Next Article in Journal
Production Performance, Egg Quality Characteristics, Fatty Acid Profile and Health Lipid Indices of Produced Eggs, Blood Biochemical Parameters and Welfare Indicators of Laying Hens Fed Dried Olive Pulp
Previous Article in Journal
Do Corporate Social Responsibility Categories Distinctly Influence Innovation? A Resource-Based Theory Perspective
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Sustainability
Volume 14
Issue 6
10.3390/su14063153
sustainability-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite question_answer Discuss in SciProfiles
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Systematic Review

Can Informal Savings Groups Promote Food Security and Social, Economic and Health Transformations, Especially among Women in Urban Sub-Saharan Africa: A Narrative Systematic Review

by
Akim Tafadzwa Lukwa
1,2,*,
Feyisayo Odunitan-Wayas
3,4,
Estelle Victoria Lambert
3,4,
Olufunke A. Alaba
1 and
on behalf of the “Savings for Health” IDRC Collaborators
†
1
Health Economics Unit, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7935, South Africa
2
DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (SACEMA), Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa
3
Research Centre for Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle & Sport, Division of Physiological Sciences, Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South Africa
4
Division of Public Health Medicine, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7935, South Africa
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
“Savings for Health” IDRC collaborators are provided in the Supplementary Materials.
Sustainability 2022, 14(6), 3153; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063153
Submission received: 8 February 2022 / Revised: 22 February 2022 / Accepted: 24 February 2022 / Published: 8 March 2022
(This article belongs to the Section Health, Well-Being and Sustainability)
Browse Figures
Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

This narrative review aimed to identify if roles of common informal savings groups known as Accumulating Savings and Credit Associations (ASCAs) or Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) can play a significant role in mitigating food insecurity, socioeconomic inequality, promoting health, and/or increasing agency in women in urban sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). These organizations exist in most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) worldwide under various names. A comprehensive search of scholarly outputs across six electronic databases (Pub-Med, Google Scholar, EBSCOhost, Scopus, Sabinet, and Cochrane) from 2000 to 2021 was completed. Twenty-eight (28) records met our inclusion criteria, and their quality was appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) qualitative checklist. We identified through thematic analysis that ROSCAs/ASCAs play a crucial role in advancing social, economic, and health transformations, especially among women in urban SSA. However, while ROSCAs/ACSAs played important roles in food security, it was often not the primary motivation for participation. None of the selected studies identified the importance of dietary quality or access to healthy food in relation to food security. This review suggests a window of opportunity to promote partnerships and collaborations of ROSCAs/ASCAs with relevant stakeholders to leverage the functionalities of ROSCAs/ASCAs as vehicles for re-alignment of priorities, increased knowledge, and opportunities to encourage affordable healthy diets in urban SSA.
Keywords: informal savings groups; ROSCAs; ASCAs; food (in)security informal savings groups; ROSCAs; ASCAs; food (in)security

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Lukwa, A.T.; Odunitan-Wayas, F.; Lambert, E.V.; Alaba, O.A.; on behalf of the “Savings for Health” IDRC Collaborators. Can Informal Savings Groups Promote Food Security and Social, Economic and Health Transformations, Especially among Women in Urban Sub-Saharan Africa: A Narrative Systematic Review. Sustainability 2022, 14, 3153. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063153

AMA Style

Lukwa AT, Odunitan-Wayas F, Lambert EV, Alaba OA, on behalf of the “Savings for Health” IDRC Collaborators. Can Informal Savings Groups Promote Food Security and Social, Economic and Health Transformations, Especially among Women in Urban Sub-Saharan Africa: A Narrative Systematic Review. Sustainability. 2022; 14(6):3153. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063153

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lukwa, Akim Tafadzwa, Feyisayo Odunitan-Wayas, Estelle Victoria Lambert, Olufunke A. Alaba, and on behalf of the “Savings for Health” IDRC Collaborators. 2022. "Can Informal Savings Groups Promote Food Security and Social, Economic and Health Transformations, Especially among Women in Urban Sub-Saharan Africa: A Narrative Systematic Review" Sustainability 14, no. 6: 3153. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063153

APA Style

Lukwa, A. T., Odunitan-Wayas, F., Lambert, E. V., Alaba, O. A., & on behalf of the “Savings for Health” IDRC Collaborators. (2022). Can Informal Savings Groups Promote Food Security and Social, Economic and Health Transformations, Especially among Women in Urban Sub-Saharan Africa: A Narrative Systematic Review. Sustainability, 14(6), 3153. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063153

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop