Challenges and Opportunities for Energy Transitions and Decarbonisation in Southern African Countries

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria R Nalule ◽  
Smith I Azubuike
Keyword(s):  
African Countries ◽  
Energy Transitions ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

Water and sanitation in Africa: current status, trends, challenges and opportunities

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Kararach ◽  
Tito Yepes
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Rural Poverty ◽  
Water Security ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Institution Building ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Hydrological Variability ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

Africa faces difficult water/sanitation legacies in the form of high hydrological variability and a multiplicity of transboundary river basins alongside poor sanitation. These challenges impeded the continent’s economic growth. Balanced investments in water resource and sanitation infrastructure and institutions are needed to increase productive uses of water, to mitigate the effect of recurrent floods and droughts, and to achieve basic water security as a platform for Africa’s economic growth. Priority should be given to investments that (a) focus on growth, (b) reduce rural poverty, (c) build climate resilience and adaptation, and (d) foster cooperation in international river basins. Because most African countries have low stocks of hydraulic infrastructure, emphasizing investments in infrastructure is appropriate for them. However, institution building and reform, improvements in water/sanitation management and operations, and strengthening of water information systems must complement growth in infrastructure. Development of institutions should be advanced in parallel with infrastructure investment.

scholarly journals What can the African diaspora contribute to innovation and knowledge creation? The case study of Zimbabwean innovators

2021 ◽  
Vol 9s1 ◽  
pp. 101-125
Author(s):  
Juliet Thondhlana ◽  
Roda Madziva ◽  
Evelyn Chiyevo Garwe
Keyword(s):  
Brain Drain ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Knowledge Creation ◽  
Highly Qualified ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Rich Countries ◽  
Innovation And Development

The importance of diaspora and transnational knowledge production, innovation, and development is of growing interest, particularly in the developing world. The phenomenal increase in high human capital migration from poor to rich countries has historically led to what is commonly known as brain drain, which has negatively impacted the capacity of such countries to innovate. Yet more recently the emergence of the phenomenon of transnationalism has demonstrated the potential to transform brain drain into brain circulation, for the mutual benefit of both sending and receiving contexts. This article uses the case of Zimbabwe to explore the role of diasporan professionals, scholars, and entrepreneurs in contributing to knowledge production, innovation, and development initiatives in their countries of origin. Zimbabwe is an example of many African countries that have experienced substantial attrition of highly qualified knowledge workers for various reasons. A qualitative approach, involving interviews and documentary evidence, enabled the researchers to engage with the Zimbabwean diaspora to capture their narratives regarding the challenges and opportunities, which were then used to develop successful transnational knowledge production initiatives.

Experiences and practices of caregiving for older persons living with dementia in African countries: A qualitative scoping review

Dementia ◽  
2022 ◽  
pp. 147130122110653
Author(s):  
Isaac A Adedeji ◽  
Adesola Ogunniyi ◽  
David C Henderson ◽  
Nadia A Sam-Agudu
Keyword(s):  
Scoping Review ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Rapid Review ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Diagnosis Of Dementia ◽  
Local Patterns ◽  
The Right

Background The increasing awareness and diagnosis of dementia in Africa necessitate documentation of caregiving practices to understand local patterns and improve the quality of care. Caregiving in African communities is rooted in informal-communal social organization. This scoping review analyses caregiver characteristics and experiences, and practices of caregiving for persons living with dementia in Africa. Methods A total of 152 references were retrieved, with 64 references obtained from PubMed, 85 from AJOL, and three from Scopus. Based on the relevance of titles, 83 references were further retained from PubMed (64), AJOL (16), and Scopus (3). A rapid review of abstracts was done in Distiller SR, and finally, six relevant articles were content-analyzed using Atlas ti 8.4 qualitative analysis software. Results All six included studies were published between 2003 and 2018. Four themes were identified: article characteristics, caregiver characteristics, caregiver in context, and caregiver potentialities (challenges and opportunities). Studies reported findings from research conducted in four African countries: three from Nigeria, and one each from South Africa, Egypt, and Tanzania. Caregivers of persons living with dementia typically had eight years or less of formal education, were unpaid, and spent a daily average of 13 hours in caregiving. Cultural thresholds and individual caregiver differences underlie the interpretation of stressors across cultures. Caregivers lack the right training and information as well as support systems to improve their role performance and reduce accumulated stress. Conclusion In African countries, informational and educational platforms are essential for improved individual dementia caregiving, vis-à-vis strengthened roles of governments, and religious/traditional leaders and organizations.

scholarly journals Progress in Harmonizing Tiered HIV Laboratory Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in 8 African Countries

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 467-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Williams ◽  
Farouk Umaru ◽  
Dianna Edgil ◽  
Joel Kuritsky
Keyword(s):  
African Countries ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

ICT Challenges and Opportunities for Institutionalizing Democracy in Ghana

2009 ◽  
pp. 115-133
Author(s):  
Joseph Ofori-Dankwa ◽  
Connie Ofori-Dankwa
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Free Market ◽  
African Continent ◽  
Market System ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Potential Problems ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Ict Revolution

Several African countries have begun to introduce and implement Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policies. In the context of such developing countries, it is important to assess the nature of research focus on the ongoing ICT revolution and its potential to stimulate institutionalization of democracy in Africa. This chapter reviews and integrates literature by scholars focusing on ICT in Africa in general and more specifically on Ghana. The authors incorporate several key points in their discussion. First, they provide a summary of ICT trends and policies in Ghana and their emphasis on helping to institutionalize democracy and its related free market system. Next, they provide a description of some of the major challenges to institutionalizing democracy that scholars writing about ICT in Ghana have identified. In addition, the authors discuss several opportunities for enhancing democracy that scholars writing about ICT in Ghana have highlighted. Finally, they make a few general recommendations for mitigating the potential problems and enhancing the opportunities of the ICT revolution for Ghana as well as the entire African continent.

scholarly journals Preparedness and Response Efforts to Fight against COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Opportunities

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
World Health ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Laboratory Facility ◽  
The World ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Health Organization

In late December the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 as global pandemic and needs international concern. As the novel corona virus rages through the world and spreads rapidly Africa is the least-affected continent at the moment. Sub-Saharan Africa is the home of more than one billion populations with fragile health system which is prone for the epidemic to occur. But Ebola experience left many African countries better prepared. We were searching all sources of the website related to preparation and prevention of COVID-19 in sub-Sahara Africa countries. Most African countries have established laboratory facility and implement the recommendations that terminate the outbreak COVID-19.

Echoes down the corridor. Experiences and perspectives of library and information science education (LISE) during COVID-19 through an African lens

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis N. Ocholla
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Disaster Management ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Future ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
New Research

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in enormous challenges, but also presented opportunities that have notable implications for the future. The aim of this paper is to explore and discuss the experiences, perspectives, challenges and opportunities of Library and Information Science Educators (LISE) during the pandemic. The aim is articulated in the following three research questions: How is the COVID-19 pandemic experienced by LISE and in research? What are the perceptions formed during the period? And what are the challenges and opportunities?Design/methodology/approachThis is an interpretivist qualitative study informed by disaster management theories. The study involved the content analysis of existing literature with a focus on COVID-19 and higher education, particularly LISE, in conjunction with an open-ended email questionnaire that was sent to selected LIS educators/faculty/staff from major LIS Schools from eight sub-Saharan African countries. The author used personal experiences and observation to supplement the data and the interpretation.FindingsResults show more similarities than differences in how the COVID-19 pandemic is experienced and perceived, as well as the challenges and opportunities that it brings to the sector. As a whole, political factors are most pronounced, meaning that administration and decision-making need more attention in the sector. Also notable is that opportunities are mostly linked to technological factors, which will determine the “new normal” for LISE in the future. Almost all the narratives focused on the middle level of (during) the disaster life cycle, which is understandable as the complete cycle of the disaster is yet to come, likely when COVID-19 ceases to be a threat.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample was small, as related studies focus more on COVID-19 and higher education, with hardly any focusing on LISE. The COVID-19 pandemic has not ended, so the disaster management life cycle cannot be fully exploited. Furthermore, the author’s categorization of responses within PEST was largely judgmental.Practical implicationsNew research, teaching and learning developmental paths have been created for LISE. The study provides practical reflection on the effects of COVID-19 on the sector and HEIs that can inform discourse and responses to the pandemic.Originality/valueThe study explores a new research domain in LISE and due to limited research in the domain brings together important voices/narratives – based on their experiences – of LIS educators in Africa on the research area. Further, it proposes the future of LISE under COVID-19 within the 4IR framework.

scholarly journals Bringing Pankaj Ghemawat to Africa: Measuring African economic integration

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-102
Author(s):  
Adrian David Saville ◽  
Lyall White
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
East Africa ◽  
Economic Integration ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Survey Period ◽  
Human Welfare ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
The World ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

A wealth of literature dealing with trade liberalisation, capital market liberalisation, labour mobility and related issues concerning globalisation asserts that economies that are more integrated with the global economy and, more specifically with their neighbours, tend to enjoy higher sustained levels of growth. Empirical evidence with solid quantitative findings recently conducted by Pankaj Ghemawat has confirmed that more ‘open and connected’ economies display higher rates of economic growth, higher per capita income levels and greater levels of human welfare. Against this backdrop, it is notable that the available evidence – whilst incomplete – suggests that African economies are amongst the least integrated in the world. Given that integration and connectedness matter, and that there are material gaps in the evaluation of integration for African economies, it is important to develop better measures of African economies’ connectedness with their neighbours and with the world, how this connectedness is evolving and establish more comprehensive and robust means of economic integration compared to those historically available. Using Ghemawat’s framework, which measures flows of trade, capital, information and people (TCIP) to determine connectedness, we develop the Visa Africa integration index to provide a more comprehensive and detailed gauge of economic integration for 11 African countries in three clusters: East Africa, West Africa and Southern Africa. The index results suggest that African economies are emerging off a modest base, with some economies demonstrating progressive structural improvements toward higher levels of integration with their respective regions and the world. East Africa, in particular, shows signs of rising connectedness over the survey period. The index also illustrates that some countries are more integrated globally than regionally and vice versa, which is important information for policy makers toward improving deeper and broader integration in their respective regions. The index builds on previous research in the broad area of integration and helps us better understand the challenges and opportunities presented by Africa’s economic changes and some of the implications for economic growth.

scholarly journals Mental health policy and system preparedness to respond to COVID-19 and other health emergencies: a case study of four African countries

2021 ◽  
pp. 008124632110121
Author(s):  
Tholene Sodi ◽  
Mahlatse Modipane ◽  
Kwaku Oppong Asante ◽  
Emmanuel Nii-Boye Quarshie ◽  
Stephen Asatsa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Policy ◽  
Psychosocial Problems ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Colonial History ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Mental Health Policies

As a result of a long colonial history and subsequent developmental and economic challenges, many African countries have struggled to put in place adequate policies, systems, and associated infrastructures to address the health and social needs of their citizens. With the COVID-19 pandemic threatening human lives and livelihoods, concerns are raised about the preparedness and readiness of health policies and systems in African countries to deal with these kinds of health calamities. More particularly, questions can be asked about the preparedness or even existence of mental health policies and associated systems to help individuals and communities in Africa to deal with the consequences of COVID-19 and other health emergencies. In this article, we analyse the existing mental health policies of four African countries paying attention to the capacity of these legislative provisions to enable psychology professionals to deal with psychosocial problems brought about by COVID-19. We use Walt and Gilson’s Policy Triangle Framework to frame our analysis of the existing mental health policies. In line with this conceptual framework, we review the role played by the different factors in shaping and influencing these mental health policies. We further explore the challenges and opportunities associated with existing legislation and mental health policies. We also reflect on the reports obtained from each of the four countries about the role that psychologists are playing to deal with the associated psychosocial problems. Based on our policy analysis and country reports, we highlight strengths and gaps in these policies and give recommendations on how mental health policies in these countries can be strengthened to respond to COVID-19 and future health emergencies.

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