Poor sanitation infrastructure can impact the physical and psychological well-being of marginalised communities. This article explores sanitation-related psychosocial stress among men and women in a peri-urban slum in Bangalore, India. It finds that women in Jayanagar slum, Karnataka, experienced psychosocial stress from open defecation due to the risk of sexual violence and socio-cultural norms. Their families also experienced stress as sexual assault on a woman can impact her family’s social standing in the community. Women use multiple coping strategies, even at the cost of their overall health and hygiene. For men, anxieties emerged from the risks to the women in their families.

This qualitative case study examines a pilot community mobilisation initiative to increase access to qualified primary health care services among slum dwellers in Bangladesh. Emerging from analysis are a series of key considerations in the design and implementation of mobilisation activities in poor urban settlements. These include who best to mobilise in highly stratified social settings; how to bridge communities in need with outside resources; the role of development agents in organising participation; whether mobilisation processes can be phased over time; and the imperative of policy advocacy to shift complex structural inequities that preclude investments in health care for the urban disadvantaged.

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in Solomon Islands; no national cervical screening programme currently exists. In 2015 the Solomon Islands Government invited Family Planning Australia to support implementation of a pilot screening programme. Over 4,000 women were screened. Nurses and stakeholders interviewed felt the pilot was in line with the country’s needs. Challenges related to access, timely treatment, and human resources. The pilot provides an example of a lower-middle income country identifying a national health concern, seeking technical assistance, and committing to implementation. Findings indicate a screening programme is feasible, drawing on the nursing/midwifery workforce, with government commitment.

Women's participation in higher education is mainly attributed to varying socioeconomic and cultural practices. By employing a survey and focus group discussion, we ascertained the social and cultural determinants and the impact on female higher education in the high mountainous rural areas of Gilgit-Baltistan province of Pakistan. Through analysing responses from 160 participants, we found that low levels of parental education, gender biases, safety concerns, and early-age marriages are some of the dominating sociocultural constraints on female higher education. Likewise, demographic and economic factors including the parents’ age, occupation, and level of income also influence the participation of females in higher education. It is imperative to engage various stakeholders such as local community, parents, and religious leaders to address parental concerns and overcome the sociocultural restraints on female higher education, and for developmental practitioners to ensure access and opportunities for females in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Qualitative research is not just the study of words and meaning: researchers should also provide a critical reflection on theoretical or practical problems in the research process. This practical note is a reflexive account of some the author’s personal experiences learning about bureaucratic process in Ethiopia. From opening a bank account as an “authentic” way to access money in 2007, to describing how to get a single document authenticated for a work permit ten years later, the author explores how bureaucratic encounters can become a meaningful and joyful way to interact with people met along the way.

Large-scale secondary data show that water access is improving in Indian slums; however, women still need to procure water from multiple sources. Based on field research conducted in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, this paper examines the everyday negotiations that urban women from slums undertake at different water sources. The study finds that women depend on street taps, water vendors, water tankers, and in-house connections in varying degrees. The results show variation in negotiations that women engage in at multiple sites and sources. These variations have emerged as a result of the characteristics of the water sources and household-level water storage capacity.

This article assesses how the public–private partnership involving Intercity STC Coaches in Ghana has impacted on service delivery. An exploratory qualitative research approach was adopted for the study. The key findings indicate that the PPP has helped Intercity STC Coaches to increase the number of fleets, although these are still considered inadequate. Additionally, Intercity STC Coaches’ clients are satisfied with the services rendered to them. The article, therefore, recommends that Intercity STC Coaches should look for more investors to procure additional buses so as to meet the growing demand from their clients.

What wider lessons can be drawn from a single impact evaluation study? This article examines how case study and source selection contribute to useful generalisation. Practical suggestions for making these decisions are drawn from a set of qualitative impact studies. Generalising about impact is a deliberative process of building, testing and refining useful theories about how change happens. To serve this goal, purposive selection can support more credible generalisation than random selection by systematically and transparently drawing upon prior knowledge of variation in actions, contexts, and outcomes to test theory against diverse, deviant and anomalous cases.

This article examines the effects of location and legal status on the performance of microfinance institutions (MFIs) within sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) using panel dataset of 138 MFIs in 31 SSA countries covering 2004 to 2014. The econometric results show that legal status and location significantly influence the capitalisation, portfolio quality, profitability, liquidity, and deposit mobilisation of MFIs. MFI credit growth and deposit growth are similar across locations, but significantly differ by legal status. Most importantly, we found new evidence that location has moderating effect on the legal status–performance nexus of MFIs within SSA.

Climate change disproportionately affects livelihoods of poor and vulnerable people. The Upper West Region of Ghana is a climate-affected area where agrarian livelihoods have become unsustainable, with migration to the Brong-Ahafo Region (BAR) becoming a key adaptation strategy. There is little research on postmigration experiences in BAR. Using qualitative methods, this article explores migrant farmers’ premigration expectations and postmigration experiences. The findings reveal that BAR is also experiencing environmental degradation, which makes farming less profitable. The study highlights the benefits and disadvantages of agrarian migration as a response to climate change, and the need for proactive policy action regarding climate change.