderate the outcomes of risk communication were identified: Channels, Messages, Transparency and Trust. 

Child mortality rates do not only reflect the development in a society but also reflect access to basic health interventions and socio-economic conditions. The uneven distribution of child mortality rates is a matter of inequity. Even though there has been a reduction in the child mortality indicator neonatal mortality rate on the global level, the rate is still unacceptably high. Data indicates that it in a few countries, such as Lesotho, the neonatal mortality has an arrested decrease even though being a focus area within the sustainable development goals. This explorative case study aims at finding and explaining the factors behind the arrested decrease in neonatal mortality in Lesotho. Framing this study are the social determinants of health. The results indicate that the combination of HIV and droughts with exacerbated poverty and increased requirements for adequate care as a result, in combination with the vulnerable situation of women has aggravated the situation for new-borns in Lesotho. In order to improve the survival of new-borns in Lesotho measures cannot solely be aimed at improving health care but also have to be directed beyond the direct cause of death such as measures to improve the factors causing poor health. In order to achieve better prerequisites for new-borns measures have to overcome health inequity. It is a fundamental human rights concern.

Since the end of the 1990s, the number of forcibly displaced people has increased from 33 million to 80 million at the end of 2019. The living conditions within the refugee camps have progressed beyond emergency assistance, with the main objective being to provide short-term protection in refugee camps designed for short-term stays. However, the average time spent in a refugee camp is 20 years, and refugees often lack food security and power supply to meet basic needs such as cooking or lighting. Refugee settlements are stressful and unstable environments, especially for women and girls, who are vulnerable to various sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) forms. A systematic literature review of eight peer-reviewed articles and seven semi-structured interviews are used in this study to assess the effectiveness of humanitarian energy initiatives in reducing SGBV against women in refugee camps. In this thesis, a feminist lens is used to shed more light and unlock place-based challenges to sustainable energy solutions. Our study's findings indicate that establishing a link between sexual and gender-based violence and energy is difficult, and we cannot rule out the possibility of an existing link. We assert, however, that the most effective approach to reducing SGBV among refugee women is not through energy interventions but through a combination of mixed long-term solutions that address the root causes of violence.

Global social injustice and inequalities remain deeply embedded in our globalized world, often explained as a consequence of the current economic structures and institutions. Therefore, there has been an increase in arenas that attracts mobilization of the global civil society to oppose the neoliberal economic globalization and combat social injustices and inequalities. The World Social Forum (WSF) is an example of an arena that emerged with these purposes. However, research shows that there are criticism regarding the character and function of the WSF. This literature study examines the reasons behind the criticism and compares them with the WSF’s charter of principles to see if the WSF is living up to its ideals. It also analyzes if the WSF’s principles are reflected in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. This is done through a content analysis and within the framework of social justice and transnational public sphere. The study concludes that the WSF does not live up to its ideals because of a lack in organizational structure, exclusive and elitist character, and also the inequalities and inequities that are reinforced within the WSF. Moreover, the study shows that the WSF’s principles can be found among the 17 SDGs in the 2030 Agenda which can indicate that the WSF has had an indirect role in influencing global development policies.

This essay examines sanitation workers who work with solid waste management and analyses their ability to create a sustainable livelihood based on livelihood assets and strategies. The study was undertaken in Babati, Tanzania and a qualitative method was applied, consisting of interviews and observations. The main findings were that sanitation workers employed four livelihood strategies, however, only two of these were sustainable and contributed towards a positive livelihood outcome. Multiple stresses were identified, such as low wages, inability to save money, unsafe work conditions, exposure to bacteria and other contaminants and no access to social services. Shocks were identified as work-related injuries resulting in extended time off work, wages being paid out late and sudden illness. This made the sanitation workers terms of employment in Babati almost equivalent to that of waste workers and waste pickers in the informal sector, despite being employed by the local government authorities. As a result, the workers were not able to attain a sustainable livelihood and the livelihood outcome appear to be a vicious cycle of debt and vulnerability. A key characteristic for this study is its examination of Tanzania’s political context and institutional framework as important factors that affect the sanitation workers’ resource base and strategies as well as their exposure to vulnerabilities.

Aid is an important topic in development sector current discussions are polarised thereby creating a need for further research. This essay assesses the role that Malawi and Zambia plays in realising its development outcomes including in the area of health. There is a need to appreciate the variables that contribute to the inability of most countries in sub-Saharan Africa to finance their domestic expenditure related to healthcare. In this situation, foreign aid which has received marked interest by scholars over the past decade and is used to supplement incomes of developing countries like Malawi and Zambia. Debate on the effectiveness of aid is polarised, while highly concerned scholars see aid as ineffective and a contributor to the poor performance of economies in developing countries, others see it as essential in the achievement of development outcomes. This thesis explores the extent to which development assistance contributes to dependency in Malawi and Zambia. It further examines the link between aid and the Malawian and Zambian health sectors. The study similarly considers the role of development assistance for health in realising outcomes related to maternal health in line with SDG 3.1. By identifying two countries in sub-Saharan Africa, this essay underscores the similarities between Malawi and Zambia analysed through a historical context, health systems structures, child and maternal mortality rates and health programme models. The essay concludesthat social, political and economic barriers present challenges in financing healthcare in Malawi and Zambia. Aid contributes to dependency in the study countries.