Public/community engagement in health research with men who have sex with men in sub-Saharan Africa: challenges and opportunities

In this paper I ask how the ongoing processes of urban and local government development in Sub-Saharan Africa can and should benefit the countries, and what conditions must be met to achieve this favourable outcome. The region faces close to a doubling of the urban population in fifteen years. This urban transition poses an opportunity as well as a management challenge. Urban areas represent underutilised resources that concentrate much of the countries' physical, financial, and intellectual capital. Therefore it is critical to understand how they can better serve the national growth and poverty reduction agendas. The paper challenges several common ‘myths’ that cloud discourse about urban development in Africa. I also take a hard look at what the urban transition can offer national development, and what support cities and local governments require to achieve these results. I argue that, rather than devoting more attention to debating the urban contribution to development in Africa, real energy needs to be spent unblocking it.

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Opportunities and Challenges in Realizing Universal Access to Obstetric Ultrasound in Sub-Saharan Africa

Ultrasound International Open ◽

10.1055/s-0043-103948 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 03 (02) ◽

pp. E52-E59 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Sikolia Wanyonyi ◽

Charles Mariara ◽

Sudhir Vinayak ◽

William Stones

Keyword(s):

Universal Access ◽

Perinatal Outcomes ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Future Research ◽

Obstetric Ultrasound ◽

Integral Component ◽

Challenges And Opportunities ◽

Potential Benefits ◽

The Subject ◽

Sub Saharan

AbstractThe potential benefits of obstetric ultrasound have yet to be fully realized in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), despite the region bearing the greatest burden of poor perinatal outcomes. We reviewed the literature for challenges and opportunities of universal access to obstetric ultrasound and explored what is needed to make such access an integral component of maternity care in order to address the massive burden of perinatal morbidity and mortality in SSA. Original peer-reviewed literature was searched in various electronic databases using a ‘realist’ approach. While the available data were inconclusive, they identify many opportunities for potential future research on the subject within the region that can help build a strong case to justify the provision of universal access to ultrasound as an integral component of comprehensive antenatal care.

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Continuing high levels of HIV diagnoses in men who have sex with men in the United Kingdom

Eurosurveillance ◽

10.2807/ese.13.14.08085-en ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 13 (14) ◽

pp. 3-4

Author(s):

B Rice ◽

A Nardone ◽

N Gill ◽

V Delpech

Keyword(s):

United Kingdom ◽

Confidence Intervals ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Newly Diagnosed ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Reporting Delays ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Sex With Men ◽

The Uk ◽

Almost All

The latest HIV data for 2007 has recently been published for the United Kingdom (UK). During the year, an estimated 6,840 (95% confidence intervals 6,600-7,050) persons (adjusted for reporting delays) were newly diagnosed with HIV in the UK. This represents a 12% decline from a peak of new HIV diagnoses reported in 2005 (7,800). Almost all this decline in new HIV diagnoses was in HIV-infected heterosexuals from sub-Saharan Africa who were probably infected in their country of origin.

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Mental health needs of transgender women, gay men, and other men who have sex with men across sub-Saharan Africa.

LGBTQ mental health: International perspectives and experiences. ◽

10.1037/0000159-011 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 153-166

Author(s):

Carolyn Brown ◽

Keletso Makofane ◽

Kevin Rebe ◽

L. Leigh Ann van der Merwe ◽

Bhekie Sithole ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Gay Men ◽

Transgender Women ◽

Health Needs ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Mental Health Needs ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Sex With Men

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How men who have sex with men experience HIV health services in Kampala, Uganda

BMJ Global Health ◽

10.1136/bmjgh-2019-001901 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. e001901

Author(s):

Rachel King ◽

Zubayiri Sebyala ◽

Moses Ogwal ◽

George Aluzimbi ◽

Rose Apondi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hiv Prevention ◽

Health Services ◽

Healthcare Access ◽

Healthcare Services ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Health Staff ◽

Structural Factors ◽

Structural Barriers ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Sex With Men

In sub-Saharan Africa, men who have sex with men (MSM) are socially, largely hidden and face disproportionate risk for HIV infection. Attention to HIV epidemics among MSM in Uganda and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa has been obscured by repressive governmental policies, criminalisation, stigma and the lack of basic epidemiological data describing these epidemics. In this paper, we aim to explore healthcare access, experiences with HIV prevention services and structural barriers to using healthcare services in order to inform the acceptability of a combination HIV prevention package of services for men who have sex with men in Uganda. We held focus group discussions (FGDs) with both MSM and healthcare providers in Kampala, Uganda, to explore access to services and to inform prevention and care. Participants were recruited through theoretical sampling with criteria based on ability to answer the research questions. Descriptive thematic coding was used to analyse the FGD data. We described MSM experiences, both negative and positive, as they engaged with health services. Our findings showed that socio-structural factors, mediated by psychological and relational factors impacted MSM engagement in care. The socio-structural factors such as stigma, homophobia and policy issues emerged strongly as did the mediating factors such as relations with specific health staff and a social support structure. A combination intervention addressing structural, social and psychological barriers could have an impact even in the precarious policy environment where this study was conducted.

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Increasing Rice Production in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Opportunities

Advances in Agronomy ◽

10.1016/s0065-2113(06)94002-4 ◽

2007 ◽

pp. 55-133 ◽

Cited By ~ 175

Author(s):

V. Balasubramanian ◽

M. Sie ◽

R.J. Hijmans ◽

K. Otsuka

Keyword(s):

Rice Production ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Challenges And Opportunities ◽

Sub Saharan

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Transforming African Education Systems in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Using ICTs: Challenges and Opportunities

Education Research International ◽

10.1155/2019/6946809 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 ◽

pp. 1-29 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Alcardo Alex Barakabitze ◽

Anangisye William-Andey Lazaro ◽

Neterindwa Ainea ◽

Michael Hamza Mkwizu ◽

Hellen Maziku ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Skills Training ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Education Systems ◽

Science Technology ◽

Challenges And Opportunities ◽

Living Labs ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

And Mathematics

This paper presents the role of ICTs in transforming Africa’s Education Systems (AES) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects/courses. The paper highlights on a positive shift across Africa in using ICT to improve the quality of teaching and learning through activities such as intensive ICT skills training to teachers, increase in ICT equipments and applications in schools, and emergence of living labs (LLs) and innovation spaces/centres (InnoSpace). We first provide some of the challenges of integrating ICTs in education followed by a description of key past and current ICT initiatives supporting the adoption of ICTs in schools using a number of case studies in sub-Saharan Africa. We further present various ICT-based models for education, as a transformational approach towards integrating ICTs in AES. Moreover, we provide various ICT platforms deployed for education service delivery in disadvantaged African society (e.g., rural areas) including LLs and InnoSpace across the continent. Finally, we highlight our main findings and observations in terms of opportunities and future ICT for education research directions in Africa. Our aim is to provide some guidelines and ensure that Africa uniformly meet the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number 4, which is to ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning, particularly using ICTs.

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Doing research with police elites in Ghana

Criminology & Criminal Justice ◽

10.1177/1748895818787022 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 19 (5) ◽

pp. 537-553 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Emmanuel Addo Sowatey ◽

Justice Tankebe

Keyword(s):

Social Networks ◽

Police Officers ◽

Cultural Practices ◽

Ethical Dilemmas ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Informal Social Networks ◽

Challenges And Opportunities ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Senior Officers

Much of our methodological insights from researching policing in sub-Saharan Africa comes from studies of frontline officers. Consequently, many important methodological questions about research on senior police officers remain unanswered. This article addresses this gap by drawing on insights from interviewing senior officers in Ghana. It focuses on the challenges and opportunities in negotiating access, establishing trust during interviews and dealing with ethical dilemmas. We highlight the role of informal social networks and cultural practices of surprise visits, what we have termed strategic ambush, in securing formal approval for our research. However, this represented mere or putative access for which deference towards institutional gatekeepers was key to its actualization. Deference towards officers and extensive knowledge of the policing environment helped to put the senior officers at ease, and enhanced the chances of a successful interview. Finally, we offer reflections on our responses to unexpected ethical dilemmas that we faced in the field.

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