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South Africa attained its constitutional democracy in 1994 from a contemporary political order that has been shaped by the country's history of colonialism, segregation, less or no service delivery to black communities, and apartheid. Since the inception of the second decade of democracy, the country has experienced numerous service delivery protests, raises brings doubt about whether or not democracy exists in South Africa. The current study was carried out in Hlanganani Cluster in Collins Chabane Local Municipality. A qualitative research methodology that utilised a phenomenological research design was used to investigate democracy, democratisation and governance in the Hlanganani Cluster. A sample of 15 respondents from the area participated in the study. The results of the study revealed that the broader definition of democracy is not familiar in the area, yet the political rhetoric one more widely embraces the concept of democracy. Hence, the challenges of poor service delivery, lack of accountability of public officials' lack of transparency, and corruption are key obstacles hindering the full realisation of democracy in the area. It is recommended that the government enhance the participation of local communities in decision making, encourage the youth, and create a democratic space for civic society to maintain checks and balances. The results of the study are also useful for crafting strategies for creating an enabling environment for democracy, democratisation, and good governance to thrive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) are emerging as one of the most promising means to prevent pediatric disease. The 7-valent PCV (PCV-7) has been extensively evaluated in clinical trials, and recent evidence from the introduction of PCV-7 through national immunization programs has demonstrated impact on pneumococcal disease., Methods: Clinical trials have shown PCV-7 to be effective against the more severe forms of pneumococcal infections: pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), as well as overall child mortality. A review shows the tremendous impact PCV-7 has had to date, and the potential further benefits of the emerging multi-valent vaccines., Results: Since its introduction, the PCV-7 has substantially reduced the incidence of IPD, hospital admissions due to pneumonia and acute otitis media in numerous, mostly high income, low-disease burden countries. The reductions in IPD and pneumonia have also been observed among unvaccinated age groups in countries with routine use of PCV-7, demonstrating that PCV-7 provides herd immunity. Some settings observed an increase in rate of nonvaccine serotype IPD, yet rates of overall and vaccine-serotype IPD show marked reductions post-PCV-7 introduction. Limited data are available on the impact of PCV-7 in lower income countries. The available data from efficacy trials from The Gambia and South Africa suggest that PCV-7 will have substantial impact on reducing pneumococcal disease., Conclusion: PCV-7 has shown dramatic reduction in disease and mortality rates in the countries in which it has been introduced. The newly introduced 10-valent and 13-valent pneumococcal vaccines are expected to have substantial disease impact, but monitoring is essential to determine their true impact and sustain further introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines.