Legal Human Rights and Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition V Tanzania, Application No. 039/2020 (13 June 2023)

This judgement is a milestone in the Tanzanian jurisprudence as it subjects the Tanzanian legal system to scrutiny by an international court with regards to a provision in a domestic statute providing for non-bailable offenses. The legal system of Tanzania overlooked an opportunity in this case to examine the compatibility of national legislations with international human rights standards. This judgement highlights the critical role of human rights non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and their efforts to challenge domestic laws that may infringe upon fundamental rights through emphasizing the need for alignment and adherence to international human rights standards

A Pedagogical Study of Tone Neutralization in Cibemba Phonetics and Phonology

The paper discussed the concept of tone in African languages generally and in the Bantu linguistic group in particular from a pedagogical perspective. Using illustrative examples from Cibemba, the major language of Zambia, with an air of extension in DR Congo, in comparison with Germanic and Romance languages, the paper pointed out various theoretical issues surrounding tone. Amongst issues discussed was the need to put tone in context as opposed to approaching tone purely from the perspective of lexical semantics or content. This view of tone generally defined as syllable-based relative pitch contrast effectively and separates segmental units from suprasegmental units in order to satisfy pedagogical needs. For instance, the French text remains recognizable regardless of whether or not accents are omitted, thanks to context. Similarly, the French dictation exercise stands to benefit from using isolated vocabulary words in addition to narratives or passages that put text in context. The issue of tone context also raises the question of definition of phonetics and how it differs from phonology. Last but not least the paper argued that tone patterns represent dialect variations and their evolution to the extent that diachronic and synchronic tests can be administered

Lived Disablers to Academic Success of the Visually Impaired at the University of Zambia, Sub‑Saharan Africa

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) benchmark of persons with disability in every population is 15.6 per cent. However, the University of Zambia is way below that benchmark as it is home to less than 0.1 per cent of students classified as ‘disabled’. Within the 0.1 per cent, students with visual impairment are the majority, estimated at 70 per cent. The purpose of this study was to explore disablers (also known as barriers) to academic success faced by students with visual impairment at the University of Zambia. A Hermeneutic Phenomenological approach directed the research process. Seven purposively sampled participants volunteered to voice their lived experiences and a cluster of themes emerged thereafter. Emerging from their lived experiences are thirteen disablers that impede the learning experiences at University and key amongst them are: (i) negative attitudes; (ii) policypractice disjuncture; (iii) staff unreadiness and unpreparedness; (iv) inaccessible buildings; and (v) rigid curricula. Keywords: disablers; Hermeneutic Phenomenology; inclusive education; University of Zambia; visual impairmen

Lived Disablers to Academic Success of the Visually Impaired at the University of Zambia, Sub‑Saharan Africa

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) benchmark of persons with disability in every population is 15.6 per cent. However, the University of Zambia is way below that benchmark as it is home to less than 0.1 per cent of students classified as ‘disabled’. Within the 0.1 per cent, students withvisual impairment are the majority, estimated at 70 per cent. The purpose of this study was to explore disablers (also known as barriers) to academic success faced by students with visual impairment at the University of Zambia. A Hermeneutic Phenomenological approach directed the research process.Seven purposively sampled participants volunteered to voice their lived experiences and a cluster of themes emerged thereafter. Emerging from their lived experiences are thirteen disablers that impede the learning experiences at University and key amongst them are: (i) negative attitudes; (ii) policypractice disjuncture; (iii) staff unreadiness and unpreparedness; (iv) inaccessible buildings; and (v) rigid curricula

Ebola virus disease preparedness in countries bordering Democratic Republic of Congo: Lessons from west African outbreak

Background: Ebola virus disease ravaged three West African countries in the wake of 2014 which was seen as the deadliest Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in history. Several lessons were taken out of the West African outbreak one of which is the lack of preparedness by countries in the region.Materials and Methods: This paper looked at the mistakes of the West African outbreak and reports how such mistakes were corrected in the current outbreak going on in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Preparedness efforts are currently taking place in countries bordering DRC which included quick detection and response to an eventual EVD event.Results: This paid off on several occasions when cases from DRC to Uganda were quickly detected and response was as quick as possible. Preparedness carried out in Countries bordering DRC included setting up of Rapid Response Team (RRT) and training of these teams both at country and regional level. All members of the RRT were trained in all areas of readiness which included community engagement, laboratory, logistics, surveillance, case management, sample collection, packaging and shipment as well as Infection Prevention and Control (IPC).Conclusion: These trainings have led to readiness to an eventual EVD event. Countries now have the ability to respond quickly with better Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) for EVD. Keywords: Ebola, EVD, Preparedness, Response, Infection Prevention and Control

Differential Effects of Early Weaning for HIV-Free Survival of Children Born to HIV-Infected Mothers by Severity of Maternal Disease

BACKGROUND. We previously reported no benefit of early weaning for HIV-free survival of children born to HIV-infected mothers in intent-to-treat analyses. Since early weaning was poorly accepted, we conducted a secondary analysis to investigate whether beneficial effects may have been hidden. METHODS. 958 HIV-infected women in Lusaka, Zambia, were randomized to abrupt weaning at 4 months (intervention) or to continued breastfeeding (control). Children were followed to 24 months with regular HIV PCR tests and examinations to determine HIV infection or death. Detailed behavioral data were collected on when all breastfeeding ended. Most participants were recruited before antiretroviral treatment (ART) became available. We compared outcomes among mother-child pairs who weaned earlier or later than intended by study design adjusting for potential confounders. RESULTS. Of infants alive, uninfected and still breastfeeding at 4 months in the intervention group, 16.1% who weaned as instructed acquired HIV or died by 24 months compared to 16.0% who did not comply (p=0.98). Children of women with less severe disease during pregnancy (not eligible for ART) had worse outcomes if their mothers weaned as instructed (RH=2.60 95% CI: 1.06-6.36) compared to those who continued breastfeeding. Conversely, children of mothers with more severe disease (eligible for ART but did not receive it) who weaned early had better outcomes (p-value interaction=0.002). In the control group, weaning before 15 months was associated with 3.94-fold (95% CI: 1.65-9.39) increase in HIV infection or death among infants of mothers with less severe disease. CONCLUSION. Incomplete adherence did not mask a benefit of early weaning. On the contrary, for women with less severe disease, early weaning was harmful and continued breastfeeding resulted in better outcomes. For women with more advanced disease, ART should be given during pregnancy for maternal health and to reduce transmission, including through breastfeeding. TRIAL REGISTRATION. Clinical trials.gov NCT00310726National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD); National Institutes of Health (R01 HD 39611, R01 HD 40777

Design of the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) Protocol 054: A cluster randomized crossover trial to evaluate combined access to Nevirapine in developing countries

HPTN054 is a cluster randomized trial designed to compare two approaches to providing single dose nevirapine to HIV-seropositive mothers and their infants to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV in resource limited settings. A number of challenging issues arose during the design of this trial. Most importantly, the need to achieve high participation rates among pregnant, HIV-seropositive women in selected prenatal care clinics led us to develop a method of collecting anonymous and unlinked information on a key surrogate endpoint instead of pursuing linked and identified information on a clinical endpoint. In addition, since group counseling is the standard model for prenatal care in sub-Saharan Africa, the prenatal care clinic serves as the unit of randomization. However, constraints on the number of suitable clinics and other logistical difficulties necessitated a unique type of hybrid parallel/stepped wedge cluster randomized design in which some clinics cross over between the two treatment modalities and some do not. We describe the design for the HPTN054 trial with an emphasis on the logistic and statistical features that allowed us to address these issues. We also provide some general statistical results that are useful for computing power in parallel, crossover, stepped wedge or mixed designs of cluster randomized trials

Enablers and disablers to academic success of students with visual impairment: a 10-year literature disclosure, 2007–2017.

Within the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) and its 17 targets is a strong emphasis on the education of learners with disability. Whereas there have been massive improvements at lower levels regarding education of the marginalised, a lot more work remains undone at tertiary education level. In this discourse, we explore literature to reveal enablers and disablers to academic success of students with visual impairments (SwVI) at higher education level in the past 10 years in 16 countries doted across six habitable continents. Emerging from the study is a host of disablers such as (1) negative attitudes, (2) absence of inclusive education policy, (3) inaccessible learning environment and learning materials, (4) exclusive pedagogy, and (5) limited orientation and mobility. Amidst the disabling environment, a positive attitude, self-advocacy, and innovativeness stood out as key enablers to academic success by SwVI. The findings contribute to the realisation of the SDG agenda through advocacy on inclusive education policies and practices

Perceptions of students with visual impairments towards their inclusion in the faculty of education at the university of Zambia: a phenomenological study.

The University of Zambia, Faculty of Education admits students with disabilities including students with visual impairments. The students learn together with others without disabilities under the inclusive education policy and practice. This study established the perceptions of students with visual impairments towards their inclusion in the Faculty of Education at the University of Zambia. Eight (8) students with visual impairments were asked three main questions on how they perceived their inclusion and whether lecturers employed any inclusive strategies in their teaching to accommodate them. The study further established the challenges students faced learning in an inclusive classroom. Findings revealed that generally students with visual impairments were satisfied with their inclusion in the Faculty of Education. Most participants acknowledged that there was no discrimination from fellow students during academic discourse although they reported challenges resulting from lecturers’ lack of skills to consider their learning needs in inclusive classroom. Further, the findings revealed that students with visual impairments appeared to feel more included academically but felt isolated in out of class activities which some described as a form of discrimination. From the findings, it is recommended that the Faculty of Education should train all lecturers of content and methodology courses in inclusive methodologies and design activities that promote interactive learning beyond the classroom to realise the inclusion of students with visual impairments

Innovate! Accelerate! Evaluate! Harnessing the RE-AIM framework to examine the global dissemination of parenting resources during COVID-19 to more than 210 million people

BACKGROUND: Parents were at the forefront of responding to the needs of children during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study used the RE-AIM framework to examine the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance of a global inter-agency initiative that adapted evidence-based parenting programs to provide immediate support to parents. METHODS: Data were collected via short surveys sent via email, online surveys, and analysis of social media metrics and Google Analytics. Retrospective surveys with 1,303 parents and caregivers in 11 countries examined impacts of the resources on child maltreatment, positive relationship building, parenting efficacy, and parenting stress. RESULTS: The parenting resources were translated into over 135 languages and dialects; reached an estimated minimum 212.4 million people by June 2022; were adopted by 697 agencies, organizations, and individuals; and were included in 43 national government COVID-19 responses. Dissemination via social media had the highest reach (n = 144,202,170, 67.9%), followed by radio broadcasts (n = 32,298,525, 15.2%), text messages (n = 13,565,780, 6.4%), and caseworker phone calls or visits (n = 8,074,787, 3.8%). Retrospective surveys showed increased parental engagement and play, parenting self-efficacy, confidence in protecting children from sexual abuse, and capacity to cope with stress, as well as decreased physical and emotional abuse. Forty-four organizations who responded to follow-up surveys in April 2021 reported sustained use of the resources as part of existing services and other crisis responses. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the importance of a) establishing an international collaboration to rapidly adapt and disseminate evidence-based content into easily accessible resources that are relevant to the needs of parents; b) creating open-source and agile delivery models that are responsive to local contexts and receptive to further adaptation; and c) using the best methods available to evaluate a rapidly deployed global emergency response in real-time. Further research is recommended to empirically establish the evidence of effectiveness and maintenance of these parenting innovations