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Background Over the last decade, developments in e-Learning and technologies are creating the groundwork for health sciences and medical education. Literature demonstrates that we have yet to reach any form of consensus about which indicators are needed to assess and teach quality health sciences and medical education through technology or innovation. There is, therefore, a greater need for a tool or platform that is properly constructed, validated and tested within health sciences. Methods This paper presents a study, which is part of a larger research project assessing staff and students’ perceptions of the importance and relevance of different aspects of e-Learning and mHealth in health sciences curricula at four universities in South Africa. The specific objectives of this study were to: (i) assess health sciences staffs’ perceptions and understanding of these two applications; and (ii) establish challenges and opportunities of e-Learning and mHealth applications in the health sector, as well as perceptions on the importance and relevance of these applications to their curricula and future practices. A combination of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and a key-informant interview was used. A total of 19 staff from four universities participated. Atlast.ti was used for the data analysis and the findings were coded using a primarily deductive thematic coding framework. Results The findings revealed that not all staff members are equipped or trained with new applications or technologies, such as mHealth. Most participants believed that diverse technologies and tools could be integrated with mHealth and e-Learning. Furthermore, participants agree that a new multi-modal platform, in the form of a learning management system (LMS) with relevant applications (and possible plugins) integrated, tailored towards health sciences will benefit all stakeholders, and be valuable to higher education and health sectors. Conclusions Digitalisation as well as digital citizenship is gradually being integrated into teaching and learning. It is imperative to adapt the health sciences curricula through constructive alignments and promote health sciences education in the current 4IR. This would allow graduates to be better prepared for digitalised practice environments.

The paper provides a critical analysis of the South African government’s economic response to the COVID-19 crisis and the current roll-out of vaccinations in South Africa. In preparation for the vaccination roll-out, South Africa set up national strategic committees to facilitate the smooth distribution of the vaccination process. However, despite being one of the first African countries to receive the vaccines, the effective roll-out is still ranked low. The paper used qualitative descriptive analysis to discuss the strategies promoting community understanding and limiting vaccination misinformation. The findings project that the government must deliver an effective and protected vaccine to reduce morbidity and mortality from COVID-19. However, the mere accessibility of a vaccine is not enough to secure extensive immunological security; the immunisation must be accepted by all stakeholders and the public in the country. Vaccine uncertainty is a primary impediment to vaccine acceptance and the achievement of people’s immunity, which is mandatory to protect the marginalised populations in the country. The paper concludes that various strategic efforts made by the South Africa government to deal with the disease and the roll-out of vaccination in responding to COVID-19 remains a significant challenge. It then recommends that there should be a coordinated approach by both government and stakeholders to ensure effective distribution and reduce the COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the country.

Sustainable Development Goal 5 is seen as critical in achieving gender equality. Women and girls are still marginalised and disadvantaged in Africa, and proportionally few are financially and socially independent. Hence, there is a concern about the gender gap in digital financial inclusion on the continent. The paper draws on existing literature to examine the extent to which digital financial inclusion facilitates women’s economic empowerment in four African countries: Ghana, Kenya, Namibia and Lesotho. It further discusses the challenges women face in taking part in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Despite all the policies implemented by African states and the growing participation of these nations in 4IR, women still lag behind in digital financial inclusion. The paper concludes that enforcing gender equity in the digital environment is necessary to pave the way for the future. Technology is human-invented and follows the instructions that we dictate. Hence, we could use it to improve gender equality in the 4IR environment and move closer to achieving sustainable development.

The paper presents the findings from current research on the impact that the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) curriculum subjects have on two South African Schools in Gauteng province in South Africa. The aim is to present the impact of the CAPs subjects in the school. The study did a critical evaluation of each subject to elaborate on the importance and challenges in implementing the subjects and using a qualitative research method to collect data on a group of teachers and students on their opinion on the impact of CAPs subjects. The findings suggest that even though the curriculum is effective, it needs to be improved to close the gap between public and private schools. Private schools are currently benefiting the most from the subjects and how the curriculum is structured.

This paper describes a study of South Africans’ national perception and alignment to financial inclusion for women. It explains the impact of institutional roles and governance on financial inclusion in South Africa. There is ample evidence of government eff orts on implementing financial inclusion in the country. Still, the significance of how governance and institutions promote access to finance for women has been overlooked in the literature. The main objective of this study is to identify the impact of institutional quality and governance on financial inclusion for women in South Africa. Data for analytical purposes supporting the research has been obtained from primary sources through semi-structured open-ended interviews collected from 2019 to 2020. The research approach employed and coded data from a recent study on 30 women entrepreneurs, five key policymakers on women empowerment and five financial institutions supervisors on financial inclusion for women. The results obtained suggest that there is little institutional quality and governance on financial inclusion for women, and further eff orts must be intensified to achieve equal access to financial services in South Africa. Furthermore, the paper presents recommendations for policymakers that, if implemented, would prove fruitful. Policymakers are expected to facilitate gender-mainstreaming/strategies and working policies, monitoring and evaluation, financial literacy, and transparent legal framework on financial policies addressing women.

Africa’s relations with the global financial system has been largely informed by the need to secure capital for development projects. The Bretton Woods institutions, namely the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have been charged with helping countries grappling with macroeconomic problems and development challenges. The chapter examines the debates on the global and continental context of finance and African relations with the world. The chapter examines the implications of global governance of finances on Africa’s economies. Situating the African financial crisis and development within the International Monetary Fund as a point of interrogation, the paper analyzes the appropriateness of IMF loans to African countries, determine the conditions of these loans, and highlight the internal functioning of IMF itself. The chapter shows that the global governance has varied implications for economic development in different countries in Africa.

Many scholars have written on the challenges of ensuring access to water in South Africa, and much research has been done on the national water policy of the South African Government, yet major challenges facing the water sector persist. This study presents a human rights approach as a theoretical foundation for investigating the basic right to water access, with a specific focus on the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the three tiers of governance. Existing literature on the history of water access was explored regarding the global as well as the South African history of water rights. The main focus of this study was SDG no. 6, which is related to issues regarding water access in South Africa. The study concluded that the human right of having access to water is a crucial issue to be treated with caution by the government in order for the poor to have basic infrastructure.