Time In Botswana Research Articles

Bessie Head’s absorbent poetics: Lessons from co-operative farming in Botswana

In her autobiographical novel, A Question of Power (1973), Bessie Head identified a dialectical bind in the language and imagery of decolonial and nationalist movements across Africa at the time. I contrast the novel’s treatment of such language with Head’s observations of the agricultural development projects in which she participated during her time in Botswana, which are distinguished by a relational responsiveness across difference, reflected in their responsiveness to the natural environment. Her involvement as a participant-observer, I argue, allowed Head to develop a unique Afrocentric philosophy and poetics, distinct from and often at odds with the language and ethos of campaigns for national liberation. This poetics is what I term “absorbent”: defined by its capacity for sustaining and responding to difference. However, although Head attempted to transcend the dialectical discourse of nationalism, I show that this effort towards transcendence sometimes risked intellectual deflection, which ultimately reinforced a conservative model of global politics and economics.

No Asylum from Her Majesty: The British FCO and Complicity with Apartheid

ABSTRACT Jeanette and Katryn Schoon were assassinated on 28 June 1984, the victims of a parcel bomb sent to Angola by the apartheid state's security services. To understand the state's decision to assassinate the Schoons, it is necessary to look back to the Schoons' time in Botswana, where they were members of the African National Congress (ANC)'s exile structures for six years, from 1977 to 1983. I argue that the Schoons’ forced departure from Botswana in 1983 was profoundly influenced by the British government, working in support of the apartheid state. Furthermore, I argue that the UK’s complicity in this instance placed the Schoons in an unnecessarily precarious position. Without recourse to asylum in the UK, the Schoons were forced to seek refuge in a nation locked in an extended armed conflict with South Africa, and they were therefore within striking range of the apartheid state’s security forces. It seems the notion that the Schoons might end up somewhere even less safe than Botswana did not enter the equation for the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). Their only real concern was to get the Schoons away from the precious citizens of the United Kingdom.

‘We are seeing things’: recognition, risk and reproducing kinship in Botswana's time of AIDS

AbstractThis article explores the ways in which families are reproduced in Botswana's time of AIDS. It argues that conjugal relationships are transformed into kin relationships through a gradual process of recognition in which they become visible, spoken about and known to ever wider spheres of kin. For women, this process is often catalysed by pregnancy; for men, by marriage negotiations – and for both, recognition is key to self-making. However, every shift in recognition is risky and tenuous, even reversible, and marked bydikgang– ‘issues’, conflicts or crises – the negotiation of which is crucial to its kin- and self-making capacity. Tswana kinship and personhood, in other words, are constituted in crisis, making them both highly fraught and highly resilient. In this context, HIV becomes one of many risks entailed in intimacy and kin-making – suggesting one explanation for persistently high rates of HIV infection in Botswana, and indicating an unexpected capacity in families to absorb crises such as the AIDS epidemic.

Phylogeography and Population Structure of the Mediterranean Corn Borer, Sesamia nonagrioides (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Across Its Geographic Range.

Sesamia nonagrioides (Lefèbvre) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a widespread insect pest in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. However, its pest status varies across its distribution range. It is a major pest of maize in Europe and of sugarcane in Iran. In Africa, it is a major pest of maize in West Africa but not considered as a pest in East Africa. Recent surveys conducted in 2015 recorded S. nonagrioides to be a major pest of sugarcane in Ethiopia and reported the species for the first time in Botswana, outside its known geographic range. The genetic relationship of these records with the previously recorded population of S. nonagrioides was investigated using the cytochrome oxidase subunit I region of the mitochondrial genome. In total, 113 individuals across the geographic range of the species were analyzed and 63 haplotypes were identified. Phylogenetic analysis separated the populations into two clades with no distinct geographic distribution pattern. The genetic differentiation was also not associated with host plants and geographic distances. Results of the molecular analysis revealed the long-time establishment of S. nonagrioides population in Botswana and identified the newly recorded sugarcane population from Ethiopia as part of the wild host population in the country. The phylogeographic patterns observed among population of S. nonagrioides have probably been shaped by Pleistocene's climatic oscillations and geographic range expansions from different refugia with secondary contact and admixture. Possible reasons for the host-plant expansion by the Ethiopian population are discussed.

Diversity and distribution of lepidopteran stemborer species and their host plants in Botswana

Lepidopteran stemborers are amongst the most important insect pests of maize, sorghum and sugarcane in sub-Saharan Africa. With the exception of Chilo partellus (Swinhoe), which was accidentally introduced into Africa, the other stemborer pests are indigenous to the continent and have co-evolved with native grasses and sedges. In addition to pest species, wild habitats harbour diverse non-economic stemborer species, some of which are new to science. However, the diversity and distribution of both non-economic and pest species of stemborer are currently mostly unknown in Botswana. Accordingly, country-wide surveys were conducted during 2014/15 and 2015/16 austral summer to determine species diversity and distribution in cultivated and wild host plants of stemborers in Botswana. A total of 1597 stemborer larvae and 228 pupae were collected, constituting 63.1 and 36.9 larvae and 84.8 and 15.2% pupae from cultivated versus wild habitats, respectively. In addition to C. partellus, Sesamia calamistis Hampson and Eldana saccharina Walker which were previously reported, 12 more stemborer species were recorded for the first time in Botswana, including nine undescribed species. These species were from the Sciomesa, Sesamia and Conicofrontia genera and Tortricidae and Pyralidae families. Fourteen wild host and two cultivated host plant species of stemborers were recorded. Chilo partellus was most abundant (89.5%) in cultivated habitats whilst E. saccharina (33.6%) was most abundant in wild habitats. Stemborer species diversity was higher in wild habitats than cultivated. Current results highlight the significance of wild, especially wetland habitats for ecological functions and conservation of lepidopteran stemborer biodiversity.

Breast Cancer Pathology Turnaround Time in Botswana.

PurposeQuality pathology is critical for timely diagnosis and management of breast cancer. Few studies have analyzed pathology turnaround time (TAT) in sub-Saharan Africa. The purpose of this study was to quantify TAT for breast cancer specimens processed by the National Health Laboratory and Diagnofirm Laboratory in Gaborone, Botswana, and additionally compare TAT before and after 2012 to evaluate the effect of pathology scale-up interventions by the Ministry of Health and Wellness.MethodsRetrospective analyses of TAT were performed for breast specimens submitted to the two laboratories from 2011 to 2015. TAT was calculated as the time from specimen collection and receipt in the laboratory to the date of final report sign-out. Descriptive statistics and rank sum test were used to compare temporal trends in TAT before and after 2012.ResultsA total of 158 breast biopsy, 219 surgical, and 218 immunohistochemistry (IHC) specimens were analyzed. The median TAT in 2015 was 6 and 7 days for biopsy and IHC specimens, respectively, and 57.5 days for surgical specimens. There was a significant decrease in median TAT for biopsy specimens from 21.5 days in 2011 to 2012 compared with 8 days in 2013 to 2015 (P < .001). There was also a significant decrease in median TAT for IHC specimens during the same period (P < .001). However, there was no significant decline in median TAT for surgical specimens.ConclusionThe scale-up of pathology personnel and infrastructure by the Ministry of Health and Wellness significantly reduced median TAT for biopsy and IHC specimens. TAT for surgical specimens remains suboptimal. Efforts are currently under way to decrease TAT for surgical specimens to 7 days.

Formative Work and Community Engagement Approaches for Implementing an HIV Intervention in Botswana Schools.

Providing adolescents with evidence-based sexual risk reduction interventions is critical to addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa. Project AIM (Adult Identity Mentoring) is an innovative, evidence-based, youth development intervention that is being evaluated for the first time in Botswana through a 3-year (2015-2017), 50-school cluster randomized controlled trial, including testing for herpes simplex virus type 2 as a sexual activity biomarker. Conducting a trial of this magnitude requires the support and collaboration of government and community stakeholders. All school staff, including teachers, must be well informed about the study; dedicated staff placed at each school can help to improve school and community familiarity with the study, improve the information flow, and relieve some of the burden study activities places on schools.

Death in a church of life. Moral passion during Botswana's time of AIDS. By Frederick Klaits. (The Anthropology of Christianity, 8.) Pp. xvi+352 incl. 2 maps, 4 figs and 1 table. Berkeley–Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2010. £41.95 (cloth), £16.95 (paper). 978 0 520 25965 2; 978 0 520 25966 9

Death in a church of life. Moral passion during Botswana's time of AIDS. By Frederick Klaits. (The Anthropology of Christianity, 8.) Pp. xvi+352 incl. 2 maps, 4 figs and 1 table. Berkeley–Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2010. £41.95 (cloth), £16.95 (paper). 978 0 520 25965 2; 978 0 520 25966 9

Death in a Church of Life: Moral Passion during Botswana's Time of AIDS by Frederick Klaits

Death in a Church of Life: Moral Passion during Botswana's Time of AIDS by Frederick Klaits

Frederick Klaits. Death in a Church of Life: Moral Passion During Botswana's Time of AIDS. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010. 352 pp. $24.95. Paper. $60.00. Cloth. Available in E-book ($20.00) and Kindle ($9.99).

Frederick Klaits. Death in a Church of Life: Moral Passion During Botswana's Time of AIDS. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010. 352 pp. $24.95. Paper. $60.00. Cloth. Available in E-book ($20.00) and Kindle ($9.99).

Death in a Church of Life: Moral Passion during Botswana's Time of AIDS by Frederick Klaits

Death in a Church of Life: Moral Passion during Botswana's Time of AIDS by <i>Frederick Klaits</i>

Medical Students in Developing Countries

To the Editor:–We appreciate Dr. Cooke’s thoughtful comments about our study of blood and body fluid exposures among US medical students in Botswana. We are sensitive to the perils of “medical tourism,” and have designed our program to avoid it. Our medical students are members of medical teams under the supervision of local physicians. In turn, Penn specialists who live and work full time in Botswana are assigned to supervise the ward work of interns and residents hired by the Ministry of Health and the University of Botswana School of Medicine. Dr. Cooke expressed concern regarding the availability of protective eye gear to Penn trainees but not local doctors. When a local provider performs a procedure, our students offer them their goggles. In most cases, the offer is declined. Importantly, we think it is unwise for a visiting institution like Penn to impose its safety standards on the host institution. However, we think it is critical that Penn provides the level of safety it deems appropriate for its trainees. We believe it is the decision of the governing body, in this case the Ministry of Health, to make recommendations concerning protection of the health care work force in Botswana. Concerning the issue of post-exposure prophylaxis, the Botswana Ministry of Health provides HIV post-exposure prophylaxis to health care workers. In our partnership with the Government of Botswana, we view our role as working with our fellow health care providers to identify and prioritize issues of concern, and to support them as they try to make changes that they think are appropriate locally.

Death in a church of life: moral passion during Botswana's time of AIDS - By Frederick Klaits

Death in a church of life: moral passion during Botswana's time of AIDS - By Frederick Klaits

Death in a church of life. Moral passion during Botswana's time of Aids by Klaits, Frederick

Death in a church of life. Moral passion during Botswana's time of Aids by Klaits, Frederick

Dermatology in Botswana: The American Academy of Dermatology’s Resident International Grant

In 2008, the American Academy of Dermatology began sponsoring North American dermatology residents to travel to Botswana in sub-Saharan Africa and spend 4 to 6 weeks working with the Botswana-UPenn Partnership, the Baylor International Pediatrics AIDS Initiative, Princess Marina Hospital, and surrounding smaller district hospitals. During their time in Botswana, the residents staff the busy outpatient dermatology clinic and see adult and pediatric inpatients at Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone, the capital city. The residents also travel to 4 rural hospitals to provide clinical services to patient and education to local health care providers. The program goals include providing direct care to the people of Botswana, capacity-building through dermatologic education for local clinicians, and educating the residents about delivering dermatologic care in resource-limited and culturally diverse settings and using teledermatology consulting services. Since the start of the program, more than 1500 patients have been seen, and 35 residents would have completed the program by the end of 2010.

Book Review: Death in a Church of Life: Moral Passion during Botswana's Time of AIDS

Book Review: Death in a Church of Life: Moral Passion during Botswana's Time of AIDS

The Widow in Blue: Blood and the Morality of Remembering in Botswana's Time of Aids

AbstractPopular talk and silence about AIDS in Botswana have been shaped by survivors' efforts to manage the ways in which they remember relationships arising from procreation. The emotional force of death induces the immediately bereaved and wider communities of survivors to recollect who has shared blood with whom through sexual intercourse. Such acts of remembering may have decisive repercussions on relations of kinship, marriage and mutual support. For Batswana, ‘remembering’ is a form of acting as well as feeling, possessing a capacity to shape moral conduct for the long term. In the context of death, local debates about what and how to remember reflect contested endeavours to make relations based on blood persist beyond a person's passing. Focusing on a particular set of local perspectives on the morality of remembering, the article shows that members of an Apostolic church in Gaborone encourage one another to remember in a manner reflecting distinctive methods of maintaining relations of kinship and care.

Preface

Abstract The 9th International Chemistry Conference in Africa (ICCA-9), Africa's continent-wide premier conferencing event in the chemical sciences, was this year hosted in Tanzania. Organized under the umbrella of the continent's African Association of Pure and Applied Chemistry (AAPAC), the event takes place every third year on a rotating basis, in a country so designated at the preceding meeting, with the national affiliate as hosts. This year's event was held for the first time since AAPAC instituted the series in 1990, in the scenic tourist setting of Arusha in northern Tanzania from 2-7 August 2004. That event, hailed as among the continent's most successful, was by coincidence, befittingly held at this panoramic location which has been designated as the exact Cape-to-Cairo midpoint and has as its backdrop, Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest point on the continent. The event brought together participants from over 60 countries from the five continents, and the scientific sessions included a total of over 100 lectures, presentations, and posters. The social program was structured to afford participants the opportunity to sample nature's unique and spectacular wildlife heritage in the proximity, including the world famous game parks of the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater, which have no parallel elsewhere. The scientific coverage included topics in analytical, physical, organic, environmental, industrial, and natural products chemistry. Delegates heard from the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), who sponsored the event; the Royal Society of Chemistry, from whom generous conferencing input was sourced; and the American Chemical Society, who sent representatives to grace the event; plus the local partners of the Tanzania Chemical Society (TCS), the national affiliate to IUPAC and AAPAC. The official theme of the conference, "Chemistry towards disease and poverty eradication", was more than adequately targeted by the scientific conference content, which did it justice by exploring, evaluating, and demonstrating how advances in the chemical sciences and technology form vital partnerships toward those goals across the continent. This issue of Pure and Applied Chemistry features a small selection of papers arising from the main lecture program, and serves to exemplify important features of the conference theme. After a general assembly to elect new AAPAC office bearers for the coming triennium, the conference wound up business amidst unprecedented optimism that the road to success is always under construction, and that through this gathering we had cast off doubt, demonstrating and providing solid evidence that this activity is alive and well in all corners of the continent. With that upbeat note, delegates bade farewell to each other and to Arusha 2004, promising to gather again in three years time in Botswana for the 10th International Chemistry Conference in Africa. Donnati M. S. Mosha Conference Editor

'We are the First People': Land, Natural Resources and Identity in the Central Kalahari, Botswana

This article focuses on the ways in which the San and another minority group, the Bakgalagadi, have been treated over time in Botswana, with particular emphasis on the people residing in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, the largest protected area in the country. It deals specifically with the roles of various institutions and individuals, including the Botswana government, advocacy groups, donors, community-based organisations and, importantly, the San and Bakgalagadi themselves, in promoting minority rights, especially those relating to land, natural resources and identity. Some San organisations, such as First People of the Kalahari, attempted to use the contentious issue of being 'indigenous' as a means of arguing for rights to land and resources. In the end, efforts to promote indigenous rights and the filing of a legal land claim in the High Court were unsuccessful in preventing the removals of people from their ancestral territories in the Central Kalahari. There are lessons here for indigenous peoples' and minorities' human rights movements in Africa, including the importance of building inter-group coalitions, the need to use diversified strategies to achieve goals, the significance of striking a balance between outside assistance and working with local groups, and the value of mobilising people at the grassroots over the long term.

Myxobolus species (Myxozoa), parasites of fishes in the Okavango River and Delta, Botswana, including descriptions of two new species

Fieldwork was conducted in 1998 and 1999 in the Okavango River and Delta and a total of 275 fishes representing 31 species were examined for the presence of myxosporean parasites. A total of seven myxosporeans of the genus Myxobolus Bütschli, 1882 were found infecting the fishes. Two new species namely Myxobolus etsatsaensis sp. n. from Barbus thamalakanensis Fowler, 1935 and M. paludinosus sp. n. from Barbus paludinosus Peters, 1852 are described. Myxobolus africanus Fomena, Bouix et Birgi, 1985, M. camerounensis Fomena, Marqués et Bouix, 1993, M. hydrocyni Kostoïngue et Toguebaye, 1994, M. nyongana (Fomena, Bouix et Birgi, 1985) and M. tilapiae Abolarin, 1974 are recorded for the first time in Botswana and descriptions of these species are provided.