A contextual Study of the Challenges Affecting Strategic Health Insurance Communications in Nigeria (Published)
The purpose of the study was to carry out a contextual study of the Challenges affecting strategic health insurance communications in Nigeria through Plateau State Contributory Health Insurance Agency (PLASCHEMA). The study adopted a mixed study design. The target population of the study was focused on 6 Local Government Areas. The research sample size from the study areas is 485. Data was analyzed through coding, tabulation and drawing statistical inferences and data analysis, employing the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SSPS) software. The results revealed that respondents have heard of the agency, they are enrolled into PLASCHEMA services and therefore they are able to rate the services provided by PLASCHEMA. Base on this, they identified challenges affecting the effective operations of PLASCHEMA’s strategic health insurance communications as inadequate funding, unskilled workforce, citizens’ apathy etc.The study recommended that the communication unit of the agency be upgraded to a full department, intensify manpower capacity building, prioritise funding for communication department, intensify efforts on initiatives that will build trust between the target audience and the agency.
Keywords: Challenges, Health, Insurance, Strategies., communication
Challenges to Youth Engagement in Peacebuilding (Published)
The agentic capacity of youth as peacebuilders is now not in doubt. In this paper we used a mixed methods research to explore the views of elite youth concerning the challenges to youth engagement in peacebuilding. The study population included 120 females and 183 males. Out of the 303, we noticed that 145 had some experience with conflict while 26 were active fighters. From the results, we argued that there are three strands of factors affecting youth engagement in peacebuilding. First, youth are mobilised by political forces (actors) and traditional leaders. Second, youth are excluded from peacebuilding initiatives because they are conceptualised as troublemakers. Thirdly, the youth lack peacebuilding skills. Therefore, peacebuilding organisations, institutions and networks should actively train youth in peace programming initiatives. National architectures of peace should organize peacebuilding capacity training programmes for youth and engage them actively in peacebuilding initiatives.
Keywords: Challenges, Youth, engagement, peacebuilding
Agricultural Cooperatives in the Kingdom of Eswatini: Financial Efficiency, Challenges and Opportunities (Published)
Promoting cooperative financial efficiency through problem-solving and arresting opportunities builds cooperative resilience necessary for ameliorating rural livelihoods. Therefore, this study assessed the income-generating capacity, challenges, and opportunities available to agricultural cooperatives in Eswatini. Secondary data were sourced from government and parastatal reports, while primary data were collected through personal interviews guided by a structured questionnaire. Financial ratios, descriptive statistics, and content analysis were employed for data analysis. The results revealed that broiler, dairy, crop, animal feed and sugarcane cooperatives had strong financial efficiency, 81.75%, 65.36%, 49.61%, 40.33% and 36.37%, respectively. High production cost, free-riders, insufficient capital and lack of training on conflict resolution and administration are the major challenges encountered by cooperatives. Agribusiness opportunities exist in all subsectors. An inclusive regulatory body is recommended to establish production-marketing frameworks to enhance financial efficiency. Pragmatic training programmes are required to address intra-organisational challenges, while inter-organisational linkages are necessary to harness opportunities.
Keywords: Challenges, agricultural cooperatives, cooperative resilience, financial efficiency, opportunities