Dutch grant to improve education quality
Over the next five years, a consortium of top education specialists will investigate methods of how to improve the literacy and numeracy skills of primary school pupils, with a R69 million grant from the Netherlands Embassy.  Ambassador Frans Engering (left) of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Embassy in Pretoria and Dr Olive Shisana, CEO and president of the HSRC, signs the agreement to set the ball rolling for the Literacy and Numeracy Research Project, with Mr Cornelius Hacking, first secretary education of the Embassy looking on. | The HSRC signed an agreement with the Netherlands Embassy on 23 January in Pretoria which will see the implementation of the project in four categories, namely knowledge advancement, strategic research capacity and institutional and community support. The consortium, to be led by the HSRC’s Dr Anil Kanjee, executive director of the National Education Quality Initiative, consists of leading experts in the field of literacy and numeracy research, namely JET Education Services (JET), the Education Policy Consortium (EPC) and the Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa (PRAESA). The project is endorsed by the National Department of Education. HSRC president and CEO, Dr Olive Shisana, said at the signing of the agreement that there was consensus among educators that one of the key challenges in South African education was its generally poor quality, and that one of the best ways of changing this was to find ways of improving literacy and numeracy at primary school level. Shisana emphasised the importance of working with the Department of Education, who will implement the recommendations and change classroom practices. Kanjee said each of the research partners would look into aspects of the education system to determine which factors affected quality. Focus areas would include the development of an integrated national assessment system to provide timeous and relevant information to key decision-makers for use in improving learning; an analysis of the use of teaching and learning materials and electronic media in teaching numeracy and mathematics in grades 1–6; how teachers helped pupils in multigrade rural and farm schools to become literate and numerate; and how schools management and the teaching of literacy and numeracy could be assisted by education department officials and other outside communities. Also present at the signing were Mr John Pampallis and Mr Enver Motala of EPC, Dr Nick Taylor of JET, Dr Neville Alexander of PRAESA and Mr Desmond Fillis of the Department of Education.
Custodians of birth traditions have a role in HIV/AIDS prevention
 Traditional birth attendants in colourful dress | Traditional birth attendants, or ababalekisi basekhaya, could greatly contribute towards decreasing the high rates of obstetric complications, especially in rural villages, says Ms Nomvo Dwadwa-Henda, a chief researcher in the HSRC’s Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS and Health research programme. The HSRC conducted a study to identify the barriers to effective implementation of preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programmes in the Flagstaff area in the Eastern Cape. The study also looked at groups that could have an effect on PMTCT, including traditional birth attendants. This aspect of the study involved interviews with 30 traditional birth attendants (TBAs) among the amaMpondo. The HSRC team, assisted by the Department of Health in the province, provided some training in hygienic practices, early recognition of obstetric emergency care, issues of unsafe traditional practices and the prevention of HIV transmission from mother to child. The study concluded that TBAs should be integrated into the healthcare system in the region and recommended training in hygienic practices and basic obstetric care to improve the ‘immense shortage’ of healthcare in rural settings, Dwadwa-Henda says.
Between the university and the village
Universities can be at the forefront of the battle against poverty, says Professor Mokubung Nkomo, editor of a study entitled The Realm of Possibilities: From disadvantage to development at the University of Fort Hare and the University of the North.  Professor Mokubung Nkomo | A situational analysis conducted by the HSRC at the universities of Fort Hare and the North (now Limpopo) argues that universities, especially rural-based universities, can and should play a vanguard role in poverty reduction. Rural universities in South Africa are characterised by the anaemic conditions of the second economy, Nkomo says. They are predominantly black, underdeveloped and surrounded by poverty and high unemployment. The two universities analysed are strategically positioned to play a crucial role in releasing the rural sector from its traditional marginal status. ‘If they take advantage of the existing opportunities and if there is commitment from government and development agencies, they can become the long sought-after hope for the millions in rural communities and a ladder to leapfrog into the first economy,’ he says. The situational analysis, accompanied by reflective essays, points to the need for a concerted effort to critically engage rural peoples dayto- day life experiences. Such an approach seeks to bridge the gap between the university and the village through the application of appropriate research and technologies. Extracts from an article by Professor Mokubung Nkomo – a former executive director of the HSRC and now Professor of Education at the University of Pretoria – in Business Day (8 December 2006). The publication,‘Within the Realm of Possibility: From disadvantage to development at the University of Fort Hare and the University of the North’ is available from the HSRC Press (2006).
Social accountability network promotes good governance in Africa
Government and civil society leaders from across Africa met in December in Pretoria to launch the Affiliated Network for Social Accountability (ANSA)-Africa, an innovative new mechanism to support social accountability initiatives on the African continent. The launch was hosted by the HSRC, in partnership with the World Bank. ANSA-Africa is a new network designed to become the leading African institution for supporting citizen involvement in governance initiatives in the delivery of service on the continent. By building on existing African expertise, ANSA supports the engagement of citizens and civil society in building more effective states through social accountability approaches. With an initial endowment for three years from the World Bank’s Development Grant Facility, ANSA-Africa will link with partners across the continent who in turn will forge their own regional and local associations to support social accountability initiatives. The network will transmit information about effective tools and approaches and serve as an incubator for innovative new approaches, both nationally and regionally. The network will work to improve current methodologies – such as citizen report cards, participatory budgeting and participatory public expenditure tracking surveys, among others – that ensure greater transparency in the use of public resources and responsiveness to citizen demand. For more information, go to http://www.ansa-africa.org.za.
End of five-year project on orphans and vulnerable children
 Ms Yolandi Shean, coordinator of the closing workshops and dinner, and Professor Geoffrey Setswe, OVC project co-ordinator | A five-year intervention project on orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) came to an end in December 2006, with two closing workshops, an Advisory Board meeting and a dinner in Pretoria in February. The two workshops consisted of a scientific writing workshop and a good practice OVC interventions workshop. Several papers and joint authorships were finalised at these workshops.  Professor Leickness Simbayi, research director and OVC project leader, at the dinner in Pretoria | The HSRC, together with its partners – the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, the Masiela Trust Fund in Botswana and the Family AIDS Caring Trust in Zimbabwe, were commissioned by the WK Kellogg Foundation in 2002 to develop and implement the project, worth $5 million (about R50 million), as part of the Foundation’s 75th anniversary in 2002. The overall philosophy behind the project, says Professor Geoffrey Setswe, chief research specialist in the Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS and Health research programme, was to empower communities to develop, implement and evaluate some existing and new OVC intervention programmes. These programmes address home-based, child-centred health, development, education and support; family and household support; the strengthening of community-support systems; and building HIV/AIDS awareness, advocacy and policy to benefit OVCs. Setswe says that although the project has come to an official end, new, smaller collaborations between partner organisations will ensure sustainability of the momentum created by the project. More than 14 reports emanated from this project and can be ordered or downloaded from www.hsrcpress.ac.za.
4th SAHARA conference aims to develop home-grown interventions for HIV/AIDS
 The sun sets over the Victoria Lake in Kisumu, Kenya, where the 4th SAHARA Conference will take place from 29 April – 2 May | The Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research Alliance (SAHARA) is expecting more than 400 delegates to descend on Kisumu, Kenya, from 29 April to 2 May to deliberate on Innovations in Access to Prevention, Treatment and Care in HIV/AIDS. The SAHARA Conference is a networking instrument, which intends to share information, best practices and innovations in the field of the social and behavioural aspects of HIV and AIDS. In the process it hopes to find a range of robust, home-grown African interventions in prevention and care that can be scaled up to other communities according to their specific circumstances and needs, says Dr Dan Kaseje, coordinator of SAHARA in East Africa. For more information, go to http://www.sahara.org.za.
Identity and cultural diversity in conflict resolution
The causes of conflict most often relate to struggles for power and unequal access to resources. Diverse ethnic and cultural identities are often used to mobilise supporters from civil society. In these processes, passive cultural diversity – characterised by peaceful coexistence and tolerance – undergoes a dramatic change and imposes differences on communities, fuelling conflict and civil war. This was highlighted in country studies presented at a workshop attended by 17 researchers from Africa, Europe and the USA to discuss the relationship between identity, cultural diversity, democratisation and conflict resolution in Africa. The workshop was co-ordinated by Dr Gerard Hagg, senior research specialist in the Society, Culture and Identity (SCI) research programme. Papers were delivered on the situation in Burundi, Cameroon, DRC, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan and Zimbabwe. Additional papers were read on the work of the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) and the Observatory of Cultural Policies in Africa (OCPA). Hagg says discussions focused on the nature of the African state and nation building, institutional and economic fragmentation in states and regions, and the role of cultural diversity and identity politics in conflict resolution, peace-making and democratisation processes. Issues of culture and identity included language, shared values and commonalities, the use of the media for manipulation of civil-society perceptions, and the need for a holistic approach to conflict resolution and transformation. Hagg says the workshop illustrated the need for research on these issues within the African Renaissance context, linking policies developed by the African Union, regional organisations and NEPAD. Download the full report 
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