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The author describes her experience setting up a writing group and getting to know the young women of Gugulethu who, despite being born post-apartheid, face many serious struggles but are able to express 1 themselves and experience freedom in their writing.

Climate change is a major source of concern in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and migration is often understood as one of several strategies used by households to respond to changes in climate and environmental conditions, including extreme weather events. This study focuses on the link between climate change and migration. Most micro-level studies measure climate change either by the incidences of extreme weather events or by variation in temperature or rainfall. A few studies have found that formal and informal institutions as well as policies also affect migration. Institutions that make government more responsive to households (for example through public spending) discourage both international and domestic migration in the aftermath of extreme weather events. Migration is often an option of last resort after vulnerable rural populations attempting to cope with new and challenging circumstances have exhausted other options such as eating less, selling assets, or removing children from school. This study is based in large part on new data collected in 2011 in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Syria, and the Republic of Yemen. The surveys were administered by in-country partners to a randomly selected set of 800 households per country. It is also important to emphasize that neither the household survey results nor the findings from the qualitative focus groups are meant to be representative of the five countries in which the work was carried, since only a few areas were surveyed in each country. This report is organized as follows: section one gives synthesis. Section two discusses household perceptions about climate change and extreme weather events. Section three focuses on migration as a coping mechanisms and income diversification strategy. Section four examines other coping and adaptation strategies. Section five discusses perceptions about government and community programs.

Background Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a major public health issue affecting physical, mental, and social well-being, particularly among women. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), IPV is widespread, with controlling behaviors being a common form. These behaviors include monitoring movements, social isolation, financial restrictions, and dictating daily choices. Data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) highlight significant variations in these behaviors across countries and communities. Understanding the determinants of intimate partner controlling behavior (IPCB) requires a multi-level approach, considering individual, relational, community, and societal factors. IPCB has far-reaching consequences, impacting victims, families, and communities. This study aims to assess the magnitude and determinants of IPCB among reproductive-age women in SSA. Methods This study is a secondary data analysis based on the DHS conducted in eight Sub-Saharan African countries between 2021 and 2024. The study utilized the women’s data-women recode component (IR file) from the most recent DHS 8 datasets with the final weighted sample size 45,839 women. Multilevel logistic regression was conducted to assess factors associated with IPCB. All variables with a p -value < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results The prevalence of IPCB among reproductive age women in 8 sub-Saharan African countries was 54.47%, with a 95% CI of 54.02–54.93%. This study identified variables of age, marital status; education level, employment status, reproductive health factors, smoking habits, asset ownership, wealth index, residence, and mass media exposure were significantly associated with IPCB. Conclusion This study highlights a high prevalence of IPCB among reproductive-age women in eight Sub-Saharan African countries, with over half of the women reporting experiences of partner control. These findings suggest the presence of persistent gender power imbalances and socio-cultural norms that may contribute to male dominance in intimate relationships. These associations underscore the importance of promoting women’s autonomy and addressing structural gender inequalities. Programs and policies aimed at enhancing women’s access to education, economic resources, and information may contribute to reducing IPCB. Community-level interventions that challenge harmful socio-cultural norms and raise awareness through media campaigns could also be beneficial.

Courage and Hope: Inspiring Stories of Teachers Overcoming HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa Courage and Hope gives voice to the real-life experiences of 12 HIV-positive teachers in Sub-Saharan Africa. These courageous individuals share their journeys of discovering their HIV status and the profound impact it has had on their families, communities, and professional lives. This powerful collection of stories sheds light on the challenges these teachers face, including stigma, discrimination, and lack of access to care. It also offers a message of hope and resilience, demonstrating how these individuals are working to overcome these obstacles and create a more supportive environment for themselves and others. Discover: * The realities of living with HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa * The importance of education and support in combating the epidemic * The power of courage and hope in the face of adversity Courage and Hope is essential reading for educators, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and anyone seeking to understand the human side of the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa. These are truly stories of courage and hope.

There is a paucity of scholarship examining the situated vulnerabilities of young women refugees who are either born in (second generation) or young children/adolescents on arrival in their host country (“1.5 generation”) and how these may impact intergenerational vulnerability or resilience. Based on qualitative research carried out in eThekwini (formerly known as Durban), South Africa amongst young women refugees (18–24 years) we highlight the issue of “inherited vulnerability”, examining how vulnerabilities can be transmitted across the refugee generations due to legal, economic and social structures which produce and maintain situations of inequality, rendering young women vulnerable to violence, exploitation and negative sexual and reproductive health outcomes. Ending the legal limbo in which they live and ensuring access to education and employment opportunities would help break the cycle of intergenerational precarity and support resilience of these young women as they transition to adulthood in South Africa.

Background Globally, mothers have identified work as one of the main obstacles to exclusive and continued breastfeeding. The support a woman receives in her workplace in terms of workplace arrangements can be critical to enable women to continue breastfeeding. This study aimed to develop and assess the face validity of a practice model to support exclusive and continued breastfeeding in workplaces in the Western Cape, South Africa. Methods An explanatory, sequential, mixed-method research design, was conducted (June 2017 to March 2019) in three distinct phases. Phase one employed a quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study design. Phase 2 used a qualitative, multiple case study. Phase three involved the development and face validity of a practice model to support exclusive breastfeeding in workplaces. The face validity included two Delphi rounds for experts to provide input on the draft practice model. This paper will only report on phase 3 of the study. The practice model was developed, drawing on the analysis of data from phases one and two and using programme theory approaches and a logic model. Results The practice model was positively perceived. Participants viewed it as informative, well designed and easy to follow, even for those not knowledgeable about the subject. It was viewed as an ideal tool, if accompanied by some training. Participants were positive that the model would be feasible and most commended the tiered approach to implementation. They felt that workplaces would be more open to a step-by-step approach to implementation and if only a few activities are implemented it would be a start to make the work environment more conducive for breastfeeding employees. There were mixed opinions regarding commitment; a few participants mentioned commitment as a challenge they anticipated in the male-dominant environments in which they worked. The provision of space for breastfeeding at the workplace was also highlighted as a potential challenge. Conclusions Advocacy around creating an enabling workplace environment for breastfeeding is needed. The practice model has the potential to be internationally relevant, locally applied and may be of particular use to workplaces that want to initiate and/or strengthen breastfeeding support.

Individual economic resources may have greater influence on school-enrolled young women’s sexual decision-making than household wealth measures. However, few studies have investigated the effects of personal income, employment, and other financial assets on young women’s sexual behaviors. Using baseline data from the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 068 study, we examined the association of ever having sex and adopting sexually-protective practices with individual-level economic resources among school-enrolled women, aged 13–20 years (n = 2533). Age-adjusted results showed that among all women employment was associated with ever having sex (OR 1.56, 95 % CI 1.28–1.90). Among sexually-experienced women, paid work was associated with changes in partner selection practices (OR 2.38, 95 % CI 1.58–3.58) and periodic sexual abstinence to avoid HIV (OR 1.71, 95 % CI 1.07–2.75). Having money to spend on oneself was associated with reducing the number of sexual partners (OR 1.94, 95 % CI 1.08–3.46), discussing HIV testing (OR 2.15, 95 % CI 1.13–4.06), and discussing condom use (OR 1.99, 95 % CI 1.04–3.80). Having a bank account was associated with condom use (OR 1.49, 95 % CI 1.01–2.19). Economic hardship was positively associated with ever having sex, but not with sexually-protective behaviors. Maximizing women’s individual economic resources may complement future prevention initiatives.

This commentary constructs a social history of Hillbrow, an inner-city suburb in Johannesburg, South Africa, based on a review of relevant published historical, anthropological and sociological texts. We highlight the significant continuities in the social structure of the suburb, despite the radical transformations that have occurred over the last 120 years. Originally envisaged as a healthy residential area, distinct from the industrial activity of early Johannesburg, Hillbrow was a prime location for health infrastructure to serve the city. By the late 1960s, the suburb had been transformed by the rapid construction of high rise office and apartment buildings, providing temporary low cost accommodation for young people, migrants and immigrants. In the 1980s, Hillbrow defied the apartheid state policy of racial separation of residential areas, and earned the reputation of a liberated zone of tolerance and inclusion. By the 1990s, affected by inner-city decay and the collapse of services for many apartment buildings, the suburb became associated with crime, sex work, and ungovernability. More recently, the revitalisation of the Hillbrow Health Precinct has created a more optimistic narrative of the suburb as a site for research and interventions that has the potential to have a positive impact on the health of its residents. The concentration of innovative public health interventions in Hillbrow today, particularly in the high quality health services and multidisciplinary research of the Hillbrow Health Precinct, creates the possibility for renewal of this troubled inner-city suburb.

Background A large proportion of unmarried teenage mothers in Uganda face physical, psychological, and social problems after pregnancy and childbirth, such as obstetric complications, lack of education, and stigmatisation in their communities. The Teenage Mothers Project (TMP) in Eastern Uganda empowers unmarried teenage mothers to cope with the consequences of early pregnancy and motherhood. Since 2000, 1036 unmarried teenage mothers, their parents, and community leaders participated in economic and social empowerment interventions. The present study explored the changes resulting from the TMP as well as factors that either enabled or inhibited these changes. Methods Semi-structured interviews ( N  = 23) were conducted with former teenage mothers , community leaders, and project implementers, and lifeline histories were obtained from former teenage mothers ( N  = 9). Quantitative monitoring data regarding demographic and social characteristics of teenage mother participants ( N  = 1036) were analysed. Results The findings suggest that, overall, the TMP seems to have contributed to the well-being of unmarried teenage mothers and to a supportive social environment. It appears that the project contributed to supportive community norms towards teenage mothers’ position and future opportunities, increased agency, improved coping with early motherhood and stigma, continued education, and increased income generation by teenage mothers. The study findings also suggest limited change in disapproving community norms regarding out-of-wedlock sex and pregnancy, late active enrolment of teenage mothers in the project (i.e., ten months after delivery of the child), and differences in the extent to which parents provided support. Conclusions It is concluded that strengths of the community-based TMP seem to be its socio-ecological approach, the participatory planning with community leaders and other stakeholders, counselling of parents and unmarried teenage mothers, and the emphasis on education and income generation. The project can improve by earlier active participation of unmarried pregnant adolescents and increased support for parents.

The authors examine the challenges facing Africa's youth in their transition from school to working life, and propose a strategy for meeting these challenges. Topics covered include the effect of education on employment and income, broadening employment opportunities, and enhancing youth capabilities. Labor is the most abundant asset of poor households in Africa. Developing this asset is therefore essential to helping households move out of poverty. Strengthening the work force can also improve the investment climate, increase economic growth, and prevent instability and violence, particularly in postconflict situations, where large numbers of unemployed youth threaten security.