Waswifu wa Ahmed Sheikh Nabhany

Biography of Swahili scholar and writer from Lamu, Kenya with introduction by Chege Githiora

Gender violence in schools: taking the ‘girls-as-victims’ discourse forward

This paper draws attention to the gendered nature of violence in schools. Recent recognition that schools can be violent places has tended to ignore the fact that many such acts originate in unequal and antagonistic gender relations, which are tolerated and ‘normalised’ by everyday school structures and processes. After examining some key concepts and definitions, we provide a brief overview of the scope and various manifestations of gender violence in schools, noting that most research to date has focused on girls as victims of gender violence within a heterosexual context and ignores other forms such as homophobic and girl violence. We then move on to look at a few interventions designed to address gender violence in schools in the developing world and end by highlighting the need for more research and improved understanding of the problem and how it can be addressed

Inviting backchat: how schools and communities in Ghana, Swaziland and Kenya support children to contextualize knowledge and create agency through sexuality education

Education about sex, relationships and HIV and AIDS in African contexts is riddled with socio-cultural complexity. In this paper the authors argue that in extreme contexts education can lead change further by developing young people as significant actors in their own lives and in the lives of the community by bringing bring about change in attitudes in the community, as well as practices in schools. A qualitative study was undertaken in eight primary schools of the use of student knowledge and voice to change attitudes, impact upon socio cultural beliefs, adult-child dialogue and drive changes in practice in AIDS education. Drawing on a contextual framework that includes a socio-cultural approach to education, Basil Bernstein’s well established theories of everyday and school knowledge and Catherine Campbell’s notion of AIDS competent communities, it shows how this initiative variably unfolded in six sub-Saharan countries (Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Swaziland and Tanzania, – although only the latter three are discussed in detail) and analyses the potential of schools to operate for the benefit of children in difficult circumstances, especially with regard to poverty, gender, sexual violence and health. Participation, dialogue and agency were the key factors

Is the Oral Microbiome Important in HIV-Associated Inflammation?

Alterations in the gut microbiome during HIV infection have been implicated in chronic inflammation, but the role of the oral microbiome in this process is less clear. The article by M. K. Annavajhala, S. D. Khan, S. B. Sullivan, J. Shah, et al. (mSphere 5:e00798-19, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1128/mSphere.00798-19) investigated the relationship between oral and gut microbiome diversity and immune activation in patients with HIV on antiretroviral therapy. In this study, oral microbiome diversity was inversely associated with inflammatory markers such as soluble CD14 (sCD14), but surprisingly similar associations were not seen with gut microbiome diversity. Oral microbiome diversity was also associated with periodontitis in these patients. This study highlights the importance of continuing multisite examinations in studying the gastrointestinal tract microbiome and also stimulates important directions for future research defining the role of the oral-gut axis in HIV-associated inflammation

Recovery of interleukin-17 production from interleukin-15-stimulated CD4+ mononuclear cells in HIV-1-infected patients with sustained viral suppression

Interleukin-17 (IL-17) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that is mainly produced by CD4 + T cells. The role of Th17 during the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection is still unclear, but HIV-1 infection can cause a preferential depletion of Th17 cells. It has been shown that IL-15 elicits IL-17 production from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. We studied the effect of IL-15 stimulation in vitro on IL-17 production from CD4 + mononuclear cells of HIV-infected patients. We observed that IL-15 triggers, in a dose-dependent manner, IL-17 secretion. This effect was blocked by anti-IL-15 monoclonal antibody (P = 0.01). Interestingly, IL-17 production was significantly lower in patients with detectable plasma viremia when compared with successfully treated HIV-infected patients (P = 0.02) and healthy controls, respectively (P < 0.001). We also noticed a significant difference in IL-17 production between naive HIV-infected patients and patients with virological failure on combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) (P = 0.02). Our results suggest that IL-15 can induce IL-17 production from peripheral CD4 + mononuclear cells of HIV-infected patients. Persistent HIV plasma viremia could cause a severe perturbation of IL-17 production from CD4 + mononuclear cells. IL-17 production in HIV-infected patients could be recovered through a sustained suppression of the viral replication in the peripheral blood through cART

SIVdrl detection in captive mandrills: are mandrills infected with a third strain of simian immunodeficiency virus?

A pol-fragment of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) that is highly related to SIVdrl-pol from drill monkeys (Mandrillus leucophaeus) was detected in two mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) from Amsterdam Zoo. These captivity-born mandrills had never been in contact with drill monkeys, and were unlikely to be hybrids. Their mitochondrial haplotype suggested that they descended from founder animals in Cameroon or northern Gabon, close to the habitat of the drill. SIVdrl has once before been found in a wild-caught mandrill from the same region, indicating that mandrills are naturally infected with a SIVdrl-like virus. This suggests that mandrills are the first primate species to be infected with three strains of SIV: SIVmnd1, SIVmnd2, and SIVdrl

Populist Strategies in African Democracies

Drawing on insights from Latin America, this paper examines the factors that contributed to the use of populist strategies by political parties during recent presidential elections in Kenya, South Africa, and Zambia. Specifically, the paper argues that the nature of party competition in Africa, combined with rapid urbanization and informalization of the labour force, provided a niche for populist leaders to espouse a message relevant to the region’s growing urban poor. Simultaneously, such leaders employed ethno-linguistic appeals to mobilize a segment of rural voters who could form a minimum winning coalition in concert with the urban poor and thereby deliver sizeable electoral victories. While such strategies are similar to those used by Latin American populists, the paper highlights key contrasts as well. By combining crossregional and sub-national perspectives, this paper therefore aims to contribute to a better understanding of how demographic and socioeconomic changes in Africa intersect with voting behaviour and political party development.Africa, democratization, political parties, populism, urbanization, voting behaviour