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This qualitative case study examines the challenges that influence the effective teaching and learning of Geography and Environmental Studies through Open and Distance e-Learning (ODeL) at the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU). Semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis were employed to solicit information from twenty students and four tutors in the Geography and Environmental Studies Department (DGES). The selected research participants were chosen through convenience and purposive sampling. The DGES students' lack of computer skills and full use of e-learning, as students continue to rely on the printed module and face-to-face tutorials. The study recommends that the DGES offer an introductory course in computer use for first-year students and continuous ICT skills workshops to equip them with ICT skills.

Informal trading in the town of Bindura, Zimbabwe is a competitive venture just like in other parts of the world. The competitiveness is characterized by young traders aged 18 to 24 years being elbowed out by those established in the business, hence, the study sought to interrogate the experiences of young informal traders. Employing a qualitative research framework with an interpretive philosophical dimension, the study established that young informal traders deploy their agency to survive in such a harsh environment. Their survival is depended on developing multiple streams of income, professionalizing their trade, setting up some associations, and establishing close-knit social networks that enables them to remain in business and eke a living. The study recommends that there is a need for forging up cooperative mechanisms of working in harmony amongst all informal traders since the Bindura market is ever-growing and may accommodate them all.

The study explored NGOs' strategies toward asset accumulation and poverty reduction in Zimbabwe using a case study of three NGOs in the Chegutu District. Despite several NGOs operating in the Chegutu District, asset problems are conspicuously reflected by income struggles, school children dropping out of school and the social exclusion of the communities. Thus, the study analyzed the role of NGOs in asset accumulation and the relationship between asset accumulation and poverty reduction. It emerged that NGOs are using ISALS, nutritional gardens, service provision, income-generating activities (IGAs) and vocational training (VT) to engender the accumulation of financial, social, physical and human assets. As households accumulate sufficient levels of financial assets through interventions like ISALS, VT and nutritional gardens, there is improved social wellbeing, shedding light on the nexus between asset accumulation and poverty reduction. The study was qualitative in nature with data collected through the use of in-depth interviews and FGDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous African education grew out of the immediate environment, real or imaginary, where people had knowledge of the environment. Indigenous education inculcated a religious attitude that imbued courtesy, generosity, and honesty. At colonization, Africans were thought of as primitive although they had their own systems, contents, and methods of education. Colonialism signified the decline in the importance of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS). By shifting focus in the core curriculum from teaching/learning based on Western science to teaching/learning through IKS as a foundation for all education, it is anticipated that all forms of knowledge, ways of knowing, and world views be acknowledged as equally valid, adaptable, and complementary to one another in equally valuable ways. The uniqueness of indigenous people and their knowledge is inextricably connected to their lands, which are situated primarily at the social-ecological margins of human habitation such as tropical forests and desert margins. It is at these margins that the consequences of climate change manifest themselves in the following sectors: agriculture, pastoralism, fishing, hunting and gathering, and other subsistence activities, including access to water. Government policies in Zimbabwe often limit options and thus undermine indigenous peoples' efforts to adapt. IKS is very important for community-based adaptation and mitigation actions in the agricultural sector for maintenance of resilience of social-ecological systems at a local level. This article, through interviews, document analysis, and personal observations, proposes that it is best for Zimbabwe to develop her own climate change curricula and modes of delivery that incorporates IKS.

The teaching and designing of modules at Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) is the principal responsibility of a single body of teaching staff, although some authors and content reviewers could be sourced from elsewhere if they are not available in ZOU. This survey, through a case study, examines the involvement of lecturers and staff in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies in instructional materials development for open and distance learning (ODL). The study inquired into the time lecturers spent on module development and writing, their levels of satisfaction with the materials they produced, their preferences with regard to teaching and instructional materials development strategies, and their views on how the process of instructional materials development at the university could be improved. The study found out that there is need for more time for materials development, better coordination and planning, greater consultation among colleagues, and adequate support services in instructional materials development for ODL to improve on the quality of modules. The department should be fully involved in instructional materials design and development to be effectively familiar with the ODL mode of learning and the students for whom the materials are intended. There is need for course writers (designers), prior to developing instructional materials, to spend time in the regional centres, which are located in the ten geo-political regions of Zimbabwe, so that they become familiar with the local learning context. One of the main recommendations is that there is need for course writers and content reviewers, as well as editors, to always undergo training in ODL and instructional materials development for ODL.

The present study investigates the role of non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) in addressing the multifaceted challenges encountered by orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in the rural Chegutu District of Zimbabwe. Employing a qualitative paradigm, a case study design was utilized to collect data through in‐depth interviews. Thematic analysis was used to present the study's findings. NGO selection and participant sampling were purposive in nature. The challenges faced by OVC in Chegutu District encompass various dimensions, prominently, including increased school dropout rates due to poverty. Those who continue attending school encounter shortages of essential items such as uniforms and stationery. Additionally, inadequate clothing poses a challenge for OVC. Broader climate change–related calamities have further aggravated food scarcity in households housing OVC. NGOs have responded to these challenges by providing OVC with school fees, stationery, accommodation and uniforms to address educational needs and enhance prospects. Climate change impacts have necessitated the drilling of boreholes to facilitate nutritional gardens, thereby mitigating food insecurity and income constraints. NGOs have also empowered OVC households through community saving initiatives like internal savings and lending schemes, fostering income generation, and addressing education‐, food‐ and clothing‐related challenges. Furthermore, psycho‐social support groups have been established by NGOs to address the psychological and social issues faced by OVC. Drawing on the basic needs approach, the study reveals that NGOs significantly contribute to fulfilling the basic needs of OVC. However, some gaps in their approaches were identified, highlighting the potential for further improvement and refinement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sexual economy prevalent within universities, as well as how young people perceive, interpret, and experience their sexuality, present complex dynamics, which, if not handled with great emotional intelligence, may disrupt their educational aspirations. This paper investigates the psycho-social implications of "semester marriages" within institutions of higher learning. Guided by principles of the qualitative approach and the theory of planned action, the paper disinterred that students experienced intense regret and guilt as a result of backstreet abortions. Soul-tie complications emanating from sharing the "wife-husband" bond also made it difficult for some students to move on after a breakup, leading to disruptions in their educational focus. In extreme cases, such an inability to deal with the adverse effects of "semester marriages" culminated in crimes of passion. The paper desists from pathologizing the "semester marriages" phenomenon and advocates for the strengthening of psycho-social support modalities within university settings to increase the accessibility and visibility of therapeutic services through a school social work model. Furthermore, universities, in partnership with other relevant stakeholders, are urged to prioritize sexual and reproductive education and services among the youth as provided for in the Constitution of Zimbabwe of 2013 to impart life skills that can equip students to make informed sexual and reproductive decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Voices from Practice note delineates institutional and non-institutional enablers of asset accumulation in Zimbabwe. It argues that in promoting asset accumulation and poverty reduction, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) rely on the support of government ministries, partner NGOs, community volunteers, and community leaders. That perspective shifts and moves away from placing NGOs at the center of asset accumulation and poverty reduction efforts in communities. This article concludes that social work practice can be integral in contributing to poverty reduction when there are various stakeholders collaborating to enhance the welfare of communities at risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This ethnographic study, as part of a broader study of volunteerism and social development in the Chegutu district, Zimbabwe, explores the agency of volunteers to survive in a context of socio-economic challenges. Volunteers in Zimbabwe are operating in a context characterised by socio-economic challenges. They are living on the margins. The situation is exacerbated by non-governmental organisations' non-payment of stipends or the inadequacy of the stipends that are eventually paid. Using their agency, volunteers are involved in Internal Savings and Lending Schemes, group-based income-generating activities, multiple affiliations, grocery initiatives, accumulation of social capital, and building networks and relationships to survive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informal trading in the town of Bindura, Zimbabwe is a competitive venture just like in other parts of the world. The competitiveness is characterized by young traders aged 18 to 24 years being elbowed out by those established in the business, hence, the study sought to interrogate the experiences of young informal traders. Employing a qualitative research framework with an interpretive philosophical dimension, the study established that young informal traders deploy their agency to survive in such a harsh environment. Their survival is depended on developing multiple streams of income, professionalizing their trade, setting up some associations, and establishing close-knit social networks that enables them to remain in business and eke a living. The study recommends that there is a need for forging up cooperative mechanisms of working in harmony amongst all informal traders since the Bindura market is ever-growing and may accommodate them all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) in child sex work is reportedly rising in Zimbabwe. While children of both sexes are affected, more females than males are forced to engage in sexual acts in exchange for money, food, access to shelter, education or some other gains from adults who control these means of survival and commodities. Drivers of CSEC include socioeconomic factors, negative peer pressure, childhood abuse, the influence of uncensored social media, and, more recently, the economic impact of COVID‐19. Involvement in underage sex work exposes children to severe adversities, such as psychosocial and mental health disorders, physical and biological injuries, venereal diseases and HIV. CSEC is a growing concern for resource‐limited countries, disenfranchises children and robs particularly the girl child of a better future. The worsening socioeconomic landscape in Zimbabwe and the COVID‐19 pandemic have exacerbated the problem. Solving the problem of CSEC requires a multipronged approach that involves stakeholders from several sectors, including public health, education, social services, security and the legal fraternity. There is a need to empower communities, empower civil society and development partners, enhance legal frameworks, provide messaging, education and vocational training, as well as rehabilitative services for affected children and their families. CSEC is a violation of the child's rights and a public health concern that needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency to preserve the next generation's human capital necessary for the sustainable development of Zimbabwe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, women have remained subjects of subordination by their male counterparts despite their critical social role. While they have continuously been entangled in the web of patriarchy, some of them, however, have been able to use their agency to re-assert themselves and influence how the world should positively think about women. This article interrogated the innovative ways in which the woman of Shunem and the Zvishavane women of faith of the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe (RCZ), have been at the forefront, proactively exercising their agency to confront the death-dealing and life-diminishing forces confronting them. Countering their portrayal as persons who simply did what was expected of them as women, this article recognised and celebrated their indispensable contributions towards the welfare of their communities. Grounded on narrative analysis, this article engaged the woman of Shunem's narrative and re-read it from her vantage point. Using a hermeneutic of identification, the narrative was put side by side with that of the RCZ women of faith. The overarching framework underpinning the study was that of the feminist liberating-seeking framework. In the pursuit of this framework, cultural and religious powers that influence the exploitation of women are acknowledged and effort is made to transform the society from the oppressive system of patriarchy so as to liberate women in particular. A re-reading of the woman of Shunem's narrative showed that she was a woman of great character. Despite the couple being childless, she never allowed community expectations to put pressure on her as she expressed contentment with her situation. Her greatness also is reflected through her hospitality, self-abnegation and determination. While what she did, is to some extent comparable to what RCZ women have done and still do today, she admittedly was a step ahead. As such, her tenacity can be used as a leverage to influence the majority of women still caught up in the web of patriarchy in this contemporary world. The long-standing perception of women as capable only of doing what is expected of them, needs to be challenged and biblical passages reinterpreted to ensure the liberation of everyone, especially women due to their vulnerability. Contribution: This research contributed to the scope of In die Skriflig in that it brought on board the experiences of women in the RCZ against the background of the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4:8–37. In a scientific way, the research argued for the recognition of these often-forgotten heroes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When dealing with vulnerable populations, the first impression can have far-reaching implications due to socio-cultural dynamics. This has proved true in clinical social work practice where a fiduciary relationship is critical for the restoration of social functioning. The study discovered that service users in Zimbabwe generally have differing opinions regarding how clinical social workers should dress. This was attributed to age, personal preferences, and socio-cultural orientations. Furthermore, service users suggested the prevalence of a perceived connection between dress and the competence of the practitioner. The possibility of service user resistance and inability to build a good rapport if the practitioner's dress is unacceptable to the service user was also noted. The study thus advocates for the need to have social work organizational training on the issue of dress to orient social workers on the sensitivity of dress in practice. By so doing, a social worker will be intentional in their choice of a dress, being cognisant of the fact that their dress is a language that has the potential to either catalyze or hinder the effectiveness of the helping process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates the sexist implications of endorsement of bride price payment (known locally and regionally as Lobola), with a Zimbabwean sample (n = 437; mean age = 22.19, SD = 2.34). Specifically, we predicted that endorsement of Lobola and benevolent sexism would predict placing restrictions on women's behaviour (i.e. paternalistic chivalry). More importantly, we also predicted that benevolent sexism would mediate the relationship between endorsement of Lobola and paternalistic chivalry. Results supported both hypotheses. We discuss the results within the framework of ambivalent sexism theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial-temporal impacts and coping strategies to climate variability vary across human communities. Focusing on Malipati Communal Area in Chiredzi District, southeast Zimbabwe, the study analysed the impacts of climate variability and coping strategies adopted by local communities. Data were collected between May and June 2018 in five (5) villages in Ward 15 of Malipati Communal Area, where a total of 133 participants were involved through focus group discussions, questionnaires, and key informant interviews. The results showed an increase in livestock mortality and in contrast no significant changes in crop yields between 1990 and 2018. Further, the study established that local communities have negative perceptions towards the adaptive coping strategies to climate change, especially on the production of small grains. There is a need for other innovative strategies to enable communities to continuously buffer the impacts of climate variability inclusive of diversifying economic activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identified the flaws in preparing children with disabilities for life after institutional care living in Zimbabwe. With the utility of a qualitative paradigm and a phenomenology research design, the study discovered that institutions of care have limited choices for vocational skills training courses due to financial paucity. The paucity of financial resources has also been found to compromise the effectiveness of preparing children with disabilities for life after institutional care. The findings revealed that there are also inherent systemic weaknesses and loopholes in the design of care plans which cast a shadow of confusion on the re-integration process. Limited family support and involvement were also found to weaken the acceptability and simulation of these children into the community. Underpinned by a social model of disability and social work lenses, the study recommended immense advocacy for the participation of children with disabilities together with their families in the preparation of care plans to ensure inclusion and sustainable reintegration. Furthermore, the paper pushes for closer monitoring and evaluation of institutional care facilities to guarantee alignment and compliance of care plans with national policy frameworks that guide the placement and reintegration of youth with disabilities back into the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volunteer scholarship in Zimbabwe tends to focus on volunteer motivations, volunteers' role in community development and, to a lesser extent, volunteers' challenges. In this study, we captured the lived experiences of volunteers in the current milieu of socio-economic challenges. We discovered that the major challenges affecting community volunteers in the Chegutu District are poverty and vulnerability, burnout, too much work, lack of community appreciation of volunteerism and lack of adequate volunteer paraphernalia. We move beyond other studies to explore how volunteers are coping with the challenges. Volunteers are reliant on spiritual support and encouragement by some community members. The study adopts a qualitative approach with data collected using in-depth interviews and focus group discussion. The findings are presented and discussed thematically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analysed the socio-legal framework for civil society in Zimbabwe in the changed context of the Second Republic. It exposes the continued reliance by the new government, dubbed the Second Republic, on laws that were used by the previous regime to silence civil society organisations. This is happening against the backdrop of promises made by the new President of the Republic, Emmerson Mnangagwa, to open up the democratic space and promote associational life. Where attempts have been made to repeal restrictive laws, new laws contain similar or even more restrictive provisions. Using qualitative data generation and collection compounded with the classical Gramscian theory of hegemony, the study argues that civil society-state relations in the Second Republic are characterised by the exerting of pressure and hegemonic power to influence political trajectories. The state-civil society relations represent a worsened state in the Second Republic underpinned by maintenance of restrictive laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sexuality, Gender & Policy Journal is the property of Wiley-Blackwell 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.)

Although parents are a vital cog in instilling and maintaining child discipline, very little information exists about the methods they employ. Using a qualitative approach, this paper explored the methods used by parents in Zimbabwe--an African context--to discipline children, elucidating their implications on children's rights. The findings show that parents in Zimbabwe use both violent and non-violent disciplinary methods such as verbal reprimand, beating, and spanking, which, at times, violates children's rights in the process. The use of non-violent means has also depicted a violation of children's rights through deprivation of food, denial of playtime and shelter. Evident from the findings was, again, the existence of multiple-layered contestations on child discipline within the socio-cultural discourse--the most popularized being the debate on corporal punishment versus child rights violations. Through social work lenses, the paper provides a basis to dispel an anachronistic thought, which rationalizes the instrumentalization of punishment to achieve child discipline, underscoring the need for child rights-oriented discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study was to capture the challenges that are faced by young informal traders in Bindura town, Zimbabwe. The study was motivated by the lack of attention to the challenges faced by young informal traders by the governing authorities at local and national level. We believe our study extends the understanding of the challenges faced by young informal traders, drawing on their everyday experiences and the navigation of the complex challenges they face. Deploying a qualitative research approach with in-depth interviews, focus group discussion and documentary analysis as data generation tools, the study found that young informal traders face several challenges that include lack of capital and harassment from municipal authorities as well as lack of mentoring and competition from established traders. Thus, the study established and concluded that within this difficult environment, young entrepreneurs employ different survival strategies such as raising capital from friends and relatives, relying on multifarious mentoring and coaching programmes from various sources. The paper recommends that government and private sector take up responsibility in nurturing these young entrepreneurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lack of women's empowerment is a reality for women in Zimbabwe, including rural Shamva women. This research presents findings from primary data collected using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The research departs from other studies by adopting an empowerment perspective to ISALS scholarship. Using the Sara Longwe Women Empowerment Framework, we explore the impact of ISALS on women's socio-economic status. ISALS were found to contribute to improved financial wellbeing. As women's economic fortunes improve, they gain respect and regard in the community. Despite these positive indicators, however, ISALS also was found to be a source of exclusion and polarisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The greater part of Robert Mugabe's reign was characterised by attempts to silence and curtail civil activism. His rule crystallised in the banning of civil society organisations (CSOs) and wanton arrests of CSO representatives. The fall of Mugabe marked the genesis of the "Second Republic", led by President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Euphoria gripped Zimbabweans as the new president promised a significant break with the old regime through re-engaging with the international community and opening up the democratic space. However, an analysis of relations between civil society and the state in the Second Republic reveals continuous threats against CSOs, the maintenance of restrictive laws, and superficial reforms. The Second Republic seems to be sympathetic to development- and welfare-oriented CSOs, considering those focusing on advocacy and governance as enemies bent on destabilising the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political Risk Analysis (PRA) levels are theoretically postulated to increase in a hybrid regime. This paper argues that there is a change to this hypothesis. A single case research design was employed, using Zimbabwe from 1990 to 2018. During the period, Zimbabwe showed five diverse forms of hybridity which are liberal, competitive illiberal, competitive, illiberal, and military hybrid regimes. A conceptual framework is developed to assess political risk in a hybrid regime using hybrid regime indicators and some political risk factors of most concern to developing countries. 28 key informants from six categories of respondents were interviewed. Illegitimacy, corruption, the staleness of leadership, adverse government regulation, election violence, and severed home-host state relations were confirmed to increase the perception of political risk in a hybrid regime. Investors were observed to have developed a tolerance for some "unacceptable" factors that increased political risk. Military tutelage, weak institutions, flawed elections, military generals in power, undemocratic means to retain power, minimum horizontal accountability and weak rule of law were found to not automatically increase political risk as before. The paper concludes that there is no single form of hybridity and as such different forms of hybrid regimes accrue different levels of political risk, some lower levels while others substantially higher levels. Therefore, in a hybrid regime, a differentiated PRA monitoring, assessing and mitigation strategy will be most effective for management to implement. Future studies can apply the analytical framework of assessing PRA in a hybrid to another hybrid regime to expand the theoretical propositions made by this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Influenza pandemics of Covid-19 in nature are not a new phenomenon in the world today. Amongst many that affected many parts of the world, the Spanish flue of 1918-1919 was more devastating and is argued to have similar characteristics with Covid -19 outbreak in 2020. The study sought to critically examine how urban communities which already had levels of fragility were affected and responded to the Covid -19. Deploying an ethnographic approach in the high density suburbs of Harare, guided by Giddens theory of structuration and agency, we argue that due to the already existing level of fragility characterised by high poverty levels, overcrowded accommodation and other fragile systems, Covid-19 lockdown measures worsened the state of communities. Whilst residence of the low density suburbs responded differently to the lockdown, the high density suburbs were characterised by scrambling for water at communal water points, daily queuing for basic food thereby exposing themselves to infections and conflict with law enforcement agents. The paper argues that with the dominance of the informal economy as a source of livelihoods, the lockdown measures compromised not only people's livelihoods but the generic socio-political and economic frameworks. Thus the study concluded that Covid-19 lockdown measures were unbearable and unsustainable such that they forced people to deploy various strategies of survival as 'agency', hence, the lockdown pushed the urban poor into the margins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In general, the durability of the hybrid regime is debated due to the coexistence of democratic and authoritarian regime institutions in the system, functioning in disconnect with each other. There is also the inevitable expectation of a hybrid regime to change. This study argues that a hybrid regime can have lasting durability, using the case of Zimbabwe between 1990 and 2018. A hybrid regime conceptual framework is developed by identifying four indicators of hybridity: elections, civil liberties, tutelary interference, and political elite cohesion. The framework is then applied to Zimbabwe. The country shows five diverse variations of hybridity, which are: liberal; competitive illiberal; competitive; illiberal; and military regimes, grouped by the most observable indicators identified in the hybrid regime framework. Thus, hybridity is found to be fluid and varies within the state over a period of 28 years. As is indicated, different timeframes identified in Zimbabwe experienced more, or less, characteristics of democratic rule or authoritarianism, but never a spill-over to new regime representation. Consequently, due to the adjustable and changeable nature of the hybrid regime, transformation into a different system becomes less predictable. The study further identifies five factors that enable the durability of the hybrid regime: lengthy incumbent government; high political elite cohesion; low leadership turnover; a strong statesman; and competitive opposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the potential contributions of volunteers to community development. Little is known about the contribution of volunteers to community development although almost every non-governmental organisation in Zimbabwe relies on volunteers. This research used a qualitative approach with in-depth interviews, key informant interviews and focus group discussions to collect data from community volunteers, officials of non-governmental organisations, and government officials. Community volunteers play an important role in driving and sustaining community development. The researcher established that volunteers act as an intermediary between the community and non-governmental organisations. Moreover, activities like the targeting of beneficiaries and the implementation of activities are unthinkable without the involvement of volunteers. Despite volunteers' importance, there are serious drawbacks that influence the effective contribution of volunteers to community development. Volunteers disable community development through corruption, polarisation, falsifying reports and a lethargic approach to work. These drawbacks contradict the ubuntu value system that underlines the concept of volunteerism. Some of the drawbacks can be rectified by incentivising community volunteers, and by recruiting volunteers with acceptable levels of literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There seems to an abundance of literature that discusses Internal Savings and Lending Schemes (ISALS) and poverty reduction in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Africa. However, there is a lack of academic literature in Zimbabwe that interrogates the impact of ISALS on orphans and vulnerable children. This paper, using the project being implemented by the Tsungirirai Organisation (TO), discovered that when households participate in ISALS there is positive expenditure on education, food, health and many other needs of orphans and vulnerable children. More importantly, the study identified household expenditure on transport for orphans and vulnerable children living with HIV to access anti-retroviral medications (ARVs). As a qualitative study, the data in the study were collected using in-depth interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and we analysed the data by using thematic content analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zimbabwe has been affected by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic like the rest of the world. In the last decade, Zimbabwe has also faced a number of disasters such typhoid, cholera and flooding. In this paper, we argue that Zimbabwe could tap into its past experiences of managing the 2018 cholera outbreak in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper draws insights from a qualitative study that sought to understand the challenges and strategies associated with cholera disaster response that happened in 2018. We identify five strategies used by various stakeholders to combat the 2018 cholera outbreak. These strategies include; awareness campaigns, family and contact tracing, coordination meetings, food and non-food items distribution, and setting up treatment and isolation centres. The article juxtaposes the strategies used to combat cholera in 2018 with the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended COVID-19 strategies and we come to the conclusion that the cholera management strategies could be useful in guiding Zimbabwe's COVID-19 and future pandemics' response strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this chapter, we aim to investigate how local communities cope with and adapt to multiple stresses in rural Zimbabwe. In semiarid regions, water scarcity is one of a number of stresses that shape livelihood vulnerability. With climate change, it is predicted that rainfall in Zimbabwe will become more uncertain and variable in the future, exposing more people to water insecurity. At the same time, the impacts of disease, a lack of institutional capacity, and limited livelihood opportunities can combine to limit adaptive capacity. Therefore, adaptation to changing climate should not be viewed in isolation but, instead, in the context of social, economic, and political conditions, all of which shape local community vulnerability and people's ability to cope with and adapt to change. This study uses a qualitative-quantitative-qualitative framework, including the use of a stated preference survey, to identify the drivers of agroecosystem change, to understand the capacity of households to cope with droughts, and to determine the ability of local institutions to respond to crises. The analysis suggests that the capacity of the agroecosystem to remain productive during droughts is decreasing, individual/household adaptive capacity remains low, and institutional capacity faces considerable barriers that prevent it from supporting households to adapt to multiple stresses. This research adds weight to the claim that vulnerability reflects multiple forces and processes, and that multiple stresses, that are agroecological, socioeconomic, and institutional in nature, need to be examined in order to understand vulnerability and to prevent maladaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an exegesis of selectedsungurasongs sung in the 1990s and beyond by some of Zimbabwe's renowned musicians.Sungurais a Swahili word for rabbit. The word has become so naturalised in Shona to the extent that it now refers to a popular music genre sung mainly in indigenous languages. The beat is fast and furious and with a lot of emphasis on the footwork. The 1990s mark the incubation of new nation-state politics in which the subaltern overtly registers protestations against pauperising state policies. These protestations eventually explode in 1997 and intensify at the turn of the century, clearly marking ‘a paradigmatic rupture’ and solidifying the separation of the state from the citizens (Ndlovu-Gatsheni). As a result,sunguramusicians operationalise art in expressing a national identity characterised by a brand of politics and economics triggering mass dystopia and dystrophy. Remarkably, these direct protests coincide with critical discourses coming from different literary artists and scholars, who also begin to articulate revisionist discourses that indict the nationalist ideologies. Among them are novels such asPawns(1992),Echoing Silences(1997) andMapenzi(1999). In the post-2000 era, there are numerous publications that begin to deconstruct the nationalist ideology with its penchant for heroism and unparalleled political and historical greatness. Among them are the Zimbabwe Women Writers authoredWomen of Resilience: The voices of women ex-combatants, Fay Chung'sRe-living the Second Chimurenga: Memories from Zimbabwe's liberation struggle), Raftopoulos and Mlambo'sBecoming Zimbabwe: A history from the pre-colonial period to 2008and Edgar Tekere'sA lifetime of struggle(2007). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The global COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an upsurge in antimicrobial use. The increase in use is multifactorial, and is particularly related to the empirical treatment of SARS-CoV-2 and suspected coinfections with antimicrobials and the limited quality of diagnostics to differentiate viral and bacterial pneumonia. The lack of clear clinical guidelines across a wide range of settings, and the inadequacy of public health sectors in many countries, have contributed to this pattern. The increased use of antimicrobials has the potential to increase incidences of antimicrobial resistance, especially in low-resource countries such as Zimbabwe already grappling with multidrug-resistant micro-organism strains. By adopting the antimicrobial stewardship principles of the correct prescription and optimised use of antimicrobials, as well as diagnostic stewardship, revamping regulatory oversight of antimicrobial surveillance may help limit the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance during this pandemic. [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.)

This case study had examined undergraduate research projects within the Zimbabwe Open University to study the problems encountered by students while conducting research at Harare region. In this case study secondary data sources such as research guidelines, copies of research projects, research methods modules triangulated, with key informant interviews with programme coordinators, supervisors, and selected students were used. The general observations were that the research process is arduous, costly, problematic and time-consuming for undergraduate students. This was evidenced through high non-submission and failure rates. Project supervision experiences varied greatly in the different faculties although it was not correlated to high quality passes. Part-time supervisors found it difficult to balance the research demands of students with the demands of their full time jobs. The communication between student and supervisor was generally ineffective. It was suggested that there is a need to develop comprehensive research guidelines for students, programme coordinators and supervisors with a view to improving the quality of research and pass rates in research projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses cultural and historical evidence from the Shona and Ndebele experiential context. The Shona and the Ndebele constitute the two largest demographic groups in Zimbabwe. The motivation for the analysis is to contest the assumed universal validity of the feminist gendering of space into private female and public male. Gathering, explaining and interrogating this evidence from an Africana Womanist perspective, it argues that African women's performance space has not been curtailed by limited interpretations of space into private and public. In fact they have been very active in ensuring community survival. Even the often misinterpreted home as a private space, is in fact a strategic arena for the expression of women agency. Thus, the gendered dichotomization of space is not consistent with the dynamics of the African worm view in which balance and harmony constitute the modus operandi for every day social action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article sets out to validate the Africana Womanist literary theory as an intellectual paradigm grounded in knowledge and values derived from the African people's cultural experiences. It achieves this by analyzing cultural discourse from the continent, drawing particular attention to Shona and Ndebele proverbs and sayings. The Shona and Ndebele proverbs and sayings analyzed in the article candidly express perspectives on mothering/motherhood, which is one of the 18 descriptors advanced by Hudson-Weems in her explication of Africana Womanism (1993 and 2004). Against this background, the article contends that Africana Womanism is built around and informed by African survival technologies evolved over many centuries by Africanans themselves. The article's argument, then, is articulated within the confines of the realization that theories are expressions of culturally derived knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article critically examines the history of the Tonga people’s experiences of civilization and displacement from their life-affirming geographical location as enunciated through their oral forms, particularly, songs and other forms of reminiscence. The experiences of the Tonga people of Zimbabwe are largely overlooked in scholarship because they are considered one of the so-called minority groups, meriting little or no attention at all. Informed by an Afrocentric approach, in which it is “valid to posit Africa as a geographical and cultural starting base in the study of peoples [of Africa and] of African descent,” the article brings out an understanding of African orature as a redoubtable expression of the African classical past and the subsequent subversion and decimation of African human factor agency as a result of the European enslavement of place. In this regard, the authors contend that Africologists would do well to study African people’s orature, as it often reflects their story from their own perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article is concerned with the advancement of critical arguments aimed at enhancing African people’s chances of survival through a conscientious exegesis of selected Shona and Ndebele proverbial instruments. Based on the teachings of Afrocentricity, it trains the African intellectual eye to rediscover life-affirming and life-furthering discursive agendas that find expression in African people’s traditions. It is through such a reconnection and recollection that African people possibly become increasingly aware that they are part of a tradition that is informed by, and in fact built around, the philosophies of transcendence and agency as the sine qua non and modus operandi of meaningful existence. Both agency and transcendence are inextricably linked to African people’s endeavors to diversify channels and options in life, because such consequent diversification is an inescapable condition for rehumanization and survival. Such proverbial thought should also provide a theory of life that guides both creativity and literary practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article is an exegesis of the interface of liberation war history and democracy in the Zimbabwean polity. It draws corroborative evidence from an exclusively women authored historical narrative, Women of resilience: The voices of women ex-combatants (2000) published by Zimbabwe Women Writers (henceforth ZWW). Remarkably, the article observes that the exclusively women authored anthology on liberation war history offers an inventory of a gender based trajectory of memory, thus making gender one of the vital political resources in the nation's democratization agenda as well as in contesting historical authoritarianism and reconfiguring historical and political discourse. The women's voices use the gender card to discursively destabilize and delegitimate official memory reconstructions, particularly at a time when liberation war history in Zimbabwe is being brazenly and aggressively deployed as a political resource. Seen in this light, the article further lays it down that renditions of Zimbabwe's liberation war history and the meanings/interpretations of and contestations for democracy in Zimbabwe's violent politics of contested hegemony are inalienable, inextricable and even fungible. The various contesting categories in the nation use and interpret history for different purposes. The state, represented by the nationalist party (ZANU [PF]) largely operationalizes history as legitimating discourse. On the other hand, the sidelined demographic categories contest narrow 'patriotic history' by engineering counter discursive historical accounts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper critically analyses the depiction of morality and the human condition in Shona and Ndebele novelistic discourse, in a bid to transcend artificial boundaries at the level of Zimbabwe's critical practice, with particular reference to the Shona novel, Mapenzi, and the Ndebele novel, Lokhu Akungeke Kwenzeke. We advance the contention that the two writers redefine the literary turf in Zimbabwe's African languages by setting a novel pedagogical agenda which makes a clear link between morality and politics/ economics. In a context where most Shona and Ndebele literary works seem to have institutionalised the narrow victim blame syndrome, Mabasa and Ncube succeed in unmasking the forces that to a large extent shape the morality of a people. Such a creative modality is instructive as it provides an effective strategy for writers to explore social reality. It is against this background that they raise new critical insights on morality and the human condition in postindependence Zimbabwe, thereby increasing consciousness about forces that have negatively impacted on people's lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]