12 research outputs found
A Model for the Roll-Out of Comprehensive Adult Male Circumcision Services in African Low-Income Settings of High HIV Incidence: The ANRS 12126 Bophelo Pele Project
Bertrand Auvert and colleagues describe the large-scale roll-out of adult male circumcision through a program in South Africa
Improving policy coherence for food security and nutrition in South Africa: a qualitative policy analysis
Like most other low and middle-income countries, South Africa must address a rising burden of diet-related chronic disease in a
situation of persistent food insecurity and undernutrition. Supply-side policy interventions are a critical component of action to
address the double burden of malnutrition. However, the food supply is governed by a number of different policy sectors, and
policy incoherence can occur between government action to promote a healthy food supply and objectives for economic
liberalization. We analysed the coherence of food supply policy content with respect to nutrition and food security in South
Africa, and conducted 14 in-depth interviews with 22 public and private sector actors to identify opportunities to improve policy
coherence across sectors governing the food supply. Drawing on Sabatierâs conceptualization of actors as influential in shaping
policy outcomes, we identified three coalitions of actors related to food security and nutrition in South Africa: the dominant
Economic Growth coalition, the Food Security coalition, and the Health coalition. Understanding the frames, beliefs and
resources held by these coalitions offers insights into the policy tensions faced by the Government of South Africa with respect
to the food supply. The analysis indicates that the current reconsideration of economic policy agendas favouring liberalization in
SouthAfrica, including the termination of most bilateral investment treaties, may present an opportunity for increased recognition
of food security and nutrition priorities in food supply policy making. Opportunities to strengthen policy coherence across the
food supply for food security and nutrition include: specific changes to economic policy relating to the food supply that achieve
both food security/nutrition and economic objectives; creating links between producers and consumers, through markets and
fiscal incentives that make healthy / fresh foods more accessible and affordable; increasing formal avenues for engagement by
Civil Society in nutrition and food security policy making; and including consideration of the nutritional quality of the food
supply in policy objectives across sectors, to create a framework for policy coherence across sectors relating to the food supply
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Microbial community structure and relationship with physicochemical properties of soil stockpiles in selected South African opencast coal mines
At present, there is no comprehensive soil quality assessment practice for soil stockpiles in the South African coal mining industry. Soil microorganisms and enzymes are suitable indicators for soil quality monitoring. Therefore, this study investigated the microbial community and enzyme (beta-glucosidase and urease) activities in soil stockpiles of opencast coal mines in the coal-rich region of South Africa. Soil stockpiles of three opencast coal mines were sampled at depths of 0â20 cm (âtopsoilâ) and >20 cm (âsubsoilâ) across three seasons. Beta-glucosidase and urease activities were mostly higher in soil stockpiles than in unmined soils and were significantly influenced (P 0.05) influenced by soil properties, whereas microbial communities of subsoils were significantly (P < 0.05) influenced by pH, organic carbon, total nitrogen and phosphorus contents. Furthermore, operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to genera of known phytobeneficial species such as Azomonas, Aureobasidium, Phialocephala, Phoma and Sordariomycetes were detected in these soils. Overall, results suggest that the microbial community structure and diversity observed in stockpiles is impaired (compared to the unmined site), although variations in the microbial community structure of soil stockpiles across seasons are site-specific. The impaired microbial community of stockpiles may have negative implications on soil biological processes driven by microbes; especially those that are critical for nutrient cycling and ecosystem sustainability. More importantly, such alteration in soil biodiversity may impair post-mining land use capability of stockpile soil