scholarly journals Critical Factors in Containing COVID-19: Lessons from Selected Countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. p94
Author(s):  
Amb. Dr. John O. Kakonge
Keyword(s):  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Strong Sense ◽  
Critical Factors ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Five Factors ◽  
The World ◽  
Firm Commitment

The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has affected over 190 countries. In responding to the pandemic, countries around the world have developed their own containment strategies, with varying degrees of success: some have achieved nearly total success in containing the disease, while others have seen a constant rise in infections and deaths. The successful countries have evidenced common responses and strategies, linked in large part to a firm commitment by their leaders to confront the pandemic matched by a strong sense of social cohesion by the countries’ citizens. This paper explores five factors that have been critical to the progress achieved in containing the coronavirus in a few selected countries and their lessons for Kenya and other African countries.

Exploring the World Trade Organisation's Trade and Environment/Public Health Jurisprudence as a Model for Incorporating a Trade–Labour Linkage into the Organisation's Multilateral Trade Regime: Should African Countries Accept a Policy Shift?

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-65
Author(s):  
Tapiwa V. Warikandwa ◽  
Patrick C. Osode
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
World Trade ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Trade Regime ◽  
Multilateral Trade ◽  
Appellate Body ◽  
The World ◽  
Labour Standards ◽  
The Impact

The incorporation of a trade-labour (standards) linkage into the multilateral trade regime of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been persistently opposed by developing countries, including those in Africa, on the grounds that it has the potential to weaken their competitive advantage. For that reason, low levels of compliance with core labour standards have been viewed as acceptable by African countries. However, with the impact of WTO agreements growing increasingly broader and deeper for the weaker and vulnerable economies of developing countries, the jurisprudence developed by the WTO Panels and Appellate Body regarding a trade-environment/public health linkage has the potential to address the concerns of developing countries regarding the potential negative effects of a trade-labour linkage. This article argues that the pertinent WTO Panel and Appellate Body decisions could advance the prospects of establishing a linkage of global trade participation to labour standards without any harm befalling developing countries.

Considering Territorial Agendas of the EU in context of Rising of Territorial Dimension of Cohesion Policy

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 244-257
Author(s):  
İclal Kaya Altay ◽  
◽  
Shqiprim Ahmeti ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
The Other ◽  
Lisbon Strategy ◽  
Cohesion Policy ◽  
Setting Process ◽  
The World ◽  
Territorial Cohesion ◽  
Descriptive Language ◽  
The Eu

The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe ads territorial cohesion as Union’s third goal, beside economic and social cohesion and lists it as a shared competence. In the other hand, the Lisbon Strategy aims to turn Europe into the most competitive area of sustainable growth in the world and it is considered that the Territorial cohesion policy should contribute to it. This paper is structured by a descriptive language while deduction method is used. It refers to official documents, strategies, agendas and reports, as well as books, articles and assessments related to topic. This paper covers all of two Territorial Agendas as well as the background of territorial cohesion thinking and setting process of territorial cohesion policy.

The Use of Social Media by the Botswana Government and Governance of Liquid Communication

Mousaion ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tshepho Lydia Mosweu
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Community Involvement ◽  
Media Content ◽  
Service Access ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government ◽  
Use Of Social Media

Social media as a communication tool has enabled governments around the world to interact with citizens for customer service, access to information and to direct community involvement needs. The trends around the world show recognition by governments that social media content may constitute records and should be managed accordingly. The literature shows that governments and organisations in other countries, particularly in Europe, have social media policies and strategies to guide the management of social media content, but there is less evidence among African countries. Thus the purpose of this paper is to examine the extent of usage of social media by the Botswana government in order to determine the necessity for the governance of liquid communication. Liquid communication here refers to the type of communication that goes easily back and forth between participants involved through social media. The ARMA principle of availability requires that where there is information governance, an organisation shall maintain its information assets in a manner that ensures their timely, efficient and accurate retrieval. The study adopted a qualitative case study approach where data were collected through documentary reviews and interviews among purposively selected employees of the Botswana government. This study revealed that the Botswana government has been actively using social media platforms to interact with its citizens since 2011 for increased access, usage and awareness of services offered by the government. Nonetheless, the study revealed that the government had no official documentation on the use of social media, and policies and strategies that dealt with the governance of liquid communication. This study recommends the governance of liquid communication to ensure timely, efficient and accurate retrieval when needed for business purposes.

Examining the Kinships System of the Bodo

Think India ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 186-192
Author(s):  
Dr. Oinam Ranjit Singh ◽  
Dr. Nushar Bargayary
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Social Relationship ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Eastern Region ◽  
The North ◽  
Kinship System ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
The World ◽  
The Relationship

The Bodo of the North Eastern region of India have their own kinship system to maintain social relationship since ancient periods. Kinship is the expression of social relationship. Kinship may be defined as connection or relationships between persons based on marriage or blood. In each and every society of the world, social relationship is considered to be the more important than the biological bond. The relationship is not socially recognized, it fall outside the realm of kinship. Since kinship is considered as universal, it plays a vital role in the socialization of individuals and the maintenance of social cohesion of the group. Thus, kinship is considered to be the study of the sum total of these relations. The kinship of the Bodo is bilateral. The kin related through the father is known as Bahagi in Bodo whereas the kin to the mother is called Kurma. The nature of social relationships, the kinship terms, kinship behaviours and prescriptive and proscriptive rules are the important themes of the present study.

Crowdsourcing Covid-19 signals in sub-Saharan Africa: Leveraging digital contributor networks for participatory surveillance of Covid-19 symptoms and deaths (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ngozi A Erondu ◽  
Sagal A Ali ◽  
Mohamed Ali ◽  
Schadrac C Agbla
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Local Networks ◽  
The World ◽  
Sub Saharan

BACKGROUND In sub-Saharan Africa, underreporting of cases and deaths has been attributed to various factors including, weak disease surveillance, low health-seeking behaviour of flu like symptoms, and stigma of Covid-19. There is evidence that SARS-CoV-2 spread mimics transmission patterns of other countries across the world. Since the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way research can be conducted and in light of restrictions on travel and risks to in-person data collection, innovative approaches to collecting data must be considered. Nearly 50% of Africa’s population is a unique mobile subscriber and it is one of the fastest growing smart-phone marketplaces in the world; hence, mobile phone platforms should be considered to monitor Covid-19 trends in the community. OBJECTIVE We demonstrate the use of digital contributor platforms to survey individuals about cases of flu-like symptoms and instances of unexplained deaths in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia, and Zimbabwe. METHODS Rapid cross-sectional survey of individuals with severe flu and pneumonia symptoms and unexplained deaths in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia and Zimbabwe RESULTS Using a non-health specific information platform, we found COVID-19 signals in five African countries, specifically: •Across countries, nearly half of the respondents (n=739) knew someone who had severe flu or pneumonia symptoms in recent months. •One in three respondents from Somalia and one in five from Zimbabwe respondents said they knew more than five people recently displaying flu and/or pneumonia symptoms. •In Somalia there were signals that a large number of people might be dying outside of health facilities, specifically in their homes or in IDP or refugee camps. CONCLUSIONS Existing digital contributor platforms with local networks are a non-traditional data source that can provide information from the community to supplement traditional government surveillance systems and academic surveys. We demonstrate that using these distributor networks to for community surveys can provide periodic information on rumours but could also be used to capture local sentiment to inform public health decision-making; for example, these insights could be useful to inform strategies to increase confidence in Covid19 vaccine. As Covid-19 continues to spread somewhat silently across sub-Saharan Africa, regional and national public health entities should consider expanding event-based surveillance sources to include these systems.

scholarly journals Trapped Between Two Pandemics: Domestic Violence Cases Under COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: A Scoping Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 0272684X2110221
Author(s):  
Endurance Uzobo ◽  
Aboluwaji D Ayinmoro
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Literature Search ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Biomed Central ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government

Background As it is common with the most devastating events in the world, women always seem to be at the most disadvantage position. This situation manifested during the period of COVID-19 lockdown throughout the world and Africa in particular. The purpose of this study is to explore Domestic Violence (DV) cases in African during the COVID-19 lockdown. Methods Data for this study were gleaned from an electronic literature search using various databases PubMed and BioMed Central, Web of Science, etc. Key search words were gender DV during and after COVID-19. A total of 68 records were identified during the search. However, only 46 of these sources met the inclusion criteria. Results From the review done in selected African countries which include Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Zimbabwe; it was discovered that COVID-19 lockdown across these countries worsens the already existing cases of DV. The study also noted that generally, the response of the government has been very poor in terms of dealing with DV cases in the period of COVID-19 lockdown. Conclusion The study concluded that despite the failures of government in tackling the DV pandemics, NGOs have been very active in championing the cause of those violated while also trying to provide succour to victims. Thus, the study recommended that countries in Africa need to join international initiatives in prioritising DV cases while trying to deal with the virus itself. Thus, one disease should not be traded for another.

Power Lies in the Barrel of a Gun: Diplomacy Without Strategic Military Capability Is Futile

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 77-99
Author(s):  
Moorosi Leshoele
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
United Nations Security Council ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Military Capability ◽  
Black Africa ◽  
Mineral Wealth ◽  
The World ◽  
Long Time ◽  
History Of ◽  
Pipe Dream

Abstract The United States of America invests heavily on their military capability and it is estimated that it spends, alone, approximately 40 per cent of what the whole world spends on military. Four of the other super powers that make up the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UN-SC) also spend a significant percentage of their national budgets on military. Chinweizu has for a long time argued that Africa needs a well-resourced African Standby Force (or the Black Africa League) that will protect the interests of the continent so as to prevent the history of Africans enslavement and colonialism repeating itself. This article seeks to analyse Africa’s investment on its military defense capability vis-à-vis the five permanent members of the UN-SC and North Korea, by critiquing two case studies of two of the continent’s economic giants – South Africa and Egypt. Realist and Sankofa perspectives are used as the prisms through which the article was researched. In line with Chinweizu’s observation, the article argues that without serious political will and dedication to building Africa’s nuclear weapons capability and ensuring that Africa is economically self-reliant, diplomatic engagements with the rest of the world as (un)equal partners will remain a pipe dream and the looting of Africa’s mineral wealth will continue unabated. It is clear that given the reality of the African Holocust if African countries fail to collectively defend themselves, Africa will continue to be a political football for the rest of the world.

From Institutional Racism to Community Cohesion: The Changing Nature of Racial Discourse in Britain

2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 78-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Pilkington
Keyword(s):  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Institutional Racism ◽  
British Society ◽  
Racial Discourse ◽  
Community Cohesion ◽  
Nationalist Discourse ◽  
The World ◽  
First Time ◽  
Official Recognition ◽  
Equality And Diversity

It is imperative that an appropriate balance is reached between three key principles: equality, diversity and social cohesion. In many countries across the world, however, there is a discernible move away from a concern for equality and diversity as the problem of order looms larger. I shall focus here on Britain in presenting my central thesis that there is a very real danger that a new nationalist discourse centred on community cohesion and integration is trouncing any duties on us to promote racial equality and respect cultural diversity. The paper comprises three sections. I shall firstly identify a radical hour when there was for the first time official recognition that institutional racism existed in British society and some urgency that this needed to be combated. I shall secondly highlight the fragility of such progressiveness and identify threats from the changing nature of racial discourse since 2001. Here, I shall highlight in particular how the prominence given to institutional racism, with the publication of the Macpherson report, was remarkably short lived and how multiculturalism has come under increasing attack, not least because of its purported threat to social cohesion. I shall finally offer some tentative proposals for a more positive way forward.

scholarly journals Performance analysis of both sex marathon runners ranked by IAAF

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-189
Author(s):  
Anselmo José Perez ◽  
Adilson Marques ◽  
Kamilla Bolonha Gomes
Keyword(s):  
Performance Analysis ◽  
Black Community ◽  
International Association ◽  
Lower Percentage ◽  
Economic Independence ◽  
World Record ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Marathon Runners ◽  
The World ◽  
World Records

Running a marathon has become the motivation to achieve success and economic independence for athletes, mainly from African countries. This feeling is more evident among the black community, considering that they have been presenting better results than white athletes. The objective of the study was to analyse the ranking of marathon runners around the world, in the last 15 years considering: 1) nationality; 2) best average time of the 100 best classified runners from the Top 100, Top 50, Top 25, Top 10 and Top 3. An analysis was made to the ranking available on the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) website, for the 100 best world results for both sexes, focusing on records from 2000 to 2014. The analysis was subdivided into ranking groups (Top 3, 10, 25, 50 and 100), resulting in 3000 records. African runners, Kenyan and Ethiopian, dominate the male ranking representing 70% of the total of runners in Top 100, keeping this proportion up to Top 3. African runners, Kenyan and Ethiopian, dominate the male ranking representing 70% of the total of runners in Top 100, keeping this proportion up to Top 3. The same is observed for females, however with a significantly lower percentage (34%), with Japanese, Ethiopian and Kenyan (17%) and an English athlete as the world record. The average time of a marathon has been decreasing in males more than in female competitions, both in Top 3 and Top 10, however still presenting a large gap from world records. 

scholarly journals Staffing System Management: Evidences from Singapore

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 136
Author(s):  
Mussie T. Tessema ◽  
Kubilay Gok ◽  
Alex Ngoma ◽  
Mengsteab Tesfayohannes ◽  
Gerry V. Fernando
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Research Direction ◽  
Future Research ◽  
System Management ◽  
Critical Factors ◽  
Organization Level ◽  
The World ◽  
Practical Implications

This paper uses Singapore as a case study to illustrate how staffing policies and practices affect the quality of the workforce which ultimately influence performance at employee and organization level. It reveals that Singapore public service has been able to put in place most of the ‘critical factors’ for an effective staffing system management. The presence of those critical factors have played an important role in making Singapore to be one of the most effective public services in the world. Finally, it forwards theoretical and practical implications of the study and future research direction.

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