ABSTRACT
Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) have brought both boom and burden to Africa. In the midst of unprecedented national economic growth, the first, last, and often only resort of the poorest is initiated, funded, organised, governed, and delivered most effectively by the poor themselves. Existing literature often describes community-based organisation (CBO)/self-help mechanisms as "coping strategies" because there is little confidence in their ability to sustain and move the vulnerable out of poverty. The eight case studies in this book clearly show that community-based mechanisms do deliver crucial and sustainable services using governance mechanisms appropriate to their circumstances and needs. This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts discussed in this book. Every chapter in this book, and every study those chapters are based on across a diverse range of states and circumstances, come to a single and same overarching conclusion.
