Challenge In Africa Research Articles

Stakeholder mapping to explore social and economic capital of Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) to increase demand for and access to healthy food

IntroductionSouth Africa, grappling with the complexities of malnutrition, faces a dual challenge of undernutrition in children and overnutrition in adults, particularly among women. This situation is exacerbated by high rates of food insecurity, affecting nearly one-fourth of households. In this context, the role of Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs), locally known as stokvels, becomes increasingly significant. These informal, often women-led, savings and borrowing groups present a unique opportunity to address dietary challenges and promote healthier eating practices in urban, low-income settings. This study explores the potential of stokvels in mitigating the dual burden of malnutrition by facilitating access to healthy, affordable foods.MethodsWe conducted stakeholder mapping to understand the roles and influences of various actors within South Africa's food system, particularly their interactions with stokvels. Our research focuses on how these groups, deeply embedded in the community fabric, can leverage their collective power to negotiate better access to nutritious food and influence healthier dietary choices. Stakeholders identified in the study span diverse sectors, including retail, agriculture, finance, and community organizations.ResultsThe research reveals that stokvels are perceived as vital social and economic entities capable of maximizing value through partnerships and networks. However, challenges such as the informal nature of stokvels and the lack of formal legal agreements often hinder their ability to form partnerships with formal institutions. The findings emphasize the importance of understanding and leveraging the social dynamics within stokvels, recognizing their role in enhancing food security and contributing to economic empowerment, especially for women. The study also identifies the need for formalizing stokvel structures to enhance their operational efficiency and increase their impact on food systems.DiscussionIn conclusion, this research highlights the untapped potential of stokvels in addressing South Africa's nutritional challenges. By fostering stronger connections between stokvels and various food system actors, there is a significant opportunity to improve food security and promote healthier eating habits in low-income communities. Future research should aim to include unrepresented stakeholders and explore strategies to enhance the role of ROSCAs in promoting healthier food choices and addressing affordability and accessibility barriers.

Analyzing the Dynamics: EU and UN Perspectives on the African Union

This article presents a comprehensive analysis of the dynamics between the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) in their interactions with the African Union (AU). Recognizing the AU's pivotal role in addressing Africa's challenges, the study investigates historical trajectories, policies, and key priorities shaping EU and UN perspectives on the AU. Through a multi-methodological approach, including document review and comparative analysis, it explores areas of convergence, divergence, and potential conflicts in their approaches, shedding light on implications for the AU's development and international relations. Tracing the historical evolution of EU-AU and UN-AU relations, pivotal moments such as the Cotonou Agreement and the establishment of the UN Office to the African Union (UNOAU) are highlighted. Analysis reveals shared objectives in peace, security, sustainable development, and governance, with nuanced differences in emphasis and approach. While areas of alignment exist, particularly in peacekeeping and sustainable development goals, divergences emerge in governance, human rights, and economic relations, posing challenges to collaboration.Case studies, including joint peacekeeping missions in Mali and development initiatives in Eastern Africa, offer insights into successes, challenges, and lessons learned, informing recommendations for future collaborations. Opportunities for enhanced cooperation, such as joint capacity-building initiatives and aligned development programs, are identified.The study contributes to a nuanced understanding of EU and UN perspectives on the AU, providing insights into their implications for Africa's development. Recommendations for improvements in coordination mechanisms, communication channels, and decision-making processes are proposed to enhance effectiveness. Future research avenues include evaluating economic partnerships' impacts and exploring innovative funding models to unlock transformative impact on the African continent. Ultimately, this analysis informs policymakers and international practitioners, fostering constructive partnerships for Africa's stability, prosperity, and sustainable development.

Farmland management and community conflicts in the commune of Gogounou

Sustainable land management is at the heart of Africa's development challenge. However, access to and control over natural resources is becoming the main source of conflict between rural producers, particularly farmers and agro-pastoralists. The aim of this study is to analyse farmland management and community conflicts in the commune of Gogounou. The methodological approach is based on data collection, processing (statistical processing; cartographic processing with ArcGIS) and analysis of the results using the SWOT model (Strengths, Weaknesses, Obstacles, Threats). A total of 128 producers were interviewed using an interview guide and a questionnaire. The results of this methodological approach show that the main method of acquiring agricultural land is inheritance (55.86%), which is used for farming (77%) and livestock rearing (23%). However, crop rotation (72.80%) is the most widely used farmland management technique. For 82% of farmers, boundary disputes are the most dominant issue, followed by family disputes (14%) and, lastly, litigation (5%). The main players involved in conflict management are the district chiefs, village delegates or chiefs, the town hall, the police station and the court. In order to deal with this situation, it is imperative that prospects be defined for better land management and real development of farming activities.

Exploring ecofeminism, ecocriticism, aquapoetics, and environmental humanities in Gabeba Baderoon's poetry

In this article I focus on Gabeba Baderoon's engagement with nature and the ecological nuances in her poetry. Baderoon is an accomplished South African poet with four poetry collections to date: The Dream in the Next Body (2005), The Museum of Ordinary Life (2005), A hundred silences (2006), and The History of Intimacy (2018). These poetry collections sustain Baderoon's ecofeminist sensibility as she engages with South Africa's eco-environmental challenges. In expanding the scope of how ecology impacts on poetry, I strive to illustrate how Baderoon's poetry is intimately bound up with the tropes of environmental humanities, ecofeminism, ecocriticism, and aquapoetics. I interrogate Baderoon's engagement with ecological concerns in South Africa. Previous critical works about her poetry often discount how her poetry creatively harnesses ecopoetic tropes to illustrate the problematics of ecological concerns, climate change, and environmental crises. Rather, they often fixate on the portrayal of racial politics of apartheid as it culminated in the poverty of black people in her poetry. Interestingly, Baderoon does not enforce a strict and total division between these thematic concerns in her poetry collections. I argue in this article that, within the framework of commitment to ecological values, Baderoon explores the relationship between human and non-human agencies in her poetry. Arguably, the conception of human relations with the environment enables Baderoon to advocate for the protection of plants, animals, and water resources for a sustainable ecosystem.

Universities as Thinking Spaces for Society: Moving from Welfare to Development

South Africa's developmental challenges offer a fertile ground for collaborative efforts among various stakeholders, including higher education institutions, government bodies, industries, and civil society organizations. Such collaboration fosters channels for knowledge generation, opportunities for resource sharing, and strategies for policy enhancement, all aimed at driving South Africa's progressive transformation through its development agenda. This special issue is the result of a partnership between the Faculty of Management Sciences at Durban University of Technology, South Africa, and the Population Promotion Directorate of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Department of Social Development in South Africa. This special issue serves as a concerted effort to cultivate interdisciplinary collaboration between government institutions and universities, aiming to generate knowledge for the betterment of citizens' lives. As such, the papers within cover a range of themes addressing significant issues within South African society. Their findings are intended to serve as credible inputs for the development and implementation of policies in relevant domains. Utilizing both qualitative and quantitative data, these papers offer deeper insights into their respective subject matters, contributing to evidence-based policymaking and decision-making processes across various levels of government in South Africa.

African Union’s Migration Governance Framework, the Refugee Crisis and Challenges for Geopolitical Security

This article is an in-depth desk review of migration-related issues in Africa, including new migration trends, triggers of internal displacement and refugee flows, the African Union’s migration policy frameworks, emerging threats to geopolitical security, and responsibility-sharing among African sub-regions. It explores the various variables that lead to migration within the African region, the extent to which they interact with one another, and the application of existing migration policy frameworks within the context of responsibility sharing. The article equally examines the African Union's (AU) current and planned migration governance institutions and member states' political will in view of the reality that managing migration is challenging due to its inevitable nature, magnitude, and heterogeneity. It emphasizes the need to develop strategic partnerships among national, regional and global actors in order to address Africa's migration and displacement challenges in a manner consistent with international standards.

“African magic” or “African science”: Issues of technology in African higher education

AbstractAfrican ideas, science, technology, scholarship and worldviews have been disproportionately displaced and marginalized in relevant global dialogues. In academic circles, African methods of knowing have been questioned, undervalued, mocked, misconstrued, and disregarded, causing apprehension. These negative attitudes are internalized via the educational system, stifling agency and conditioning African learners to rely on technology from outside sources, resulting in the exteriorization of innovation and creativity. African inventiveness becomes “African magic” with no real desire to interrogate, explain, or grasp its basic mechanics. This article contends that technology and creative imaginations exist in African societies. The task, however, remains the exploration and integration of African knowledge systems into higher education. The study aims to demonstrate how the interaction of two components of traditional African education—a sense of community and informal learning—could assist in the embrace, facilitation, and mainstreaming of marginalized African technologies. Although the paper may appear eclectic, it is intended to conscientiously push the paradigm that technology has been integral to African education. Regardless of Africa's technical challenges, salvation does not lie in excessive external reliance but rather in investing and building on Indigenous African knowledges/practices in order to establish an African technological identity. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic: African dependency on foreign technology. Lack of interest in African science and technology. Lack of African technological identity. Low technology penetration in African higher education. What this paper adds: The need to explore African science and technology. Mind‐set change towards African science and technology. Mainstreaming African achievements in science and technology. Implications for practice and/or policy: Indigenization of science and technology. Indigenous empowerment. Exploring alternate ways of knowing. Changing perspectives on science and technology.

The push for financial inclusion in Africa: Should central banks be wary of political institutional quality and literacy rates?

AbstractMotivated by the literature on reform complementarities and their importance for the effectiveness of central bank independence (CBI) reforms—particularly for African countries—where CBI has empirically not been found to have a significant impact on financial development, we explore the extent to which differences in literacy levels and political institutions could determine the extent and impact of CBI on financial inclusion. Using panel data from 2004 to 2014, we find that, while CBI does not promote financial inclusion in Africa, financial literacy and political institutions do; even to the extent of enabling CBI's impact on financial inclusion. The results are robust to different measures of political institutions from Freedom House and Polity IV Database and present implications for the role governments could play in shepherding central banks in Africa in the midst of Africa's developmental challenges and the global crises.Related ArticlesAideyan, Osaore. 2016. “Political and Institutional Prerequisites for Monetary Union: Assessing Progress in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).” Politics & Policy 44(6): 1192–212. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12183.Asongu, Simplice A., Joseph Nnanna, and Vanessa S. Tchamyou. 2021. “Finance, Institutions, and Private Investment in Africa.” Politics & Policy 49(2): 309–51. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12395.Scarlato, Margherita, and Giorgio d'Agostino. 2019. “The Political Dimension of Cash Transfers in Latin America and Sub‐Saharan Africa: A Comparative Perspective.” Politics & Policy 47(6): 1125–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12332.

South Africa's jurisdictional challenge with the under-development of cross-border commercial litigation: Litigation v Arbitration

Private international law is a globally established field of law however, its pre-eminence in Africa is insignificant and this has been as a result of its relevance, which according to many scholars is arguable. It follows logically therefore, that it is underdeveloped in Africa, and as this article posits, specifically in South Africa. This article advocates for the development of South African private international law by endorsing South Africa as a viable neutral jurisdiction venue for cross-border commercial disputes, in future. According to this article, this is to be achieved by the recognition of neutral jurisdiction clauses in South African courts. This can only be done by developing an effective and just system of cross-border/trans-national litigation. The proposed sound cross-border jurisdictional rules will supplement the newly established transnational arbitration regime. In order to achieve this, this research reflects an integrated comparative approach by establishing comparative perspectives mainly from the UK, USA, Brazil, Kosovo and South Africa.1 Based on its constitutional values of inalienable human rights and access to courts (justice), South Africa stands to gain immensely from incoming commercial arbitration and commercial litigation as forms of dispute resolution. This will establish the country as the preferred venue for arbitration and litigation on the African continent and beyond.

Effects of Covid-19 on orthopaedic trauma services: early experiences in South Africa and Israel.

South Africa and Israel have significantly different health systems. As South Africa is geographically 500 times as large and has a population nearly 7 times as large as the state of Israel, major differences in the challenges and subsequent handling of the pandemic between these countries were to be expected. South Africa's challenges included being under-resourced, particularly related to trauma, and severe and radical measures had to be undertaken that included extended strict lockdowns, bans on alcohol sales, and cancellation of the majority of the elective surgery during this initial period of the pandemic. Although Israel is much smaller and thereby theoretically easier to control, a complex political situation created difficulties and delays in controlling the pandemic after the initial response, leading to a second wave and additional lockdown. Although massively engaged initially, the Israeli trauma systems had continued functioning almost normally throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

A review: saltwater intrusion in North Africa's coastal areas-current state and future challenges.

North Africa coastline extends on 8955 km from Mauritania to Egypt. These areas continue to experience population and economic growth. North Africa coastal aquifers were exposed to an increase in groundwater salinity and seawater intrusion, which may contribute to economic crisis as a result of freshwater resources crisis. This work aims to explore the status and a holistic comprehending review of saltwater intrusion extent in the region and future challenges. Results on seawater intrusion in North Africa, from published papers and grey literature, show a several efforts have been made in understanding this phenomenon and developing management strategies in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Mauritania. The most method used is geochemical data and statistical analysis. Some studies linked geochemical data with geophysical techniques, geographical information system (GIS), and GALDIT index. Seawater intrusion varies from one country to another according to the aquifer hydrogeological settings, abstraction rates and aquifer morphology, climate change, urban expansion, and economic development. North Africa countries, such as Libya and Mauritania, need, for instance, more expertise and experience on the part of local researchers. The challenge of inadequate data and a need for a more robust data inventory was stressed. This paper recommends developing and building scientific capabilities in regional and international partnerships, and adopting rational water governance for sustainable development.

Water Resilience in a Changing Urban Context: Africa's Challenge and Pathways for Action

Cities in Africa face escalating water-related challenges, compounded by worsening climate change and rising urbanization. Water insecurity threatens economies, livelihoods and the health and wellbeing of billions. The answer: smart, systematic investments in urban water resilience that ensure communities have safe, reliable and affordable water; and that water resources are protected through disaster preparedness and water-sensitive infrastructure. Water Resilience in a Changing Urban Context: Africa's Challenge and Pathways for Action, demonstrates that African cities can address these challenges with a fresh approach centered on water resilience. This publication frames core challenges and major barriers that prevent water resilience in African countries. The authors, experts in water resilience, highlight the potential power of city-regions in Africa to drive transformation. It offers four priority pathways for action as a starting point for cities to build urban water resilience: 1) plan for water, 2) prioritize the most vulnerable, 3) create change at scale and 4) get finance right. Water resilience is essential to many development goals, from the Sustainable Development Goals and UN Habitat’s New Urban Agenda, to the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the Paris Agreement.

Smart city technology: a potential solution to Africa's growing population and rapid urbanization?

ABSTRACT Africa is rapidly urbanizing and its population is growing exponentially. The United Nations has predicted Africa will have the fastest global population growth, with over half of its populace residing in urban areas by 2050. This is concerning given Africa's current infrastructural deficits which compromise liveability in these urban areas. Education, health, and transport are core areas of challenge in Africa and currently, no research is known to have analyzed if the infusion of smart city technology in these core areas will make a difference, a gap this paper fills. This work reviews the literature on smart city technology using Singapore as a model to make inferences and ascertain the adaptability of the technology to the African situation. It seeks to investigate the prospects of enhancing the aforementioned core areas of challenge using smart city technology and determine the prospects for Africa's development. Findings indicate Africa's current state of development is an advantage here as infusing core areas with digital technology would proactively help address Africa's urbanization challenges. African nations are encouraged to embrace digital technology to address core development issues while putting adequate measures in place to maintain the security and privacy of citizens.

Decolonising African Cultural Identity in Es’kia Mphahlele’s Chirundu : A literary Appreciation

Though Africans are striving to re-define and re-construct themselves through re-asserting their eroded African cultural identity, this appears to be a mammoth, almost insurmountable task. It remains a nuanced terrain because, on the one hand, there is material benefit from being bedfellows with the neocolonial forces while on the other hand, there is hardship which is meted out against the proponents of African decolonisation, particularly the quintessential ones. Sanctions are one of the austerity measures which the neo-colonial powers use to suppress those Africans who genuinely want to advance African renaissance. This is the cause of identity crisis among many Africans, and unsavoury marriages of convenience between the West and African nations today. This paper, therefore, seeks to examine the dilemma faced by the essentialist adherents of African culture today and their supposed role in the advancement of Africa as a continent. It uses Chirundu's character in Es'kia Mphahlele's novel of the same name, as a case in point. The argument, in this paper, is grounded on Afrocentricity as a strand of Post-Colonial Theory (with or without a hyphen) with an implied suggestion that the solution to Africa's postcolonial challenges lies in forging cultural hybridity with the nations of the world.

South African Journal of Psychology: special section Africa's vulnerabilities, challenges and responses to pandemics like COVID-19.

South African Journal of Psychology: special section Africa's vulnerabilities, challenges and responses to pandemics like COVID-19.

A diabetes profile of the eight districts in the public health sector, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) recently reported that there are 1.8 million South Africans with diabetes, and estimates an additional undiagnosed population of 69% of the total number of diabetics. The African continent is expected to see the highest increase in diabetes globally by 2045. Healthcare measures to manage this surge in diabetes and its related complications should be tailored to Africa's unique challenges; however, the epidemiolocal data essential for policy development are lacking. Bridging the data gap will guide funding distribution and the creation of evidence-based initiatives for diabetes. To investigate the frequency, age proportion and distribution of new patients diagnosed with diabetes in the public healthcare sector of Eastern Cape (EC) Province, South Africa (SA). All data collected to date were obtained from the EC District Health Information System. According to the information collected from the Department of Health, diabetes-related data collection fields were implemented in 2013, which resulted in this 4-year study. Additional open-source data on population estimates, mortality and medical aid coverage were provided by Statistics SA. Of the eight districts in the province, O R Tambo was recorded as having the highest average proportion of new patients diagnosed with diabetes. A positive correlation was found between the calculated incidence of disease and the diabetes mortality rate. The study showed an annual growth in the incidence of diabetes in the EC since 2014, and highlights the issue of an increasing burden of diabetes in the rural population. This increase is consonant with predictions by authoritative bodies on the growing burden of diabetes in Africa. The pattern of distribution highlights the deprived district of O R Tambo contradicting the well-known link between diabetes and urbanisation.

Unconventionally contentious: Frack Free South Africa’s challenge to the oil and gas industry

Exploration applications that could lead to unconventional gas exploitation in large parts of South Africa have encountered sustained opposition by social movements. This article looks into Frack Free South Africa's (FFSA) challenges to the government-supported development strategy of shale gas as a supposed means to create jobs and ensure energy autonomy. Adding to discussions in social movement scholarship this article contributes by exploring political, spatial and organizational opportunities afforded by FFSA's activist campaign. The article concludes that in order to grow the movement needs to embrace more inclusive campaign strategies.

Rethinking the AGOA Model: How to Create a Pro-Structural Transformation of the U.S.-Africa Trade Partnership

Seventeen years into the life of the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA), two key issues stand out: first, that the preference utilization rate—as indicated by the meagre increases in African exports to the United States—remains marginal; and second, that the AGOA initiative has not helped build diversified African economies. This reality in turn raises two critical issues: that Africa's structural challenges need to be addressed; and that extensions of the AGOA in and of themselves may not be the solution for the continent's economic development. Therefore, looking toward 2025 is an opportunity to have a fresh discussion with the United States, one focused on placing the African economic development challenge at the heart of the dialogue. This requires designing a new model grounded in Africa's aspirations for structural transformation of its economies from primary product to industrial product exporters.

Overcoming East Africa's infrastructure challenges

The importance of infrastructure with regard to regional integration remains doubtless in Africa. Past efforts at regional integration have focused on removing barriers to free trade, increasing the free movement of people, labour, goods and capital across national borders.

Managing Our Microbial Mark: What We Can Learn About Pay for Performance From Ebola's Arrival at Our Shores.

The narrative of Ebola's arrival in the United States has been overwhelmed by our fear of a West African-style epidemic. The real story of Ebola's arrival is about our healthcare system's failure to identify, treat, and contain healthcare associated infections. Having long been willfully ignorant of the path of fatal infectious diseases through our healthcare facilities, this paper considers why our reimbursement and quality reporting systems made it easy for this to be so. West Africa's challenges in controlling Ebola resonate with our own struggles to standardize, centralize, and enforce infection control procedures in American healthcare facilities.