I. Other

Permanent URI for this collection

About this Collection

This collection contains slide presentations and audio/video recordings not provided for elsewhere. This includes events/activities/participation in special day, special week, special month and special year celebrations, as well as science festivals and thematic weeks, e.g. National Science Week, Science Engagement and Open Access Week.

Peer-Review Status: Non-Peer Reviewed

Enquiries: Henriëtte Wagner

Browse

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
  • Item
    2023 World Food Day Webinar on “Opportunities towards Sustainable Food Security in South African Urban Settings”
    (Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) and Green Youth Network (GYN), 2023) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)
    World Food Day (WFD) is celebrated across 150 countries yearly on 16th of October. The theme for 2023 is Water is life, water is food: leave no one behind. The campaign intents to raise awareness worldwide on water as a foundation of life and food. According to the United Nations (UN), 2.3 billion people live in water-stressed countries (1), while 3.2 billion people live in agricultural areas with high water scarcity (2). These water constraints have a negative impact on food security and nutrition. In South Africa a notable proportion of the population is food insecure (3) with over 60% of these households located in urban areas. The City of Cape Town (11,6%) and the City of Johannesburg (11,5%) have the highest proportions of households that experienced hunger in all the six metros. Urban food insecurity is characterised by low dietary diversity, high malnutrition and obesity, and distinct hunger seasons. It is estimated that by 2050, eight in 10 people will be living in urban areas, which means that the prevalence of food insecurity within urban Southern African communities will increase. There is therefore an urgent need to develop policies and solutions to address this “looming crisis” and to manage the water-food nexus in a more sustainable and equitable manner. The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) and the Green Youth Network (GYN) partnered to host a webinar on the 3 November 2023 to commemorate WFD 2023 titled “Opportunities towards Sustainable Food Security in South African Urban Settings”. The dialogue aimed to explore youth-centric solutions that have a potential to strengthen food security in South African urban surroundings, taking into consideration the challenge of water scarcity while leaving no one behind. The Webinar featured the following speakers: Prof Marizvikuru Mwale-Manjoro (University of Venda and SAYAS Alumni); Dr Nathaniel Dlamini (Statistics South Africa; Ms Thandeka Nkosi (KZN Department of Agriculture and Rural Development); and Mr Reuben Riley (Biological Agricultural Era, BioAge). Participants included academics, researchers, entrepreneurs, women, youth, policy makers and the public.
  • Item
    Impact of climate change on food systems: Using transdisciplinary science to drive mitigation and adaptation solutions to protect and promote health
    (Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2022) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf); InterAcademy Partnership (IAP); Network of African Science Academies (NASAC)
    A recent systems-based approach to tackling climate change and health issues, from the global InterAcademy Partnership and its regional academy networks, examined how science can guide innovation, policy and practice for climate mitigation and adaptation. Among adverse climate change effects are those mediated by multiple impacts on food production and, consequently, on health and livelihoods. Outputs from the global assessment and specifically from Africa will be presented to exemplify the diverse challenges and opportunities to identify and implement solutions, integrated between agriculture and other sectors, at all levels of governance.
  • Item
    Highlights of the 2021 webinar series on reducing poverty and inequality in South Africa post-COVID
    (Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2022) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf); Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute (SPII); Bureau for Economic Research (BER); SARChI Chair in Social Policy at the University of South Africa (UNISA)
    The Standing Committee on the Science for the Reduction of Poverty and Inequality (SCSfRPI) is a committee of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). In July 2020, the ASSAf Council mandated the committee to focus on poverty and inequality concerning the pandemic and consult interdisciplinary science on reducing poverty and inequality. In response, the SCSfRPI conceptualised a webinar series that delved into the following themes: 1. What to do to reduce poverty and inequality? 2. How to fund interventions to reduce poverty? 3. What must be done if the state is to be capable of poverty and inequality reduction? These clips provide a summary of the discussions during the entire webinar series.
  • Item
    Priorities for child and adolescent mental health research and services in South Africa
    (Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2022) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)
    Children and adolescents under the age of 18 years comprise 34% of the population, and child and adolescent Mental, Neurological and Substance Use (MNS) disorders are common and an important cause of disability and distress. Providers at all levels should be competent to screen for and identify common childhood mental disorders, which usually present with developmental delay, emotional and/or behavioural symptoms and/or learning difficulties. Given the burden of disease, the fact that many mental disorders begin in childhood, and that early intervention is most effective in childhood and adolescence, it is essential that effective promotion, prevention, treatment, care and rehabilitation interventions should be provided for children and adolescents. In this webinar, hosted by the Academy of Science of South Africa, leading experts in child and adolescent mental health will presented their priorities for child and adolescent mental health services and research in South Africa.
  • Item
    Webinar: Mechanisms, funding and state capability for poverty and inequality reduction (post-Covid) in South Africa
    (Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2021) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf); May, Julian; Frye, Isobel; Kirsten, Johann; Adesina, Jimi
    The Standing Committee on the Science for the Reduction of Poverty and Inequality (SCSfRPI) is a committee of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). In July 2020, the ASSAf Council mandated the committee to focus on poverty and inequality concerning the pandemic and consult interdisciplinary science on reducing poverty and inequality. In response, the SCSfRPI conceptualised a webinar series that will delve into the following themes:
  • Item
    Webinar Three of a Three-part Series: What must be done if the state is to be capable of poverty and inequality reduction?
    (Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf); SARChI Chair in Social Policy at the University of South Africa (UNISA), 2021) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf); SARChI Chair in Social Policy at the University of South Africa (UNISA)
    The Standing Committee on the Science for the Reduction of Poverty and Inequality (SCSfRPI) is a committee of the acclaimed Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). In July 2020, the ASSAf Council mandated the committee to focus on poverty and inequality concerning the pandemic and consult interdisciplinary science on reducing poverty and inequality. In response, the SCSfRPI conceptualised a webinar series that will delve into the following themes:
  • Item
    Launch of the Consensus Study Report on: The Root Causes of Low Vaccination Coverage and Under-Immunisation in Sub-Saharan Africa
    (Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2021) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf); Uganda National Academy of Sciences (UNAS)
    Despite the global availability of proven efficacious and cost-effective vaccines for the past several decades, vaccine-preventable diseases kill more than half a million children under five years of age every year In Africa –representing approximately 56% of global deaths (WHO, 2017). Sub–Saharan Africa (SSA) alone accounts for 40% of all global deaths, a phenomenon attributed to lack of access to available lifesaving vaccines (Wiysonge, Uthman, Ndumbe, & Hussey, 2012). WHO estimates that in 2019 the African region accounted for approximately 43% of unimmunised and incomplete immunised infants in the world (i.e.: 8.5 million of the global 19.4 million). Relatedly, the region scores the lowest immunisation coverage, at 76% versus the global coverage of 86% (WHO, 2020a). This is despite several documented efforts by different stakeholders to improve coverage in the region (Mihigo, Okeibunor, Anya, Mkanda, & Zawaira, 2017). Many studies have been conducted on coverage and drivers for and bottlenecks against immunisation in SSA. (Wiysonge, Uthman, Ndumbe, & Hussey, 2012), (Wiysonge, Young, Kredo, McCaul, & Volmik, 2015), (Mihigo, Okeibunor, Anya, Mkanda, & Zawaira, 2017), (Madhi & Rees, 2018) (Bangura, et al., 2020), all of which have observed that there is varied performance among the constituent countries, and also within countries over time, denoting some implicitly common underlying correlates threading through areas of higher performance; and the same is seen with the poorer performing areas. This consensus study therefore seeks to categorise and make explicit these “root causes” and based on documented successes, to make recommendations to address the bottlenecks and harness the opportunities for reaching every child with all the recommended vaccines. The theory of change presentation style used in this report, categorising the root causes under four broad interlinked themes, can provide a common basis to rally like-minded partners around a thematic cause and thus develop multicomponent, comprehensive strategies to bring about impactful change. This is in line with the call made by the World Health Organisation Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation, which recommended that countries, regions and global immunisation partners commit to a comprehensive review of progress, impact, and implementation of the WHO Global Vaccine Action Plan to inform a post2020 strategy taking into account lessons learned. This strategy will assist with attaining the relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
  • Item
    Webinar Two of a Three-part Series: How to Fund Interventions to Reduce Poverty in South Africa?
    (Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2021) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf); Bureau for Economic Research (BER)
    The ASSAf Standing Committee on the Science for the Reduction of Poverty and Inequality (SCSfRPI) has been mandated by the ASSAf Council to focus on poverty and inequality in respect to the pandemic, and to consult interdisciplinary science in the consideration of how to reduce poverty and inequality. In response, the SCSfRPI conceptualised a webinar series that will delve into the following themes:
  • Item
    Webinar One of a Three-part series: What to do to reduce poverty and inequality? 10 May 2021
    (Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2021) Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf); Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute (SPII)
    The ASSAf Standing Committee on the Science for the Reduction of Poverty and Inequality (SCSfRPI) has been mandated by the ASSAf Council to focus on poverty and inequality in respect to the pandemic, and to consult interdisciplinary science in the consideration of how to reduce poverty and inequality. In response, the SCSfRPI conceptualised a webinar series that will delve into the following themes: 1. What to do to reduce poverty and inequality? 2. How to fund interventions to reduce poverty? 3. What must be done if the state is to be capable of poverty and inequality reduction?
©The Author/Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)