ABSTRACT
This research explored the influence of informal finance on mothers‟ healthcare in Mtwara-Mikindani in Tanzania. Informal financial institutions (IFIs) are meant to assist in solving financial problems of members after their full participation in regular contributions, meetings and repayment of the loaned amount. In Mtwara-Mikindani, women engage in informal groups that supplement their financial ability and boost their socioeconomic developments. However, they face financial constraints during the maternal period. This research therefore sought to determine the role of informal financial institutions in alleviating financial constraints. Objectives of this study were: to identify the financial problems that mothers undergo during the maternal period, identify factors responsible for these financial problems, investigate the role of informal financial institutions in alleviating the problems and suggesting appropriate schemes suitable for informal financial institutions that cater for mothers. The Women Empowerment Framework guided this study. The study took a descriptive design in Mtwara-Mikindani in Tanzania covering mothers in informal financial institutions using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Findings from this study show that most women are involved in small and medium enterprises that are domestic related and are actively involved in informal financial institutions to boost their financial capacity. Household expenditure, medical and education expenses are found to be the most common financial constraints during the maternal period caused by low productivity, low businesses performance and emerging maternal costs. Informal financial institutions are supportive economically and socially to the mothers during this period. However, the contributions are not adequate to cover maternal health costs thereby creating financial constraints. The study recommends that mothers should be aware of the maternal period and should prepare for it financially and socially IFIs should create awareness of maternal the period through maternal trainings and financial trainings. This study is an important additional knowledge in this gender field concerning financial institutions and addressing their role in alleviating maternal financial challenges that would improve the socioeconomic development in a nation.
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
This chapter contains the background of the study, statement of the problem, objectives, research questions, significance of the study, justification and scope and limitations on the influence of informal finance to mothers in Mtwara-Mikindani, Tanzania.
Background of the Study
Mothers experience various challenges during pregnancy and after birth until the first few years before the child enters school ranging from physical, mental, social, economic to psychological (Hanley & Long, 2006). To an extent, they contribute to maternal mortality, consequently leading to underdevelopment in the society. However, it is possible to suppress some of these through stabilizing the economic and psychosocial environment of a mother. Worthy to note is the fact that the economic welfare of a woman is important in reducing financial problems that contribute to most of these challenges. The economic welfare of a society depends on the economic status of an individual and families since financial development is key to economic welfare across sectors (R. Levine, 2005).
Women have significant roles in the society that contribute to socio- economic growth and development. In this regard, most of the developmental gains in a society are due to efforts of women (Boellstorff, 1995). Health, social and economic systems exist for the enhancement of society including lives of women. The characteristics of such systems differ from region to
region and country to country. For instance, women in developing countries experience higher rates of maternal related problems than those in developed nations due to existing differential systems. There are risks that are associated with ill health and emotional distress of a woman. The health of a pregnant woman determines the status of pregnancy and the outcome of the newborn baby. Poor health can lead to adverse outcome of both mother and child (Glazier, Elgar, Goel, & Holzapfel, 2004). Most of the mothers in developing countries are faced with various socioeconomic challenges that can stimulate emotional distress thereby enhancing pregnancy-related complications during pregnancy.
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) aimed at reducing maternal mortality rates by three quarters between 1990 and 2015. In Africa, the rate at which the maternal mortality is declining is too slow to reach the MDG target. It is evident that reduction of maternal mortality will eventually reduce maternal morbidity (World Bank, 1993).
Despite the MDGs efforts, maternal mortality in high-income countries was 1900 in the year 2008 while in sub-Saharan Africa were 203,000 constituting 56.7% of the global total (World Bank, 1993). The death of a mother is profound; chances of death of a child of less than 5 years are as high as 50% in developing countries (Atrash, 2011). The development of a nation, therefore, is affected by the health status of women and children. A mother plays a great role in development in all aspects while the child born is the future human resource of the society. Their health status is, thus, fundamental for growth and development. Therefore, this requires more attention as the
African countries approach the targeted date of reduction of the maternal mortality as stipulated in the MDGs. Neglect of this may have negative effects in the development of the continent.
Maternal mortality is caused by various factors that are either direct or indirect. The former includes factors such as the medical care while the indirect factors such as low socioeconomic status are not emphasized and thus increasing the maternal deaths (Shija, Msovela, & Mboera, 2012). To improve financial capacity for people who are unable to join the formal financial sector, informal finance is an alternative form of finance. It is commonly found in developing countries where individuals get financial aid in the form of cash or cash in aid from their informal financial institutions that are informally structured. Usually, such groups are formed because of common interests or needs by immediate people starting from family members, relatives, friends, neighbours, or colleagues at work. Other private financial institutions also join in the community‟s socioeconomic development by providing financial access to the members at an interest at lower levels in the community (Aryeetey, Aryeetey, & Nissanke, 2005).
Financial resources are pooled together by the informal institutions and are used to assist members in case of urgent needs. Such groups are characterized by mutual assistance, trust, reliability and flexibility with strict rules enforceable due to the members‟ social familiarization (Adams, 1992). Therefore, these institutions become significant in the community development in sectors like health, education and economic. The health sector becomes more sensitive, particularly, with the health of a mother and child due to the
fact that they are associated with socioeconomic development according to World Bank (1993). In this case, the informal financial institutions are intertwined with the health sector to have a mutual development. Informal financial institutions are also integrated with health care in order to reduce development problems that emerge because of costs. Most of the members of informal financial institutions are women anchoring themselves in the informal finance sources in order to manage their diversed roles in the society. It, thus, becomes important for the institutions to create frameworks that enhance women‟s activities, especially during the maternal period to facilitate the maternal challenges (Tripp, 2001).
Globally, health-related challenges affect the growth and development of nations. In Asia, disease-related deaths have caused agriculture retardation in Thailand, thus reducing about 48% of the family income (Dunford, Leatherman, Sinclair, Metcalfe, Gray, & der Bruegge, 2007). When the human resource has inhibitions like diseases in development-related activities, the output will not be as expected right from the family level to the community and the nation at large.