R4D South Africa

Two Commonwealth Scholarships available with CREATE

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:00:00 GMT

The DFID-funded Consortium for Research on Educational Access, Transitions and Equity (CREATE) seeks applications from suitable PhD candidates for the 2010 Commonwealth Scholarships

Primary HIV Infection in Antenatal and Postnatal Women, Northern KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:19:00 GMT

Miscellaneous S. Mepham 2009 Presentation at Imperial College London, 18 May 2009. 44 pp.

Mother-to-Child Transmission of Human Herpesvirus8 in South Africa

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:32:00 GMT

Miscellaneous Dedicoat, M.; Newton, R.; Alkharsah, K.R.; Sheldon, J.; Szabados, I.; Ndlovu, B.; Page, T.; Casabonne, D.; Gilks, C.F.; Cassol, S.A.; Whitby, D.; Schulz, T.F. 2004 Journal of Infectious Diseases (2004) 190 (6), pp. 10681075 [DOI:10.1086/423326] To investigate transmission of human herpesvirus (HHV)8, 2546 mother‐child pairs were recruited from rural clinics in South Africa and were tested for antibodies against lytic and latent HHV‐8 antigens. The prevalence of antibodies in children increased with increasing maternal antibody titer (lytic, χ₁²=26, and P<0.001; latent, χ₁²=55, and P<0.001). HHV‐8 DNA was detectable in 145 of 978 maternal saliva samples (mean virus load, 488,450 copies/mL; range, 1550660,000 copies/mL) and in 12 of 43 breast‐milk samples (mean virus load, 5800 copies/mL; range, 155012,540 copies/mL). The prevalence of HHV‐8 DNA in maternal saliva was unrelated to latent antiHHV‐8 antibody status but was higher in mothers with the highest titers of lytic antibodies than in other mothers (34% vs. 8%; P<0.001). The prevalence of lytic antiHHV‐8 antibodies in children was 13% (70/528) if the mother did not have HHV‐8 in saliva and 29% (8/28) if the mother had a high HHV‐8 load (>50,000 copies/mL) in saliva (odds ratio, 2.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.16.2). The presence of HHV‐8 DNA in maternal saliva was unrelated to latent antibodies in children. Saliva could be a route of transmission of HHV‐8 from person to person, although other routes cannot be ruled out.

HIV infection as a cofactor for severe falciparum malaria in adults living in a region of unstable malaria transmission in South Africa

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:13:00 GMT

Miscellaneous Grimwade, K.; French, N.; Mbatha, D.D; Zungu, D.D; Dedicoat, M.; Gilks, C.F 2004 AIDS (2004), 18 (3) pp. 547554 [DOI: 10.1097/01.aids.0000096909.73209.14] Background: Malaria and HIV are two of the most important diseases facing Africa. It remains uncertain whether HIV-related immunosuppression adversely affects the clinical outcome of malaria. Objective: To measure the association between HIV status and outcome from malarial infection in adults living in a region of unstable malaria transmission. Design: Observational cohort study. Setting: Four community clinics and the Government hospital in Hlabisa district, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; a region of high HIV prevalence. Methods: Consecutive febrile adults were screened for malaria with a rapid antigen test. Those with malaria provided blood spots for HIV testing, a thick blood film for confirmation of malaria and clinical data. Outcome was established following management according to South African government guidelines. Results: Malaria was microscopically confirmed in 613. HIV prevalence was 29.9% (180/613); 110 (18%) had severe/complicated malaria and 28 (4.6%) died. HIV-infected patients were more likely to vomit or be confused and were more likely to be admitted to hospital (P = 0.05). In patients admitted to hospital, HIV infection was associated with severe/complicated malaria [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.3; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.4-3.9] and with death (OR 7.5; 95% CI, 2.2-25.1). Acidosis and coma were also strong independent risk factors for death. Conclusion: HIV infection had an unexpectedly large association with the outcome of falciparum malaria in a region of unstable transmission. Both diseases are widespread in Africa and these results add to the body of knowledge suggesting an interaction of significant public health importance between HIV and malaria in Africa.

African cattle to be protected from killer disease

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:00:00 GMT

The Global Alliance for Livestock Vaccines and medicines (GALVmed), a public private partnership supported by DFID and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has facilitated the production of a million doses of an experimental vaccine against a tick-borne disease of cattle in Africa

TARGETS Annual Report 2006-2007

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:04:00 GMT

Miscellaneous 2007 24 pp. This report covers the period June 2006 to May 2007. Information on research themes, outputs and knowledge dissemination is provided. Annexes give the Logical Framework, Communications Strategy, Products and Publications, and Risk Assessment Matrix

The association between school attendance, HIV infection and sexual behaviour among young people in rural South Africa.

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:29:00 GMT

Miscellaneous J. R. Hargreaves, L. A. Morison, J. C. Kim, C. P. Bonell, J. D. H. Porter, C. Watts, J. Busza, G. Phetla, and P. M. Pronyk 2008 Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health (2008) 62 (2) 113-119 [doi:10.1136/jech.2006.053827] OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether the prevalence of HIV infection among young people, and sexual behaviours associated with increased HIV risk, are differentially distributed between students and those not attending school or college.

DESIGN: A random population sample of unmarried young people (916 males, 1003 females) aged 14-25 years from rural South Africa in 2001.

METHODS: Data on school attendance and HIV risk characteristics came from structured face-to-face interviews. HIV serostatus was assessed by oral fluid ELISA. Logistic regression models specified HIV serostatus and high-risk behaviours as outcome variables. The primary exposure was school attendance. Models were adjusted for potential confounders.

RESULTS: HIV knowledge, communication about sex and HIV testing were similarly distributed among students and non-students. The lifetime number of partners was lower for students of both sexes (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for more than three partners for men 0.67; 95% CI 0.44 to 1.00; aOR for more than two partners for women 0.69; 95% CI 0.46 to 1.04). Among young women, fewer students reported having partners more than three years older than themselves (aOR 0.58; 95% CI 0.37 to 0.92), having sex more than five times with a partner (aOR 0.57; 95% CI 0.37 to 0.87) and unprotected intercourse during the past year (aOR 0.60; 95% CI 0.40 to 0.91). Male students were less likely to be HIV positive than non-students (aOR 0.21; 95% CI 0.06 to 0.71).

CONCLUSIONS: Attending school was associated with lower-risk sexual behaviours and, among young men, lower HIV prevalence. Secondary school attendance may influence the structure of sexual networks and reduce HIV risk. Maximising school attendance may reduce HIV transmission among young people.

ZAMSTAR, The Zambia South Africa TB and HIV Reduction study: Design of a 2 × 2 factorial community randomized trial.

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:56:00 GMT

Miscellaneous H. M. Ayles, C. Sismanidis, N. Beyers, R. J. Hayes, and P. Godfrey-Faussett 2008 Trials (2008) 9:63 [doi:10.1186/1745-6215-9-63] BACKGROUND: TB and HIV form a deadly synergy in much of the developing world, especially Africa. Interventions to reduce the impact of these diseases at community level are urgently needed. This paper presents the design of a community randomised trial to evaluate the impact of two complex interventions on the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) in high HIV prevalence settings in Zambia and South Africa.

METHODS: The interaction between TB and HIV is reviewed and possible interventions that could reduce the prevalence of TB in HIV-endemic populations are discussed. Two of these interventions are described in detail and the design of a 2 × 2 factorial community randomised trial to test these interventions is presented. The limitations and challenges of the design are identified and discussed.

CONCLUSIONS: There is an urgent need to reduce the prevalence of TB in communities highly affected by HIV. Potential interventions are complex and require innovative trial designs to provide the rigorous evidence needed to inform health policy makers and to ensure that resources are used optimally.

Seeing like a PWA: a study of therapeutic citizens and welfare subjects in Cape Town, South Africa. CPRC Working Paper No. 144.

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:50:00 GMT

Miscellaneous C. J. Colvin, J. Leavens and S. Robins 2009 CPRC Working Paper No. 144, Chronic Poverty Research Centre, London, UK, ISBN: 978-1-906433-46-8, 28 pp. This paper investigates how the South African state has sought to address the relationship between HIV and poverty through a range of interventions, aimed at both increasing access to HIV-related health services and addressing the underlying socioeconomic dimensions of chronic poverty among those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. The paper also considers how individuals, communities and community-based organisations (CBOs) have responded to these state interventions and integrated them (or not) with other strategies for survival. It asks how the various policies and programmes frame the relationship between HIV and poverty, and how these state discourses intersect with the perspectives, demands and needs of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), CBOs, activists and people living with AIDS (PWAs). In particular, the paper is concerned with investigating the ways in which liberal forms of government frame PWAs as a particular category of deserving and entrepreneurial citizens, and then tries to reframe them through a package of health and welfare interventions.

New TB regimens: What Countries Want. The Value Proposition of Existing and New First-Line Regimens for Drug-Susceptible Tuberculosis.

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 09:04:00 GMT

Miscellaneous TB Alliance 2009 TB Alliance, New York, USA, 20 pp.

The design and adoption of new tuberculosis (TB) regimens requires a close understanding of the opinions of those who approve, prescribe and receive TB treatments: what they like and dislike about current regimens and what they would value, tolerate or reject with regard to a new, shorter regimen. To assess these opinions regarding first-line regimens for drug-susceptible TB, interviews were conducted with 211 stakeholders in Brazil, China, India, Kenya and South Africa - five countries with high TB burdens - and with 11 global stakeholders.

Based on these interviews, efficacy, safety and side effects of current regimens were generally judged to be acceptable. A treatment frequency of five to seven days a week was common for current regimens and preferred for new regimens, with some exceptions in China and India. Avoiding interaction with antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) was a significant priority for African and global stakeholders, as was the availability of fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) in all but China and the Indian public sector.

Two international Phase III trials are currently testing whether the substitution of a fluoroquinolone into first-line TB regimens will allow these treatments to be shortened to four months. In the current study, with the exception of some stakeholders in China, the potential for a shorter (four- or two-month) regimen was positively received. Many stakeholders noted that a shorter regimen would increase the likelihood of adherence and listed several acceptable trade-offs, including increased drug costs. Shorter regimens including moxifloxacin would be welcomed for the same reasons, although there are concerns about whether primary fluoroquinolone resistance already exists and whether fluoroquinolone use for first-line treatment would lead to the loss of the fluoroquinolones as a viable option for second-line treatment.

Before adopting a new regimen to replace an existing one, stakeholders said they would require or prefer data including results from trials in their own countries (for Brazil, China, India and South Africa), cost and real-world effectiveness data, and efficacy data for various subgroups, including patients co-infected with HIV and TB.

The findings of this study are consistent with the target product profile used by the TB Alliance and with the organization's clinical trials strategy as currently implemented. Stakeholder feedback can guide the development of new TB drugs, but the diversity of opinions underlines the challenges ahead and the need for continued exchange of data and information.

New TB Regimens: What Countries Want

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 01:00:00 GMT

A new report from the TB Alliance based on interviews with over 200 key stakeholders explores

Addressing the balance of burden in AIDS research programme consortium (ABBA RPC). Annual report, project year 3, June 2008 - May 2009

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:20:00 GMT

Miscellaneous ABBA 2009 86 pp. The report summarizes information on outputs produced so far, the impact of the research programme to date, progress towards outputs and impact of key themes, and lessons learnt.

Breaking Research News - July 2009

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:01:00 GMT

Miscellaneous CIMRC 2009 2 pp. This case sheet presents examples of recent news stories about DFID research, from R4D.

Helping vulnerable South African teenagers cope with the impact of AIDS

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 01:00:00 GMT

Research from the he DFID-funded ABBA project (Addressing the Balance of Burden in AIDS) shows how programmes that give young people the skills to improve their education and manage family finances can address some of the costs associated with the AIDS pandemic in South Africa

Activism and aid combine to fight HIV/AIDS in South Africa

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 01:00:00 GMT

A local AIDS advocacy group has teamed up with international aid agency Médecins Sans Frontiéres to both mobilize people living with HIV and AIDS and to provide the medicine and care that patients need. DFID research is helping to document and understand this blending of activism and aid in South Africa.

The nature, extent and eradication of homelessness in developing countries

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:34:00 GMT

Completed An in-depth study of homelessness in nine developing countries (Bangladesh, South Africa, China, Zimbabwe, India, Indonesia, Egypt, Ghana and Peru) was conducted. The nine countries chosen for the study presented a range of housing and homelessness situation and degrees of poverty. They gave a range of different cultural experiences and understanding of housing and homelessness. To establish the nature and extent of homelessness in developing countries; to formulate workable definitions of homelessness suitable for developing country situations; to identify innovative practice in eradicating homelessness, in ameliorating its effects and in getting people off the streets; to disseminate findings through electronic and paper means. This will be done in relation to children as well as adults. The international conference on 'Homelessness: A Global Perspective', India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India, 9-13 January 2006 was developed to disseminate the current findings and to identify ways to take the work forward.

New report on xenophobic violence in South Africa

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:00:00 GMT

A new report from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), of a DFID-funded study into the xenophobic violence that occurred in May 2008 in South Africa, has recently been published.

The women helping to change attitudes about HIV and AIDs

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 01:00:00 GMT

Involvement in the Microbicides Development Programme (MDP) clinical trial is empowering women volunteers to spread the word about good sexual health practices.

Helping African Scientists to talk to the media

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 01:00:00 GMT

In order to sustain positive relationships between researchers and the media, the DFID-funded Relay programme in Southern Africa has formalized their relationship with research institutes

Avon in Africa: Reducing Poverty Through Global Exchange

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 10:03:00 GMT

Current This research aims to evaluate the potential for poor women in developing countries to earn a living by selling Avon cosmetics. Located in South Africa, the study will assess the sustainability of the income Avon representatives earn, as well as the level of financial and social risk they must take to be in this system. We will also study the way this selling system affects the communities into which it is introduced, to determine whether the Avon scheme actually generates new wealth for impoverished communities or whether it simply redistributes scarce resources among the poor. As part of our assessment of the effects on the community, we will also compare Avon products to available, potentially cheaper substitutes and inquire into the purposes of product use by African consumers. We will also study the communications between the Avon corporation and its local sales force, with attention to race and gender issues as reflected in both product offerings and marketing materials. Finally, we will also be looking at the organizational structure to find guidelines for both public and private adaptations. 1. To determine whether the poor woman who sells Avon can achieve a sustainable income at a tolerable level of financial and social risk.

2. To determine whether the Avon programme increases wealth for the community or merely redistributes scarce resources among the poor.

3. To examine the relationship between women's economic participation in Avon networks and the perceived wellbeing of themselves and their families.

4. To study the role that consumer toiletries have in the lives of poor Africans.

5. To determine how the values and economic practices of Avon are negotiated and/or reconciled locally.

6. To provide guidelines for assessing, adapting, or creating similar organizational models to facilitate development goals.

Development discourses: higher education and poverty reduction in South Africa

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 09:31:00 GMT

Current An 18 month project is proposed to investigate the equity trajectory of higher education in which high expectations and human development hopes have been invested by official South African government policy. This research addresses three gaps in the scholarly literature: (i) higher education, professional education and knowledge economies; (ii) professional education as a measure of equity transformation trajectories in universities; and (iii) the capability approach in relation to professional education and human development. By innovatively bringing these literatures together, how higher education is contributing to poverty reduction and the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) is then creatively addressed. The research will investigate how higher education is advancing the social compact between universities and society, and contributing to achieving the MDGs and poverty reduction by contextualizing institutional histories and transformation efforts, and specifically examining development discourses, student learning experiences and graduate capabilities in selected professional education sites at three universities. The project seeks to compare universities and professional disciplines in order to gain new insights about the role of universities in poverty efforts and about strategies for transformative change in professional education, seeking to reveal comparative and generic factors for fostering human development and attending to what is specific to different professional education contexts. A set of multidimensional metrics for evaluating progress in university transformation in relation to professional education for human development will be developed. To this end a range of documentary, statistical and qualitative data will be collected over 12 months, research working groups established at each university, and workshops organized to communicate and refine metrics for 'pro-poor professionalism' as an exemplar of wider transformation and human development. The predicted benefits of this project are (i) theorising the role of universities in social and cultural transformation; (ii) knowledge for policy makers, (iii) capacity building for institutional leaders and academic staff on strengthening the relationship between professional education and the challenges of human development and the MDGs; and (iv) practical knowledge for improving professional education. 1. To investigate how different universities in South Africa are transforming, under contemporary national and global conditions;

2. In the context both of the MDGs and transformation: to identify the educational mission informing professional education and expectations of teaching and student achievements in different universities and different professional fields, comparing and contrasting the experiences, knowledge and skills of students, visions of their future work, and notions of professional responsibility and accountability;

3. To generate multi-dimensional metrics for evaluating progress in institutional transformation in relation specifically to professional education for human development and poverty reduction.

Gender, education and global poverty reduction initiatives.

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:24:00 GMT

Current The project aims to look at the way global policy on gender, schooling and poverty eradication articulated through the Millennium Development Goals and other policy statements emerging from UN organisations and international gatherings, are interpreted, whether they are put into action and the reasons for this. The proposed study is based on detailed case studies in Kenya and South Africa, where reforming governments have sought to address issues of poverty, gender and schooling. In these countries a vibrant civil society is active and often critical of government, sometimes drawing on global policy for support. The project is designed to explore how national and provincial education departments, national and local non-government organisations and a school community interpret policy on gender, schooling and poverty, the connections that are or are not made between global policy declaration and national, regional and local aspiration and action, the reasons for this and the processes that help and undermine work to take forward initiatives relating to gender, education and global poverty reduction. The case studies will be conducted in partnership with the government departments and NGOs and the proposed project is partly designed so that organisations can draw on the issues raised by the research study to enhance their own reflection on policy and practice and help heighten understanding of the process of global policy making and obligation across national boundaries. The objectives of the study are:
i) to examine in what ways global, national, regional and local ideas and actions regarding gender equality in education and poverty reduction connect and disconnect
ii) to explore relationships in bringing about change in policy and practice in the field of gender, education and poverty reduction
iii) to work with organizations at national, provincial and local level to examine how and why certain conditions, interpretations and actions regarding gender and education impact on poverty reduction and how to enhance policy, advocacy, debate, and implementation in this area.

What can be done to beat urban poverty?

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 01:00:00 GMT

DFID-funded research by Practical Action has improved understanding of the impact of different approaches to urban poverty reduction through research and sharing the experiences of Southern-based NGOs

Do taxes help make better governments?

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:00:00 GMT

Are there connections between how states obtain money and the quality of their governance? If governments are not dependent on taxes for their finance, new research suggests they are less accountable and responsive to their citizens and taxpayers

Care work: an affront to men's dignity?

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 01:00:00 GMT

The question of which policies and programmes best catalyse and support men to take on a more engaged and equal role in providing care provoked a passionate discussion at a recent BRIDGE-hosted session on Gender and Care at the Association for Women's Rights in Development forum in South Africa

Supporting science journalism in Africa and the Middle East

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 01:00:00 GMT

A dozen new teams of science journalists from different countries across Africa and the Middle East trained through the DFID-funded SjCOOP Programme are collaborating on science related stories

CREATE seeks nominations for Commonwealth Scholarships

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 01:00:00 GMT

The Consortium for Research on Educational Access, Transitions and Equity (CREATE) has been asked to nominate two suitable candidates for the Commonwealth Scholarship scheme to pursue studies in educational access

Southern African Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD) Research Programme (SRP)

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:27:00 GMT

Current

The Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD) is a regional network of disabled peoples organisations (DPOs) whose main objective is to represent the collective voice and aspirations of disabled people in Southern Africa. SAFOD's works to promote the rights of people with disabilities, and enhance their lives and livelihoods through raising wider public awareness on their living conditions, facilitating greater access to needed services, and capacity and institutional building of DPOs .

SAFOD has been working to establish a Disability Research Programme called the SAFOD Research Programme (SRP). The strategic purpose of the SRP is to build the capacity of SAFOD and its member organizations to design, drive, own and to use research to influence policy and practice that is responsive to the particular needs and interests of disabled people in SAFOD member countries.

The main objective of this disability research programme is to build capacity in SAFOD to support disabled people's organisations (DPOs) to undertake research and use its findings to influence policy and practice that is responsive to the needs of disabled peoples in Southern Africa. SAFOD and its member organisations develop increased capacity to undertake, use and own research; design and deliver effective research programme; achieve policy engagement through dissemination and communication of research findings

In 2008-2009, DPOs trained in generic research skills and database management; training ongoing in 2009-10.

By early 2009, 5 pilot studies were completed (Literature Review, Disability Policy Audit in 4 countries, DPOs' Needs Assessment, and HIV/AIDS & Reproductive Health).

A commodity-based approach to livestock trade

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:00:00 GMT

New standards proposed for livestock products from Africa could fundamentally change the way in which meat is imported into key markets and help poor livestock producers trade their way out of poverty

Changing Lives: Making Research Real

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 01:00:00 GMT

Changing Lives, a collaborative project between DFID Research and InterPress Service (IPS), a press agency that covers the global South, uncovers a hotbed of the kind of exciting stories that the media are itching to tell

Regional Standards Programme - South African fruit and wine carbon footprint study

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:46:00 GMT

Current

Short-term maintenance of the current level of exports from the South African fruit and wine sector (R9.45 billion) and a medium term expansion of 5% achieved through improved industry competitiveness.

This will be realised through:

Countering the threat related to perceptions around "food miles" and resulting policy and behavioural response of retailers and consumers;
Re-positioning of the Southern African industry vis-à-vis other fruit exporting countries on the basis of the industry's overall "carbon footprint";
Lowering of the industry's overall "carbon footprint" and improving adaptability of the sector to climate change in the medium to long term;
Capitalising on opportunities related to carbon offset projects and the financing and marketing thereof.

Measuring the carbon footprint of South African fruit and wine

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:00:00 GMT

Research into the carbon footprint of South African fruit and wine exports could challenge the idea that exported products from the developing world have a bigger environmental cost

Chronic Poverty is 'a global emergency that we cannot afford to ignore'

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:00:00 GMT

The Chronic Poverty Report 2008-09: New solutions to escape poverty traps reminds us that 'alleviating chronic poverty is not merely a question of economics. It is a moral imperative' according to UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown

AIDS emergency in Swaziland hits like a tidal wave

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:00:00 GMT

Swaziland is experiencing an HIV/AIDS emergency on the scale of traditional emergencies such as tsunamis and earthquakes

Research Into Use: African Innovation Challenge Fund

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:00:00 GMT

The second Research Into Use (RIU) call for proposals is for the African Innovation Challenge Fund

Planning workshop on medicinal bark in South Africa

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:27:00 GMT

Completed A multi-country workshop on developing biometric sampling systems and optimal harvesting methods for medicinal tree bark in southern Africa was held in South Africa, Zambia and Malawi. This initiative formed the basis of a larger regional research cluster (R8295, R8305).

African Community Access Programme (AFCAP)

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:49:00 GMT

Current AFCAP funds applied research to rural access problems, communicates the research outcomes to stakeholders, and supports the mainstreaming of the research results into practice. A six-month inception phase was completed in December; projects are now in operation or in planning in several sub-Saharan African countries.

Programme Goal: Sustained economic development, poverty reduction and improved livelihoods of the rural poor through more effective, efficient and equitable access to socio-economic opportunities (employment, healthcare, education, etc.).

Programme Purpose: To create sustainable access for rural communities to external opportunities and services (including health, education, employment, markets and social and political networks).

Best practice on Rural Roads Technology mainstreamed in Africa
Evidence of impact of appropriate rural road technology disseminated
Sustainable ownership mechanisms for construction and maintenance of local road systems
Knowledge and research capacity in Africa improved and key knowledge disseminated and adopted
Status of improving access to basic infrastructure for poor in Africa reviewed and further developed

AFCAP has made substantial progress in establishing a robust research programme for the rural transport sector in Africa. National co-ordinators have been appointed in Mozambique, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Malawi and Kenya, national steering groups have been identified, initial projects have been developed, and contractors for these projects are being procured.

Discussed with International Institute of Water and Environment Engineering of Ouagadougou University possible development of a short course for rural road engineering. There is potential to collaborate with KNUST in Ghana and the opportunity to offer course material across the French West African region.

Letters of Agreement have now been secured with the governments of Mozambique, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Malawi and Kenya. AFCAP is supporting study tours for the Ethiopian Road Authority and a strategic planning workshop in Tanzania.

Managing climate risk in South Africa's Western Cape

Thu, 22 May 2008 01:00:00 GMT

A team of researchers led by the University of the Free State is working to give planners and farmers access to improved climate information and a range of options to help them prepare for a water-scarce future

The Mental Health and Poverty Project: Mental health policy development and implementation in four African countries.

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:27:00 GMT

Current The research programme consortium aims to provide new knowledge regarding comprehensive multi-sectoral approaches to breaking the negative cycle of poverty and mental ill-health. The programme will undertake an analysis of existing mental health policies in African countries, provide interventions to assist in the development and implementation of mental health policies in those countries, and evaluate the policy implementation over a 5-year period. 1. Conducted the first large-scale situation analysis of mental health systems in 4 African countries: Ghana, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia. These studies highlighted the neglect of mental health in current policies, the meagre resources available for mental health, lack of data for mental health service provision and widespread stigma against the mentally ill.

2. Established partnerships between research teams and Ministries of Health in all four countries and built capacity for mental health research and policy development through training workshops, exchanges and supervision.

3. Currently conducting and evaluating interventions that are having a significant impact on policy and practice in the four countries, including:

Ghana: reform of mental health legislation and establishment of mental health information systems for routine service monitoring.
South Africa: development of a strategic plan for mental health in the Northern Cape and development of mental health information systems in Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
Uganda: development of a national mental health policy, national strategic plan and reform of mental health legislation.
Zambia: reform of the mental health legislation.

4. Establishing models of best practice for the integration of mental health into primary health care, through demonstration projects in all 4 countries.

5. Conducted the first systematic literature review of the relationship between mental health and poverty in low and middle income countries. From this process and our engagement in the four African countries we have identified a range of interventions that have the potential to address the vicious cycle of poverty and mental ill-health.

The contribution of post-basic education and training to poverty reduction: evidence from South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:28:00 GMT

Current

For 25 years within the World Bank, and increasingly within other multilateral and bilateral agencies, education and particularly primary education have been held to have a powerful relationship with many other development outcomes, and, through these, with the reduction of poverty more generally. This primacy of primary education is symbolised in its position as a Millennium Development Goal (MDG), and hence within DFID as an element in their Public Service Agreement (PSA).

The present research builds directly on this foundation role for basic education, but extends it to examine in what ways and under what conditions post basic education and training (PBET) can also be expected to contribute to poverty reduction. It considers the extent to which PBET can provide skills and knowledge necessary for countries to develop capacity to reduce poverty and to ensure that the full benefits of basic education can be harnessed.

To synthesize state-of-the-art research on the potential contribution of post-basic education (secondary, tertiary and skills development) to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and poverty reduction.

Dissemination of project outputs will be promoted throughout the project's lifecycle, and beyond.
Outline the project ideas to an international meeting on capacity development in JICA, Tokyo.
Present the findings of the first data collection phase to the annual meeting of the Working Group on International Co-operation of Skills Development.
Use the Centre of African Studies Occasional Paper series to publicise findings from all the teams.
A special project meeting will be organised end-on to the major Oxford Conference to review a preliminary result from both phases and to feed selected papers into the main conference. Project dissemination will occur.
A special issue of Norrag News will be published (and aid policy bulletin) on the theme of learning capacity and poverty reduction.
Encourage submission of articles by junior team members to some of the following journals with which they are closely associated: Compare, IJED, Journal of Modern African Studies, BOLESWANA Educational Research Journal, African Affairs and NIEPA Journal.
At the end of the project, the main DFID report will be submitted and it is expected that the project would also feature as part of the DFID Education Papers.

Organisation of a special panel in the 2004 Conference of the Development Studies Association. This first paper was published, in 2005, in a special issue of the Journal of International Development supported by DFID, appropriately entitled 'Bridging Research and Policy'. Our DFID research chapter will also appear in the book of the same title to be published in the summer of 2006.
Six country studies were all completed in near to final draft by March 2005. It was possible for them all to be available as background papers, by the time of the Centre of African Studies' (CAS) International Conference in Edinburgh in April 2005. This CAS Conference was itself deliberately oriented around the key themes of the DFID project, and hence the published volume from the CAS conference, Revisiting Education, Training and Work in Africa (CAS October 2005) set the DFID research on five African countries within a larger African context.
Workshop (April 2005) with high level policy makers from Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and India in order to get early feedback on the research from these senior members of the policy community.
The individual country studies were versioned into academic papers for the UKFIET's Oxford International Conference on Education and Development, September 2005. This panel was entitled 'Educating and Training out of Poverty', and thus was organised in large part around our DFID research theme. All the DFID country studies that were presented in Oxford were also accepted by the International Journal of Educational Development.
Country studies translated into short, sharp Policy Briefs. These are on the website (http://www.cas.ed.ac.uk/research_and_publications/projects/projects-2006.htm) along with the country studies and the academic versions of the papers. But packages containing the Policy Briefs, the Executive Summaries of our country studies and the country studies themselves have been sent to carefully selected policy makers in each of our research countries. The same package was also sent to the DFID advisors' meeting in Nairobi in early 2006.
It also proved possible for our DFID research to be fed into the main donor agencies concerned with the relationship of skills and poverty reduction. Both in the Working Group for International Cooperation in Skills Development and in the European Training Foundation in November and December of 2005 respectively, major presentations on Skills and Poverty Reduction were made at these agency meetings in Italy. While a little earlier in the year, the results of our DFID work were also presented to a meeting of all of USAID's education advisors in Washington.
The summaries of our six country studies along with many other articles on the Education-Poverty Reduction relationship have been a key element in the Aid Policy Bulletin, NORRAG NEWS NO. 37, which was published in May 2006.
A further opportunity to present the results of the research was in the biennial conference of the African Studies Association of the UK in SOAS in September 2006.
Final synthesis report

R4D South Africa

Two Commonwealth Scholarships available with CREATE

Primary HIV Infection in Antenatal and Postnatal Women, Northern KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa

Mother-to-Child Transmission of Human Herpesvirus8 in South Africa

HIV infection as a cofactor for severe falciparum malaria in adults living in a region of unstable malaria transmission in South Africa

African cattle to be protected from killer disease

TARGETS Annual Report 2006-2007

The association between school attendance, HIV infection and sexual behaviour among young people in rural South Africa.

ZAMSTAR, The Zambia South Africa TB and HIV Reduction study: Design of a 2 × 2 factorial community randomized trial.

Seeing like a PWA: a study of therapeutic citizens and welfare subjects in Cape Town, South Africa. CPRC Working Paper No. 144.

New TB regimens: What Countries Want. The Value Proposition of Existing and New First-Line Regimens for Drug-Susceptible Tuberculosis.

New TB Regimens: What Countries Want

Addressing the balance of burden in AIDS research programme consortium (ABBA RPC). Annual report, project year 3, June 2008 - May 2009

Breaking Research News - July 2009

Helping vulnerable South African teenagers cope with the impact of AIDS

Activism and aid combine to fight HIV/AIDS in South Africa

The nature, extent and eradication of homelessness in developing countries

New report on xenophobic violence in South Africa

The women helping to change attitudes about HIV and AIDs

Helping African Scientists to talk to the media

Avon in Africa: Reducing Poverty Through Global Exchange

Development discourses: higher education and poverty reduction in South Africa

Gender, education and global poverty reduction initiatives.

What can be done to beat urban poverty?

Do taxes help make better governments?

Care work: an affront to men's dignity?

Supporting science journalism in Africa and the Middle East

CREATE seeks nominations for Commonwealth Scholarships

Southern African Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD) Research Programme (SRP)

A commodity-based approach to livestock trade

Changing Lives: Making Research Real

Regional Standards Programme - South African fruit and wine carbon footprint study

Measuring the carbon footprint of South African fruit and wine

Chronic Poverty is 'a global emergency that we cannot afford to ignore'

AIDS emergency in Swaziland hits like a tidal wave

Research Into Use: African Innovation Challenge Fund

Planning workshop on medicinal bark in South Africa

African Community Access Programme (AFCAP)

Managing climate risk in South Africa's Western Cape

The Mental Health and Poverty Project: Mental health policy development and implementation in four African countries.

The contribution of post-basic education and training to poverty reduction: evidence from South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa

Mother-to-Child Transmission of Human Herpesvirus8 in South Africa

Seeing like a PWA: a study of therapeutic citizens and welfare subjects in Cape Town, South Africa. CPRC Working Paper No. 144.