The interfaculty research programme LEVE – Livelihoods in developing countries, health, environment and poverty - was established by the Faculties of Law, Medicine and Social Science in collaboration with the Centre for Development and the Environment (SUM) through a decision of the University Board in 2008.
LEVE's activity commenced in the spring of 2009 and was terminated after finishing its period of operation December 31, 2015.
Research Topics
- LEVE’s research topics have been defined with reference to globalchallenges and its impact on health an livelihoodsin the global south Environmental change and especially the threat of global warming
- Changes in settlement patterns as a result of increased migration and urbanisation
- Natural disasters, wars and violent conflicts;
- poverty as a result of the economic downturn
- New diseases that develop as a result of these challenges
Human Rights
A human-rights-based approach has been a central pillar in LEVE. Rights pertain to the opportunities for and access to an adequate standard of living that will ensure people’s health and wellbeing; food safety, housing and adequate health care; and political and civil rights linked to good governance and the rule of law. It has been important to identify who is responsible for ensuring these fundamental rights.
LEVE’s research was organized in Research Groups and Projects.
Research Groups
These Research Groups is still in activity at LEVE’s collaborating institutions:
- Food, Human Rights and Corporations – FoHRC (Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law)
- Health system strengthening (Centre for Development and the Environment)
- Maternal health (Institute ofhealth and Society, The Faculty of Medicine,)
- Transitional justice and Livelihood in Post-conflict societies (Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences)
More documentation is available at the web pages of LEVE’s host institution, Centre for Development and the Environment.