This article examines the compliance to physical planning standards of health care facilities in the rural communities of Ondo State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted in selecting the rural communities, and quantitative and qualitative data used. The study revealed that none of the facilities met the required standard. Respondents’ desired more medical personnel rather than the existence of a planning standard. The need for more medical personnel has conclusively not been met. The study recommends that compliance with planning standards should be enforced and medical personnel provided for the health care facilities.

Savings groups are an economic strengthening intervention used to enhance the well-being of vulnerable groups. However, it is unclear how savings groups influence treatment outcomes for people living with HIV. This article reports on a study that conducted 48 in-depth interviews with HIV-positive savings group members in Ethiopia and used their narratives to qualitatively assess pathways linking savings group participation to adherence, retention, and general well-being. No single pathway was described, but almost the entire sample described improved adherence or retention through a combination of increased food security, economic and social well-being. The complexity of pathways supports the necessity for multisectoral approaches that address structural barriers to care.

Social policies such as conditional cash transfer programmes (CCTs) have technical and measurable outcomes which are favourable for countries in the Global South, where development impact on health and education matters. This paper presents grounded narratives of women beneficiaries of the Philippines’ Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), and outlines how conditionalities have reconfigured beliefs and conduct among these women. Using the concept of governmentality, the process of meeting programme conditions presents itself as a form of exercising power to configure the habits and beliefs of the population. The paper contributes to the critical discourses, challenges and normative views on the impact of CCTs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected persons with disabilities in ways that include unemployment, inability to adhere to public health measures, and access to health information. The needs of this vulnerable population have been met to a large extent by NGOs in developing countries. With evolving needs during the pandemic, so too have NGOs had to adapt, by pivoting their areas of focus and delivery in a short space of time. In this short report, the authors will discuss how Nuanua O Le Alofa, a Samoan NGO which supports persons with disabilities shifted its area of focus from advocacy to operational service delivery.

This article investigates the influence of land titles on farmers’ perceptions about the ease of conducting three types of land transactions: land sales, leases, and transfers by bequest. A questionnaire survey was conducted in a Brazilian municipality. Results indicate that farmers who have land titles perceive that land sales can be conducted more easily than those who do not have titles. However, perceptions regarding land leases and transfers as bequest were unaffected by the status of titling. This indicate that land titles may be ineffective in stimulating transaction types that are not part of local culture.

The article captures the perceived impacts of participation in an international study tour (IST). Using interpretive case-based methodology, the article explored how participation has contributed to improved management practices relating to sweet potato production and marketing in Papua New Guinea. Findings from the paper provide insight into how a thoughtfully designed IST incorporating social cohesion can support practice change and development outcomes within agricultural development projects. Further research into how an IST and its design can incite practice change in other contexts is recommended.

Migration is a complex behavioural pattern which is shaped by cross-scale variables and heuristic rules. This article captures the complexity and dynamic behaviour of migration in Tehri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand using agent-based modelling (ABM). Scenarios considering different starting points were developed to understand variables influencing migration. Migration is governed not only by intrinsic factors, but also by extrinsic influences. Exploratory ABM techniques were used to validate the hypothesis assumed to explain migration behaviour in the study area. The results show that migration cannot be steered with policies focused only on economic perspectives.

This paper explores the different prospects offered by diasporic connections towards development in the island of Mauritius. Mauritius maintains strong diasporic connections with the homelands of the “ancestral” diasporas of its multi-ethnic population. The contribution and assistance of these countries towards the development of Mauritius at multiple levels has been significant and is still ongoing. However, the connection between the Mauritian diaspora and Mauritius as a homeland is so far less solid. The paper explores the two dimensions of diaspora in terms of their contribution to development, arguing that Mauritius needs to do more towards reaching out to its diaspora.

The article provides evidence of farmers’ food insecurity coping strategies using interviews and household questionnaire methods. Data show that 28% in the Fero-two Peasant Association (PA) and 24% in the Hanja-Chafa PA were severely food insecure. In the respective places 26% and 37% were moderately food insecure and 46% and 40% were food secure. Farmers adopted different consumption-related and other coping strategies to food insecurity originating from social, economic, political, and environmental factors. The findings suggest that policymakers should consider the local features of a given place in designing place-specific policy interventions and resilient adaptation strategies to achieve long-term food security.

Training videos are extension tools that help to compensate for the low ratio of extensionists to farmers in most developing countries. This article reports on a study that aimed to understand the effects of images and languages used in a video on farmers’ learning. The research involved 135 rice farmers in Benin Republic, and found that videos in the local language significantly improved assimilation and understanding. Repeated screenings increase farmers’ learning, regardless of the language used, as videos allow learning from images. Farmers’ associations and peer groups ensure better appropriation and dissemination of the knowledge gained from the videos by providing frameworks for discussion.