Potential of Photovoltaic Systems for Social and Economic Empowerment in Peri-Urban and Rural Areas in South Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 209-220
Author(s):  
Bertine Stelzer ◽  
Nina Braun ◽  
Wolfgang Hofstaetter
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Economic Empowerment ◽  
Photovoltaic Systems ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

scholarly journals Mortality in children aged <5 years with severe acute respiratory illness in a high HIV-prevalence urban and rural areas of South Africa, 2009–2013

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0255941
Author(s):  
Oluwatosin A. Ayeni ◽  
Sibongile Walaza ◽  
Stefano Tempia ◽  
Michelle Groome ◽  
Kathleen Kahn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Hiv Infection ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Case Fatality ◽  
Respiratory Illness ◽  
Rural Hospitals ◽  
Hospital Death ◽  
Urban Hospital ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas ◽  
Severe Acute Respiratory Illness

Background Severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) is an important cause of mortality in young children, especially in children living with HIV infection. Disparities in SARI death in children aged <5 years exist in urban and rural areas. Objective To compare the factors associated with in-hospital death among children aged <5 years hospitalized with SARI in an urban vs. a rural setting in South Africa from 2009–2013. Methods Data were collected from hospitalized children with SARI in one urban and two rural sentinel surveillance hospitals. Nasopharyngeal aspirates were tested for ten respiratory viruses and blood for pneumococcal DNA using polymerase chain reaction. We used multivariable logistic regression to identify patient and clinical characteristics associated with in-hospital death. Results From 2009 through 2013, 5,297 children aged <5 years with SARI-associated hospital admission were enrolled; 3,811 (72%) in the urban and 1,486 (28%) in the rural hospitals. In-hospital case-fatality proportion (CFP) was higher in the rural hospitals (6.9%) than the urban hospital (1.3%, p<0.001), and among HIV-infected than the HIV-uninfected children (9.6% vs. 1.6%, p<0.001). In the urban hospital, HIV infection (odds ratio (OR):11.4, 95% confidence interval (CI):5.4–24.1) and presence of any other underlying illness (OR: 3.0, 95% CI: 1.0–9.2) were the only factors independently associated with death. In the rural hospitals, HIV infection (OR: 4.1, 95% CI: 2.3–7.1) and age <1 year (OR: 3.7, 95% CI: 1.9–7.2) were independently associated with death, whereas duration of hospitalization ≥5 days (OR: 0.5, 95% CI: 0.3–0.8) and any respiratory virus detection (OR: 0.4, 95% CI: 0.3–0.8) were negatively associated with death. Conclusion We found that the case-fatality proportion was substantially higher among children admitted to rural hospitals and HIV infected children with SARI in South Africa. While efforts to prevent and treat HIV infections in children may reduce SARI deaths, further efforts to address health care inequality in rural populations are needed.

Who gets the disability grant in South Africa? An analysis of the characteristics of recipients in urban and rural areas

2008 ◽  
Vol 30 (15) ◽  
pp. 1139-1145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Jelsma ◽  
Soraya Maart ◽  
Arne Eide ◽  
Mzolisi Toni ◽  
Mitch Loeb
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Disability Grant ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

scholarly journals Eastern Cape teachers’ beliefs of the nature of mathematics: Implications for the introduction of in-service mathematical literacy programmes for teachers

Pythagoras ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 0 (60) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyn Webb ◽  
Paul Webb
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Mathematical Literacy ◽  
Literacy Curriculum ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Nature Of Mathematics ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

Various studies have shown that what teachers consider to be optimal ways of teaching mathematics is influenced by their beliefs about the nature of mathematics, and that it is advantageous to determine teachers’ conceptions of the nature of mathematics before developing curriculum interventions. With the imminent introduction of Mathematical Literacy in the FET phase in South Africa this study provides a snapshot of beliefs of teachers in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Various methods were employed to stimulate teachers to both reflect on their beliefs and to make them explicit. A questionnaire was administered to 339 in-service teachers in urban and rural areas of the Eastern Cape. A sample of ninety-five of these teachers completed a second questionnaire based on videotapes of lessons recorded during the TIMSS (1995) study that they had viewed. These teachers also ranked their own teaching on a continuum ranging from traditional to constructivist approaches and provided explanations for their ranking. A further sub-sample of thirty-six teachers participated in individual interviews, which explored their perceptions of the nature of mathematics and their own teaching practice. In order to investigate whether these beliefs were mirrored in practice, four teachers were observed and videotaped in their classrooms. The data generated by this study suggest that the participating teachers’ espoused beliefs of the nature of mathematics tended to be innovative, and correlated with innovative views of teaching and learning; however these views were often not reflected in their practice. The implications that the apparent inability of teachers to translate their beliefs into practice have for the introduction of a contextual, problem-based Mathematical Literacy curriculum for teachers is explored.

Availability of Condoms in Urban and Rural Areas of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

2000 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 353-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Gilmour ◽  
Salim S. Abdool Karim ◽  
Helena J. Fourie
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

scholarly journals Local Authority Responses to Climate Change in South Africa: The Challenges of Transboundary Governance

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 2542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayley Leck ◽  
David Simon
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Local Authority ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
City Council ◽  
City Region ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

Recent progress and innovation are testament to the willingness of municipal authorities to address climate change. However, urban regions worldwide exhibit an immense diversity of conditions, capabilities and responses to the challenges of changing climatic conditions. While separated by politico-administrative borders, adjacent municipalities within such regions are connected through biophysical, politico-economic, and social systems likely to be reconfigured under changing climatic/environmental conditions. Yet, to date, politico-administrative borders have largely determined the parameters of local government climate change adaptation strategies, with insufficient attention to the role of inter-municipal collaboration, especially between neighbouring rural, peri-urban and urban municipalities, for co-ordinating such policies and interventions. Within a multi-level governance framework, this paper considers the recent evolution of climate agendas in the eThekwini (formerly Durban City Council) metropolitan municipality and the adjacent Ugu (predominantly rural) district municipality on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal province (KZN), South Africa, focusing particularly on cross-border collaboration within the greater city region. The challenges were investigated by means of 53 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with municipal, regional and local authority association staff in November 2009, March 2012, and August 2017. Our core argument is that weak inter-municipal collaboration, particularly between urban, peri-urban and rural areas within metropolitan and functional city regions, has been a significant impediment to realizing transformative adaptation within such regions. The experiences of these two contiguous yet contrasting municipalities represent a microcosm of the dramatic discontinuities and inequalities on all variables within adjacent urban metropolitan and rural contexts in South Africa and beyond. Despite promising recent signs, the challenges of inter-municipal collaborative action are therefore formidable.

scholarly journals The experience of living with stroke in low urban and rural socioeconomic areas of South Africa

2012 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Maleka ◽  
A.S. Stewart ◽  
L Hale
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Role Reversal ◽  
Home Language ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Low Socioeconomic ◽  
The Family ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

The effects of stroke on stroke survivors are profound and affecttheir quality of life. The aim of this study was to establish the experience of peopleliving with stroke in low socioeconomic urban and rural areas of South Africa.A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was used to collect data.Participants were identified from stroke registers and recruited from PHC clinicsin Soweto, Gauteng and Limpopo provinces. Participants had to have had a stroke,be above the age of 18 and had lived in the community six months to a year followingtheir stroke. The researcher or research assistant conducted the interviews ofparticipants who had had strokes as well as their caregivers in the home language of the participants. The interviewswere audio taped, transcribed and translated into English. A thematic content analysis was done.Thirty two participants were interviewed, 13 from Soweto, Gauteng, and 19 from rural Limpopo provinces. Theresults suggest that the sudden, overwhelming transformation as a result of a stroke forms a background for loss ofcommunity mobility, social isolation, role reversal within the family and community, loss of role within the family andcommunity, loss of meaningful activities of daily living, loss of hope and threat to livelihood amongst stroke survivorsliving in low socioeconomic areas of South Africa.An overwhelming picture of despondency was found, with few positive stories told in both settings. The themesidentified from the interviews reflected the experience and issues that a patient with stroke has to deal with in lowsocioeconomic areas of South Africa.

scholarly journals Economic empowerment and intimate partner violence: a secondary data analysis of the cross-sectional Demographic Health Surveys in Sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Stöckl ◽  
Anushé Hassan ◽  
Meghna Ranganathan ◽  
Abigail M. Hatcher
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Household Wealth ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Economic Empowerment ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Education And Employment ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

Abstract Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been recognized as a defining human rights, development and public health issue of our time. Economic empowerment is one of the most promising interventions to reduce IPV in sub-Saharan Africa, yet the evidence around economic factors that are key to ensure a reduction in IPV are still mixed. Furthermore, there is a lack of clarity on what kinds of economic empowerment works for which population group. This paper seeks a more nuanced understanding, by investigating whether the associations between indicators of economic empowerment and physical and/or sexual IPV are similar between the general population of women and among urban versus rural and young, or middle aged women versus older women. Methods Using couples data from 25 DHS surveys across 15 countries (n = 70,993 women and men aged 15 and above at time of survey), we analyse how household wealth, men’s and women’s education and employment status, decision making on women’s income, differences in education and employment of women and their partners and women’s cash income are associated with physical and/or sexual IPV. We also provide sub-analyses for both urban and rural areas and for women aged, 15 to 24 25 to 34 and 35 to 49. Results Across all surveys, 20% of women reported physical and/or sexual IPV in the last 12 months. On the one hand, our findings reinforced certain well-established patterns between women’s economic empowerment and IPV, with women’s and men’s higher levels of education and increased household wealth  associated with a decrease in IPV, and women’s employment, especially if only the woman worked, and women earning more than her partner associated with an increase in IPV. Most patterns did not differ across urban and rural settings and age groups, but notable differences emerged regarding household wealth, women’s and men’s employment in the last 12 months and relative employment and education. Conclusions Factors relating to women’s economic empowerment are  vital in understanding and addressing IPV. Our analysis indicate however that future interventions need to consider the differing needs of urban and rural areas as well as be targeted to different age groups.

scholarly journals Indigenous Knowledge and Acceptability of Treated Effluent in Agriculture

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 9304
Author(s):  
Andrew Emmanuel Okem ◽  
Alfred Oduor Odindo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Human Excreta ◽  
Treated Effluent ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

The twin challenges of lack of access to improved sanitation and food insecurity remain critical, particularly in the global south. With cognizance of the nutrient potential of human excreta, there has been increasing interest in linking sanitation innovations with agriculture by using nutrients recovered from human excreta for crop production, thus, closing the nutrient loop. While studies and field trials have explored and validated the technical feasibility of reusing nutrients recovered from human excreta in agriculture, there is still limited knowledge of its social acceptability. This study examined whether indigenous knowledge can be leveraged to increase the acceptability of human-excreta-derived plant nutrient sources such as treated effluent in agriculture. A qualitative research design comprising seven focus group interviews (five in rural areas and two in peri-urban areas) was conducted in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Findings from the focus groups reveal a willingness to grow and consume food using treated effluent. Additionally, participants made references to indigenous practices that encourage recycling and reuse of human excreta. Given the potential to simultaneously address issues of food insecurity and sanitation that characterize many peri-urban and rural areas in South Africa, we recommend further studies in this area.

Troubled Custom, Custom Troubles : Initiation Challenges in the Province of the Eastern Cape, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 193-210
Author(s):  
Xolisile G. Ngumbela ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Young Men ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Face ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas ◽  
Policies And Practices

The purpose of this article was to explore challenges facing the age-old custom of circumcision in the Eastern Cape. The paper looked into the catastrophic deaths and identify key strengths and weaknesses in the age-old custom. A qualitative approach was employed through the face-to-face interview of 10 initiated young men drawn from both urban and rural areas of the Province. The findings suggest that influences of modern male masculinity and other international actions in determining what is needed for initiation policies and practices for the Province are taken into account, along with the relevant findings from the interview component of the field research. This study concluded with a call for more research with a range of other factors to better understand how safe circumcision can be promoted in the Eastern Cape. This paper strongly suggests that initiation, as a societal matter, be treated as a matter of urgency.

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