Development anthropology is a branch of anthropology that refers to the study of developing nations and the economic, social, and political issues that come up within them. Development anthropologists tend to stress the importance of listening to locals, rather than making broad generalizations that can have severe consequences on the indigenous peoples. It emerged onto the anthropological scene during the 1970s, as critiques citing a lack of focus on underdeveloped societies started to come to light. While development anthropologists aren’t very connected with listed materials, curriculum, and methods of study, they are all focused on developmental issues.

Anthropology, with its study of the basis of human societies and cultures, has always been a prime candidate to study and advocate developing cultures. Although there has always been different branches and subtypes of the study, many focused on biological, cultural, linguistic, and medical portions of Anthropology prior to development’s readjusting toward the disadvantaged.

The many anthropologists in this field criticize not only the often unfair treatment from developed nations, but also the efforts from international agencies that focus on depoliticizing the current system yet refrain from uprooting the developmental problems. An example would be building a school, yet not protecting the children from a corrupt government. With the decolonization of former colonies such as India, Lebanon, and several other African countries, Post-Colonialism began with the retainment of resources by the Western world. The United States, Britain, and other occident powers still maintain the allocation of colony resources via indirect control often clothed as ”developmental aid”. As intelligent scientists in the development field of anthropology, these anthropologists often point out the inconsistent hypocrisy endorsed by the major countries.

Many major universities across the globe are beginning to introduce development anthropology as a major field of the study. Yet, there is still much growth to be done within the subtype. Our friends in cultural anthropology, for now, have significantly (for the most part) endorsed focusing efforts on the nations that need it, specifically the 3rd world. Still, many in the discipline have been calling applied anthropology no longer a science but an advocacy if effort is focusing on help rather than pure data accounting. It is for the student to decide whether he or she desires to help those countries that require aid, or to devote time to the strict study.

Sources:

- Culture and Publication, Development Anthropology

- Anthology of Ideas, The four fields of anthropology

- Indiana University, Anthropology and Development

This is because they have a wrong mind set on this matter. They are looking for physical injury, in some parts of the world the male folks believe that a woman is a second class citizen and should only be seen and not heard and above all, she is a property of her parents or husband to do as he wills.

This topic will not deal with the physical harm violence inflicts on our women or female folk because they are so glaring and staring on the face. This topic will first state the various pitiable violence against women done by both sexes, which affects not only the woman but the family she will raise and eventually the society at large. 

1.    Rape: it is really a pity to know how much of this gees on in the society today. In some places, it is terribly high, under reported and seems not to be checked properly while in some other places on the world, it is regulated and controlled. Sadly there are cases where full grown men, rape infants and 2 year old little girls. What of men, sexually molesting and raping their maids, or even incest-going on in the family. It is amazing how much of rape that goes on in the hinterlands and villages where moral and discipline is suppose to exist.

2.    Physical beating: Unfortunately, a great number of our men folk believe that women need to be beaten in order to get them to confirm to rules and regulations. Physically beating a woman is not only a thing that happens amongst the illiterate, but the literate and those held in high esteem amongst the public, beat their wives also.

3.    Denial of the basic needs: This is so common amongst developing nations of the world where woman’s right are at stake. In these areas like in Africa, the wives had to take care of the farm work and even do trading in order to care for their children. This was because the man who had so many wives could not care for them all. With the one man-one wife of today, it is the duty of the man to care for his family; the wife is a helper even if she is working. But unfortunately, among some families, this is not the case.

4.    Extramarital affairs: One man once asked: “if I would give my family adequate food supply, why should my wife worry about my extramarital affairs?” As if marriage is all about food. This man is not alone in his thinking, extramarital affairs is a problem with an epidemic magnitude in several parts of the world today.

5.    Prostitution: High ovation is given to prostitution in most parts world today. Human trafficking abounds, and the greater part of the human being trafficked are females and a majority of them are into prostitution. Very important here to note that some people and especially ladies who claim to have a reformation centre for motherless children, engage in trafficking these female children to Europe, America and Asia for prostitution.

6.    Child Labour: Still in the developing nations of the world and particularly in West Africa, a greater majority of house helps who are under the age of 12 years are females. These are children who are made to grow up fast and lose their childhood years.

7.    Widowhood practices: This is woman inhumanity to woman. The degradation of womanhood. This is so common in West Africa.

8.    Dispossession of property: In some places a woman is not allowed to own properties be it land, house etc., in the land where she is married to. As if this is not enough, when her husband dies, the male members of her husband’s family will take away all her husband’s own including his bank account, leaving her with nothing to take care and train her children.

One can go on about this matter but let us stop here. Next to come are the Psychological implications of all these pitiable violence against women.

Many nations today suffer critical illness courtesy of what corruption among people (citizens and foreign nationals) and not being able to control and regulate the effects. Thus, the pace of nation’s development is completely declining resulting to fear that this situation may go beyond uncontrollable climax. The situation is what the entire world is suffering today. The question here is; what are the effects of moral profligate to our nation’s development?

The global economic meltdown is a typical example here. If I may ask, what are the underlying structures behind this? When huge money are spent recklessly or looted by the people in government, the result is the case. When two elephants are fighting, the grasses suffer. This cliché reminds me of the poverty situation in most developing nations of the world where their leaders indulge in looting their nations’ treasury and not finding a means of caring for the less privileged  even when funds are released by developed nations.

This resulted into unemployment for the teaming youths and school alumnae creating a big vacuum to accommodate more corrupt practices by these idle youths. Most of the youths turn restive in kidnapping, assassinations, robbery and terrorism.

The problems created by some nations’ leaders and mostly in the developing nations contribute to neglect in the rule of law, no respects to human right and thus re-generating into more corrupt practices eating deeper into the nations’ fabrics.

Another big effect of moral profligate is from media and their impact triggered by sophisticated technology and civilization. The information disseminated to the general public could lead to virtual practices unknown to the nation before now. Most practices like the abuse of sex and sexuality, practicing of witchcraft and indulging in drug trafficking among other crimes are seriously heating the development of our nations today. Thus, the media should be scrutinized to deliver a sound and error free information gearing towards building our nations.

Government at all level, corporate bodies and individuals are therefore called to pay attention to this critical situation affecting the entire world today. The reversal of the current trend would do us better and re-create unity, peace and love among nations.

Imgae via Wikipedia

The reality of the problem of post harvest losses in the nations of the world suggests that it is undermining our efforts towards food sufficiency. Over the years successive governments mostly in the developing nations have introduced programmes aimed at building our capacity for food production. Among these are Green Revolution, National Accelerated Food Project, Agricultural Development Projects (ADPS), as well as publicly financed institutions such as the River Basin Authorities, Directorate of Foods and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI).

The impact of all these measures taken by the nations’ governments is that the agricultural yield growth has somewhat improved, although not to the level of expectation. In the case of Nigeria, between 1980 and 2000, the nation’s GDP with respect to agricultural produce rose from 1.3 to 5.2 (CBN, 2000). This implied that the country was theoretically moving towards a state of food sufficiency. However, the facts on ground believe this presumption.

Today, 40 years and more after Independence, Nigeria is currently rated among the 20 poorest nations of the world. This is ironical considering the enormous material and human endowments of the nation which include vast agricultural lands coupled with all year round relatively good weather, huge oil, gas and mineral resources and large, talented and versatile population at about 120 million.

Thus, all things being equal, Nigeria should have no business being poor. But the global indices for measuring or assessing poverty include, among others, the status of malnutrition, which borders on food availability and food self-sufficiency. (Other indices are the rate of literacy, life expectancy, infant mortality, maternal morbidity and mortality. Even the incidence of diseases such as HIV/AIDS is closely related to the general poverty situation prevalent in the society).

Global surveys show that nearly one billion people mostly in developing countries are chronically undernourished, lacking in sufficient food to lead a healthy active life. The seriousness of this grave world food situation was reaffirmed in 1996 at the World Food Summit, which recognized the right of all peoples to be free from hunger, emphasizing that human welfare, including his well-being, should be at the center of all socio-economic development endeavours of nations of the world.

Thus, the question now is, why do we have a high incidence of malnutrition? Is it that we are not producing enough food or the right type of food, or, is it that food we produce is unaffordable? If we are producing enough and the right type of food and the food is not unaffordable, then what happens to the excess? The answer is simply that it is wasted. If we can control such wastes, food might become more available and possibly more affordable.

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