Browsing by Author "Jumare, Fadila"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Challenges of microfinance access in Nigeria: implications for entrepreneurship development
    (MCSER-CEMAS-Sapienza University of Rome, 2013) Ogujiuba, Kanayo; Jumare, Fadila; Stiegler, Nancy
    Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly being accepted as valuable platforms to create jobs and improve livelihoods. The Nigerian government has enacted favorable laws and regulations on contracts, leasing, and corporate tax to encourage the development of SMEs. Nonetheless, many entrepreneurs in Nigeria cannot access loans given the high levels of poverty. The paper argues that microenterprise finance cannot be financially viable because small loans are too costly to administer and the profits from such lending too meager to permit profitability. Based on content analysis of available literature, it is found that microfinance institutions have collapsed in Nigeria due to poor loan quality, default in loan repayment, high transaction costs, widespread delinquency, and management deficiencies. Given these challenges, the paper recommends savings by microfinance institutions and measures from successful initiatives from countries such as Indonesia and Bangladesh. These will enable microfinance institutions to be self-sustaining and to increase outreach.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Health sector reforms: implications for maternal and child healthcare in South Africa
    (MCSER-CEMAS-Sapienza University of Rome, 2013-07) Jumare, Fadila; Ogujiuba, Kanayo; Stiegler, Nancy
    Generally, public health facilities in developing countries tend to be underfunded and inefficient. In South Africa, these problems have continued even after the introduction of free maternal and child health care policy. It is argued that this policy increased utilization rate and consequently overcrowding of public health facilities. Nonetheless, long waiting times and unavailability of certain drugs continue to serve as major barriers to accessing health facilities in South Africa. Available records and our findings indicate that there is lack of consistent training for health personnel, increasing workload, inadequate physical infrastructure, resources and equipment, which have made it difficult to reduce maternal mortality rates. This paper xrays health reforms in other countries vis-à-vis propositions by international organizations and posits that the free maternal and child healthcare policy in South Africa has been formulated without considering the capacity and resources necessary to implement it. As a result, its implementation only aided in increasing access to public facilities and an improvement in utilization rates with no substantial increase in the quality of the services delivery. The paper concludes that the current health reform have the potential of reducing social exclusion, nonetheless, it must be managed carefully through supportive actions in order to avoid negative impacts on the wider health system and consequent worsening of the health system.