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As a new praxis emerges, in Access to Information in Africa for the first time African scholars and practitioners reflect on recent advances on the continent, as well as the obstacles that must still be overcome if greater public access to information is to make a distinctive contribution to Africa's democratic and socio-economic future.

Accelerating education sector responses to HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa. This report examines the education sector's role in preventing HIV/AIDS and supporting affected communities. It's for educators, policymakers, and development professionals seeking effective strategies. Discover five years of experience in Sub-Saharan Africa, revealing successful approaches to HIV/AIDS prevention in schools. Learn how to implement policies, train teachers, and engage communities. Understand how coordinated efforts and resource allocation can create sustainable education programs, offering hope and empowerment to future generations. This is a crucial resource for building a stronger, healthier future.

Previous research in South Africa has identified gaps in wastewater quality characterisation and remediation. Wastewater quality indicators need to be known in order to reuse, recycle, and/or recover resources, but are poorly reported for wastewater streams. Formal and relational approaches were used to access wastewater quality information. Relational approaches included building relationships with industry partners through telephone calls, emails and meetings, while formal approaches included requests for public documents and legal applications using the Promotion of Access to Information Act. Published data were another source of information. The following industries were identified as major wastewater generating industries: pulp and paper, fish processing, power generation, mining and petroleum. Seven parameters were commonly used to indicate quality: pH, volume, electrical conductivity, nitrogen, sulphate, sodium and chemical oxygen demand. Calcium was not measured, even though discharge limits are required in environmental licenses. The accessed wastewater quality data ranged from qualitative to quantitative. The number of parameters used varied within and between industries. Although wastewater information is non-confidential, in practice it is not readily available. There are opportunities to improve wastewater management and resource recovery; however, this needs to happen in an environment of trust and transparency. This is currently lacking between industry, government, and research bodies. KEYWORDS access to information industrial wastewater characterisation Promotion of Access to Information Act South Africa water quality

Background South Africa is reported to have one of the highest per capita rates of alcohol consumption among drinkers globally, with alcohol harms exacerbating socio-economic inequalities in the country. The Draft Liquor Amendment Bill 2016 proposed new restrictions on alcohol advertising, availability, and liability of retailers and manufacturers for harm related to any contravention of the regulations. To date, the Bill has not progressed through the legislative process. The alcohol industry is known to use a diverse set of strategies to delay evidence-based policies globally. Methods We aimed to explore Bill-related activity by industry within the National Economic and Development Labour Council, a multi-stakeholder forum that assesses socio-economic policies before they reach parliament. On 06 July 2023 we made a Request for Access to Record, using form two of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA), no. 2 of 2000 to the National Economic and Development Labour Council for access to minutes of all meetings, reports, and any other publications related to the Bill between January 2016 and December 2022. Informed by Ulucanlar et al’s (2023) model and taxonomies of corporate political activity, we extracted data on industry Bill-related activity and thematically analysed key events, presented here as a narrative synthesis. Results We identified activity by 14 alcohol industry organisations related to the Bill between 2016 and 2022. Industry representation on five National Economic and Development Labour Council-related committees identified between 2017 and 2021 facilitated their involvement in Bill-related discussions and supported access to other government departments. Community representation was low in all committees compared to industry, labour, and government. Industry funded two socio-economic assessments of the Bill in 2017 and 2022, despite an independent socio-economic impact assessment having already been completed. The 2017 report delayed progress of the Bill, and the 2022 ‘re-evaluation’ was more critical of the proposed measures, with the differing conclusions attributed to different methodologies. During the covid-19 pandemic, industry used a ‘carrot and stick’ approach of legal threats and donations to attempt to move towards self-regulation via a social compact. The National Economic and Development Labour Council confirmed in 2023 that the social compact was unsuccessful. Conclusions Early ‘regulatory capture’ gave the alcohol industry the opportunity to shape assessment of the Bill within the National Economic and Development Labour Council. Our findings are in line with previous studies on corporate influence on policy globally, and support calls for a reassessment of the role and proportion of industry representation within the National Economic and Development Labour Council locally.

CCTV cameras and spyware are proliferating in the continent without checks and balances. Governments must legislate locally to prevent civil-rights abuses. CCTV cameras and spyware are proliferating in the continent without checks and balances. Governments must legislate locally to prevent civil-rights abuses. Credit: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty A surveillance camera is seen on a street in Nairobi.

A critical analysis of the World Bank's strategy to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa. The World Bank's Commitment to HIV/AIDS in Africa examines the development challenges posed by HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa and outlines a comprehensive agenda for action. This report reaffirms the World Bank's dedication to supporting African countries in achieving their Universal Access targets, integrating AIDS into national development plans, and strengthening national systems. This agenda provides a roadmap for policymakers, development practitioners, and researchers seeking to understand and address the complexities of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. Discover how the World Bank is working with partners to: * Provide sustainable funding for HIV/AIDS programs * Promote evidence-based strategies for prevention and treatment * Strengthen governance and accountability * Build capacity in key sectors This report is essential reading for anyone committed to global health and development in Africa.

'The Africa Multi-Country AIDS Program 2000-2006' shows that the funding made available through the World Bank's Multi-Country AIDS Program (MAP) has dramatically increased access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment across Africa.

PurposeThe increased adoption of internet-enabled phones in Africa has caused much speculation and optimism concerning its effects on financial inclusion. Policymakers, the media and various studies have all flaunted the potentials of internet and mobile phones for financial inclusion. An important question therefore is “Can the internet and mobile phones spur the inclusion of the financially excluded poor? This study therefore aims to examine the relationship and causality between internet, mobile phones and financial inclusion in Africa for the 2000-2016 period.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical analysis followed these three steps: examination of the stationarity of the variables; testing for the cointegration; and evaluation of the effects of the internet and mobile phones on financial inclusion in Africa for the 2000-2016 period using three outcomes of panel FMOLS approach and Granger causality tests.FindingsThe empirical evidence shows that internet and mobile phones have significant positive relationship with financial inclusion, meaning that rising levels of internet and mobile phones are associated with increased financial inclusion. There is also uni-directional causality from internet and mobile phones to financial inclusion, implying that internet and mobile phones cause financial inclusion. The study also shows that macroeconomic factors such as capital formation, primary enrollment, bank credit, broad money, population growth, remittances, agriculture and interest rate, as well as institutional factors such as regulatory quality are important underlying factors for financial inclusion in Africa.Originality/valueIn the literature, there is a dearth of research on the internet, mobile phones and financial inclusion, especially in Africa. Most of the related studies are conceptual and micro-based, with little empirical attention to the relationship and causality between internet, mobile phones and financial inclusion. In fact, this dearth of rigorous empirical studies has been attributed as the main cause of inadequate policy guidance in enhancing information communication technologies (Roycroft and Anantho, 2003), despite saturation levels in developed economies. This study fills the gap by evaluating the effects of the Internet and mobile phones on financial inclusion for 44 African countries for the 2000-2016 period.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to complement theoretical and qualitative literature with empirical evidence on the income-redistributive effect of mobile phone penetration in 52 African countries. Design/methodology/approach – Robust ordinary least squares and two stage least squares empirical strategies are employed. Findings – The findings suggest that mobile penetration is pro-poor, as it has a positive income equality effect. Social implications – “Mobile phone”-oriented poverty reduction channels are discussed. Originality/value – It deviates from mainstream country-specific and microeconomic survey-based approaches in the literature and provides the first macroeconomic assessment of the “mobile phone”-inequality nexus.