Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2015 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT : This study investigated the political role of the Weekend Nation newspaper in the democratisation of Malawi between 2002 and 2012 within the context of its foundational and ownership structures by a politician. Bearing in mind that the newspaper was founded by a politician belonging to the first democratically elected ruling party, the United Democratic Front (UDF), this research sought to examine the impact of media ownership on the political role of the Weekend Nation’s journalistic practices in Malawi’s democratisation. Between 2002 and 2012, Malawi was governed by three presidents – Bakili Muluzi of the UDF from 1994 to 2004, Bingu wa Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) from 2004 to 2012, and Joyce Banda of the People’s Party (PP) from 2012 to 2014 – all of whom were hostile to the Weekend Nation. Taking into cognisance the ownership of the Weekend Nation by a politician, the critical political economy theory of the media was deemed to be the most appropriate theoretical framework for this study. In media research, the critical political economy theory asserts that owners are able to regulate the output of the media institution either by intervening in the day-to-day operations, or by establishing general goals and understandings and appointing managerial and editorial staff to implement them within the constraints set by the overall allocation of resources. The study employed a qualitative research methodology, in particular in-depth interviews and qualitative content analysis. Research findings indicate that overall, the political ownership of the newspaper had no direct bearing on the journalists’ political role in the enhancement of democracy and good governance in Malawi. It established that despite the ownership of the Weekend Nation belonging to a prominent and influential politician, the editorial independence was not compromised. Contrary to general expectations, this study established that the Weekend Nation in Malawi, was critical to the political elite in an indiscriminate manner. Although it was not the focus of this study, the research also showed that market forces, in line with the stance taken by the critical political economy theory, had some impact on the Weekend Nation’s editorial independence. The quest for more advertising revenue, to an extent, undermined the struggle for complete editorial independence. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : Hierdie studie het die politieke rol van die koerant die Weekend Nation in die demokratisering van Malawi tussen 2002 en 2012 vanuit die konteks van sy fundamentele rol en eienaarskap deur die politieke elite ondersoek. Met as vertrekpunt dat die koerant gestig is deur ’n politikus wat lid was van die eerste demokraties-verkose regerende party, die United Democratic Front (UDF), het hierdie navorsing die impak van media-eienaarskap op die politieke rol van die joernalistieke praktyke van die koerant in Malawi se demokratisering ondersoek. Tussen 2002 en 2012 is Malawi deur drie president regeer – Bakili Muluzi van die UDF van 1994 tot 2004, Bingu wa Mutharika van die Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) van 2004 tot 2012, en Joyce Banda van die People’s Party (PP) van 2012 tot 2014 – al drie was vyandiggesind teenoor die Weekend Nation. In ag genome dat die Weekend Nation aan ’n politikus behoort, is die kritiese politieke ekonomie van die media-teorie die mees toepaslike teoretiese vertrekpunt vir hierdie studie. In medianavorsing dui dié teorie daarop dat die eienaar die inhoud van die media-instelling bepaal deur hetsy inmenging in die dag tot dag uitvoering van pligte, of deur algemene doelwitte en veronderstellings wat gestel word, en deur bestuurders en joernaliste aan te stel wat dit sal uitvoer binne die bepalings van die toegewysde hulpbronne. Die studie het kwalitatiewe navorsingsmetodologie toegepas, spesifiek indiepte- onderhoude en kwalitatiewe inhoudsanalsie. Die bevindings dui daarop dat die eienaarskap van die koerant geen direkte invloed op die joernaliste se politieke rol in die versterking van demokrasie en goeie bestuur in Malawi gehad het nie. Dit het vasgestel dat, ondanks die eienaarskap van die Weekend Nation aan ’n prominente en invloedryke politikus, die redaksionele onafhanklikheid nie gekompromitteer is nie. In teenstelling met algemene verwagtings het die studie bevind dat die Weekend Nation in Malawi krities ingestel was teenoor die politieke elite sonder om enige onderskeid te tref. Hoewel dit nie ’n fokus van die studie was nie, het dit ook aangedui dat markkragte, in ooreenstemming met die kritiese politieke ekonomie-teorie, tog ’n impak op die Weekend Nation se redaksionele onafhanklikheid gehad het. Die stewe na groter advertensie-inkomste het tot ’n mate die stryd vir algehele redaksionele onafhanklikheid ondermyn.

The thesis examines factors that influence sustainability and success of microfinance institutions in Ghana. The topic is important, particularly in poverty stricken Africa, where microfinance institutions play a significant role in supporting governments' initiatives to reduce/alleviate poverty. The developed model is tested using data collected from 14 face-to-face interviews and 114 questionnaires. The data is analysed using different techniques- descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations and regression analysis. The research design and scale of the study are appropriate to both the problem addressed and doctoral level research. A number of factors in the model developed were found to be influencing the sustainability and success of microfinance institutions. A model was proposed that seeks to offer an explanation of sustainability and success of Microfinance Institutions in Ghana. The proposed model identified five categories being: institutional characteristics, agency costs, business strategy, environment/governance and success. Single factor analysis established positive relationships between sustainability and all the five factors but placed more emphasis on three out of the five factors namely; success, business strategy and environment/ governance. Multiple factor analysis established no significant differences in the sustainability with respect to the type of MFI, ownership and source of funding. Multiple Regression which allows for the testing of theories or models established a significant relationship between the Operational Self Sufficiency (OSS) and the predictors, especially the drop-out rate of clients and average loans. The Subsidy Dependence Index (SDI) was calculated for the various types of MFIs and the result was a high dependency ratio especially among the FNGOs. Though the dependency is on the decline, it is very slow indicating that most MFIs will depend on subsidies for a very long time to come. Finally it was observed that the relatively high interest rates charged by most of the MFIs tended to defeat the purpose for which the microfinance movement came about. Not only did the study confirm the research model, but it also revealed that most owners did not exhibit a deep sense of involvement and used general knowledge to practice in Ghana. The study concluded that success factors, business strategy, and environment/governance were the most critical of the sustainability factors in Ghana. It is therefore important that managers develop institutional capacities especially in managing the agency problem effectively if they have to be sustainable and successful.

<p>Financial sector development can reduce poverty and promote economic growth by extending access to financial services in developing countries. Traditionally, banking in Sub-Saharan Africa has been conducted by state-owned banks. Although, evidence has shown that severe government involvement in the banking sector has proved to cause low profitability and inefficiency. During 2001, Uganda Commercial Bank, the dominant provider of banking experienced financial problems; as a result, the government had to privatize the bank. The aim of this thesis is therefore to investigate if the privatization prevented the banking sector from collapse and if it made the sector more competitive and outreaching. The main conclusion is that the privatization strongly prevented the banking sector from collapse. Since privatization, competition has increased sufficiently in urban areas of Uganda while rural areas have not experienced any significant increase in competition. Finally, we conclude that the outreach of banking has increased somewhat since the privatization, but it is still relatively poor.</p>

Frequent climatic shocks have presented challenges for rainfed agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. Appropriate water management practices are among the solutions to the challenges. The role of water harvesting in achieving sustainable agricultural intensification and specified resilience was explored. Suitable areas for water harvesting in the Upper Blue Nile basin were identified. The usefulness of the Curve Number method for surface runoff estimation was evaluated, and was found to perform satisfactorily. The impact of climate change in the Lake Tana sub-basin was studied. A decision support system was developed for locating and sizing of water harvesting ponds in the SWAT model. Methodological developments enabled analysis of the implications of water harvesting intensification in a meso-scale watershed in the Lake Tana sub-basin. Results suggest that water harvesting can increase agricultural productivity, sustain ecosystems and build specified resilience, and thereby contribute to sustainable agricultural intensification. There is considerable potential for water harvesting in the Upper Blue Nile Basin. Rainfall may increase in the Lake Tana sub-basin due to climate change. Supplementary irrigation from water harvesting ponds and better nutrient application increased staple crop production by up to three-fold. Moreover, a substantial amount of cash crop was produced using dry seasonal irrigation. Water harvesting altered the streamflow regime, and reduced sediment loss from the watershed.       Water harvesting can play an important role in food security. It showed potential to buffer climatic variability. In the watershed studied, water harvesting will not compromise the environmental water requirements. Instead, increased low flows, and reduced flooding and sediment loss may benefit the social-ecological systems. The adverse effects of disturbance of the natural flow variability and sediment influx to certain riverine ecosystems warrant detailed investigation. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Manuscript. Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 5: Epub ahead of print. Paper 6: Manuscript.</p> / Water resources management and social-ecological resilience

More than half of the human population will be living in urban areas in 2008, of which 81 percent will be in poor areas of towns and cities of the developing world. Governments of most African cities are unable to provide the urgently needed sanitation facilities amongst other services. The informal sector (small independent providers) rather than externally supported efforts provide the majority of household sanitation facilities. The commonly held assumption amongst sector professionals is that partnership with the informal private sector to develop the sanitation market is a sustainable way of increasing access to improved sanitation in low-income urban areas. This research assesses the capacity of small independent providers of sanitation services (SIPS) to up scale and accelerate the delivery of improved sanitation. The thesis adds to an · improved understanding of the capacity of small independent sanitation providers to upscale the delivery of improved sanitation and answers the following questions: what is their level of knowledge, skills and experiences of various sanitation options?; what are house owners' preferences?; and what are their experiences of obtaining sanitation services from small independent providers?. The research adopted a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies in order to ensure the validity and reliability of the findings. The field work was conducted in the three municipalities in the city of Oar es Salaam, Tanzania. The thesis concludes that small independent providers have the potential to upscale the delivery of improved sanitation facilities but not without capacity building, particularly in the areas of developing appropriate sanitation technologies; appropriate enabling environment (infrastructure to support hygienic emptying and sludge disposal, and effective policy and regulatory framework) and support with demand generation. The implications of the research highlight the need to integrate any SIPS capacity enhancement and 'official' involvement in sanitation provision as part of an urban improvement programme. The recommendations from the thesis outline key support areas for the respective SIPS typologies, and the responsibilities of the various stakeholders (government, NGOs, donors) and SIPS. Potential areas of further research include development of appropriate sanitation technology for low-income urban settlements and creating an effective enabling environment.

Understanding the conflict potential of climate variability is critical for assessing and dealing with the societal implications of climate change. Yet, it remains poorly understood under what circumstances – and how – extreme weather events and variation in precipitation patterns affect organized violence. This dissertation suggests that the impacts of climate variability on organized violence are conditional on specific climate patterns, the sensitivity of livelihoods, and state governance. These theoretical conjectures are subjected to novel empirical tests in four individual essays. Three essays investigate the relationship between climate variability and communal and civil conflict through sub-national quantitative analysis focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa. The fourth essay sheds light on causal mechanisms leading to participation in land-related conflict based on interview material on 75 ex-participants in violence from Mt. Elgon, Kenya. Essay I suggests that the exposure of vulnerable agricultural livelihoods to sustained drought increases the risk of civil conflict violence. Essay II indicates that rainfall anomalies increase the risk of communal violence, an effect which is amplified by political marginalization. Essay III finds support for the proposition that volatility in resource supply increases the risk of communal conflict over land and water in remote regions, which tend to have limited state presence. Essay IV proposes that individuals depending on agriculture are prone to participate in land-related conflict as they face impediments to leaving a conflict zone, and additionally have high incentives to partake in fighting for land. Taken together, the dissertation furthers our understanding of the specific economic and political context under which climate variability impacts armed conflict. This knowledge is important for conflict-sensitive adaptation to climate change and conflict prevention efforts.

Background: Children with disabilities living in low and middle income countries’ perceptions of participation are not shown in research. These perceptions are important for providing appropriate interventions. Aim: To describe how children aged 8-12 with an intellectual disability living in Ethiopia perceive their situation regarding participation in activities in everyday life. Method: A descriptive design with a quantitative approach was used. The sample was gathered using consecutive sampling. Fifteen structured interviews were conducted, using “Picture my participation,” an instrument under development. Analyses were made using SPSS Statistics and Microsoft Excel. Results: The children perceived that they participated in activities in everyday life. There was a broad variation in the activities the children prioritized as most important. On a group level, they were very involved in these activities. The majority did not experience any barriers to perform these activities. Conclusions: The perceptions of the majority of the children were that they were involved in daily activities. They did not experience any barriers to participation. The results should be read with caution and generalization is not possible, due to the sample characteristics and that the instrument is under development. / Bakgrund: Barn med funktionsnedsättningar som bor i låg- och medelinkomstländers uppfattningar om delaktighet är inte påvisade i forskning. Dessa uppfattningar är viktiga för att tillhandahålla lämpliga interventioner. Syfte: Att beskriva hur barn i åldrarna 8-12 år med en intellektuell funktionsnedsättning som bor i Etiopien uppfattar sin situation gällande delaktighet i vardagliga aktiviteter. Metod: En deskriptiv design med kvantitativ ansats har använts. Urvalet har samlats in genom konsekutivt urval. Femton strukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med användning av ”Picture my participation”, ett datainsamlingsinstrument under utveckling. Dataanalysen gjordes i SPSS Statistics och Microsoft Excel. Resultat: Barnen uppfattade att de deltog i vardagliga aktiviteter. Det var en stor variation i vilka aktiviteter barnen prioriterade som viktigast och på gruppnivå var de mycket delaktiga i dessa aktiviteter. Majoriteten av barnen uppgav att de inte upplevde några hinder för att utföra dessa aktiviteter. Slutsatser: Majoriteten av barnens uppfattning var att de är delaktiga i dagliga aktiviteter i hög grad och att de inte upplever några hinder för att delta. Resultatet bör tolkas med försiktighet och det är inte möjligt att generalisera resultatet, eftersom urvalet är litet och instrumentet är under utveckling.

Bien que l'infection par le virus de l'immunodéficience humaine (VIH) ne puisse être éradiquée, elle peut être contenue, et les traitements antirétroviraux (ARV) constituent la meilleure option existante pour empêcher de façon durable la réplication virale chez les personnes infectées. Chaque molécule ARV, seule est insuffisante pour juguler l'action du virus. Pour devenir "hautement actives", les thérapies ARV (highly Active Antiretroviral Therapies, HAART) doivent combiner l'action complémentaire de plusieurs molécules qui doivent être consommées ensembles. Si les avancées de la littérature économique existante sur les marchés pharmaceutiques restent pertinentes, de nouvelles considérations doivent venir s'ajouter à l'étude de marché des traitements utilisés pour la prise en charge du VIH. Cette caractéristique composite inhérente aux multithérapies, peut être appréhendée par le concept économique de bien "système". En s'appuyant sur deux projets de recherche menés au Brésil et dans sept pays d'Afrique subsaharienne, cette thèse s'attache à analyser les implications des évolutions du marché pharmaceutique inetrnational non plus au seul niveau de chaque molécule mais également au niveau de la multithérapie dans son ensemble. En participant à la meilleure compréhension des mécanismes qui sous-tendent aux marchés des médicaments ARV à destination des pays du Sud, les leçons issues de ces études empiriques, à la croisée entre droits de propriété intellectuelle, structure de marché, coût et disponibilité des traitements, apportent une contribution aux débats économiques et de santé publique engendrés par l'objectif d'un accès universel aux traitements du VIH. / Although human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cannot be cured, infection with HIV can be restrained by antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, the best existing option to suppress replication of the virus on a long term basis among treated patients. Action of each individual ARV molecule, by itself, is inadequate to suppress viral replication. To become "highly active", antiretroviral therapies (HAART) have to combine several complementary drugs which have to be consume together. Even if existing economic literature on pharmaceutical markets offers several valuable insights, the analysis of markets in drugs used against HIV infection must take into account the composite structure of treatment. Such specificity, inherent ARV therapy, can be analyzed through the economic concept of "system " goods. The thesis is based on two empirical researches which have been conducted in Brazil and in seven sub-saharan Africa countries with aim to study recent evolutions that occured on the international pharmaceutical market considering both individual molecule and ARV therapy as a whole. Standing at the crossroads between intellectual property rights, market structures, treatment cost and availability, lessons emerging from our researcg contribute to provide a better understanding of mechanisms impacting on ARV markets in Southern Countries as well as economic and public health debates raised by the issue of universal access to HIV treatment.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) worldwide has grown exponentially in the last two decades and while sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has been grappling with the crippling effects of epidemic infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria, cardiovascular disease is now emerging as a grievous concern. Research and resources have largely been directed toward understanding and curtailing infectious diseases in the African continent. But as the risk of cardiovascular disease reaching endemic proportions in sub-Saharan Africa becomes more evident, research is critically needed in order to understand how to manage it and more importantly to direct the development and implementations of culturally relevant prevention strategies. The risks and effects of CVD are present in both men and women across the globe, but there are differences in their occurrence based on gender that are worth considering. Women in sub-Saharan Africa, who are already burdened with the disadvantage of access to health care by virtue of their gender alone, are likely to be most adversely affected by CVD. Socioeconomic status (SES), epidemiologic transition and urbanization, lifestyle changes, and gender-based violence are all factors implicated in the compounded risk for CVD among women in this region. To understand how women in a sub-Saharan region perceive CVD and its risk factors, this descriptive phenomenological study set out to answer the following research question: How do Kenyan women perceive the modifiable risk factors for CVD? Furthermore, how do they perceive its effects on their lives and their families? Two samples from central Kenya representing an urban and rural area were selected and interviewed in a focus group setting. A number of themes were extrapolated from the interviews. The modifiable risk factors were perceived to be independent of CVD. Diet modification and physical activity were found to be helpful in controlling these diseases but clear understanding on their effects on overall cardiovascular health was lacking. Cigarette smoking generated the least discussion because none of the women were smokers. The effects of having either hypertension or type two diabetes included financial cost, emotional burden on the women and their families, and the concern of losing a breadwinner from disease or illness. These results have implications in nursing practice, public health, primary care provision, and national and global policies. They also shed light on areas of potential consideration in prevention program design and implementation. Awareness, though felt by the women to be slowly gaining in Kenya, is key to disease prevention. There is limited research on this subject matter in SSA and more studies are needed to understand the scope and effects of CVD in this region.

Markers on the non-recombining region of chromosome Y is a useful tool for study of diversity between populations. SNPs are the most commom polymorphisms in human genome. Mutation rate of SNPs is very low and so they may be used as genetic markers in evolutionary and population studies. We have analyzed 205 unrelated men from 11 Sub-Saharan Fulani's subpopulations. Fulani are an ethnic group of people spread over many countries, mainly in West Africa. Our samples are from Tindangou area, Banfora area (Burkina Faso), Bongor area, Linia area (Chad), Diafarabé area (Mali), Tcheboua area (Cameroon), Banfora area, Diffa area, Zinder area, Ader area and Abalak area (Niger). Using kit Signet Y-SNP Identification Systems and Luminex instrument with LabMAP Luminex Technology we detected particular Y chromosome's SNPs. LabMAP Luminex Technology is universal array platform, which as a probe using fluorescent polystyrene microspheres. We have observed 12 different haplogroups. Haplogroup E, which is typical African haplogroups, is determined with derivated allele in polymorfism M96. We have detected haplogroup E in maximum of 89,3% in the Fulani's subpopulations. In 7,8% we have detected haplogroup R, which is characteristic of populations in the Euroasia. Gene pool of Fulani's population is influenced with a...