Caregivers’ perceptions of household hunger and adequacy of dietary intake in a resource limited community in the Bronkhorstspruit district (Gauteng)

This paper describes households’ perceptions of hunger and adequacy of dietary intake by caregivers. A descriptive cross-sectional study in the quantitative research paradigm was conducted to collect data from caregivers (N=50) who were responsible for buying and preparing food for school aged children, residing in different households in Bronkhorstspruit in the Gauteng Province South Africa. Caregivers were individually interviewed using structured questionnaires (socio-demographic, Hunger Scale and the 24 hour-recall questionnaires, respectively). The majority (68%) of the caregivers had good nutrition knowledge but they did not know how to apply the knowledge in their dietary lifestyle. The socio-economic status and nutrition knowledge and attitudes of the caregivers were found to be possible factors that influenced dietary intakes of the households. The mean Household Food Variety Score (FVS) was 4.38 (± 1.0) and the Household Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) was 4.28 (±1.0). The results indicated an average of eight food items were consumed in the households during the 24-hour period of the maximum of 24 food items, identified by the 24-hour recalls. It was concluded that there is a need to eradicate the problem of low food diversity and there is a need to increase micronutrient intakes of children. The DDS of households showed that the food groups that were consumed by the households were ranging from an average of three (food items which incorporated a number of food groups from one) to seven groups. It can also be concluded that the households had a limited variety and diversity of diet since the food items and food groups were limited. This study showed that there is a limited food access by the households due to low incomes. Caregivers should be encouraged to get involved in food production activities; such as greenery projects, brick making projects, etc. that they can use the money they get from the projects to buy food for their families. This would help the caregivers in improving the dietary diversity and variety of their households.Keywords: Household hunger, dietary adequacy, food accessibility, Hidden hunger, Nutrition educationAfr. J. Food Agric. Nutr. Dev. 2019; 19(3): 14541-1455

The effect of dry wastewater sludge as sand replacement on concrete strengths

Abstract

‘We create our own small world’: daily realities of mothers of disabled children in a South African urban settlement

Parents of disabled children face many challenges. Understanding their experiences and acknowledging contextual influences is vital in developing intervention strategies that fit their daily realities. However, studies of parents from a resource-poor context are particularly scarce. This ethnographic study with 30 mothers from a South African township (15 semi-structured interviews and 24 participatory group sessions) unearths how mothers care on their own, in an isolated manner. The complexity of low living standards, being poorly supported by care structures and networks, believing in being the best carer, distrusting others due to a violent context, and resigning towards life shape and are shaped by this solitary care responsibility. For disability inclusive development to be successful, programmes should support mothers by sharing the care responsibility taking into account the isolated nature of mothers’ lives and the impact of poverty. This can provide room for these mothers to increase the well-being of themselves and their children

Durability index of dry sludge incorporated concrete when used as sand replacement

Abstract: It is paramount to look for alternative ways of disposing dry sludge, as present disposal methods are environmentally unsustainable. Hence, the investigation on the possible inclusion of dry sludge in concrete. More specifically, this paper presents and discusses the effect of dry sludge used as a partial sand replacement on concrete durability indexes. Two durability indexes were assessed in this article, which are Oxygen permeability index (OPI) and chloride conductivity index (CCI). The OPI gives an indication of concrete’s resistance to the flow of water through continuous pores, at a given pressure and temperature, while the CCI provides an indication of concrete’s resistance to chloride infiltration. Dry sludge was used as a sand replacement, in the proportion of 0 %, 1 %, 3 % and 5 %. The 0 % sample served as the control sample. Three water cement ratios (W/C), of 0.67, 0.69 and 0.80, were assessed. The samples were water cured for 28 and 90 days before testing. The results showed that higher W/C and higher sludge replacement had a detrimental effect on concrete OPI. In addition, the CCI results show that dry sludge had a positive ionic reaction and good sulphuric attack resistance on concrete

Evaluating the Impacts of Traditional Biomass Energy Use on Agricultural Production in Sichuan, China

As crop straw and firewood are generated as by-products of food production systems, they are perceived to be sustainable energy sources that do not threaten food security by Chinese government for a long time. However, the time spent on collecting straw and firewood may create a burden on rural household, as it could reduce the available labor inputs for agricultural production, which in turn, possibly brings negative impact on food security. Building on an integrated agriculture-energy production system, a Symmetric Normalized Quadratic (SNQ) multi-output profit function (which includes labor allocations as quasi-fixed factors) is estimated to investigate the impacts of traditional biomass energy use on agricultural production in this paper. The negative signs of the calculated cross-price elasticities of supply (agricultural products and biomass energy) confirm that the relationship between biomass collection and agricultural production is competition. Moreover, the cross-price elasticities of biomass collection with respect to inputs are positive, implying that indirect link between biomass collection and agricultural production perhaps lies in household consumption decisions. The important implication of this study is that potential policy interventions for developing biomass energy in rural China could aim at enhancing food security by improving household motivation of engaging in agricultural production and slowing down the competition between biomass collection and agricultural production. It is suggested that government should attach more importance to simultaneously promote the prices of agricultural products and control the prices of intermediate inputs