• ANU Africa Network

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    This website was established in 2013 by David Lucas, and renovated and relaunched in 2020 as part of a project to increase awareness of Africa and African studies in the ANU and the ACT, funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

    Another outcome of that project was a major research report, published in August 2021, African Studies at the Australian National University and in the Australian Capital Territory, analyzing the past, present and future of the study of Africa at the Australian National University and the wider Australian University sector.

    The major innovation on this updated website is the creation of the ACT Africa Expert Directory which lists experts on Africa from institutions around the ACT, primarily the ANU. We will continue to curate this list, offering a key resource for media, government and non-government organizations seeking expert facts and opinions on Africa. Individuals can request to be added to the list by contacting the website managers.

    Another notable addition is the expanded directory of PhD theses on Africa produced in the territory’s universities, a solid measure of the vitality of the study of Africa in the city of Canberra.

    Reviewing these directories, it is revealing to note that the vast majority of research on Africa is produced by disciplinary experts (environmental scientists, economists, demographers, etc.) rather than area studies experts. This means that the study of Africa is woven into the fabric of the research culture of the ANU and the ACT’s other universities in ways that are not necessarily apparent.


  • Transforming small-scale irrigation in Zimbabwe

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    Speaker
    Dr André F van Rooyen
    ‘André is Principal Scientist specializing in integrated agricultural systems in the research program on Innovation Systems for Drylands, at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. He uses the characteristics of complex adaptive systems to analyse system functionality and explore opportunities to improve and develop more diverse and integrated agricultural systems.’

    Venue
    Frank Fenner Seminar Room
    Frank Fenner Building 141
    Linnaeus Way, Australian National University
    Canberra, ACT 6200

    Dates & times

    11am–12pm Wednesday 30 Jan 2019

    Contact

    Peter Ramshaw   peter.ramshaw@anu.edu.au

    For More Information see https://fennerschool.anu.edu.au/news-events/events/transforming-small-scale-irrigation-zimbabwe

    Parking
    ‘There are several parking options nearby the venue, please allow at least 20 minutes to find a park and walk to the building. Parking information can be found on the ANU website.’

    Bus Route

    Routes 3 and 7 (weekdays) and route 934 (weekends), travel through the middle of the ANU campus.

     


  • Africa and the 2019 Australasian Aid Conference

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    The ANU’s Development Policy Centre has announced that

    ‘Now in its sixth year, the Australasian Aid Conference will once again bring together
    researchers and development practitioners from across Australia, the Pacific, Asia,
    and beyond.’ “Beyond” includes Africa which is normally lucky to get as much attention as Vanuatu.

    However this year the draft program includes on Day One February 19th, 2019, ‘9.40-10.30am
    Keynote address – The future of Africa
    Molonglo Theatre [Overflow: Weston Theatre]
    Dr Donald Kaberuka, Former President, African Development Bank and Rwanda’s Minister of Finance’


  • Understanding parent and child mental health outcomes and the potential of family-centred interventions in HIV epidemic settings in Africa

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    ANU School of Demography Seminar

    Date and Time: Friday 30 November 2018 – 3.00pm – 4.00 pm

    Location: Jean Martin Room, Beryl Rawson Bldg #13, Ellery Crescent, ANU

    Presenter: Dr Tamsen Rochat, Associate Professor, University of the Witwatersrand

    Title: Understanding parent and child mental health outcomes and the potential of family-centred interventions in HIV epidemic settings in Africa

    Abstract

    Africa is at the centre of the global HIV epidemic, and South Africa is one of the most heavily affected countries with one of the largest HIV treatment programs in the world. The success of prevention and treatment in South Africa has led to large numbers of HIV-infected parents surviving to raise their HIV uninfected children, with up to 60% of children being raised by an HIV-infected primary caregiver, most frequently their mother. This raises concern about how HIV exposure may impact on children’s development and mental health. While vertical transmission in South Africa has been reduced to less than 3%, the incidence amongst adolescents has continued to rise, with emerging evidence suggesting that this generation of HIV-exposed and affected children are at greater risk of infection themselves in adolescence. To date, most interventions to reduce HIV incidence during adolescence in South Africa have demonstrated only marginal or no sustained effects.

    This presentation focuses on parent and child mental health outcomes in one of largest longitudinal cohorts in Africa, with a particular focus on the critical transition from pre-adolescence into early adolescence; and introduces a family-centred intervention approach, which has been successful tested amongst HIV infected parents with pre-adolescent children. Improving our understanding of how adolescent risk emerges is critical for both prevention and intervention. The Siyakhula cohort is one of only a few cohorts globally that includes both HIV-exposed, affected children and HIV-unexposed comparison group. It is the only cohort in Africa that includes objective tests of children cognition, and measured both parent and child mental health.

    Contact: Susan Cowan +61 2  6125 4273