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The recent Typhoid Fever Surveillance in Africa Program demonstrated an overall adjusted incidence of typhoid fever 2–3 times higher than previous estimates in Africa. Recently, a single-dose typhoid conjugate vaccine that allows infants as young as 6 months old to be vaccinated was prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO). This Vi-based conjugate vaccine demonstrated robust immunogenicity after 1 dose in infants and children 6 through 23 months of age in India with no safety signal, and is currently being tested for the first time on the African continent in Malawi. The WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts recommends studies to evaluate co-administering Vi-typhoid conjugate vaccine (Vi-TCV) with routine childhood vaccines in typhoid-endemic countries. The Burkina Faso immunization schedule includes yellow fever vaccine (YFV) at 9 months and meningococcal A conjugate vaccine (MCV-A) at 15 months, in addition to measles-rubella vaccine at both 9 and 15 months. Co-administration testing of Vi-TCV with these routine vaccinations will provide the data needed to support large-scale uptake of Vi-TCV in sub-Saharan Africa. A randomized, controlled, Phase II trial of Vi-TCV co-administration with the vaccinations routinely given at 9 and 15 months of age is planned in Burkina Faso. The overall aim is to assess the safety and immunogenicity of Vi-TCV when co-administered with YFV at 9 months of age and with MCV-A at 15 months of age. A total of 250 participants (100 infants aged 9–11 months and 150 children aged 15–23 months) will be enrolled. Clinical Trials Registration. NCT03614533. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of African Journal of Reproductive Health is the property of Women's Health & Action Research Centre and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An introduction is provided to various articles in the issue on topics based on the work of historian David Henige including Henige's impact on the discipline of history, the relationship between literacy, oral traditions and historiography, and African archives.

This article examines the history of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) in general including their establishment in Africa. Using examples from three countries - Malawi, Nigeria and South Africa - it critically analyses the promotional and protective mandates of these institutions in Africa and then argues that their experience over the years in promoting human rights in their domains can similarly be useful in advancing adolescents' sexual and reproductive rights. In doing this, NHRIs may face some challenges including poor funding, undue interference from the executive, shortage of personnel and so on. Therefore some of these challenges are discussed and subsequently some suggestions for the way forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Call for Papers for the IARIW-TNBS Conference on "Measurement of Income, Wealth and Well-being in Africa" October 7-9, 2021, Arusha, Tanzania The International Association for Research in Income, Wealth (IARIW), in partnership with the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics (TNBS) will host a conference on "Measurement of Income, Wealth, Well-being in Africa" October 7-9, 2021, in Arusha, Tanzania. There is no registration fee for the conference, but all delegates, must be IARIW members, either through individual or institutional membership, or join the IARIW Delegates are responsible for their own travel and hotel costs. [Extracted from the article]

The subject of entrepreneurship has generated swathes of interest from a variety of stakeholders seeking to address economic challenges in Africa. At the heart of this interest is the fact that the businesses created by entrepreneurs create employment opportunities which, in turn, have the potential to reduce poverty at all levels of African society. Yet, while research into entrepreneurial activity is well established in the developed countries of the western world, there remain large gaps in knowledge about key issues such as why entrepreneurs in Africa start businesses, how these businesses are sustained, and the specific contextual influences and challenges which affect African entrepreneurs' decision-making and behavior. In this introductory paper, we highlight the importance of attempting to understand how African entrepreneurs, working outside the strictures of strong formal institutions, navigate difficult challenges and make decisions using fragments of informal traditions originating from prevalent African philosophies such as Ubuntu. We also draw attention to the need to assess the notion of entrepreneurial business success or failure in Africa from a cultural context perspective which takes into account considerations aside from the solely rational-economic. We conclude with a series of questions which remain largely unanswered but will, we trust, be addressed in future research on entrepreneurship and Africa's cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Strategic Consequences of Chinese Racism is a book-length academic research article commissioned by Andrew Marshal, director of the Department of Defense Office of Net Assessment (ONA). Owing to the significant policymaking power of ONA, Strategic Consequences indicates potential soft-power tactics in use by the Pentagon in countering Chinese influence in Africa. This paper examines Strategic Consequences' three key arguments. This paper examines the argument that Chinese society is more racist than U.S. society and finds this argument is likely correct. This paper examines the argument that Chinese racism is a stabilizing force for the Chinese government and finds this argument is likely correct. Finally, this paper examines the argument that U.S. anti-racist culture acts as a useful tool of soft-power influence in Africa, and finds this argument is likely incorrect. This paper concludes that ONA has accurately gauged the strategic value of Chinese racism for the Chinese government but overestimates the U.S. capacity to counter China in the field of soft power competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International child protection standards aim to ensure that non-governmental organisations 'do no harm' but the current approach to reporting abuse may actually leave children unprotected and, in some cases, expose them to greater risk. This discussion paper gives voice to concerns raised by local practitioners in Africa and places them within the context of available research in order to stimulate a debate aimed at enhancing the impact of current safeguards. Drawing on systems theory and the work of Pierre Bourdieu, the article illustrates how the current model of reporting often fails to take into account the significant disconnect between formal and informal protection mechanisms, as well as the unpredictability of individual decision-making. Examples from research and practitioner experience illustrate how reporting procedures may provide a route to protection which is impractical and undesirable to local people, and may ultimately be unhelpful to local practitioners. The article calls for further research to inform changes to the current approach and for a review of funding requirements in order that local organisations have greater scope to engage communities in the co-creation of procedures, thereby indigenising responses to ensure that they are realistic and genuinely respond to the specificities of children's lives. Key Practitioner Messages Formal reporting procedures may actually offer routes to protection that are inaccessible or unacceptable to local people., Reporting procedures should be developed with a much greater participation of local people., There is a need for investment in piloting and implementing locally led approaches to capacity building., The engagement of donors is critical in order to develop a new approach to evaluating 'child safe' organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on conferences of the first five years of the International Academy of African Business and Development (IAABD: 2000-2004) focusing specifically on the conference proceedings. The papers presented at the five conferences and published in their proceedings were reviewed and analysed in terms of functional areas covered, the research methodologies employed, as well as the geographical spread and country focus of the authors. The analysis demonstrates a number of significant achievements for IAABD and identifies a number of challenges for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the collection of Amiri Baraka's works, highlighting facts on his collection of poetry, print publications regarding the Black arts movement and his involvement in politics. Topics include the documentation of the collection, Black Women's United Front (BWUF), and the African Liberation.

This paper reviews the determinants of formal microsaving (FMS), while also X-raying literature-documented conceptual sub-elements/sub-constructs of formal microsaving development (FMSD). This is with the intention to sensitize stakeholders as to what works for FMS and what doesn't. The paper also offers an overview of the state of research in this academic sub-domain, with suggestions/guides for related future research agenda. Analysis of 301 articles was undertaken using PRISMA. The paper's analysis affirms that the identified determinants were varied, using only a limited set of empirical methodologies. The geographical focus of most of the relevant studies were on Asia/Africa, with other regions largely ignored. The paper presents a novel review of the determinants of FMS. Also, the identified deconstructed sub-elements of FMSD could further sensitize researchers of its hitherto unknown multidimensional nature. Consequently, this could enhance the expansion of relevant empirical/theoretical knowledge with the additional possibility of initiating/influencing relevant global policy regeneration towards microsaving development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the role of the African Development Bank in the African Economy. Over the past few years, the African Development Bank Group has tried to pursue its institutional reforms to maximize its development effectiveness and the quality of its operations. The efforts of its regional member countries and building their capacity helps to strengthen their economies. The Bank has also consolidated its role as the continent's leading development finance institution, knowledge and research center, and a leading voice in African development issues. The Bank has adopted the structure which consists of six vice-presidential complexes, for accountability and effective management. Africa as a continent is rich in natural resources but the lack of effective and ethical leadership compromises the African economy. The objective of this paper is to show how the African Development Bank is compromised by corrupt senior leaders in Africa. Economic decline in Africa is not caused by a lack of resources but caused by poor planning and self-enrichment by African leaders which includes leaders of the African Development Bank Group. This study has applied a secondary research methodology. The secondary research methodology was used because the information or data is currently available in conference papers, government gazettes, newspaper articles, online meeting conclusions, and interviews between journalists and African leaders. The findings presented in this paper are based on the data available and the paper is concluded by stating that the African Development Bank Group is used as a platform to loot public resources in African countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microcystins are produced by multifaceted organisms called cyanobacteria, which are integral to Africa's freshwater environments. The excessive proliferation of cyanobacteria caused by rising temperature and eutrophication leads to the production and release of copious amounts of microcystins, requiring critical management and control approaches to prevent the adverse environmental and public health problems associated with these bioactive metabolites. Despite hypotheses reported to explain the phylogeography and mechanisms responsible for cyanobacterial blooms in aquatic water bodies, many aspects are scarcely understood in Africa due to the paucity of investigations and lack of uniformity of experimental methods. Due to a lack of information and large-scale studies, cyanobacteria occurrence and genetic diversity are seldom reported in African aquatic ecosystems. This review covers the diversity and geographical distribution of potential microcystin-producing and non-microcystin-producing cyanobacterial taxa in Africa. Molecular analyses using housekeeping genes (e.g., 16S rRNA, ITS, rpoC1, etc.) revealed significant sequence divergence across several cyanobacterial strains from East, North, West, and South Africa, but the lack of uniformity in molecular markers employed made continent-wise phylogenetic comparisons impossible. Planktothrix agardhii, Microcystis aeruginosa, and Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii (presently known as Raphidiopsis raciborskii) were the most commonly reported genera. Potential microcystin (MCs)-producing cyanobacteria were detected using mcy genes, and several microcystin congeners were recorded. Studying cyanobacteria species from the African continent is urgent to effectively safeguard public and environmental health because more than 80% of the continent has no data on these important microorganisms and their bioactive secondary metabolites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An emerging discourse contends that China has become a willing collaborator for digital technology abuse through substantial investments in Africa’s digital infrastructure, thus leaving digital power at the discretion of unstable African governments. However, it is unclear whether Chinese companies are willing collaborators with autocratic regimes in advancing China’s model of digital authoritarianism in the African continent. Despite the need to better understand the changing dynamics of China’s role in aiding authoritarian regimes through digital technologies, research that responds to these concerns remains empirically understudied and under-conceptualised. The central question this paper addresses is: How does China’s model of digital authoritarianism affect autocratic politics and the trajectory of authoritarian regimes in Africa? The article’s primary objective is to investigate allegations that China is promoting its internet model, which includes censorship and restrictions, through digital investments in African countries. A related aim is to examine how African governments have abused their digital infrastructure to undermine their electoral processes and roll back democratic gains made since the early 1990s. In grappling with these concerns, part of this paper’s contribution is to explore critical practices and meanings of power that appear to have produced trajectories towards digital authoritarianism in Africa. The paper’s main departure point is the proposition that democratic rollbacks can be only partially understood by tracing China’s digital footprints on the continent. The article finds proliferating discourses that China is exporting an authoritarian digital authoritarianism model to Africa misleading. Instead, the evidence suggests that African autocracies are exploiting the adoption of China’s model of the internet to roll back democratic gains through surveillance and censorship of civil liberties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the evolving global digital landscape from an African perspective. To do this, the paper problematises the concept of “digital sovereignty” in the African context by exploring the continent’s unique challenges. While investments by the United States (US) and particularly China in digital infrastructure projects have increased connectivity and improved lives, they raise ongoing concerns about Africa’s over-reliance on external partners and the implications of data exploitation and surveillance for the continent’s digital independence. Growing out of these concerns, the central argument of this paper is the need to delink African nation-states from foreign influence and control of the digital sector and to rearticulate or reframe the latter in terms of digital sovereignty. In this light, the paper contends that mainstream research on the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the African context does not sufficiently look past the power repertoires and dynamics of the US and China – whether blaming or crediting - when theorising digital sovereignty. Instead, the paper argues that to fully understand the African continent’s battle to establish and maintain a coherent framework for digital independence, it is essential to consider the challenges and constraints of digital sovereignty. Drawing on a review of extant literature, the paper springboards off a set of broad themes and case studies to deepen understanding and highlight key hurdles to Africa’s digital independence. The paper suggests that African nations must strive to overcome risks to digital sovereignty if the latter is to genuinely empower nation-states and citizens in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a response to the paper Language Policy and Planning in the New South Africa. This paper is eloquent and argued with a blend of passion and erudition that is difficult to resist. In fact, the author find himself in substantial agreement with its main thrust, namely that in a nation-building context the schools have got to be multi-lingual or multi-medium. There are, however, several statements and claims made en route to that conclusion which perhaps should not be allowed to slip by unchallenged. The author find much to agree with in this paper, but he urge caution as to the way in which a multilingual policy is introduced in schools where the basic skills of literacy and numeracy are still at risk, and he recommend a massive and well-thought-out community education program to be devised and implemented to promote a sense of worth, dignity and pride in the indigenous languages, while not obscuring the usefulness, albeit for an interim of indeterminate length, of such languages as English for all the reasons which, the author of the said paper cites in his challenging and provocative paper.

The Africa Journal of Management (AJOM) is devoted to the advancement of management theory, scholarship, practice, service, and education in or about Africa and for the benefit of Africa. The journal was launched at the 2014 Africa Academy of Management (AFAM) Conference in Gaborone, Botswana. Since its launch, AJOM has published 219 documents, including 146 research articles, 26 dialogues/insights/essays, 13 managers' stories, 13 editorials, and nine papers related to the AFAM. We employed a bibliometric analysis to provide a retrospective overview of the work published in the AJOM throughout these past years. We recognize the most cited papers, conduct a co-citation analysis, present author affiliations, keyword analysis, and a general discussion of the most recurrent topics published in the journal. We end with a synopsis of the future of AJOM and support for its continuous growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is an introduction to this Special Issue on Rethinking in Regional Integration in Africa which is based on a collaborative research project, implemented by African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), the leading economic capacity building institution in Africa, and funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB). This project is very timely given the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which came into force on 01 January 2021. In this introduction, we first provide a brief background on regional integration in Africa. We next describe the AERC project and the process of selection of the papers and then provide a quick summary of the ten published papers and their contributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review was conducted to identify, evaluate and characterize the overall progress of health economics research conducted for Africa. Health economics studies carried out from 1991 to 2020 for Africa were retrieved from the EconLit database using relevant searching strategies. According to the methodology of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, qualified journal papers were included. Using bibliometrics, we ran a series of analyses on authorship, studied countries, affiliations, and countries of origin, journals, and research topics. A total of 2935 studies were screened, and 178 were included in this review. We observed that the determinants of illness is the most researched topics. The United States, World Bank, University of California Berkeley, are respectively the most influential countries, world organizations, and academic institutions in the field of health economics of Africa. HIV/AIDs is still the leading health issue in highly cited health economics studies in Africa. Health Policy and Planning is the most productive and academically influential journal, and Kenya is the most studied country by health economists among all African countries. African health systems are vulnerable compared to developed countries, as many of them are underfunded. The academic strength in Africa is much weaker than that of leading health economics counties. Even within the continent, the academic development and the attention it receives are uneven. More influential health economics studies of Africa should be published in addition to the disease focus of HIV/AIDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The call for the intellectualisation of African languages has become a topical agenda towards their use as languages of teaching and learning in institutions of higher learning in Africa. In their enunciation of language policies, South African universities are guided by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET)'s Language Policy Framework for Public Higher Education Institutions (LPFPHEI). The thrust of this paper is to interrogate how the language policy of one university in South Africa enables the intellectualisation of African languages. The study deploys Ruiz's notion of language as a resource to examine the potential embedded within the university's language policy to foster the intellectualisation of Sesotho and Setswana for use as LoTLs in a variety of disciplines. The university is one of the institutions of higher learning with the most recently revised language policy approved in 2022, hence its selection as the case study. The paper concludes that an enabling language policy that speaks to the linguistic realities, coupled with a variety of support structures within the university and also spelling out the implementation plan is what will result in the fruitful re-intellectualisation of African languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on how Asante's idea of Afrocentricity could assist in the understanding of the main challenges and opportunities associated with curricula in Africa's post-colonial universities. In terms of methodology, the paper constitutes a conceptual treatise that draws from previous empirical research that focused on Afrocentricity and a plural programme - the extended curriculum programme within a university context where neoliberalism remains dominant. In this regard, the paper combines an extensive review of empirical cases and the authors' experiences of the extended curriculum programmes in diverse South African universities. Literature was reviewed from a wide range of sources that included Afrocentricity and curriculum transformation through plurality at individual and institutional pedagogic levels. The paper explores the complex nature of pedagogic transformation mainly due to the persistence of Western ideals under a resurgent neoliberal philosophy that shapes practices in contemporary university spaces. The paper thus highlights how Afrocentricity transcends simplistic notions of intellectual discussions as it highlights serious and practical realities that shape the identities, ideals, aspirations, and values of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. In the process, ways in which pedagogic educational aspirations of the students could be redefined through an Afrocentric approach together with constraints are discussed. The individualist-oriented complications posed by neoliberal ideals that tend to contradict and, in some instances, hinder the Afrocentric core principle of inclusivity have left African universities at a crossroads with little to show in terms of progress in the transformation agenda. The paper concludes that Afrocentricity and its basis in cultural reconfiguration aims to ensure that people recognise their agency and affirm their identity and ability to draw from their existing agency to holistically transform the various aspects of their lives by overcoming the socio-economic and intellectual constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses technological innovations in stylus writing and electronic tablets for computer use. The article explains how digital pen and paper technologies are becoming increasingly popular in vertical markets such as medical care and manufacturing. Innovations discussed in the article include Livescribe's Pulse smartpen, Iogear's Mobile Digital Scribe, the Epos digital-pen, and Dane Elec's ZPen. The article also discusses the Anoto's Digital Pen and Paper Technology, which is being used by field workers in Africa, in a pilot project to send data regarding the health of wildlife.

The British press, public and parliament are not generally thought to have played a significant role in the process of Britain’s decolonisation in Africa. Neither do most studies of the broad British metropolitan experience foreground the importance of African nationalism. This article begins to challenge both of these views by providing an assessment of the significance of the British press’s rather sensational treatment of an incident of late-colonial violence in the context of an African demonstration in Blantyre, Nyasaland, in 1960. African activists exploited the British press presence in Blantyre as a means of advancing the nationalist cause and fighting the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. British correspondents responded positively for a variety of ideological, political, personal, situational and institutional reasons. In addition, by 1960, the British press recognised the strength of African nationalism in the context of African violence and agitation across that continent in preceding months and years. Its critical articles, which interlocked with British parliamentary proceedings and specific sets of historical concerns, had important effects among two core readerships: sections of the white settler communities of the Federation, and the British Government. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This critique engages with the article titled "The Question of the Nature of God from the African Place," by L. Uchenna OGBONNAYA published in Vol. 11. No.1 of this journal. This critique will employ a focused argumentative methodology to assess its contributions to the discourse on African Philosophy of Religion. It will also evaluate the article's strengths and weaknesses, emphasizing the articulation and support of key arguments. Through a systematic examination of the presented evidence and methodological approach, the critique aims to shed light on the nuanced perspectives on the nature of God within the African philosophical framework. Further, this assessment will provide a comprehensive understanding of the article's implications for contemporary religious studies and intercultural dialogue, contributing to the ongoing conversation surrounding diverse perspectives on divinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of COVID-19, universities, national innovation systems (NIS) and global value chains (GVCs), this paper explores systemic barriers (trends and factors) that influence digital learning innovation (DLI) in Africa. The study used the PRISMA framework and Scopus data for a systematic literature review (SLR) and a bibliometric analysis spanning 2000–2021. It also mapped universities globally and in Africa based on Webometrics (Jan 2022) and the Global Innovation Index (Feb 2022) data using a typology. A broad SLR on digital learning extracted two African samples of 2,640 and 4,669. A narrow SLR on DLI, Innovation Systems (IS) and Innovation Barriers (IB) extracted 221 studies. The broad SLR showed that Africa (with the exception of South Africa continentally and Kenya regionally) lags globally in digital learning literature. It also identified country, affiliation (university) and funding sponsor as three possible factors that influence DLI. The narrow SLR revealed a gap in the literature on DLI – IS – IB and a low emphasis on GVCs. From the literature, this paper proposes a conceptual model spanning DLI – IS – IB and a typology of systemic barriers to inform future research. It also provides unique empirical data to inform DLI and GVC focused public policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transitioning to clean cooking fuels is not only part of achieving SDG7 but also makes a significant contribution to mitigating climate change by reducing carbon emissions. Research projects and pilots across a number of countries in Africa and South Asia have been exploring the suitability and energy performance of different cooking appliances and fuels. The paper presents the first statistical analysis across these multiple datasets to determine the range of energy required to cook dishes using different technologies and fuels. The paper draws out distinctions between African and Asian dishes, notably the impact of energy-intensive dishes prepared mostly in Africa. The paper demonstrates that the standard efficiency-based approaches to comparing the performance of stoves are not appropriate to modern electric cooking devices, so a novel alternative approach based on specific energy consumption and termed energy ratios is developed. Charcoal stoves are shown to use 15 times as much energy as electric pressure cookers (EPCs) to cook African dishes, and a detailed review of how the EPC works explains why this should be. Energy ratios provide a basis for estimating carbon emission reductions associated with transitioning to modern cooking fuels and also for estimating household cooking costs. Fuel and electricity prices from studies show that the cost of cooking with an EPC can be only 20% of the cost of cooking with charcoal, which highlights the potential for modern, energy-efficient electric cooking devices to defy the conventional wisdom of the energy ladder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]