Academic publications

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11951/16

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Browsing Academic publications by Subject "Africa"

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    Africa’s Preparedness for AI-Driven HRM Practices: A Systematic Literature Review
    (International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 2025-08-27) Joseph Jakisa Owor; Kofi Sarpong Adu-Manu; Mary Naula Owor
    Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming Human Resource Management (HRM) globally, reshaping recruitment, workforce analytics, and employee engagement. While the Global North has advanced rapidly, Africa’s adoption remains limited and uneven due to infrastructural gaps, weak regulatory frameworks, and low AI literacy. This study employs a systematic literature review (SLR) guided by PRISMA methodology to assess Africa’s readiness for AI-driven HRM across six dimensions: digital infrastructure, policy frameworks, organizational capacity, skills readiness, ethical and cultural alignment, and employee wellbeing. The findings highlight a dual reality. On one side, Africa struggles with poor broadband penetration, fragmented policies, and insufficient training among HR professionals. On the other, positive developments are emerging, including innovation hubs in Kenya and Rwanda, growing digital literacy in South Africa, and increasing university–industry partnerships. Comparative insights from the Global North and peers such as India reveal both shared challenges and valuable learning pathways. This review contributes to knowledge by moving beyond deficit-based perspectives. It underscores Africa’s unique opportunities to pursue Afrocentric, ethically grounded, and culturally sensitive strategies for AI integration in HRM. In doing so, it emphasizes context-specific approaches that can transform AI adoption into an inclusive and responsible driver of organizational change and human development.
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    Investigation of the Practices, Legislation, Supply Chain, and Regulation of Opioids for Clinical Pain Management in Southern Africa: A Multi-sectoral, Cross-National, Mixed Methods Study
    (Elsevier, 2018-03-03) Namisango, Eve; Allsop, Mathew; Powell, Richard A.; Friedrichsdorf, Stefan J.; Luyiraka, Emmanuel B.K.; Kiyange, Fatiya; Mukooza, Edward Kibikyo; Ntege, Chris; Garanganga, Eunice; Ginindza-Mdluli, Mavis Ntombifuthi; Mwangi-Powell, Faith; Mondlane, Lidia Justino; Harding, Richard
    Sub-Saharan Africa faces an increasing incidence and prevalence of life-limiting and life-threatening conditions. These conditions are associated with a significant burden of pain linked to high morbidity and disability that is poorly assessed and undertreated. Barriers to effective pain management partly relate to lack of access to opioid analgesia and challenges in their administration. To identify country-specific and broader regional barriers to access, as well as the administration of opioids, and generate recommendations for advancing pain management in Southern Africa. A parallel mixed methods design was used across three countries: Mozambique, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. Three activities were undertaken: 1) a review of regulatory and policy documentation, 2) group interviews, and 3) a self-administered key informant survey. Barriers to accessing opioid analgesics for medical use include overly restrictive controlled medicines’ laws; use of stigmatizing language in key documents; inaccurate actual opioid consumption estimation practices; knowledge gaps in the distribution, storage, and prescription of opioids; critical shortage of prescribers; and high out-of-pocket financial expenditures for patients against a backdrop of high levels of poverty. Policies and relevant laws should be updated to ensure that the legislative environment supports opioid access for pain management. Action plans for improving pain treatment for patients suffering from HIV or non-communicable diseases should address barriers at the different levels of the supply chain that involve policymakers, administrators, and service providers. J Pain Symptom Manage 2018;55:851e863. 2017 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
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    Molecular Epidemiology and Evolutionary Dynamics of Human Influenza Type-A Viruses in Africa: A Systematic Review
    (MDPI, 2022-04) Grace Nabakooza; Ronald Galiwango; Simon D. W. Frost; David P. Kateete; John M. Kitayimbwa
    Genomic characterization of circulating influenza type-A viruses (IAVs) directs the selection of appropriate vaccine formulations and early detection of potentially pandemic virus strains. However, longitudinal data on the genomic evolution and transmission of IAVs in Africa are scarce, limiting Africa’s benefits from potential influenza control strategies. We searched seven databases: African Journals Online, Embase, Global Health, Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science according to the PRISMA guidelines for studies that sequenced and/or genomically characterized Africa IAVs. Our review highlights the emergence and diversification of IAVs in Africa since 1993. Circulating strains continuously acquired new amino acid substitutions at the major antigenic and potential N-linked glycosylation sites in their hemagglutinin proteins, which dramatically affected vaccine protectiveness. Africa IAVs phylogenetically mixed with global strains forming strong temporal and geographical evolution structures. Phylogeographic analyses confirmed that viral migration into Africa from abroad, especially South Asia, Europe, and North America, and extensive local viral mixing sustained the genomic diversity, antigenic drift, and persistence of IAVs in Africa. However, the role of reassortment and zoonosis remains unknown. Interestingly, we observed substitutions and clades and persistent viral lineages unique to Africa. Therefore, Africa’s contribution to the global influenza ecology may be understated. Our results were geographically biased, with data from 63% (34/54) of African countries. Thus, there is a need to expand influenza surveillance across Africa and prioritize routine whole-genome sequencing and genomic analysis to detect new strains early for effective viral control.
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    The Changing Role of Higher Education Institutions on Research and Innovation in Africa: A Systematic Review
    (International Journal for Innovation Education and Research, 2022) Shallon Atuhaire; Frankline Higenyi; Elizabeth Bacwayo; Annet Mugisha; Christine Mwebesa; Rachel Nambuya
    Research and innovation are crucial in the process of achieving sustainable development goals. Given the significant role Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) play in research. Africa is still grappling with both the changing higher education global landscape and fostering of a research culture that addresses its own societal needs. This study explored the changing role of HEIs on research and innovation and the bottlenecks to its’ realisation in Africa. E-literature was searched from online databases mainly Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Embase and African Journals Online. The search strategy considered relevant content on the subject by use of keywords, purpose of the study and year of publication (2010 to 2021). Overall, the search yielded 889,264 results. From Google Scholar, 805,000 were found, ScienceDirect; 9196, PubMed; 1168, Embase; 63100, and African Journals Online; 10800. The Cochrane review protocol and the PRISMA flowchart were used to assess the relevance of these articles. Eventually, 107 full articles were critically analysed for legibility resulting in 16 studies, which were included. Research and innovation as well as the role of HEIs to the two are keywords of the time. This role has been changing to meet up with globalization demands and increase in population. While their indigenous role was co-creation of knowledge and transfer, they have of recent past surged to create innovation ecosystems, transfer technologies, promotion innovation and research and its’ management. They have gained an ascendancy in sustainability debates as engines of innovation most especially in science, technology, and human progress. This changing role has been compounded by shortcomings such as inadequate competences in the use of emerging ICTs, inadequate funding, curriculum content that does not clearly spell out practical life skills, innovation opportunities, and corporate social responsibility that is still very low. The changing role of HEIs in research in Africa is evidently clear and has been from creation of new knowledge and its transfer to one that is need-driven, entrepreneurial, transformational, and able to reconfigure the status of innovation systems for regional socio-economic transformation. The limitations to its realization could be mitigated through institutional collaboration, funding and customization of research.
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    Whole-genome Analysis to Determine the Rate and Patterns of Intra-subtype Reassortment Among Influenza Type-A Viruses in Africa
    (Virus Evolution, 2022-01) Grace Nabakooza; Andrzej Pastusiak; David Patrick Kateete; Julius Julian Lutwama; John Mulindwa Kitayimbwa; Simon David William Frost
    Influenza type-A viruses (IAVs) present a global burden of human respiratory infections and mortality. Genome reassortment is an important mechanism through which epidemiologically novel influenza viruses emerge and a core step in the safe reassortment-incompetent live-attenuated influenza vaccine development. Currently, there are no data on the rate, spatial and temporal distribution, and role of reassortment in the evolution and diversification of IAVs circulating in Africa. We aimed to detect intra-subtype reassortment among Africa pandemic H1N1pdm09 (2009-10), seasonal H1N1pdm09 (2011-20), and seasonal H3N2 viruses and characterize the genomic architecture and temporal and spatial distribution patterns of the resulting reassortants. Our study was nested within the Uganda National Influenza Surveillance Programme. Next-generation sequencing was used to generate whole genomes (WGs) from 234 H1N1pdm09 (n = 116) and H3N2 (n = 118) viruses sampled between 2010 and 2018 from seven districts in Uganda. We combined our newly generated WGs with 658 H1N1pdm09 and 1131 H3N2 WGs sampled between 1994 and 2020 across Africa and identified reassortants using an automated Graph Incompatibility Based Reassortment Finder software. Viral reassortment rates were estimated using a coalescent reassortant constant population model. Phylogenetic analysis was used to assess the effect of reassortment on viral genetic evolution. We observed a high frequency of intra-subtype reassortment events, 12 · 4 per cent (94/758) and 20 · 9 per cent (256/1,224), and reassortants, 13 · 3 per cent (101/758) and 38 · 6 per cent (472/1,224), among Africa H1N1pdm09 and H3N2 viruses, respectively. H1N1pdm09 reassorted at higher rates (0.1237-0.4255) than H3N2 viruses (0 · 00912-0.0355 events/lineage/year), a case unique to Uganda. Viral reassortants were sampled in 2009 through 2020, except in 2012. 78 · 2 per cent (79/101) of H1N1pdm09 reassortants acquired new non-structural, while 57 · 8 per cent (273/472) of the H3N2 reassortants had new hemagglutinin (H3) genes. Africa H3N2 viruses underwent more reassortment events involving larger reassortant sets than H1N1pdm09 viruses. Viruses with a specific reassortment architecture circulated for up to five consecutive years in specific countries and regions. The Eastern (Uganda and Kenya) and Western Africa harboured 84 · 2 per cent (85/101) and 55 · 9 per cent (264/472) of the continent's H1N1pdm09 and H3N2 reassortants, respectively. The frequent reassortment involving multi-genes observed among Africa IAVs showed the intracontinental viral evolution and diversification possibly sustained by viral importation from outside Africa and/or local viral genomic mixing and transmission. Novel reassortant viruses emerged every year, and some persisted in different countries and regions, thereby presenting a risk of influenza outbreaks in Africa. Our findings highlight Africa as part of the global influenza ecology and the advantage of implementing routine whole-over partial genome sequencing and analyses to monitor circulating and detect emerging viruses. Furthermore, this study provides evidence and heightens our knowledge on IAV evolution, which is integral in directing vaccine strain selection and the update of master donor viruses used in recombinant vaccine development.