Transformational leadership and traditional african leadership practice : a study of two kingdoms.

An anthropological research paper on transformational leadership as practiced in ancient African kingdoms of Zimbabwe.This paper seeks to demonstrate that some elements of what is now called transformational leadership can be found in the philosophy and leadership practices of some of the peoples of Africa. Part of the answer to our understanding of traditional leadership practices is provided in the African philosophy of ubuntu (Zulu), or botho (Sotho), or unhu (Shona). Using the Mutapa Empire of Zimbabwe and the Kingdom of Lesotho, the author argues that Africa has its own home grown leadership and governance traditions which, if modernized, could provide sustainable indigenous leadership models for the continent. An analysis of the lessons today's leaders can learn from these kingdoms is presented in the closing sections of the paper

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)

Achebe as Artist: The Place and Significance of Anthills of the Savannah

Before we assess Achebe\u27s contribution to the development of African literature we must put the record straight and see things in their proper perspective. It is necessary to start by stating categorically that Achebe was not the first to write realistic fiction in Anglophone Africa. It is a well-known fact that Cyprian Ekwensi, the Nigerian writer, published his People of the City in 1954, four years before Things Fall Apart saw the light of day. In South Africa the first novel in English by a black writer, Sol Plaatje\u27s Mhudi, was published in 1930. In Zimbabwe the first novel to be published in the Shona language, Solomon Mutswairo\u27s Feso, came out in 1957, one year before Things Fall Apart

The Portrayal of Women in African Literature

Before I go into the subject matter of my paper let me explain that my observations on the portrayal of women in African literature should be seen in relation to three basic assumptions. First, works of art issue from historical conditions and are reflections of particular social condi-tions and relationships. By this I mean that the views of women ex-pressed by male African writers do to some extent correspond to the actual position of women in African society. My second assumption is that there is no literature which is above class interests, by which I mean that the works of a writer reflect the class interests of the author and are likely to reveal the views and preoccupations of his or her class. My third and final assumption is that the writer\u27s level of consciousness and ideological orientation will influence his or her views about class and human relationships. In other words a writer who is highly conscientized and ideologized will perceive the problems of women in society much more acutely than one who is not. The point I am driving at is, first, that the literature discussed in this paper is a literature written by male members of the African intelligentsia who therefore portray male and female relationships in African society from the point of view of male members of that class; and secondly, that each writer\u27s view of women is nevertheless influenced by his level of political consciousness at the time of writing, meaning that we cannot expect to find a completely uniform view of women in all the literature written by male members of the African intellectual elite. Furthermore, many writers have developed in political consciousness, and consequently the views of women expressed in their works have changed over the years