255 research outputs found
What is Ailing Africa? Practical Philosophy in Reinventing Africa, by Stephen Onyango Ouma
No full textStephen Onyango Ouma, the author of this book, aims to explore and critique the impact of colonialism and neo-colonialism on Africa while offering practical philosophy to rebuild the continent’s identity and ethics. To achieve this, he employs a multidisciplinary methodology, including critical analysis, social construction and practical philosophy. The results of his analysis are presented in five sections
What is Ailing Africa? Practical Philosophy in Reinventing Africa, by Stephen Onyango Ouma
No full textStephen Onyango Ouma, the author of this book, aims to explore and critique the impact of colonialism and neo-colonialism on Africa while offering practical philosophy to rebuild the continent’s identity and ethics. To achieve this, he employs a multidisciplinary methodology, including critical analysis, social construction and practical philosophy. The results of his analysis are presented in five sections
Client-perpetrated gender-based violence among female sex workers in conflict-affected northern Uganda: a cross-sectional study
No full textStudy objective: To determine the prevalence and associated factors of client-perpetrated gender-based violence among female sex workers in conflict-affected Northern Uganda.
Design and settings: We conducted a cross-sectional study among female sex workers in Gulu district in conflict-affected Northern Uganda.
Participants: The study participants included 300 female sex workers aged 18+ years. The participants were selected using simple random sampling from a database of female sex workers maintained at a national non-governmental organisation in Gulu.
Outcome: measure The outcome measure was self-reported exposure to client-perpetrated gender-based violence.
Methods: We used a pretested semistructured questionnaire to collect data on sociodemographic characteristics, sex work-related characteristics, alcohol use, illicit drug use, HIV status and self-reported exposure to client-perpetrated gender-based violence. Then, data were entered into Epi Info V.7 and analysed using Stata V.14.0.
Results: Among participants, 61.0% reported client-perpetrated gender-based violence. Economic (58.7%) and emotional (52.0%) violence were the most common forms of client-perpetrated gender-based violence in this population. Independently, being: street-based (adjusted OR=9.66, 95% CI 2.78 to 33.5), mobile (adjusted OR=3.21, 95% CI 1.83 to 5.64), HIV-positive (adjusted OR=1.90, 95% CI 1.09 to 3.31) and a low-income earner (<USh200 000 monthly) (adjusted OR=2.26, 95% CI 1.18 to 4.30) were positively associated with exposure to client-perpetrated gender-based violence.
Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of client-perpetrated gender-based violence among female sex workers in conflict-affected Northern Uganda. Furthermore, female sex workers who were street-based, mobile, HIV-positive and low-income earners were more likely to experience client-perpetrated gender-based violence. The ministry of health and the development partners need to provide targeted public health interventions to prevent and manage the rampant gender-based violence among this underserved population
Gothic urbanism in contemporary African fiction
No full textThis project surveys representations of the African city in contemporary Nigerian and South African narratives by focusing on how they employ Gothic techniques as a means of drawing the African urban landscape into being. The texts that comprise my objects of study are South African author Henrietta Rose-Innes's Nineveh (2011), which takes as its setting contemporary Cape Town; Lagoon (2014) by American-Nigerian author Nnedi Okorafor, who sets her tale in present-day Lagos; and Zoo City (2010) by Lauren Beukes, another South African author who locates her narrative in a near-future version of Johannesburg. I find that these fictions are bound by a shared investment in mobilising the apparatus of the Gothic genre to provide readers with a unique imagining of contemporary African urbanity. I argue that the Gothic urbanism which these texts unfold enables the ascendance of generative, anti-dualist modes of reading the contemporary African city that are simultaneously real and imagined, old and new, global and local, dark and light - modes that perform as much a discourse of the past as a dialogue on the future. The study concludes by making some reflections on the future-visions that these Gothic urban-texts elicit, imaginings that I argue engender useful reflection on the relationship between culture and environment, and thus prompt the contemporary reader to consider the global future - and, as such, situate Africa at the forefront of planetary discourse. I suggest that Nineveh, Lagoon and Zoo City produce not simply a Gothic envisioning of Africa's metropolitan centres, but also a budding Gothic aesthetic of the African Anthropocene. In contrast to the 1980's tradition of Gothic writing in Africa, these novels are opening up into the twenty-first century to reflect on the future of the African city - but also on the futures that lie beyond the urban, beyond culture, beyond the human
National and sub-national variation in patterns of febrile case management in sub-Saharan Africa
No full textGiven national healthcare coverage gaps, understanding treatment-seeking behaviour for fever is crucial for the management of childhood illness and to reduce deaths. Here, we conduct a modelling study triangulating household survey data for fever in children under the age of five years with georeferenced public health facility databases (n = 86,442 facilities) in 29 countries across sub-Saharan Africa, to estimate the probability of seeking treatment for fever at public facilities. A Bayesian item response theory framework is used to estimate this probability based on reported fever episodes, treatment choice, residence, and estimated travel-time to the nearest public-sector health facility. Findings show inter- and intra-country variation, with the likelihood of seeking treatment for fever less than 50% in 16 countries. Results highlight the need to invest in public healthcare and related databases. The variation in public sector use illustrates the need to include such modelling in future infectious disease burden estimation. © 2018, The Author(s)
Proceedings Transborder Library Forum 2007 : bridging the digital divide : crossing all borders = Memorias Foro Transfronterizo de Bibliotecas 2007 : cerrando la brecha digital : cruzando todas las fronteras
No full textIt is with great pleasure that we present this edition of the Proceedings of the Transborder Library Forum (Foro). The 2007 Transborder Library Forum was held at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona in February, 2007. We are pleased that there will be both a print edition and an online edition. Editing has been kept to a minimum to preserve the intent of the author in the language the paper was presented. The theme for the 2007 Foro was Bridging the Digital Divide. Topics ranged from international copyright issues to getting information to students in widely dispersed communities with little or no infrastructure except the Internet. While most attendees and speakers were from the USA and Mexico, we also had some from Uganda, Kenya, Hungary, and the West Indies
Chest Deformity and Disability due to Tenofovir-Induced Hypophosphatemic Osteomalacia: Case Report and Call for Improved Global Access to Laboratory Testing
No full text Millions of people worldwide take tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and/or hepatitis B infection. Although generally safe and well tolerated, clinicians need to be aware that TDF can cause proximal renal tubular dysfunction and loss of bone mineral density, especially in patients with concomitant renal disease or other risk factors. We present the case of a patient with chronic HIV infection and urethral stricture who developed TDF-related proximal renal tubular dysfunction with hypophosphatemia and osteomalacia, presenting with bone pains, skeletal deformity, and disability. We review risk factors for TDF-related renal tubular toxicity and recommendations for monitoring creatinine, phosphate, alkaline phosphatase, and urinalysis. </jats:p
Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) test for detection of Trypanosoma evansi strain B
No full textCamel Trypanosomiasis (Surra) is mainly caused by Trypanosoma evansi strains that express variable surface glycoprotein (VSG) RoTat 1.2 However, in Kenya a second causative strain that does not express RoTat 1.2 VSG (T. evansi type B) has been identified. The prevalence of T. evansi type B largely remains unknown due to inadequate diagnostic assay. This work reports the development of a sensitive and specific diagnostic assay capable of detecting T. evansi type B based on the strategy of Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) of DNA. The test is rapid and amplification is achieved within 20-25min at 63°C using a real time PCR machine. Restriction enzyme AluI digestion of the amplicon gave the predicted 83bp and 89bp sized bands and the LAMP product melt curves showed consistent melting temperature (Tm) of ∼89°C. The assay analytical sensitivity is ∼0.1tryps/ml while that of classical PCR test targeting the same gene is ∼10tryps/ml. There was a 100% agreement in detection of the LAMP amplification product in real time, gel electrophoresis, on addition of SYBR Green I, and when using chromatographic Lateral Flow Dipstick (LFD) format. The use of the LAMP test revealed nine more T. evansi type B DNA samples that were not initially detected through PCR. The robustness and higher sensitivity of the T. evansi type B LAMP assay coupled with the visual detection of the amplification product indicate that the technique has strong potential as a point-of-use test in surra endemic areas
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