Population Groups In Africa Research Articles

Legal and Political Framing of Homophobia in two Namibian Newspapers since Independence: An Appraisal Theoretic Analytical Approach

The most abhorred population group in Africa (and by extension in Namibia) is the LGBTQI community. Non-heterosexuality is largely condemned in most African countries for political, religious, cultural and legal reasons. Couched within Appraisal Theory, the paper examines how linguistic resources are exploited in manners that evince how homophobia is politically and legally framed in two Namibian daily newspapers – The Namibian and New Era. For example, while the world has reacted to the realities of the departure from the traditional binary definitional parameters of sexualities and sexual identities, Namibia still remains largely homophobic, together with at least 47 other African countries still criminalising homosexuality. In 2001, for example, a video documentary quotes the then President of Namibia, Dr Sam Nujoma, expressing the sentiments that “Lesbians and homosexualism, these we condemn – we reject them. In Namibia there will be no lesbian, no homosexualism” (Blecher, 2001). In August 2005, Minister of Home Affairs, Theopolina Mushelenga, publicly denounced the human rights of Namibian gays and lesbians and also asserted that “homosexuals were responsible for the HIV and AIDS pandemic” (Lorway, 2006, p. 436). Homosexuality has generally, thus, been regarded as an uncultural, unAfrican, uncommon and unacceptable phenomenon in Africa, including Namibia. In Namibia, as in other African countries, the penalty for homosexual behaviour is imprisonment. Many Namibian political leaders have publicly expressed that homosexual rights go against the legal, religious and cultural values of the country. There are political and legal imports to the rejection of homosexual behaviour patterns in Namibia as evinced in news reporting cultures. Homosexuality in Namibian political and legal discourses is largely imagined as either an ‘unAfrican’ behaviour or attributed to western influences on Africa. Linguistic expression by many Namibian politicians also evince a revulsion of homosexuality.

Genomic diversity and transmission dynamics of M. tuberculosis in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) and its human host are the most competent organisms with co-evolutionary trajectory. This review determined the phylogeography, clinical phenotype-related genotype and transmission dynamics of MTBC in Africa.METHODS: Spoligotyping and mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units-variable number tandem repeats (MIRU-VNTR) based articles from Africa published in the English language were included. Articles were retrieved from PubMed and Scopus on 12 May 2018.RESULTS: In Africa, respectively 92% and 7% of tuberculosis (TB) cases were caused by M. tuberculosis and M. africanum. Among M. tuberculosis lineages (L), L4 was the predominant, at 67%, followed by L3/Central Asian (CAS; 10%). L7/ETH1 and L5/6/Maf were restricted to the Horn and Western Africa, respectively. L4.6/SIT37, H37Rv like, L4.1.2/Haarlem and H3-Ural were proportionally more frequent among tuberculous lymphadenitis (TBLN) than among pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases. On 24-locus MIRU-VNTR, clustering rate was 31%; the secondary case rate from a single primary source case was 20%.CONCLUSION: Africa in general, and the east-west pole of Africa in particular, harboured a genetically diverse population of MTBC, with characteristics of geographic segregation. Both generalist and specialist genotypes are circulating in the region. L4 is dominant across the continent, while M. bovis is rarely detected as a cause for human TB. The clinical significance of genetic diversity of MTBC in the different geographic and population groups of Africa is not fully understood. Both person-to-person transmission and reactivation mode of TB is significant in Africa. Prevention and control strategies should therefore envisage these two scenarios.

Determinants of systemic hypertension in older adults in Africa: a systematic review

BackgroundAn estimated 55% of older adults in Africa have systemic hypertension, a major risk factor for stroke, heart failure and dementia in the region. The risk factors associated with hypertension in this population group in Africa have not been systematically evaluated. We, therefore, undertook a systematic review to identify these risk factors.MethodsWe searched for population-based studies of adults aged ≥50 years living in Africa and reporting an estimate of hypertension and associated risk factors. We included articles published in any language between January 1980 and May 2018 using a comprehensive search strategy. We extracted data including the sample characteristics, prevalence of hypertension and risk factors with their effect sizes.ResultsFrom an initial 10,719 records, we retained 63 eligible full text articles for review out of which we analyzed 23 studies made up of 19 primary and four multiple publications which had data on risk factors from bivariate or multivariable analysis. The primary studies, published from 2010 to 2018, involved a total of 30,500 participants in 12 different countries with mean ages ranging from 62.7 ± 9 years to 76.9 ± 8.4 years. Through narrative synthesis, we found consistent determinants of hypertension (overweight/obesity and history of stroke), less consistent but frequent determinants (including older age group, female sex and urban residence), inconsistent determinants (including education, wealth index, alcohol intake and physical activity) and nonsignificant covariates (marital status and having health insurance). Overall, the highest adjusted odds ratios were those associated with obesity and history of stroke.ConclusionThe key determinants of systemic hypertension in older adults in Africa are older age group, overweight/obesity, history of stroke and female sex. Health programmes should promote weight reduction throughout the life course, including during the middle and older age of African adults.

Analyzing Transformational Development as Engagement with African Millennials

AbstractThis research focuses on the missiological and diaconal prospects of inclusion of the millennial generation (18–35 years of age) as agents of transformational development in Africa. Transformational development takes place on three levels to address the dichotomies of the modern worldview; spiritual world (gospel as word), seen world (gospel as deed), and the excluded middle (gospel as sign). The literature study shows that although millennials make up the largest population group in Africa, they are not adequately involved in transformational development, neither by the church nor by other agents of development. The article uses the transformational praxis “model” of Kritzinger and Saayman to discuss the possible role of millennials in transformational development in Africa, which includes several dimensions important for a holistic view of transformational development: spirituality, agency, contextual understanding, scrutiny, interpretation of tradition, discernment for action, and reflexivity.

Who are the disciples? Identity perceptions about millennials and the church

This article specifically focusses on understanding the discipleship process of the millennial generation (15–35 years of age) in Africa. The millennial generation is the largest population group in Africa, with more than 200 million individuals in Africa. Focussing on developing a disciple identity with African millennials from a missional ecclesiology, the question attended to is: What is the church’s perception of the identity of these African millennials and how can the church disciple them? Discipleship is understood as to engage with people to discover their true identity and vocation in God. Discipleship takes place on three different levels according to the modern worldview: the spiritual world (Gospel-as-word), the seen world (Gospel-as-deed) and the excluded middle (Gospel-as-sign). These distinctions have, for example, the implication that discipling is located not only at the church but also in the world. Millennials are motivated as much by their personal relationships and human connections as they are by the influences of their technological skills, social media and group pressure. It is observed in this article that millennials are currently discipling the world in different ways. Therefore, four suggested steps are discussed for the churches to involve millennials in their discipleship programmes.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: It is believed that this article has definite intra- and interdisciplinary implications. Although this article is written from a missiological departure, it also covers other theological disciplines like Practical Theology and Youth work. It also includes articles from communications and sociology and would make valuable contributions to the field of, especially, sociology as well as anthropology.

The cost of providing combined prevention and treatment services, including ART, to female sex workers in Burkina Faso.

BackgroundFemale Sex workers (FSW) are important in driving HIV transmission in West Africa. The Yerelon clinic in Burkina Faso has provided combined preventative and therapeutic services, including anti-retroviral therapy (ART), for FSWs since 1998, with evidence suggesting it has decreased HIV prevalence and incidence in this group. No data exists on the costs of such a combined prevention and treatment intervention for FSW. This study aims to determine the mean cost of service provision per patient year for FSWs attending the Yerelon clinic, and identifies differences in costs between patient groups.MethodsField-based retrospective cost analyses were undertaken using top-down and bottom-up costing approaches for 2010. Expenditure and service utilisation data was collated from primary sources. Patients were divided into groups according to full-time or occasional sex-work, HIV status and ART duration. Patient specific service use data was extracted. Costs were converted to 2012 US$. Sensitivity analyses considered removal of all research costs, different discount rates and use of different ART treatment regimens and follow-up schedules.ResultsUsing the top-down costing approach, the mean annual cost of service provision for FSWs on or off ART was US$1098 and US$882, respectively. The cost for FSWs on ART reduced by 29%, to US$781, if all research-related costs were removed and national ART monitoring guidelines were followed. The bottom-up patient-level costing showed the cost of the service varied greatly across patient groups (US$505–US$1117), primarily due to large differences in the costs of different ART regimens. HIV-negative women had the lowest annual cost at US$505.ConclusionWhilst FSWs may require specialised services to optimise their care and hence, the public health benefits, our study shows that the cost of ART provision within a combined prevention and treatment intervention setting is comparable to providing ART to other population groups in Africa.

Prevalence of infection with HIV, hepatitis B and C viruses, in four high risk groups in Eritrea

Background: Little is known about the prevalence of infections in different population groups in Africa, and about the influence of living conditions on the spread of infections. This study is the first of its kind in the state of Eritrea and is expected to serve as an evaluation of the situation in the country. Objective: A serosurvey for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) was carried out during the summer of 1995 in Massawa, a small sea port in Eritrea (East Africa) in four groups considered to be at risk for these infections. Study design: The study subjects were former Guerrilla Fighters, Female Sex Workers, Truck Drivers, and Port Workers. Participants from a tribe called Rashaida were believed to be at low risk, and thus served as a control. Results: The Female Sex Workers had the highest incidence of HIV-1 infection, 29%, compared to 10% for Port Workers, and 3% for Guerrilla Fighters. On the other hand presence of HBsAg, indicating a high prevalence of hepatitis B carrier status, was highest in the Guerrilla Fighters, followed by the Rashaidas, and lowest in the Female Sex Workers. The Female Sex Workers were further tested for antibodies against HBV and the results revealed that 53% of them, 5%, had antibodies against HBcoreAg. Excluding the possibility of an acute infection at sampling time, three of them became HBsAg carriers. Surprisingly, our group of Truck Drivers did not show HIV-1 infection, and no HIV-2 infections were seen in the whole cohort. Conclusion: The study shows that the described groups have different prevalences of infection with HIV, hepatitis B and C which can partly be explained by their living conditions.

Screening for marasmus: a discriminant analysis as a guide to choose the anthropometric variables

In a cross-sectional study, children 0-6 yr of age from eight different population groups in Africa and Asia were examined. Clinical assessment defined 8750 children as being well nourished and 194 as having marasmus. Height, weight, arm circumference (AC), and triceps skinfold thickness were measured; the latter two measurements and the clinical assessment were done by the same observer. Based on data from normal children, local growth curves were computed for each group. Each child's growth was expressed in standard deviation scores (SDS) of his own group. On the basis of the results of a discriminant analysis, all variables were ranked by their decreasing power to discriminate between normal and marasmic children. For 83% of the children one measurement (AC/age) is sufficient to classify them definitely; for the others several variables are needed. This strategy yields an overall sensitivity of 80%, a specificity of 97%, and a positive predictive value of 38%.The definition of a malnourished child is commonly based on anthropometric measurements. In order to define an optimal selection procedure, this study uses a discriminant analysis to choose the most appropriate anthropometric variables for distinguishing clinically defined marasmic children from clinically normal children. This selection procedure would be a better alternative for routine practice in health clinics than the commonly used procedures of weight for age or weight for height. In a cross-sectional study, children 0-6 years of age from 8 different population groups in Africa and Asia were examined. Clinical assessment defined 8750 children as being well nourished and 194 as having marasmus. Height, weight, arm circumference, and triceps skinfold thickness were measured; the latter 2 measurements and the clinical assessment were done by the same observer. Based on data from normal children, local growth curves were computed for each group. Each child's growth expressed in standard deviation scores of his own group. On the basis of the results of a discriminant analysis, all variables were ranked by their decreasing power to discriminate between normal and marasmic children. For 83% of the children 1 measurement (arm circumference/age) is sufficient to classify them definitely; for the others, several variables are needed. This strategy yields an overall sensitivity of 80%, a specificity of 97%, and a positive predictive value of 38%. Developing countries, where scarcity of resources is a daily reality, need uniformly efficient selection procedures in order to tackle their very common problem: marasmus. Using the clinical definition of marasmus as a substitute for morbidity and mortality, the proposed selection procedure is able to select children at risk with high sensitivity and a very low number of false positives.