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The benefit of digitalisation, including the use of information management systems and electronic databases, in improving the effectiveness of social protection programmes is acknowledged by researchers and practitioners. However, concerns about digital- and financial exclusion stemming from increased reliance on digital technologies have also surfaced in recent studies. This study uses official data from South Africa's General Household Survey and the Global Findex database to explore these concerns. The potential gains of expanding social protection programmes through digitalisation are tested with simulations and distinct levels of income shocks. Additionally, two logistic regressions are employed to analyse relevant demographic variables for digital and financial inclusion. In combination with the quantitative approach, qualitative interviews were conducted with social protection experts from the South African Social Security Agency to gain insights into the impact of the digitalisation of social protection programmes. The results suggest that digitalising identification and delivery mechanisms in social protection improves equality through increased income levels. Digital access is associated with education, income, gender, population group, family size, and participation in the formal or informal sector. Financial access is linked to education level and gender. The study also identified perceived opportunities, including enhanced verification and streamlined application processes, which can improve programme effectiveness. However, integration, coordination, limited digital infrastructure, and digital illiteracy challenges may increase both digital- and financial exclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The performance of the hybrids was primarily affected by the environment, planting dates, and their interactions. • The magnitudes of the GEI sum of squares were more than five times that of the hybrid sum of squares for the grain yield. • The stability of hybrids did not show the same trend across environments among the planting dates. • AMMI, Pi, GGE, YSI, and ASV analysis methods effectively identified stable and high-yielding hybrids. • Dealing with GEI is a valuable strategy to optimize resources in maize breeding programs. Maize is one of the most important field crops for feed, food, and raw material in South Africa. It is the main staple food for the majority of the people impoverished households in South Africa. Maize is susceptible to drought, and erratic rainfall and extreme climate variation are major maize production constraints in South Africa. This study aimed to determine the influence of planting dates on the grain yield stability of six maize genotypes in five environments for three (2019/20 to 2021/22) consecutive seasons. The additive main effect and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) model indicated that the environment contributed 59.20 % and 47.76 % of the total variation in grain yield at planting dates one (PD1) and two (PD2), respectively. The magnitudes of the genotype x environment interaction sum of squares were 5.20 for PD1 and 12.30 for PD2 times that of the genotype (genotype) sum of squares for the grain yield (GEI). The first principal component accounted for 53.14 % (PD1) and 47.76 % (PD2) of the total variation in the dataset. The AMMI genotype superiority measure (Pi), genotype and genotype by environment interaction (GGE), yield stability index, and AMMI stability value analyses identified genotypes DKC75–65BR and DKC78–45BRGEN as stable and high yielding across environments and planting dates. Genotype DKC71–44B was the least stable at both planting dates. Bothaville (E7) for PD1 and Coligny 2021/22(E13) for PD2 had high yield potential and were favorable environments, whereas Potchefstroom 2019/20 and 2021/22 were the least favorable environments for PD1 and PD2, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Most neonatal bloodstream infection episodes were hospital-acquired (91%). • Multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae was the dominant pathogen. • Bloodstream infection episodes contributed to 13% of inpatient neonatal deaths. • Very low birth weight and male sex doubled the risk of mortality. Epidemiological data on neonatal bloodstream infections (BSI) in sub-Saharan Africa are extremely limited. A comparative analysis of laboratory-confirmed neonatal BSI episodes was conducted retrospectively in two large neonatal units in Botswana and South Africa (January 1 to December 31, 2017). Routine laboratory and ward register data were used to determine BSI rates, the pathogen spectrum, and BSI outcomes. In 2017, the Princess Marina Hospital (PMH) and Tygerberg Hospital (TBH) neonatal units admitted 1187 and 2826 neonates, respectively. The BSI incidence rate was 12.1/1000 patient-days (95% confidence interval (CI) 10.2–14.3) at PMH and 3.5/1000 patient-days (95% CI 2.9–4.1) at TBH (p < 0.0001). Most BSI episodes were hospital-acquired (260/284; 91.6%). The blood culture contamination rate was substantially higher at PMH than TBH (152/1116 (13.6%) vs 122/2559 (4.8%); p < 0.001). The crude mortality rate in neonates with BSI was 21.2% (53/250) and significantly higher at TBH than PMH (38/128 (29.7%) vs 15/122 (12.3%), p = 0.001). Factors independently associated with death were birth weight <1500 g (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 2.8, 95% CI 1.3–6.4; p = 0.02) and male sex (aOR 2.1, 95% CI 1.1–3.7; p = 0.01). Klebsiella pneumoniae was the dominant BSI pathogen in both units, accounting for two-thirds of BSI, and was associated with a large infection outbreak at PMH. Antibiotic resistance rates were substantial in both neonatal units, particularly for K. pneumoniae (98/122 (80.3%), extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producers) and Staphylococcus aureus (22/33 (66.7%), methicillin-resistant). BSI rates and associated mortality were substantial in these two neonatal units in sub-Saharan Africa. ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae remains a leading BSI and outbreak pathogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The World Health Organization now recommends the use of typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs) in typhoid-endemic countries, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, added TCVs into the portfolio of subsidized vaccines. Data from the Severe Typhoid Fever in Africa (SETA) program were used to contribute to TCV introduction decision-making processes, exemplified for Ghana and Madagascar. Methods Data collected from both countries were evaluated, and barriers to and benefits of introduction scenarios are discussed. No standardized methodological framework was applied. Results The Ghanaian healthcare system differs from its Malagasy counterpart: Ghana features a functioning insurance system, antimicrobials are available nationwide, and several sites in Ghana deploy blood culture–based typhoid diagnosis. A higher incidence of antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella Typhi is reported in Ghana, which has not been identified as an issue in Madagascar. The Malagasy people have a low expectation of provided healthcare and experience frequent unavailability of medicines, resulting in limited healthcare-seeking behavior and extended consequences of untreated disease. Conclusions For Ghana, high typhoid fever incidence coupled with spatiotemporal heterogeneity was observed. A phased TCV introduction through an initial mass campaign in high-risk areas followed by inclusion into routine national immunizations prior to expansion to other areas of the country can be considered. For Madagascar, a national mass campaign followed by routine introduction would be the introduction scenario of choice as it would protect the population, reduce transmission, and prevent an often-deadly disease in a setting characterized by lack of access to healthcare infrastructure. New, easy-to-use diagnostic tools, potentially including environmental surveillance, should be explored and improved to facilitate identification of high-risk areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contrasts the lawmaking process in the Eritrean transitional legal framework with experience in South Africa, which offers insightful lessons for future improvement in Eritrea. Indeed, the Eritrean lawmaking process retains many imperfections in terms of the design of the interim constitution and ensuing practice. On paper, the competence of the executive and the legislature is not clearly demarcated. Rather, it is nebulously shared between both branches, resulting inevitably in competing interests. The lawmaking process lacks democratic characteristics and defies the requirements of accountability and good governance. The practice that has followed is worse. In a country with a protracted history of executive dominance, the lawmaking competence conferred upon the executive has inexorably contributed to entrenched dictatorship. The article offers suggestions for improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]