Free formula milk in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission programme: voices of a peri-urban community in South Africa on policy change.

BACKGROUND: In 2001, South Africa began implementing the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programme. This programme included distribution of free formula milk for infants up to 6 months of age at all public health facilities. Effective from 1 January 2011, KwaZulu-Natal became the first province to phase out free formula milk from its PMTCT programme. On 23 August 2011, the South African National Department of Health adopted promotion of exclusive breastfeeding as the national infant feeding strategy and made a decision to withdraw free formula milk from the PMTCT programme. OBJECTIVE: To explore the perceptions and understanding of households at community level on the policy decision to phase out free formula milk from the PMTCT programme in South Africa. METHODS: An exploratory qualitative study was conducted amongst women enrolled in a community randomized trial known as Good Start III. Focus group discussions were held with grandmothers, fathers and teenage mothers; and in-depth interviews were performed with HIV-positive and HIV-negative mothers. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Identified themes included: (1) variations in awareness and lack of understanding of the basis for the policy change, (2) abuse of and dysfunctional policy as perceived reasons for policy change and (3) proposed strategies for communicating the policy change. CONCLUSION: There is an urgent need to develop a multifaceted communication strategy clearly articulating the reasons for the infant feeding policy change and promoting the new breastfeeding strategy. The communication strategy should take into account inputs from the community. With a supportive environment and one national infant feeding strategy, South Africa has an opportunity to reverse years of poor infant feeding practices and to improve the health of all children in the country

Impact of solar water heating on Eskom's peak demand

Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 98-102)

Optimisation of the eccentricity of the pyriform diagram for balancing electrical power systems loading

Electricity is a vital resource need in any modern society for an enhanced lifestyle. Furthermore, electricity load management covers optimal power generation, transmission, distribution, and utilisation. Also, demand-side management is electricity consumption beyond the meter, and the ever-increasing electricity demand because of rising population and higher standards of living place a limitation and a constraint on its accessibility to all the citizens in any community. The eccentricity of the pyriform scatter diagram data shape was used to characterise the statistical distribution of the electricity consumption data points around a common axis. The Markov process, the Jordan Canonical transformation, and the Martingales were used to generalise the independent electricity consumption to depend only on the outcome preceding it and not after it. The results show a balanced light loading of 50.0%. The pyriform was symmetrical, convex, and even about the midpoint, which served as the globally optimised solution of the electricity consumption balanced loading problem. A balanced electrical power systems loading enables utilities to supply more customers, increases operational efficiencies, and places less stress on electricity generators, transmission, and distribution networks. It is recommended that optimisation of electrical power systems loading will lead to energy efficiency, energy savings, lower-cost operations for reliable and sustainable supply, growth, and development. Balanced light loading of electrical power systems components facilitates optimal unit commitment at lower economic and social costs. Whenever service taxes are reduced because of cheaper electricity prices, utilities witness flatter load curves and avoided production costs across power systems operations. This further, lessens blackouts and extends life of utility facilities

Is aging raw cattle urine efficient for sampling Anopheles arabiensis Patton?

Background: To ensure sustainable routine surveillance of mosquito vectors, simple, effective and ethically acceptable tools are required. As a part of that, we evaluated the efficiency of resting boxes baited with fresh and aging cattle urine for indoor and outdoor sampling of An. arabiensis in the lower Moshi rice irrigation schemes. Methods: A cattle urine treatment and re-treatment schedule was used, including a box with a piece of cloth retreated with urine daily, and once after 3 and 7 day. Resting box with piece of black cloth not treated with urine was used as a control. Each treatment was made in pair for indoor and outdoor sampling. A 4 by 4 Latin square design was used to achieve equal rotation of each of the four treatments across the experimental houses. Sampling was done over a period of 6 months, once per week. Results: A total of 7871 mosquitoes were collected throughout the study period. 49.8% of the mosquitoes were collected from resting box treated with urine daily; 21.6% and 20.0% were from boxes treated 3 and 7 days respectively. Only 8.6% were from untreated resting box (control). The proportion collected indoors was similar to 2 folds greater than the outdoor. Of all mosquitoes, 12.3% were unfed, 4.1% full fed, 34.2% semi-gravid and 49.4% gravid. Conclusion: Fresh and decaying cattle urine odour baited resting boxes offer an alternative tool for sampling particularly semi-gravid and gravid An. arabiensis. Evaluation in low density seasons of An. arabiensis in different ecological settings remains necessary. This sampling method may be standardized for replacing human landing catch

Use of a Semi-field System to Evaluate the Efficacy of Topical Repellents under user Conditions Provides a Disease Exposure free Technique Comparable with Field Data.

Before topical repellents can be employed as interventions against arthropod bites, their efficacy must be established. Currently, laboratory or field tests, using human volunteers, are the main methods used for assessing the efficacy of topical repellents. However, laboratory tests are not representative of real life conditions under which repellents are used and field-testing potentially exposes human volunteers to disease. There is, therefore, a need to develop methods to test efficacy of repellents under real life conditions while minimizing volunteer exposure to disease. A lotion-based, 15% N, N-Diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET) repellent and 15% DEET in ethanol were compared to a placebo lotion in a 200 sq m (10 m x 20 m) semi-field system (SFS) against laboratory-reared Anopheles arabiensis mosquitoes and in full field settings against wild malaria vectors and nuisance-biting mosquitoes. The average percentage protection against biting mosquitoes over four hours in the SFS and field setting was determined. A Poisson regression model was then used to determine relative risk of being bitten when wearing either of these repellents compared to the placebo. Average percentage protection of the lotion-based 15% DEET repellent after four hours of mosquito collection was 82.13% (95% CI 75.94-88.82) in the semi-field experiments and 85.10% (95% CI 78.97-91.70) in the field experiments. Average percentage protection of 15% DEET in ethanol after four hours was 71.29% (CI 61.77-82.28) in the semi-field system and 88.24% (84.45-92.20) in the field. Semi-field evaluation results were comparable to full-field evaluations, indicating that such systems could be satisfactorily used in measuring efficacy of topically applied mosquito repellents, thereby avoiding risks of exposure to mosquito-borne pathogens, associated with field testing

Multivariate analysis of the BRICS financial markets.

M.Sc. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2013.The co-movements and integration of financial markets has been a subject of great concern among many researchers and economists due to an interest in the impacts of stock market integration in terms of international portfolio diversification, asset allocation and asset pricing efficiency. Understanding the interdependence among financial markets is thus of immense importance especially to investors and stakeholders in making viable decisions, managing risks and monitoring portfolio performances. In this thesis, we investigated the levels of interdependence and dynamic linkages among the five emerging economies well known as the BRICS: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, using a Vector autoregressive (VAR), univariate GARCH(1,1) and multivariate GARCH models. Our data sample consisted of the BRICS weekly returns from the period of January 2000 to December 2012. We used a VAR model to examine the linear dependence among the BRICS markets. The results from the VAR model analysis provided some evidence of unidirectional linear dependencies of the Indian and Chinese markets on the Brazilian stock market. The univariate GARCH(1,1) and multivariate GARCH models were employed to explore the volatility and dynamic correlation in the BRICS stock returns respectively. The results of the univariate GARCH model suggested volatility persistence among all the BRICS stock returns where China appeared to be the most volatile followed by the Russian stock market while the South African market was found to be the least volatile. Results from the multivariate GARCH models revealed similar volatility persistence. Furthermore, we found that, the correlations among the five emerging markets varied with time. From this study, evidence of interdependence among the BRICS cannot be rejected. Moreover, it appears that there are other factors apart from the internal markets themselves that may affect the volatility and correlation among the BRICS

Design, implementation and evaluation of a national campaign to distribute nine million free LLINs to children under five years of age in Tanzania.

BACKGROUND\ud \ud After a national voucher scheme in 2004 provided pregnant women and infants with highly subsidized insecticide-treated nets (ITNs), use among children under five years (U5s) in mainland Tanzania increased from 16% in 2004 to 26.2% in 2007. In 2008, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare planned a catch-up campaign to rapidly and equitably deliver a free long-lasting insecticidal net (LLIN) to every child under five years in Tanzania.\ud \ud METHODS\ud \ud The ITN Cell, a unit within the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), coordinated the campaign on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. Government contractors trained and facilitated local government officials to supervise village-level volunteers on a registration of all U5s and the distribution and issuing of LLINs. The registration results formed the basis for the LLIN order and delivery to village level. Caregivers brought their registration coupons to village issuing posts during a three-day period where they received LLINs for their U5s. Household surveys in five districts assessed ITN ownership and use immediately after the campaign.\ud \ud RESULTS\ud \ud Nine donors contributed to the national campaign that purchased and distributed 9.0 million LLINs at an average cost of $7.07 per LLIN, including all campaign-associated activities. The campaign covered all eight zones of mainland Tanzania, the first region being covered separately during an integrated measles immunization/malaria LLIN distribution in August 2008, and was implemented one zone at a time from March 2009 until May 2010. ITN ownership at household level increased from Tanzania's 2008 national average of 45.7% to 63.4%, with significant regional variations. ITN use among U5s increased from 28.8% to 64.1%, a 2.2-fold increase, with increases ranging from 22.1-38.3% percentage points in different regions.\ud \ud CONCLUSION\ud \ud A national-level LLIN distribution strategy that fully engaged local government authorities helped avoid additional burden on the healthcare system. Distribution costs per net were comparable to other public health interventions. Particularly among rural residents, ITN ownership and use increased significantly for the intended beneficiaries. The upcoming universal LLIN distribution and further behaviour change communication will further improve ITN ownership and use in 2010-2011

Factors affecting choice of and satisfaction with mobile phones : an investigation of university of KwaZulu-Natal (Pietermaritzburg) students.

Master of Commerce in Marketing. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 2016.Today, the liveliest market environment is the mobile phone market. This this is because of the growth and the advancement in technology. Thus, studying the consumer buying decision process of these markets can show marketers what factors influence the markets’ choices of mobile phones. The growing competition by mobile phone companies has led to increased concern regarding which mobile phone device is beneficial to own as a consumer considering the vast number of mobile phone brands and versions available to the market. This concern warrants the need to investigate factors that currently determine consumers’ choices of mobile phones taking into account the saturated level of the mobile phone industry. The intention of this study is to examine if factors previously examined in the previous research studies in different contexts also influence the South African environment. Furthermore, to identify the unique set of factors that impact South African customers’ selection of and satisfaction with mobile phones. The main objective of this study is to reveal key factors that affect the choice and satisfaction of mobile phones among university students of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg campus. Through a convenience sampling technique, structured questionnaires were used to collect primary data from 257 mobile phone owners. The questionnaire comprised of 5-point Likert scale questions and open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, custom tables, and NVivo were used to analyse data that was obtained from the students. Results of the descriptive statistics showed that product features and design was a major factor influencing the choice of mobile phones. Overall performance was a major factor contributing to the satisfaction of mobile phones. Battery life was the main feature that consumers considered when acquiring a mobile phone. The exploratory factor analysis results revealed six factors that contributed to the choice of mobile phones. Namely; marketing elements, social factors, features of the mobile phone, durability and portability, brand name and cost/price. Results of six factors that contributed to the satisfaction of mobile phones included; internal, external & operation attributes of the mobile phone, style, small mobile phones, and cost/price. The results also revealed six factors that students considered when purchasing a mobile phone. These are; the size of the mobile phone, output attributes of the mobile phone, the build/make of the mobile phone, basic model, technology features and generation of the mobile phone. The custom tables revealed that the main five factors that students wish to see improved on their mobile phones include; battery power, memory size camera, phone design and audio capacity. Furthermore, the results revealed that apart from the factors revealed in the exploratory factor analysis, the following factors affect choice, satisfaction and features students seek when purchasing a mobile phone; battery life, camera, and security features. Overall, students agreed to be satisfied with their current mobile devices. This study is important because the student market is vibrant and fall in the category of early adopters and early majority. Marketers will be able to understand this market together with their needs in reference to mobile devices. This research will be beneficial to telecommunications managers and mobile phone manufacturers to comprehend the mobile phone requirements of the students’ segment and align suitably their product designs and marketing communications strategies. The scope of this study is limited to university students of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg campus. The study can be adopted to a broader population group thus improving the scope for mobile phone manufacturers

Sexual risk behaviours are influenced by knowing someone with HIV/AIDS

Behavioural risk reduction interventions are a central part of continuing efforts to stem the spread of the HIV epidemic. A range of interventions have been developed and tested in different populations within South Africa. These seek to lower individual risk of HIV infection by discouraging sexual relations with multiple partners and increasing levels of condom use. Many interventions to date have met with mixed success, and understanding the determinants of high-risk sexual behaviour remains a major concern in addressing HIV/AIDS.1 Several studies from other parts of sub-Saharan Africa have suggested that knowing someone with HIV/AIDS may be an important predictor of decreased risk behaviour. One pooled analysis2 found that adult men in Kenya, Zambia and Uganda were more likely to reduce their risk behaviours if they knew someone who had HIV/AIDS. Similar results have been reported in a population-based study3 of women in rural Zimbabwe. However, one previous study from South Africa4 using data from the 1998 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) found that there was no association between knowing someone with HIV and levels of condom use. Given that the links between knowing someone with HIV and risk behaviours have important implications for HIV prevention efforts, we investigated this association in a survey of individuals attending a public sector health facility in Khayelitsha, near Cape Town

Impact of HIV/AIDS on education and poverty.

South Africa has the largest number of children orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS. In the face of AIDS, poverty, and violence, education is a precious right for the children of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.The following link will take you directly to the article as published in the UN Chronical: https://www.un.org:443/wcm/content/site/chronicle/home/archive/issues2011/hivaidsthefourthdecade/impactofhivaidsoneducationandpovert