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High recent PrEP adherence with point-of-care urine tenofovir testing and adherence counselling among young African women: results from the INSIGHT cohort
No full textAdolescent girls and young women (AGYW) account for two-thirds of new HIV infections in Africa. African AGYW have had high uptake of oral HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) but low adherence, which might be improved by point-of-care adherence monitoring with tailored counselling. From August 2022 to July 2023, we conducted a PrEP demonstration project with sexually active AGYW ages 16−30 years from 20 sites in South Africa, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia. Participants were offered oral tenofovir-based PrEP at enrolment and followed up at 1, 3 and 6 months. PrEP adherence was assessed by a point-of-care qualitative lateral flow urine tenofovir (TFV) assay indicating PrEP use in the prior 4 days, which accompanied real-time adherence counselling that incorporated urine TFV results when testing was available (70.8% of month 1, 35.3% of month 3 and 83.9% of month 6 visits). We estimated overall adherence, correcting for missing test results, and analysed the association of having received urine TFV results at month 1 or 3 with subsequent urine TFV test positivity, using modified Poisson regression.
South African National Survey of Research and Experimental Development: boosting R&D funding in South Africa in the context of reindustrialisation: a compendium of analytical briefs
Get PDFInnovation can exert a lasting influence on economic development, with R&D as a key innovation activity with
potentially disruptive effects. However, the specific aspect of R&D that enable such impact, and the mechanisms and circumstances under which it occurs, remain unclear. Give South Africa’s relatively low R&D performance and development the briefs explore those factors that could transform this situation. We utilise available data and draw from academic literature to provide insights and suggest a way forward.N/
Enabling digital largescale assessment and testing through the SA-SAMS integrated application: opportunities and challenges in a post-Covid-19 era
Get PDFPaper presented at the SALALS Annual Conference, University of Johannesburg, South Africa, 25-27 JuneN/
South African national survey of research and experimental development: not-for profits at a glance, 2022/2023. Fact sheet 64
No full textNon-for-profit organizations in South Africa do research and development that is essential to meeting the demands of civil society. This fact sheet shows the majority of not-for-profit R&D spending in 2022/23 went into social and community services, education, and health research. The factsheet also showed that foreign funding
accounted for approximately 66% of R&D expenditure in the sector in 2022/23. This highlights a significant risk to the sustainability of not-for-profit R&D activity in South Africa going forward.N/
A post-2024 general elections reflection: evaluating South Africans’ views on the prospects of implementing e-voting
Get PDFThe 2024 general election in South Africa was one of the most contested elections in the country’s history. Though the Electoral Commission was steadfast in support of its electoral systems, aggrieved parties disputed election results and questioned the efficacy and fairness of the Commission. Reports of malfunctioning voter management devices and voters’ roll issues exposed vulnerabilities in voting technology infrastructure. These issues call for the Electoral Commission to consider implementing more modern, secure and resilient electoral systems, such as electronic voting. This consideration of new technology falls in line with a global trend towards e-voting adoption, which has the potential to increase the efficiency of elections, simplify the voting process and nurture democracy if implemented successfully. Recent public opinion data indicates a positive view of the
potential for e-voting in South Africa, with the prevailing perspective that e-voting could make elections freer, fairer and more effective. This study mainly employ secondary data analysis of the Electoral Commission Voter Participation Survey (VPS) conducted from 2013 to 2023 to assess public preferences of e-voting and whether the South African government should consider implementing it. Additional data from the 2024 IEC e-voting
online survey are included to clarify South Africans’ perceptions of e-voting. With careful consideration of public attitudes towards electronic voting innovation in future elections, South Africa can strengthen its democratic process and serving as a model for free, fair and credible elections in the region and globally.
HE should birth ‘problem-solvers, innovators, entrpreneurs’
No full textUniversities in Africa should be prioritizing the production of skilled graduates rather than knowledge, which they can access through other means, says Ghanaian entrepreneur Fred Swaniker, who is the founder and chief executive of a network of higher education institutions called the African Leadership Group.N/
The consequences of the digital skills gap on youth entrepreneurs in South Africa and Zimbabwe
No full textThe global landscape is undergoing significant digital transformation-driven shifts that have resulted in new job opportunities but also new challenges for livelihoods. Among these, the digital skills gap, particularly acute in Africa, presents a formidable obstacle to economic growth and entrepreneurship. Existing research predominantly addresses this gap in broad macroeconomic terms, often overlooking the nuanced realities and variations within specific demographic groups. Through twenty qualitative interviews, this study fills that gap by focusing on youth entrepreneurs in South Africa and Zimbabwe a critical but underexplored demographic, examining their current digital competencies, the methods through which they acquire these skills, and the impact of the digital skills gap on their entrepreneurial ventures. Given their dual role as both employers and employees, their experiences offer crucial in- sights into the broader livelihood implications of the digital divide. The study finds that while some entrepreneurs make progress in bridging the digital skills gap through self-directed learning, the broader lag in adopting digital technologies and the uneven digital skills landscape remain significant obstacles to fully leveraging digital opportunities and scaling their business ventures.
Innovation measurement and transformative social change
No full textThis chapter traces trends in the field of innovation measurement as it adapts to changing conceptualizations of innovation and of conditions of countries in the global South. Using the example of the measurement of innovation in the informal sector in South Africa, the chapter reflects on how African researchers have taken on the challenge. It describes experimentation with novel participatory methodologies, grounded in the lived realities of social actors that have been traditionally marginalized from formal systems of innovation, from the formal economy, and from decision-making processes. The main contribution is to demonstrate the value and limitations of this approach for the field of innovation measurement for directing and assessing progress towards transformative social change.
HIV epidemiology in the tropics
No full textNotwithstanding, its cause, diagnosis, and treatment remained elusive compounded by the manifestation of signs and symptoms several years following infection together with multiple and varied co-morbidities. The knowledge gaps in terms of the causative agent, diagnostic tools, treatment options, inevitable fatality, and lack of political leadership generated uncertainty, fear, and stigma towards people with AIDS. People living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) were isolated, physically attacked, unfairly dismissed from their jobs, unlawfully evicted from their homes, and denied access to health services. The newly established gay rights movement particularly in industrialized countries campaigned for AIDS to be categorized as a human rights issue advocated for more investments in research and catalysed the discovery of the causative agent, diagnostic tests, and treatment strategies.
Addressing digital gaps in Africa to boost inclusive growth and economic convergence
No full textTransformative new technologies are reshaping economies and societies. But as they create new opportunities, they also pose new challenges, not least of which is rising inequality. Increased disparities and related anxieties are stoking societal discontent and political ferment. Harnessing technological transformation in ways that foster its benefits, contain risks, and build inclusive prosperity is a major public policy challenge of our time and one that motivates this book.