Minki Chatterji

The factors influencing transactional sex among young men and women in 12 sub-Saharan African countries.

Abstract Transactional sex may put young women and young men in sub‐Saharan Africa at increased risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV/AIDS. This behavior may also put young women at higher risk of pregnancy and childbearing. Policymakers and program managers need to know what factors put youth at increased risk. We investigated this issue using logistic regression analyses of data from male and female modules of Demographic and Health Surveys from 12 sub‐Saharar African countries. We found that young men and young women are at greater risk of engaging in transactional sex than are older people. Unmarried young women and young men were significantly more likely to engage in transactional sex than married youth. Based on these results, our conclusions were that programs geared toward reducing the incidence of transactional sex or protecting men and women already in transactional sexual relationships should be aimed at both young women and young men. Due to our finding that unmarried young women and young men are more vulnerable to experiencing transactional sex, programs to prevent transactional sex should be specifically directed to this subgroup of young people.

Evaluating the impact of community-based interventions on schooling outcomes among orphans and vulnerable children in Lusaka, Zambia

In sub-Saharan Africa, an estimated 12 million children under the age of 18 have lost a parent to acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Despite this situation, the evidence regarding effectiveness of interventions targeting these children remains scant. This article contributes to the literature by evaluating the impact of a community-based program implemented by a Zambian non-governmental organization on educational outcomes among orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Lusaka, Zambia. These outcomes included school enrollment and being at the correct age-for-grade. Our study design included two rounds of post-intervention data collection in 2003 and 2006; 2302 children aged 6–19 years were interviewed in 2003, and 3105 children aged 8–22 years were interviewed in 2006. We used a subsample of 2922 OVC aged 8–19 years. The effectiveness of Bwafwano was evaluated first using the individual cross-sectional samples and then using a difference-in-differences model on the pooled sample. Both cross-sectional analyses found positive and statistically significant effects of the intervention on school enrollment, with marginal effects of 0.104 and 0.168, respectively. The difference-in-differences estimates for school enrollment were positive, but small and not statistically significant. For the estimations of the effects of Bwafwano on the outcome of appropriate age-for-grade, only the difference-in-differences models showed positive program effect, with participation in the program being associated with a 15.7% increase in appropriate age-for-grade for intervention children relative to control children. This study suggests that the Bwafwano program is a promising approach to improving educational outcomes among OVC in urban Zambia.

Regional trends in the use of short-acting and long-acting contraception accessed through the private and public sectors

To examine trends in the source of modern contraception (public versus private sector); method choice (long‐acting or permanent methods versus short‐acting methods); and method and source combined.

A false dichotomy: RCTs and their contributions to evidence-based public health.

Global public health should rely on those research methods that best answer the pressing questions at hand. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and other rigorous impact evaluation methods have a critical role to play in public health. Global public health should rely on those research methods that best answer the pressing questions at hand. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and other rigorous impact evaluation methods have a critical role to play in public health.