Independent and combined effects of improved water, sanitation, and hygiene, and improved complementary feeding, on child stunting and anaemia in rural Zimbabwe: a cluster-randomised trial.

BACKGROUND: Child stunting reduces survival and impairs neurodevelopment. We tested the independent and combined effects of improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), and improved infant and young child feeding (IYCF) on stunting and anaemia in in Zimbabwe. METHODS: We did a cluster-randomised, community-based, 2 × 2 factorial trial in two rural districts in Zimbabwe. Clusters were defined as the catchment area of between one and four village health workers employed by the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Care. Women were eligible for inclusion if they permanently lived in clusters and were confirmed pregnant. Clusters were randomly assigned (1:1:1:1) to standard of care (52 clusters), IYCF (20 g of a small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplement per day from age 6 to 18 months plus complementary feeding counselling; 53 clusters), WASH (construction of a ventilated improved pit latrine, provision of two handwashing stations, liquid soap, chlorine, and play space plus hygiene counselling; 53 clusters), or IYCF plus WASH (53 clusters). A constrained randomisation technique was used to achieve balance across the groups for 14 variables related to geography, demography, water access, and community-level sanitation coverage. Masking of participants and fieldworkers was not possible. The primary outcomes were infant length-for-age Z score and haemoglobin concentrations at 18 months of age among children born to mothers who were HIV negative during pregnancy. These outcomes were analysed in the intention-to-treat population. We estimated the effects of the interventions by comparing the two IYCF groups with the two non-IYCF groups and the two WASH groups with the two non-WASH groups, except for outcomes that had an important statistical interaction between the interventions. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01824940. FINDINGS: Between Nov 22, 2012, and March 27, 2015, 5280 pregnant women were enrolled from 211 clusters. 3686 children born to HIV-negative mothers were assessed at age 18 months (884 in the standard of care group from 52 clusters, 893 in the IYCF group from 53 clusters, 918 in the WASH group from 53 clusters, and 991 in the IYCF plus WASH group from 51 clusters). In the IYCF intervention groups, the mean length-for-age Z score was 0·16 (95% CI 0·08-0·23) higher and the mean haemoglobin concentration was 2·03 g/L (1·28-2·79) higher than those in the non-IYCF intervention groups. The IYCF intervention reduced the number of stunted children from 620 (35%) of 1792 to 514 (27%) of 1879, and the number of children with anaemia from 245 (13·9%) of 1759 to 193 (10·5%) of 1845. The WASH intervention had no effect on either primary outcome. Neither intervention reduced the prevalence of diarrhoea at 12 or 18 months. No trial-related serious adverse events, and only three trial-related adverse events, were reported. INTERPRETATION: Household-level elementary WASH interventions implemented in rural areas in low-income countries are unlikely to reduce stunting or anaemia and might not reduce diarrhoea. Implementation of these WASH interventions in combination with IYCF interventions is unlikely to reduce stunting or anaemia more than implementation of IYCF alone. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UK Department for International Development, Wellcome Trust, Swiss Development Cooperation, UNICEF, and US National Institutes of Health.The SHINE trial is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1021542 and OPP113707); UK Department for International Development; Wellcome Trust, UK (093768/Z/10/Z, 108065/Z/15/Z and 203905/Z/16/Z); Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation; US National Institutes of Health (2R01HD060338-06); and UNICEF (PCA-2017-0002)

The verbal and nominal morpho-syntax of Tjwao : a grammaticalisation approach

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2021.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The present study examines nominal and verbal morphosyntax in Tjwao – a moribund and highly under-researched Khoe-Kwadi language spoken by seven individuals in Tsholotsho District and some parts of Plumtree District in western Zimbabwe, near the Botswana border. The study employed the qualitative research approach characterised by the collection of main evidence by means of interviews, elicitation, focus group discussions and participant observation. Additional evidence was drawn from the small Tjwao corpus previously collected by Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages (USA) in collaboration with the African Languages Research Institute (University of Zimbabwe). The collected synchronic evidence on Tjwao phonetics and phonology, nominal morphosyntax and the verbal system is described following the Basic Linguistic Theory approach. Drawing on Grammaticalisation Theory, the author describes the development of different functional categories and show that grammatical morphemes in Tjwao have historically developed from lexical sources. To render further support to findings made in Tjwao, the study draws on additional evidence from other languages of the Kalahari Khoe branch, that is, the closely related Tshwa dialects, Cirecire, Gǁabak’e, Hiechware and Kua, as well as languages from other clusters like Danisi (Shua), Ts’ixa, Khwe, ǁAni, Kua-Gǁana, Gǀui and Naro. In addition, this work considers data from unrelated language families worldwide. The findings of the study suggest that Tjwao conforms to the grammaticalisation tendencies exhibited by both related Kalahari Khoe languages and also observed on a cross-linguistic scale.AFRIKAANS ABSTRACT: Geen opsomming beskikbaarIsiZULU ABSTRACT: Ucwaningo lwamanje luhlola ukwakheka kwamagama nemisho ngokwezingcezu olimini lwesiTjwao – ulimi lwesiKhoe-Kwadi olufayo nokungakacwaningwa kakhulu ngalo olukhulunywa ngabantu abayisikhombisa esifundeni saseTsholotsho nakwezinye izingxenye zesifunda sasePlumtree entshonalanga neZimbabwe, eduze komngcele waseBotswana. Lolu cwaningo lusebenzise indlela yokucwaninga eqoqa ulwazi olungamaqiniso ngokuhlanganisa ubufakazi obuqavile kusetshenziswa izingxoxompendulwano, ukunxenxa, ukuxoxisana namaqoqo kanye nokubheka ukwenza kwababambiqhaza. Obunye ubufakazi buqoqwe emibhalweni emibalwa yesiTjwao eyayiqoqwe kudala yisikhungo iLiving Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages (sase-USA) ngokubambisana nesikhungo se-African Languages Research Institute (seNyuvesi yaseZimbabwe). Ubufakazi obuqoqiwe obuphathelene nokubhaleka kanye nemisindo yesiTjwao, ukwakheka kwamagama nemisho ngokwezingcezu kuchazwa ngokulandela indlela yoMbono Wenjulalwazi Emaqondana Nokuyizisekelo Kwezolimi. Ngokucaphuna kuMbono Wenjulalwazi Yezokuqonda Kolimi, umbhali uchaza ukushintsha kwezigaba ezahlukahlukene zokusetshenziswa aphinde akhombise ukuthi izakhi zolimi oluqondile lwesiTjwao zisungulwe emithonjweni yamagama atholakala olimini ngokomlando. Ukusekela kabanzi lokho okutholakele maqondana nesiTjwao, lolu cwaningo lusebenzise obunye ubufakazi obuvela kwezinye izilimi zegatsha lwesiKhoe SaseKalahari, okusho izilimi zezigodi ezihlobene kakhulu nesiTshwa, isiCirecire, isiGǁabak'e, isiHiechware nesiKua, kanye nezilimi ezivela kwamanye amaqoqo afana nesiDanisi (isiShua), isiTs'ixa, isiKhwe, isi-ǁAni, isiKua-Gǁana, isiGǀui nesiNaro. Phezu kwalokho, lo msebenzi ubheka nemininingo evela ezinhlotsheni zezilimi ezingahlobene zomhlaba wonke. Okutholakale ocwaningweni kuphakamisa ukuthi isiTjwao sihambisana nezinqubo zokuqondiswa kolimi ezibonakala ezilimini ezihlobene nesiKhoe SaseKalahari kanti futhi ziyabonakala nasezinhlobeni zezilimi ezahlukahlukene.Doctora

Nominal marking in Northern Tshwa (Kalahari Khoe)

CITATION: Fehn, A. M. & Phiri, A. 2017. Nominal marking in Northern Tshwa (Kalahari Khoe). Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics, 48:105-122, doi:10.5774/48-0-284.The original publication is available at http://spil.journals.ac.zaLanguages of the Khoe family have a complex pronominal system that distinguishes three categories each for person, gender, and number. However, while languages of the Khoekhoe branch and the western subgroup of Kalahari Khoe obligatorily or optionally mark nouns and nominal classifiers for gender and number, the nominal marking system in eastern Kalahari Khoe appears to be undergoing serious reduction. This article discusses data on personal pronouns and nominal gender-number marking in four little-known Northern Tshwa varieties, including data from Tjwao, a severely endangered language spoken by fewer than ten individuals in western Zimbabwe. We analyse personal pronoun use, case distinctions and nominal marking, focussing on characterising features and commonalities shared across the cluster. Our findings show a high degree of uniformity within Northern Tshwa, and at the same time suggest a more complex nominal marking system than was previously assumed for varieties of the Eastern Kalahari Khoe subgroup.http://spil.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/284Publisher’s versio

Nominal marking in Northern Tshwa (Kalahari Khoe)

Languages of the Khoe family have a complex pronominal system that distinguishes three categories each for person, gender, and number. However, while languages of the Khoekhoe branch and the western subgroup of Kalahari Khoe obligatorily or optionally mark nouns and nominal classifiers for gender and number, the nominal marking system in eastern Kalahari Khoe appears to be undergoing serious reduction. This article discusses data on personal pronouns and nominal gender-number marking in four little-known Northern Tshwa varieties, including data from Tjwao, a severely endangered language spoken by fewer than ten individuals in western Zimbabwe. We analyse personal pronoun use, case distinctions and nominal marking, focussing on characterising features and commonalities shared across the cluster. Our findings show a high degree of uniformity within Northern Tshwa, and at the same time suggest a more complex nominal marking system than was previously assumed for varieties of the Eastern Kalahari Khoe subgroup.Keywords: Khoe-Kwadi, Eastern Kalahari Khoe, Tshwa, nominal marking, personal pronoun

Oral microbiome homogeneity across diverse human groups from southern Africa: first results from southwestern Angola and Zimbabwe

Abstract Background While the human oral microbiome is known to play an important role in systemic health, its average composition and diversity patterns are still poorly understood. To gain better insights into the general composition of the microbiome on a global scale, the characterization of microbiomes from a broad range of populations, including non-industrialized societies, is needed. Here, we used the portion of non-human reads obtained through an expanded exome capture sequencing approach to characterize the saliva microbiomes of 52 individuals from eight ethnolinguistically diverse southern African populations from Angola (Kuvale, Kwepe, Himba, Tjimba, Kwisi, Twa, !Xun) and Zimbabwe (Tshwa), including foragers, food-producers, and peripatetic groups (low-status communities who provide services to their dominant neighbors). Results Our results indicate that neither host genetics nor livelihood seem to influence the oral microbiome profile, with Neisseria, Streptococcus, Prevotella, Rothia, and Porphyromonas being the five most frequent genera in southern African groups, in line with what has been shown for other human populations. However, we found that some Tshwa and Twa individuals display an enrichment of pathogenic genera from the Enterobacteriaceae family (i.e. Enterobacter, Citrobacter, Salmonella) of the Proteobacteria phylum, probably reflecting deficient sanitation and poor health conditions associated with social marginalization. Conclusions Taken together, our results suggest that socio-economic status, rather than ethnolinguistic affiliation or subsistence mode, is a key factor in shaping the salivary microbial profiles of human populations in southern Africa

Additional file 1 of Oral microbiome homogeneity across diverse human groups from southern Africa: first results from southwestern Angola and Zimbabwe

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Additional file 2 of Oral microbiome homogeneity across diverse human groups from southern Africa: first results from southwestern Angola and Zimbabwe

Supplementary Material