The objective of this article was to assess the impact of pregnancy planning on four childcare practices in sub-Saharan Africa: early initiation of breastfeeding, use of postnatal care, exclusive breastfeeding and complete immunisation. The latest data available in 2024 from the demographic and health surveys of 34 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, covering the period 2011-2022, were mobilised, and bivariate and multivariate descriptive methods through binomial logistic regressions were also used for the analysis. The results indicate that health practices that occur immediately after childbirth (initiation of breastfeeding and postnatal care) are strongly impacted by pregnancies planning. In fact, compared to planned births, mistimed and unwanted births are 14.1% and 16.5% less likely to be breastfed within an hour of delivery, respectively. They are also 3.9% and 11.3% less likely to receive postnatal care within two days of delivery compared to planned births, respectively. On the other hand, health practices that occur later (exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, complete vaccination) are little impacted by pregnancy planning. These results highlight a time-dependent effect of pregnancy planning on child health care indicators in sub-Saharan Africa. This can be related to the cultural norms that govern African societies as well as the emotional bonds that develop between parents and their children.

ABSTRACT This article critically reassesses the entrenched belief in Western musicology that regards the human voice as merely a musical instrument. It posits an alternative perspective rooted in African epistemology, wherein the voice is understood to hold a distinctly different ontological and cultural significance. In various African societies, vocal expression is intricately linked to language, spirituality, social identity, and communal engagement, rendering any consideration of the voice as merely an externalized ‘instrument’ fundamentally insufficient. This study engages with African scholarship, referencing the contributions of Nketia, Nzewi, Agawu, and a wider array of contemporary Africanist theorists (Addaquay). It juxtaposes Western organological classifications with various African internal logics that are rooted in communicative function, performance context, ritual significance, and embodied aesthetics. By employing a comparative taxonomy and analysing the shifts in vocal practice during colonial and postcolonial periods, the article illustrates the ways in which Western classification systems fail to accurately represent African vocal epistemologies, thereby leading to a distortion of knowledge. By focussing on indigenous conceptual frameworks and recognizing the variety of African approaches to vocality, the paper puts forth a decolonial argument for understanding the African voice as a unique analytical category rather than merely an instrument. The conclusion delineates the implications for music education, performance, intercultural analysis, and global music scholarship, advocating for an Afro-centric taxonomy that reinstates sovereignty to African musical thought.

The community care sector is a major component of social protection systems in South Africa. However, despite considerable investment and policy attention on social protection in South Africa, the community care sector continues to face enormous challenges and pressures. On the one hand, government invests a significant amount on social spending, and aims to honour its constitutional responsibilities towards improving the health and social welfare of the country. On the other hand, community-based care workers are socially and economically marginalised, and community care services remain fragmented and often inaccessible to those who need them most. This paper explores how elements of South African policy on the community care sector emerged historically out of policy responses to parallel social crises of HIV/AIDS and unemployment in the period 2000-2010. We draw on the theories of John Kingdon (agenda setting) and Nancy Fraser (needs interpretation) as the lenses to analyse data from policy documents, published literature and key informant interviews. We show the convergence and consolidation of policies across sectors in the study period into a community care sector characterised by competing and unresolved tensions: between constitutional promises of social and economic rights and enduring conceptualisations of social reproductive labour as feminised, devalued and 'invisibilised' within the private, domestic sphere. This results in a community care sector that has limited effectiveness as an arm of the social protection system, and which continues to be plagued by the structural inequalities that characterise South African society.

Gendered power imbalances in African societies disrupt fertility alignment and hinder contraceptive use, contributing to unintended pregnancies - a challenge particularly pronounced in Nigeria. This study investigates how women’s empowerment, fertility consonance, and contraceptive use interact to shape unintended pregnancies in Nigeria. Using data from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, responses from 6,265 women aged 15–49 were analyzed. Women’s empowerment was measured across four dimensions: socio-cultural attitudes, sexual and reproductive health control, decision-making autonomy, and asset ownership. Multivariate logistic regression techniques were applied. Results show that the likelihood of unintended pregnancy was significantly lower for women who used modern contraceptives, even when their husbands wanted more children (Exp(B) = 0.485, 95% CI [0.247, 0.952]), compared with women whose fertility preferences aligned with their husbands and who did not use contraceptives. The risk of unintended pregnancy significantly increased by a factor of 2.005 for women with medium socio-cultural empowerment (SCI) compared with those with low SCI (Exp(B) = 2.005, 95% CI [1.125, 3.574]), suggesting a transitional empowerment effect. The findings support the Gender and Power theory, highlighting how gendered power dynamics and socio-cultural norms shape reproductive outcomes. Notably, increasing autonomy without structural and social support may exacerbate reproductive challenges. Addressing socio-cultural barriers and fostering support mechanisms, particularly spousal communication on family size, are essential to ensure that empowerment translates into reproductive agency. This study provides actionable insights for policymakers and healthcare professionals to foster gender-equitable reproductive health outcomes.

Colonialism in Africa has entrenched the exploitation of natural resources, a legacy that persists today through multinational corporations, foreign debt, and neoliberal policies. The Democratic Republic of Congo, with the world’s largest cobalt and copper reserves yet over 60% of its population living in extreme poverty, exemplifies this enduring global inequality. In this context, the hadiths of Prophet Muhammad PBUH, which stress distributive justice, prohibition of monopoly, and ecological stewardship, gain critical relevance. This study explores the normative contribution of hadith to economic and environmental justice in postcolonial Africa. Using a qualitative descriptive method with historical-critical and theological-normative approaches, it integrates hadith textual analysis with the socio-economic realities of African societies. Findings reveal three main points: first, hadiths on water, land, and tree planting articulate principles of conservation and equitable resource distribution; second, Islamic ecotheology frames environmental degradation as a violation of human responsibility as God’s khalīfah (steward); third, development models grounded in hadith values offer alternatives to exploitative global capitalism. The study concludes that revitalizing hadith is vital not only for theological discourse but also for guiding ethical and structural systems, aiming to build a more just and sustainable global order for African societies still burdened by colonial legacies.

Background: Global health narratives on youth resilience predominantly reflect Western-centric models emphasizing individual agency and nuclear family structures, marginalizing the intergenerational care networks and indigenous knowledge systems central to African societies. Objective: This conceptual paper critically examines the limitations of Western resilience frameworks in African contexts and proposes a reconceptualization grounding youth resilience in indigenous epistemologies, particularly Ubuntu philosophy and intergenerational care practices. Methods: Drawing on decolonial theory, African-centered psychology, and community resilience literature, we synthesize evidence from ethnographic studies, program evaluations, and regional health data across sub-Saharan Africa to demonstrate the efficacy of culturally grounded approaches. Results: Indigenous support systems, including grandparent-headed households, traditional healing practices, and community-based care networks, constitute tested resilience mechanisms that have sustained African youth through adversity yet remain systematically undervalued. Successful integration models from South Africa, Senegal, and Uganda demonstrate superior outcomes when indigenous wisdom informs youth development programming. Conclusion: Repositioning intergenerational care and indigenous knowledge from peripheral supplements to foundational pillars requires substantial policy reform, culturally appropriate research methodologies, and deliberate decolonization of health and social service systems across Africa.

This article examines the concept of marriage in African culture by challenging the traditional Western understanding of marriage as defined by the vow ‘till death do us part’. The study explores how marriage, in many African cultures, extends beyond the physical death of a spouse and involves familial and communal obligations that continue after death. The primary objective of this research is to analyse how African marital traditions and Christian teachings interact and influence one another. A literature review methodology was used, drawing from various academic journals, books and biblical texts to critically assess how these cultural and religious perspectives shape marriage practices. The key findings reveal that while Christianity views marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman that ends upon death, African traditions emphasise the continuation of marital and familial duties through practices such as widow inheritance and community support. The review also highlights the adaptive nature of African Christianity, where biblical teachings are often interpreted in a way that aligns with cultural values. This analysis shows that while biblical principles emphasise the finality of marriage at death (Rm 7:2), African marriage practices maintain a sense of continuity even beyond death, reflecting a collective approach to life and family. Contribution: The article concludes that the coexistence of these perspectives presents both challenges and opportunities for understanding marriage in African Christian contexts. Further research is recommended to explore the implications for marital counselling and pastoral care in African societies, where cultural and Christian beliefs intersect.

ABSTRACT What critical role did the Nigerian media play in enabling and legitimising the CBEX crypto scam that defrauded investors of over ₦1.3 trillion (approximately US$800 million)? The article answers this question by utilising critical discourse analysis to unravel how the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC) and the Independent NG deployed linguistics in trust fabrication. It reveals that, while OSBC broadcasted a collectivist wealth rhetoric, Independent NG deployed an elitist narrative to resonate with the masses. These approaches exploit Nigeria’s postcolonial political economy, where predation is framed as unavoidable technological progress designed for large-scale poverty alleviation of African society. The article contends that institutional underfunding serves as the bedrock of media connivance, while techno-optimism functions within a neoliberal spectrum of fraud naturalisation in the global South. To this end, the article suggests legislating media accountability and the promotion of financial literacy at the grassroots level. Thus, it contributes to the discourse on understanding the intrinsic nexus between media and financial exploitation, advancing the need for systemic reforms to disrupt fraud ecosystems.

Indigenous knowledge (IK) systems play a vital role in social governance and conflict resolution in many African societies. The Oromo Gadaa System (OGS) represents one of the most established indigenous governance systems in Ethiopia, within which the Gumaa institution serves as a traditional mechanism for conflict resolution and social reconciliation. Despite its continued relevance, Gumaa knowledge remains largely tacit, orally transmitted, and weakly supported by modern knowledge management (KM) practices, posing risks to its preservation and intergenerational transfer. This study aims to design and implement an Indigenous Knowledge Management Framework (IKMF) for Gumaa within the OGS to enhance the acquisition, capture, representation, sharing, utilization, and preservation of this knowledge. A mixed research approach was employed, combining surveys, interviews, focus group discussions, and document analysis among Siko Mando Oromo communities of West Arsi and Bale zones. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS, while a rule-based prototype was developed using Prolog to demonstrate the framework’s applicability. The proposed IKMF was evaluated using ISO-9126 quality attributes, yielding satisfactory results across usability, functionality, efficiency, and portability. The findings indicate that the proposed framework offers a practical and scalable solution for preserving and managing Gumaa knowledge and contributes to broader efforts in indigenous knowledge digitization and peacebuilding.

This study examines Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's seminal novel Devil on the Cross (1982) through the analytical lens of postcolonial theory, focusing on the concepts of cultural imperialism, mimicry, hybridity, and ambivalence as articulated by theorists such as Homi K. Bhabha, Edward Said, and Frantz Fanon. The novel presents a scathing critique of post-independence Kenya, revealing how neocolonial structures perpetuate the exploitation of the working class and the marginalization of women within a capitalist framework that mirrors colonial oppression. Through close textual analysis, this research demonstrates how Thiong'o deconstructs the colonial legacy's impact on African societies, particularly examining the protagonist Jacinta Wariinga's journey from victimhood to revolutionary consciousness. The study argues that Devil on the Cross serves as both a literary masterpiece and a political manifesto, exposing the psychological and economic dimensions of cultural imperialism while advocating for authentic African identity and resistance against neocolonial domination. By employing qualitative content analysis and examining key passages from the novel, this research reveals how postcolonial elements manifest in character development, narrative structure, and thematic concerns. The findings demonstrate that Thiong'o's work illuminates the stratification within African nations, the perpetuation of colonial mentalities among the postcolonial elite, and the vital role of women's resistance in challenging oppressive systems. This analysis contributes to broader discussions of decolonization, cultural authenticity, and gender politics in postcolonial African literature.

ABSTRACT This article examines how LGBTQ+ empowerment, faith, and development intersect in Kenya through the work of Break Margins Africa (BMA), a grassroots organisation supporting marginalised gay and bisexual young men. Using qualitative interviews and the concept of “queer spillage”, the article demonstrates how storytelling fosters healing, agency, and narrative reclamation amid colonial legacies, religious conservatism, and communal trauma. Findings indicate that BMA’s holistic approach – psychosocial support, economic empowerment, and spiritual exploration – transforms lives by facilitating futures consciousness, relational reconnection, and self-worth. The study’s significance arises by challenging Western individualistic models by exploring the communal ethos of African societies and emphasising collective healing that advances African-grounded scholarship and faith practice. Ultimately, it argues for trauma-informed, locally rooted approaches to queer empowerment that centre dignity, love, and belonging as cornerstones of inclusive development.

ABSTRACT Colonialism exerted a profound influence in reshaping the cultural landscapes of numerous African societies, and Igbo culture inclusive. However, it is an oversimplification to presume that every facet of Igbo culture was fundamentally altered by colonialism without rigorous, in-depth investigation. One cultural institution that demonstrated remarkable resilience against colonial transformative pressures was the Ọzọ institution. Consequently, this study aims to trace the trajectory of the Ọzọ tradition in Igboland across the pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial eras, examining its resilience in the face of both colonialism and modernization. Employing an ethnographic methodology, in-depth interviews were conducted with 100 key informants, including Ọzọ title holders, community leaders, local residents, and religious leaders across five selected communities. The findings indicate that while colonialism significantly affected peripheral aspects of the Ọzọ system, its core values and principles remained largely intact and untransformed. This reveals that the Ọzọ institution was only marginally altered by the colonial encounter. This study provides a critical perspective for analyzing the interactions between colonial powers and colonized communities, moving beyond the traditional binary of domination and submission. It thereby contributes to decolonizing knowledge and narratives within international literature that frame colonialism solely as an eraser and assimilator of indigenous cultures.

This study examines the evolution of intergenerational solidarity in African societies, highlighting the impact of colonisation, modernity and globalisation on traditional kinship structures. It explores how Western rationality, individualism and economic pragmatism have weakened caregiving roles and disrupted intergenerational relationships. Using the Dialectic of Enlightenment , the article critiques the commodification of care and cultural homogenisation. It advocates for restoring indigenous knowledge systems, eldership in governance and gerontology in social work education. By fostering critical consciousness, social workers can strengthen intergenerational bonds, ensuring enduring well-being and promoting socially transformative policies that balance modern advancements with African values.

This paper examines the evolution of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in Tanzania, tracing its origins from traditional methods used by African societies that emphasized community cohesion before colonialism. The British colonial rule introduced a formal legal system in 1920 through the Tanganyika Order in Council, which integrated customary law with English common law. After independence, Tanzania enacted several laws, including the Civil Procedure Code, mandating the referral of civil actions to ADR methods such as negotiation, conciliation, mediation, and arbitration. The study utilized both qualitative and quantitative methods, including document analysis, structured interviews, and surveys of legal practitioners and ADR experts to gather data on their experiences and perceptions of ADR practices. The analysis involved thematic coding of qualitative data and statistical evaluation of survey responses to identify trends and challenges within the ADR framework. Despite the growing significance of ADR, there was a lack of regulatory frameworks governing practitioners before 2021, raising concerns about professional misconduct. Recent amendments to the Civil Procedure Code introduced additional ADR modes, but challenges regarding practitioner accreditation and ethical standards persist. This paper highlights the need for comprehensive regulatory measures to enhance the integrity and effectiveness of ADR practices in Tanzania.

This study examines the perceived polarization between the European Union’s (EU) normative, value- and conditionality-based development model and the People’s Republic of China’s (China) pragmatic, state-centered Beijing Consensus approach within the context of Sub-Saharan Africa. The central question of the research is whether the development strategies of the EU and China represent two genuinely opposing paradigms, or rather distinct responses to the shared structural constraints of the global political economy. Built upon a four-dimensional comparative analytical framework, policy design, implementation model, discursive perception, and strategic logic, the study covers the period from 2000 to 2024. Drawing on secondary sources, including development documents, implementation projects, and public opinion surveys, the analysis reveals that China’s state-led and demand-driven investment model has achieved rapid infrastructural outcomes in countries with weak governance capacities, while indirectly undermining the effectiveness of the EU’s political conditionality. However, public opinion data indicate that African societies continue to maintain a strong orientation toward democratic norms, transparency, and institutional accountability. This finding suggests a structural tension between the pragmatic preferences of political elites and the normative aspirations of African societies. Ultimately, the study argues that sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa can only be achieved by transcending this binary divide through the creation of hybrid and interdependent cooperation mechanisms that integrate the EU’s normative power with China’s flexible economic pragmatism.

Purpose Mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and alcohol use disorders are leading causes of disability and mortality worldwide. However, the understanding of the burden of these conditions varies across countries, as does the access to and utilisation of services for those who seek help. Many Africans depend on traditional healers as their primary source of mental health care due to cultural beliefs and easier accessibility compared to biomedical services. This study aimed to understand the burden of mental health conditions in selected countries, evaluate the contributions of traditional healers as a support source, and identify future directions for mental health and traditional healing research. Design/methodology/approach The study focused on five African countries (Burkina Faso, Ghana, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe) and Black African communities in England. The study was primarily a desk review, complemented by a priority-setting exercise and a consensus-building workshop with traditional healers and mental health researchers to validate and strengthen the findings. A predefined template co-created during the priority-setting process was used to guide the non-systematic review mapping and covered three areas: 1) burden of these conditions, 2) contributions of traditional healers and 3) mental health policy and legislative frameworks. Data analysis from the non-systematic review was conducted descriptively. Cross-country similarities and differences, as well as future research directions, were collaboratively discussed during the consensus-building workshop. Findings In terms of the burden of conditions, the study revealed that depression was recognised as the most prevalent condition among all six countries. The contributions of traditional healers were more acknowledged in the African countries than in England, although their exact roles in providing mental health support across all six countries were not fully known or understood. In addition, mental health policies and legislation existed in all the African countries and recognised the presence of traditional healers, albeit to varying degrees. None of the mental health policies or legislation in England acknowledged the contributions of traditional healers. These findings and the consensus-building process led to the establishment of the Pan-African Mental Health Research Network to advance research on mental health and traditional healing in Black African societies. Research limitations/implications More research is needed on the role and contribution of traditional healers in mental health in sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the world. Practical implications There is a need for active engagement with traditional healers to increase their visibility and potential contributions to mental health. Social implications Engagement of traditional healers as key stakeholders in decision making processes regarding mental health in communities is needed. Originality/value The burden of mental ill health varied across different countries, and the potential contribution of traditional healers in alleviating this problem in Africa and among African communities in England was not well understood. Active engagement with traditional healers is necessary to enhance their visibility and investigate their potential contribution to mental health support.

This paper explores the tripartite relationship of names, languages and cultures focusing on the Botswana society of Southern Africa. Naming is a universal process, but its basic details are unique as they reflect on the cultures and traditions of specific societies. Most African societies, including the Botswana one, have rich cultures that yield largely lexically transparent and communicative names. This paper explores how Botswana’s culture and traditions influence its naming system and how consequently the system preserves Setswana cultural practices and the Setswana language. The study uses qualitative data from questionnaires and oral interviews carried out in the villages of Molepolole and Mahahalapye in Botswana. The paper is situated within the fields of socio-onomastics and social semiotics which reveal how names are crafted from the relationships that societies have with their cultures and languages. The paper concludes that Setswana personal names are archives and semiotic resources of Botswana’s political, economic, and social practices such as chieftainship, farming and marriage.

ABSTRACT This article examines the political and aesthetic strategies of resistance in Ahmadou Kourouma’s Suns of Independence (1981) and Allah Is Not Obliged (2006), exploring the dual dynamics of mourning and mobilization as resistance strategies in their postcolonial narratives. In Suns of Independence, physical infertility becomes a symbolic indictment of nationalist disillusionment and sociopolitical stagnation, while in Allah Is Not Obliged, the figure of the child soldier dramatizes the collapse of moral order in war-torn postcolonial African societies. Thus, this article argues that Kourouma employs these metaphors as intentional strategies of resistance and ethical engagement, positing that the entwinement of personal trauma with the broader narrative of national deterioration enables Kourouma to transform individual suffering into allegories of systemic failure. The article centres Kourouma’s works as an exemplification of literature’s epistemic power as a mode of knowledge production that simultaneously diagnoses postcolonial disorder and gestures towards the possibility of ethical renewal.

In a multitude of African cultures, profound beliefs and customs revolve around death and mourning, highlighting the differing significance attached to the death of a husband versus that of a wife. Across many African societies, the passing of a husband holds great importance, marked by intricate rituals, communal solidarity, and adherence to cultural practices. Additionally, the mourning period for the husband may extend for up to one year or two, whilst for the wife, it typically lasts up to three months. These mourning practices mirror the esteemed role held by the deceased within their social and familial circles. Often, widows face barriers to expressing the injustices they endure within marital settings. Thus, this research aims to uncover the inherent oppression widows experience in African traditional families while also illustrating how the body serves as the embodiment of cultural narratives within such marital and bereavement frameworks. Utilising the biblical narrative of Tamar, this study will reexamine the challenges widows face within the African cultural context of marriage and death.

Recent litigation in the United States - specifically the Texas Attorney General's lawsuit against the makers of Tylenol - has reignited global concern over the safety of paracetamol use during pregnancy and its alleged link to neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Although South African clinical guidelines continue to endorse paracetamol as safe and essential during pregnancy, the legal implications of such international controversies warrant closer scrutiny. A narrative legal-ethical review was conducted, drawing on comparative legal frameworks, South African clinical guidelines and recent consensus statements. The article analyses the Texas Tylenol lawsuit, evaluates the evidentiary standards in South African versus US law and considers the ethical obligations of disclosure and risk communication. Sources include peer-reviewed literature, professional guidelines (e.g. Health Professions Council of South Africa [HPCSA] and South African Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists [SASOG]) and public health statements. No meta-analysis was performed. The review found that while South African law requires a causal link for liability, international litigation can influence patient perceptions and clinical behaviour. South African guidelines continue to support paracetamol use in pregnancy, and adherence to these guidelines provides legal and ethical protection. However, practitioners may face increased patient anxiety, pressure to alter prescribing habits and the risk of defensive medicine. Ethical tensions arise between the duty to inform and the risk of fuelling misinformation. South African family practitioners must remain vigilant in their communication, documentation and reliance on evidence-based consensus.Contribution:By grounding clinical decisions in local guidelines and ethical reasoning, practitioners can navigate the challenges posed by global controversies while maintaining patient trust and legal defensibility.