Healthcare Technology Transfer in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Inductive Approach

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (08) ◽  
pp. 1950055
Author(s):  
Rian Marais ◽  
Sara S. Grobbelaar ◽  
Imke H. de Kock
Keyword(s):  
Technology Transfer ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Healthcare Technology ◽  
Comparative Review ◽  
Literature Reviews ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Transfer Method

The research addressed within this paper sets out to develop a framework towards facilitating health-related technology transfer (TT) to and within sub-Saharan African countries. In turn, this framework will attempt to alleviate healthcare burdens in developing nations through a combination of acquisitions and collaborative technology development. Systematic conceptual and comparative literature reviews have been conducted to identify the major characteristics of TT. The conceptual review has outlined the universal characteristics of TT such as TT methods, prominent stakeholders and the importance of knowledge transfer while the systematic comparative review exclusively evaluated sub-Saharan African healthcare TT characteristics such as infrastructure barriers and the marketability of the transfer object. The outcomes of the literature reviews have been clustered into five phases, forming the basis of the conceptual framework. This framework aims to guide a user through the phases of technology development, technology analysis, technology transfer method application, change management and commercialization by providing managerial best practices at each phase. The conceptual framework has been evaluated by incorporating the outcomes of 16 semi-structured interviews conducted with healthcare and TT industry experts. The final framework aims to provide guidelines for any stakeholder involved in healthcare technology transfer regardless of the healthcare implementation by highlighting best practices surrounding stakeholder co-creation, transfer method application and constructing a sustainable healthcare technology transfer venture.

Factors limiting the adoption of hemp as an alternative sustainable material for green building delivery in Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kofi Agyekum ◽  
Emmanuel Adinyira ◽  
James Anthony Oppon
Keyword(s):  
Building Materials ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainable Material ◽  
Environmental Threats ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Comparative Review ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Government

PurposeThe increased awareness of global environmental threats like climate change has created an upsurge of interest in low embodied carbon building materials for green building delivery. Though the literature advocates for the use of hemp-based building materials, there is no evidence of studies to explore its potential use in Ghana. Therefore, this study explores the potential factors that limit the adoption of hemp as an alternative sustainable material for green building delivery in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachA structured questionnaire was used to solicit the views of built environment professionals operating in construction, consulting and developer firms. The questions were developed through a comparative review of the related literature and complemented with a pilot review. Data were analysed via descriptive and inferential statistics.FindingsOn the average, the majority of the respondents showed a moderate level of awareness of hemp and its related uses in the construction industry. Also, certain key factors like the perceived association of hemp with marijuana, lack of expertise in the production of hemp-related building materials, farmers not getting the needed clearance for the cultivation of hemp, lack of legislation by the government in the legalisation of hemp and the inadequate knowledge of consumers on the benefits of hemp-based building materials were identified as potential limitations to the adoption of hemp as an alternative sustainable material for green building delivery.Originality/valueThe findings from this study provide insights into a less investigated area in sub-Saharan Africa and further provide new and additional information to the current state-of-the-art on the potential for the use of hemp in the building construction sector.

scholarly journals Africa and the wider world: creole communities in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans

Tempo ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 465-481
Author(s):  
Malyn Newitt
Keyword(s):  
Technology Transfer ◽  
Indian Ocean ◽  
World Economy ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Eastern Africa ◽  
Cultural Appropriation ◽  
The World ◽  
African Slaves ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract: Portuguese creoles were instrumental in bringing sub-Saharan Africa into the intercontinental systems of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean. In the Atlantic Islands a distinctive creole culture emerged, made up of Christian emigrants from Portugal, Jewish exiles and African slaves. These creole polities offered a base for coastal traders and became politically influential in Africa - in Angola creating their own mainland state. Connecting the African interior with the world economy was largely on African terms and the lack of technology transfer meant that the economic gap between Africa and the rest of the world inexorably widened. African slaves in Latin America adapted to a society already creolised, often through adroit forms of cultural appropriation and synthesis. In eastern Africa Portuguese worked within existing creolised Islamic networks but the passage of their Indiamen through the Atlantic created close links between the Indian Ocean and Atlantic commercial systems.

scholarly journals Aging, Health, and Quality of Life for Older People Living With HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review and Proposed Conceptual Framework

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark J. Siedner
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Living With Hiv ◽  
The Impact

Objective: The number of people living with HIV (PLWH) over 50 years old in sub-Saharan Africa is predicted to triple in the coming decades, to 6-10 million. Yet, there is a paucity of data on the determinants of health and quality of life for older PLWH in the region. Methods: A review was undertaken to describe the impact of HIV infection on aging for PLWH in sub-Saharan Africa. Results: We (a) summarize the pathophysiology and epidemiology of aging with HIV in resource-rich settings, and (b) describe how these relationships might differ in sub-Saharan Africa, (c) propose a conceptual framework to describe determinants of quality of life for older PLWH, and (d) suggest priority research areas needed to ensure long-term gains in quality of life for PLWH in the region. Conclusions: Differences in traditional, lifestyle, and envirnomental risk factors, as well as unique features of HIV epidemiology and care delivery appear to substantially alter the contribution of HIV to aging in sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile, unique preferences and conceptualizations of quality of life will require novel measurement and intervention tools. An expanded research and public health infrastructure is needed to ensure that gains made in HIV prevention and treamtent are translated into long-term benefits in this region.

scholarly journals A Strategy for Technology Development for Semi-Arid Sub-Saharan Africa

1998 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-161
Author(s):  
John H. Sanders ◽  
Barry I. Shapiro ◽  
Sunder Ramaswamy
Keyword(s):  
Development Strategy ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Organic Fertilizer ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Inorganic Fertilizers ◽  
Strategy Evaluation ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Semi Arid

This article proposes a strategy for agricultural technology development for semi-arid West Africa. The strategy evaluation consists of two aspects: a) a review of the successes in the region; and b) analysis with mathematical programming of the potential impacts and constraints to various new technologies tested in the region. The technology development strategy indicates how further productivity gains can be made by responding to the two principal constraints of water availability and soil fertility. These constraints must be simultaneously resolved but the strategy needs to be adapted for different soil characteristics and economic environments. The major emphasis is on the importance of the rapid introduction of inorganic fertilizers combined with techniques to increase water availability; organic and inorganic fertilizers need to be considered complements in the semi-arid regions. Farmers are already introducing labour intensive variations of these techniques in the most degraded regions. The policy concern is to encourage government policymakers to put a high priority on fertilizer and increase the availability of inorganic fertilizer while research efforts continue to develop improved methods for complementary use of organic fertilizer.

E-Government Strategies in Sub-Saharan Africa

2014 ◽  
pp. 297-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen M. Mutula ◽  
Gbolahan Olasina
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Project Delivery ◽  
Implementation Approach ◽  
Sub Saharan

E-government if well implemented has the potential to reduce administrative bureaucracy and enhance development and service delivery. This chapter discusses strategies of e-government implementation in Sub-Saharan Africa and the implications for good governance, democracy, respect for human rights, accountability, integrity, and transparency. E-government in Sub-Saharan Africa is being undertaken in different administrative contexts and rationalities such as the need for reform, efficiency, and citizen-focus. An e-government implementation approach that facilitates and engenders the sharing of best practices, experiences, methods, and standards while reducing turnaround times and cost in project delivery would be desirable. This chapter is underpinned by UN e-government framework.

Smart Cities in Sub-Saharan Africa

2019 ◽  
pp. 83-99
Author(s):  
Innocent Chirisa ◽  
Abraham Rajab Matamanda
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Scholarly Work ◽  
Critical Engagement ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Good Cause

The aim of this chapter is to interrogate and diagnose the concept of smart cities as it has been applied to Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in a bid to decrypt the opportunities and challenges characterizing its manifestation in space and actuality. The chapter is a product of the critical engagement of scholarly work that compares the best practices in the development and promotion of the smart city concept against those practices that are antithetical and retrogressive in light of this good cause. To crystallize the realities, the chapter makes use of case studies that speak to these contrasting experiences. Case studies in SSA reveal differential practices with South Africa emerging as a country doing very well relative to others in the region. Some cities, especially the small and intermediate ones, fail to break even in terms of the revenue collections. This is partly because they have failed to attract investment in the form of industries or retain them because of politically induced instabilities.

The Sociology of Global Health

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Harris ◽  
Alexandre White
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Health It ◽  
American Experience ◽  
The Social ◽  
Literature Reviews ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
New Research

Over the past two decades, a sociology of global health has emerged. While this new subfield takes up some themes and issues that are familiar to the discipline as a whole—among them organizations, social movements, and the social construction of illness—it has also posed new questions and opened new research pathways by formulating and testing theory in environments radically different from the United States. This work has forced sociologists to confront the ethnocentrism of research paradigms that are grounded in the American experience and to consider classical assumptions and constructs in fruitful new ways. Notable recent literature reviews have taken up the issue of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, comparative healthcare systems, and the sociology of development. However, this review is the first to outline the contours of a coherent sociology of global health. It addresses several questions: What issues are being taken up in this emergent subfield? What added value comes from turning scholarly attention beyond our borders? And what new research agendas lie on the horizon?

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