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Capacity building at the grassroots : piloting organisational development of community-based organisations in South Africa

YACHKASCHI, Schirin
December 2005

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"This paper explores the use of organisational development (OD) for capacity building of community-based organisations (CBOs) in South Africa. The author works for Community Connections, a South African non-profit support organisation which predominantly provides support to CBOs and community workers. In 2004, the organisation initiated an OD pilot programme, which has been accompanied by research for a doctoral thesis from this year. The aims of the pilot programme and the research are to examine in what ways OD facilitation can support the capacity building of CBOs, and hence contribute to community development and civil society strengthening. This paper presents initial reflections"

Praxis Note No. 18

Civil society involvement in rapid assessment, analysis and action planning (RAAAP) for orphans and vulnerable children : an independent review

GOSLING, Louisa
July 2005

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This review explores civil society organisations' experiences of the Rapid Assessement, Analysis and Action Planning (RAAAP) process - an initiative launched by USAID, UNICEF, UNAIDS, and the World Food Program - for orphans and other vulnerable children in November 2003. It comprises of a review of where civil society organisations were involved and where they were not and an overview of the process of their invovlement. It also offers recommendations for existing and future RAAAPs to ensure greater invovlement of civil society organisations, and includes individual reports on the 16 sub-Saharan African countries invovled in the first round of RAAAP in 2004

Are disabled peoples’ voices from both south and north being heard in the development process?|A comparative analysis between the situation in South Africa, Zimbabwe, United Kingdom and Northern Europe

DUBE, A K
CHAROWA, Gladys
May 2005

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This study reveals that there are major differences between the South and the North regarding issues involving persons with disabilities. It shows that the North provides devices for disabled persons and maintains high standards in disability; whereas countries in the South have weak acts of parliament, in addition to the fact that much of the South does not have social security benefits

On the margins : violence against women with disabilities

NAIDU, Ereshnee
et al
April 2005

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This report explores why disabled women are more susceptible to violence then non-disabled women. It further examines how service providers respond to their needs, and the barriers associated with accessing proper assistance. The authors also investigate the role of government in providing health services that provide equal and adequate support. This work tackles issues of social isolation, stigma, and human rights

The role and effectiveness of disability legislation in South Africa

DUBE, Andrew K
March 2005

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This report explores how South African legislation protects the rights of people with disabilities. Government policies have the potential to address key issues such as access to employment, poverty alleviation, access to education and social services and better housing. The report findings show that while the South African government has been active in creating well-designed policies, their implementation has been less successful, due to a lack of funded strategies, resources and capacity. The study discusses in some detail each policy, including the Skills Development Act (SDA) and the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (2000)

USAID project profiles : children affected by HIV/AIDS

UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID)
January 2005

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This document presents profiles of 114 projects (90 country-specific, 12 regional, and 12 global) funded by USAID. It includes a section on USAID projects that support access to education in Africa. The project profiles include the names of implementing organisations, funding periods and amounts, objectives, strategies, key accomplishments, priority activities for the year ahead, and materials and tools available to other projects that can help meet the needs of children and youth affected by HIV and AIDS. The diversity of these projects demonstrates the US government's efforts to meet the wide variety of needs of children and youth affected by HIV and AIDS. Approaches vary in both strategy and scale. The vast majority of projects work with communities to identify opportunities that strengthen existing resources without undermining local ownership. In many places, communities are already mobilised and have systems in place to identify, protect, and provide basic necessities to the most vulnerable children. USAID supports the strengthening and monitoring of these existing activities

Paediatric ARV roll-out in South Africa

HORIZONS PROGRAM
CAPE TOWN UNIVERSITY
2005

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The Horizons Program of the Population Council and the University of Cape Town are conducting a study to identify successful programme strategies in paediatric HIV treatment in South Africa and to determine priority knowledge gaps to be addressed by operations research. This report summarises key findings from the initial consultative workshop of expert practitioners and stake-holders, focusing on the status of providing antiretroviral therapy to children in South Africa and strategies to expand and improve services. It includes providing services to under six year olds

Community television for the poor : a scoping study. Final technical report. The one to watch, literally?

BACHELOR, S
SCOTT, N
EASTWICK, G
et al
2005

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A technical report on the use of community television. The purpose of the research was to explore the opportunities presented by digital convergence for locally produced and broadcast integrated television and radio for development education, development communication strategies and local content capture among the poor. The research confirms the starting premises of the research, that community radio is known to have strong developmental benefits; that there is a strong trend towards television, even among the poor; and that there will be new opportunities for audiovisual media presented by digital convergence. The report concludes that community television could play a huge role in empowering local communities

The impact of antiretroviral treatment on AIDS mortality : a study focusing on educators in South African public schools

REHLE, Thomas
SHISANA, Olive
2005

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This study attempts to estimate the impact of antiretroviral treatment on AIDS mortality over the next ten years, focusing on educators in South African public schools. Recently, African governments have scaled up ART initiatives, but the full potential of wider access to treatment is still unknown. The results of this study show that given that ART only delays death, AIDS mortality rate will increase over time among treated people. Further, as HIV-positive people will survive longer, an expansion of ART programmes will result on higher HIV prevalence. These findings have crucial implications for the education sector. The paper calls for new government policies aimed at increasing the number of students preparing to become teachers and raising the retirement age of educators

Muslim responses to HIV/AIDS : case studies, key issues and ways forward

LIM, Shaheen
Ed
2005

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This book contains contributions to the Pre-International AIDS Conference Workshop. It begins with country specific case studies to review the responses to HIV & AIDS already implemented in Bangladesh, Thailand and South Africa. The second part of this publication explores key issues in HIV & AIDS - namely human rights and gender issues and the reasons why such issues need to be incorporated into programmes to address HIV & AIDS. The final part outlines the value of Islamic teachings that can be drawn upon in HIV & AIDS prevention and care, and the roles that should be played by government, religious leaders, and Muslim NGO activists in confronting the challenges presented by HIV & AIDS

Mapping malaria risk in Africa

MAPPING MALARIA RISK IN AFRICA / ATLAS DU RISKE DE LA MALARIA EN AFRIQUE (MARA/ARMA)
December 2004

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This site presents maps of malaria risk and endemicity (the presence of malaria) in Africa, drawing on published and unpublished data, and through spatial modelling of malaria distribution, seasonality and endemicity. Many factors, especially endemicity, affect the choice of control methods. In the absence of such data it is impossible to rationalize the allocation of limited resources for malaria control. This site presents an opportunity to rethink endemicity and how we may map malaria risk in order to better support planning and programming of malaria control

Shaping the conflict : factors influencing the representation of conflict around HIV/AIDS policy in the South African press

FINLAY, Alan
December 2004

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This article identifies three major constraints to better HIV and AIDS coverage in the South African media, which are the imperative of news values, economic constraints and lack of commitment to HIV and AIDS stories. The lack of editorial-level policy around HIV and AIDS coverage means that editorial decisions tend to be ad-hoc, reactive, and largely determined on a case by case basis

Disability and rehabilitation status : review of disability issues and rehabilitation services in 29 African countries

GIANNELLLI, Massimo
DEEPAK, Sunil
Eds
December 2004

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This report provides information related to disability issues and rehabilitation services, provided by 29 countries of Africa, and includes demographics, the presence of national policies and NGOs. The report is divided into the following three parts: a global review of information, the country profiles and a summary table of the information provided in individual countries. This report is useful for people interested in disability and rehabilitation services in Africa

Young children's participation : rhetoric or growing reality?

November 2004

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This special issue of Early Childhood Matters explores the topic of participation of young children. Some key articles present the analytical framework, exploring the relationship between child development and child participation. It is suggested that participation is not only a right but also an essential component of the development process, enabling children to learn to make informed decisions. Practical examples and field experiences from Mexico, Zimbabwe, The Netherlands, South Africa and Scotland are also included

Mobile phones keep track of HIV treatments

KHAN, Taman
September 2004

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Thi article reports on the Cell-Life project, which has developed a software and data management systems to allow health workers use their mobile phones to monitor patients' treatment. The data is transferred to a central database, which clinic staff can access over a secure Internet connection. In a successful pilot project 80 HIV counsellours where trained, and through the use of their mobiles are now able to keept track of nearly 800 patients

Antiretroviral roll-out in South Africa : where do children feature?

SHUNG-KING, Maylene
ZAMPOLI, Marco
August 2004

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This is a discussion paper on South Africa's 2003 roll out plan for the 'Comprehensive Care and Treatment for HIV and AIDS' and its implementation. It considers how the plan addresses children's needs and assesses its weaknesses, particularly in relation to the topic of ART for HIV-infected children. The paper laments that children's specific needs are not adequately dealt with, stressing that a comprehensive, child-oriented approach must give consideration to the mother-infant relationship and acknowledge that the health of the mother is a necessary component of the well-being of children. The plan also fails to consider the issues of children in residential care facilities, counselling needs of children, the specific difficulties associated with testing and diagnosing babies and children, and aspects of drug availability and treatment adherence in children. The paper concludes with recommendations designed to help policy making, service delivery and advocacy strategies. In particular the document calls for child-specific attention in areas of monitoring, adherence and drug provision, recommends that greater emphasis is placed on children's needs in the upscaling of ART provision, particularly through primary health care services, and that watchdog bodies and children's rights organisations take a more active role

Processes and issues for improving access to medicines : willingness and ability to utilise TRIPS flexibilities in non-producing countries

BAKER, Brook K.
August 2004

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This paper addresses the varied ways by which a non-medicine producing country may lawfully utilise the agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) flexibilities, primarily by importing. However, it also briefly discusses means for promoting local production through pharmaceutical capacity building and through both compulsory and voluntary licensing. To help decision-makers in understanding and evaluating the opportunities and constraints of each alternative, the paper briefly describes their respective advantages and disadvantages in terms of developing countries’ sustainable access to more affordable medicines, highlighting differing legal interpretations, political realities and pragmatic administrative and economic constraints

The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in African public library services

ROSENBURG, Diana
July 2004

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This article concerns the use of computers in public libraries in developing countries. To investigate the current level of use of ICTs and plans for the future within the public library environment, a survey was undertaken of 22 public library services in ten English-speaking African countries. The results indicate great disparities in the level of access to computers between the countries, and within country, and indicate a need for more funding and appropriate training

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