Suchergebnisse

Every child is entitled to access quality early childhood education. Education services are meant to develop all individuals' cognitive capacities, though this may vary with individuals given their variable genetic make-up. Early childhood education is one way in which children are developed for the future. This study sought to establish the accessibility and equality in the provision of early childhood education services to children in the Kingdom of Eswatini, Manzini region. Open-ended interviews were the instruments used for data collection. Thematic analysis was the data analysis method used in this study. The study found that in the Kingdom of Eswatini in Manzini region, not all children of early childhood going age go to school due to limited finances, poverty, and sicknesses. The study concluded that there is no equality in the provision of early childhood education, as privately-owned early childhood development centers were meant for the few who could afford, as most parents could not afford the fees. The study also found that some parents were not aware of the value of early childhood education. The study recommends that the Ministry of Education formulates a policy that will compel all children to attend early childhood education to achieve their goal of providing equal and quality education to all children in the country. The government of the Kingdom of Eswatini should pronounce the value of early childhood education and start funding preschool education and also provide a documented national curriculum to ensure equality.

Education services are meant for developing the cognitive capacities of all individuals, though this may vary with individuals given their variable genetic make-up. Early childhood education is one way in which children are developed for the future. This study sought to establish how early childhood education services were valued, made available and accessible to children in a developing country. Open-ended interviews and observations were the instruments used for data collection. Thematic analysis was the data analysis method used in this study. The findings of the study revealed that there were benefits in preschool education and that those learners who missed early childhood education were slow and took long to grasp concepts. The study also found that in the Kingdom of Eswatini not all children of early childhood going age go to school due to limited finances, poverty and sicknesses. The study concluded that privately-owned early childhood development centres are expensive and most parents could not afford the fees. The study recommended that the ministry should consider ECE and start funding preschool education and also provide a documented curriculum to ensure that children who attended preschool get the required skill as expected. The Ministry of Education needs to provide for ECE if they have to achieve their goal of providing equal and quality education to all Eswatini children. The ministry should be prepared to build more preschools, to at least see each primary school having a preschool owned by the government linked to it

Transitioning to adulthood can be stressful, particularly when young people live in challenging contexts. One such context is Eswatini, a low-income African country challenged by structural violence. Still, how Swazi emerging adults mitigate related challenges is unknown. To redress this knowledge gap, we report a qualitative study with 30 Swazi emerging adults (15 men; 15 women; 18-to-24-years) living in Matsapha, an industrial hub characterised by relentless physical, social, and financial stressors. Using reflexive thematic analysis, we found that a mix of resources (personal drive, enabling connections, a resourced ecology) co-supported resilience to stressors that emerging adults perceived as unavoidable. The detail of this resource-mix implies that emerging adult resilience is a developmentally and contextually responsive process. The findings also signpost that emerging adult resilience is a collaborative effort, one that requires an enabling physical and relational environment, and government commitment to co-facilitating that environment.

The objective of this brief is to analyze Eswatini's performance and discuss lessons from the implementation of the inaugural CAADP BR mechanism. Based on the results, recommendations are proposed for strengthening mutual accountability and performance of the agriculture sector in Eswatini. The analysis is based on results of the Africa Agriculture Transformation Scorecard (AATS) that was presented to African Heads of State and Government in January 2018. Additional information for the analysis came from technical notes in Eswatini's BR report. Furthermore, experiences and lessons from continental and regional engagements in the implementation of the BR process were also integrated in the analysis. ; Non-PR ; IFPRI2; ReSAKSS ; AFR

This article sets out to examine the origin and development of Eswatini irredentism in southern Africa as a neglected theme in African scholarship. Eswatini irredentist disputes, albeit unresolved, have been a subject of mere peripheral allusion in southern African scholarship. The global importance of irredentism as a phenomenon in international relations since the end of the Cold War makes this study imperative. How the smallest and landlocked state on the Southern African mainland can audaciously and persistently make territorial claims against its giant South African neighbour is intriguing, paradoxical and worth investigating. The study methodology involved the use of archival documentation, newspaper articles, government gazettes, in- depth interviews and focus group discussions (FGD). This study revealed that Eswatini irredentism is ethnic nationalism par excellence and its roots were nurtured by the imperial order and South Africa before Eswatini's independence. After independence in 1968, Eswatini irredentism blossomed on historical and ethnic foundations, and was tolerated and fanned by South Africa as a strategy of surreptitiously establishing an Eswatini Bantustan for the resettlement of ethnic Eswatini people and other blacks. The post-apartheid South African governments did a volte-face and rejected persistent Eswatini irredentist claims in toto nourished by the Sobhuza Testament.

The transition from subsistence to commercial production poses uncertainty and risks that require putting in place adaptive systems. Such systems are imperative for agricultural production where weather and food markets are always changing. Disregarding risk factors has a cumulative negative impact on the intended outcomes. The marginality of smallholder farmers' operational environment renders them limited to strive without government interventions. Research has proven that smallholder farmers face numerous challenges in vegetable value chains. The study sought to identify and characterise smallholder growers risk factors when producing for this value chain. A sequential mixed-method research design was adopted, and data collected from fifty-eight growers from three producer groups in the Manzini and Hhohho regions. Discriminant analysis validated the heterogeneity of respondents using the experience on risk factors. The growers were significantly affected by market and production risks. The clustered growers had a high probability of losses in the value of the harvest whereas the private growers had a high probability of yield changes. Fruit size and postharvest handling contributed to changes in the value of the harvest. An improved cold chain system could enable symmetry in the harvest scheduling and grade information as well as prompt payments. Interventions toward enabling access and use of quality farm inputs would curb yield variations. Future research could quantify yield losses at each stage of postharvest handling toward informing the risk management strategy.

Eswatini achieved a 44% decrease in new HIV infections from 2014 to 2019 through substantial scale-up of testing and treatment. However, it still has one of the highest rates of HIV incidence in the world, with 14 infections per 1,000 adults 15–49 years estimated for 2017. The Government of Eswatini has called for an 85% reduction in new infections by 2023 over 2017 levels. To make further progress towards this target and to achieve maximum health gains, this study aims to model optimized investments of available HIV resources.

Eswatini was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to pass a National Malaria Elimination Policy in 2011, and later set a target for elimination by the year 2020. This case study aimed to review the malaria surveillance data of Eswatini collected over 8 years between 2012 and 2019 to evaluate the country's efforts that targeted malaria elimination by 2020. Coverage of indoor residual spraying (IRS) for vector control and data on malaria cases were provided by the National Malaria Programme (NMP) of Eswatini. The data included all cases treated for malaria in all health facilities. The data was analysed descriptively. Over the 8 years, a total of 5511 patients reported to the health facilities with malaria symptoms. The case investigation rate through the routine surveillance system increased from 50% in 2012 to 84% in 2019. Incidence per 1000 population at risk fluctuated over the years, but in general increased from 0.70 in 2012 to 1.65 in 2019, with the highest incidence of 3.19 reported in 2017. IRS data showed inconsistency in spraying over the 8 years. Most of the cases were diagnosed by rapid diagnostic test (RDT) kits in government (87.6%), mission (89.1%), private (87%) and company/industry-owned facilities (84.3%), either singly or in combination with microscopy. Eswatini has fallen short of achieving malaria elimination by 2020. Malaria cases are still consistently reported, albeit at low rates, with occasional localized outbreaks. To achieve elimination, it is critical to optimize timely and well-targeted IRS and to consider rational expansion of tools for an integrated malaria control approach in Eswatini by including tools such as larval source management, long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), screening of mosquito house entry points, and chemoprophylaxis. The establishment of rigorous routine entomological surveillance should also be prioritized to determine the local malaria vectors' ecology, potential species diversity, the role of secondary vectors and insecticide resistance. ; The AFRO-II ...

Eswatini was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to pass a National Malaria Elimination Policy in 2011, and later set a target for elimination by the year 2020. This case study aimed to review the malaria surveillance data of Eswatini collected over 8 years between 2012 and 2019 to evaluate the country's efforts that targeted malaria elimination by 2020. Coverage of indoor residual spraying (IRS) for vector control and data on malaria cases were provided by the National Malaria Programme (NMP) of Eswatini. The data included all cases treated for malaria in all health facilities. The data was analysed descriptively. Over the 8 years, a total of 5511 patients reported to the health facilities with malaria symptoms. The case investigation rate through the routine surveillance system increased from 50% in 2012 to 84% in 2019. Incidence per 1000 population at risk fluctuated over the years, but in general increased from 0.70 in 2012 to 1.65 in 2019, with the highest incidence of 3.19 reported in 2017. IRS data showed inconsistency in spraying over the 8 years. Most of the cases were diagnosed by rapid diagnostic test (RDT) kits in government (87.6%), mission (89.1%), private (87%) and company/industry-owned facilities (84.3%), either singly or in combination with microscopy. Eswatini has fallen short of achieving malaria elimination by 2020. Malaria cases are still consistently reported, albeit at low rates, with occasional localized outbreaks. To achieve elimination, it is critical to optimize timely and well-targeted IRS and to consider rational expansion of tools for an integrated malaria control approach in Eswatini by including tools such as larval source management, long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), screening of mosquito house entry points, and chemoprophylaxis. The establishment of rigorous routine entomological surveillance should also be prioritized to determine the local malaria vectors' ecology, potential species diversity, the role of secondary vectors and insecticide resistance.

Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is the last African country maintaining diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Given China's growing economic influence in Africa, why does Eswatini persist in its alliance with Taiwan?