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Postdoc research awards keep academic spotlight on Africa

17 June 2020 | Story Charlene Stanley

The International Studies Group continues to keep critical issues in Africa on the research agenda, with two of its postdoctoral research fellows awarded prestigious international research grants.

Dr Hlengiwe Dlamini won a CODESRIA (Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa) award as part of the organisation’s ‘Meaning-making Research Initiatives’. These initiatives focus on supporting research that contributes to agendas for imagining, planning, and creating African futures.

“I was over the moon when I heard that I received this award!” says an excited Dr Dlamini. “The competition was a tough one. Applications were received from 430 female applicants and just 12 were retained, including mine.”

Her colleague in the ISG, Dr Kundai Manamere, who recently signed a book contract with Ohio University Press, has been awarded an African Peacebuilding Network (APN) 2020 Individual Research Fellowship, administered by the American Social Science Research Council.

“I am delighted to have received this award. As an early-career scholar, this is one of my several goals, and achieving it recognises and validates my work. This boosts my confidence and encourages me to keep working hard,” says Dr Manamere.

Examining border disputes
Dr Dlamini’s research project is a comparative study of two border disputes – between Cameroon and Nigeria over the Bakassi Peninsula borderland, and between Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and South Africa over the demarcation of their borders, and how the international doctrine of uti possidetis juris, as an instrument of inter-state conflict resolution, applies to these disputes.

“The doctrine of uti possidetis juris (literally translated: as you possess, thus may you possess) states that frontiers inherited from colonialism cannot be changed under any circumstance. Cameroon won its case in the International Court of Justice in 2002 in its border dispute with Nigeria and this had a direct impact on Eswatini, which also had a border dispute with South Africa,” she explains.

“The post-apartheid South African governments have been hostile to the idea of adjusting their borders with Eswatini, while the Eswatini monarchy has relentlessly been pursuing what it calls ‘its stolen territories by the British and the Boers in the 19th century’.”

Dr Dlamini will be heading a team of four female researchers from different nationalities. As soon as international flights resume, two scholars from Canada and Sweden will head for Cameroon, while she and another researcher will start with archival research in Southern Africa, before embarking on fieldwork.

“There will be no rest for us. It is incumbent on me to assemble the data collected and use it to write two or three scholarly articles for journal publications,” says Dr Dlamini.

Migration issues and public health interventions
Dr Manamere’s research focuses on documenting the experiences of former refugees and their host communities at Chambuta refugee camp, one of the five refugee camps established by the Zimbabwean government along the Mozambican border in the 1980s to accommodate asylum seekers fleeing from the Mozambican civil war.
“The project explores their experiences and examines their perceptions about conflict, displacement, refugee conditions, and the occurrence of diseases and intervention following a disease outbreak that killed nearly 200 people in August 1992. I use the Chambuta case to reflect on the politics of voice and representation in history – how official reports by governments and non-governmental organisations overshadow the experiences of refugees and host communities.”

The COVID-19 lockdowns in both South Africa and Zimbabwe have delayed Dr Manamere’s fieldwork plans. She will now first spend time collecting information from digitised archives and doing telephonic and online interviews.

ISG a melting pot for international research talent
Both researchers expressed their appreciation for the role the ISG has played in shaping their academic careers.
“By creating opportunities for me to network with renowned historians in my field, the ISG has expanded my circle of mentors. All these opportunities culminated into several achievements, including this award, forthcoming articles in leading international journals, presentations at international conferences, and a book due to be published by the Ohio University Press, one of the leading Africanist publishers in the world. To me, this is the best foundation for a successful academic career, and I am proud to be part of the group,” says Dr Manamere.

“The ISG creates one of the most convivial environments for intellectual production. We are really flying high. The scholars of the ISG are making their mark in different ways. I am very grateful for the Stanley Trapido seminar series and other academic activities that constitute a vital crucible for the cross-fertilisation of our minds and for the acquisition of new methodologies and updates in our disciplines,” says Dr Dlamini.

Prof Ian Phimister, Head of the ISG, says the two researchers have brought great credit to the UFS and the ISG.“By winning such prestigious awards, Drs Dlamini and Manamere show themselves to be first-rate scholars. Their academic commitment and drive are exemplary. At the same time, their research projects, respectively on comparative African territorial boundary disputes and on Mozambican refugees' experiences of civil war, drought, and disease, have significant policy-making implications.”

News Archive

Conference: Expanded ARV treatment

2005-03-02

VENUE: University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
DATE: 30 March 2005 - 1 April 2005

ARV Programme as on 24Feb Download Word document
Programme Special events Download Word document

Official web site www.fshealth.gov.za/subsites/arvc

Rationale for the Conference
At the time of the planned Conference, much ground would have been covered, both in the Free State and in South Africa, in respect of the expanded public sector ARV treatment programme in respect of research, experiences in practice, training of staff, treatment of patients, lessons learned, successes and failures, etc. The time would then be quite opportune to share these in a systematic manner with other provinces and countries, as well as with the large variety of stakeholders and role players in the ARV and related domains, be they academics and researchers, policy makers and service/facility managers, the variety of caregivers, and the community organisations and affected patients.

The Conference and current research
The proposed Conference is, firstly, directly linked to the current research on the public sector roll-out of ARV treatment in the Free State conducted by several research institutions (e.g. CIET, CHSR&D, UCT Lung Institute). Secondly, the Conference could and would serve as a forum for other research groups in the country and further a field to report and share knowledge and experiences on ARV treatment and related initiatives. Lastly, the Conference will stage a golden opportunity for researchers and scientists, on the one hand, and policy makers, managers, and caregivers (as knowledge users), on the other hand, to engage in cross-disciplinary discourse on this mutual and topical theme.

Theme of Conference
Expanded ARV treatment in the Free State: sharing experiences

Focus
The focus is primarily on public sector ARV treatment in the Free State, but also initiatives/activities/perspectives of relevance to the Free State elsewhere in the country at large and further a field, as well as relevant ARV initiatives in the public, private, NGO and FBO sectors. Bear in mind, however, that ARV treatment is but part of a much more comprehensive approach to HIV and AIDS. The Conference will, therefore, not narrowly focus on the ARV treatment programme only. The broader context, other relevant dimensions, and a comprehensive approach to the challenges of HIV, AIDS and TB are of equal importance.

The purpose of the Conference
Enhance meaningful exchange, mutual understanding and collaboration among researchers, scientists, policy makers, managers and practitioners in the field of ARV treatment and related fields.

Share experiences in the various spheres of ARV treatment and related spheres (policy, management, practice, research, training, public-private-civil society sectors).

Record, reflect and report on the establishment of the ARV treatment programme in the Free State, and in within the context of the comprehensive HIV/AIDS programme.

Disseminate important research results on ARV treatment and related themes to health policy makers, managers, practitioners, communities and to the research community.

Stimulate discourse among various disciplines and various stakeholders/role players involved in ARV treatment and related programmes.

Sensitise and acquaint researchers to the requirements of policy makers, managers and practitioners in respect of ARV treatment and related fields.

Facilitate the implementation of research results in ARV treatment policy, programmes and practice.

Dissemination of Conference-related information
Information generated during the Conference could feed into policy, management and practice of ARV treatment, the training accompanying such programme, and the existing body of knowledge. After the Conference the information will be disseminated via the Internet and by scientific and popular publications.

Date and duration
Set for 30 & 31 March & 1 April 2005; to commence at 09:00 on the first day (30 March) and to end at 16:30 (1 April) the third day.

Format and scope of Conference
Alternating plenary, parallel sessions and debates focused on topical issues and interest groups. The Conference will strive to be maximally interactive and participative.

Themes and topics to cover:

Policy, management and health services/practice (various levels and contexts – clinical treatment, information, IT systems, pharmacy, laboratories, nutrition)
Research covering all relevant disciplines and diverse dimensions of ARV treatment and related themes
Training and evaluation of training
Patients, communities and civil society organisations
Public, private, NGO, FBO initiatives and partnerships

Emphasis will be on the Free State, however, with of significant involvement from other provinces, SADC countries, and countries further a field. The thrust will be to export lessons and experiences from the Free State, but also to import lessons and experiences from other provinces, countries and sectors.

Presenters
Key presenters from the Free State, other provinces, South Africa, from the private, FBO and NGO sectors, and from several other countries

Delegates
About half of the delegates will be Free State stakeholders and role players (all levels and all contexts). The other half will be role players and stakeholders in the ARV and related fields from other provinces, the national level, and other countries, as well as from the private, public and non-governmental sectors.

Focused workshops
Provision will be made for half-a-day or one-day workshop initiatives on the third day (1 April 2005).

Enquiries
For more information please contact:

Prof Dingie van Rensburg
Centre for Health Systems Research & Development
University of the Free State
PO Box 339
Bloenfontein
SOUTH AFRICA
9300

Contact:
Carin van Vuuren
Conference Organiser
Centre for Health Systems Research & Development
University of the Free State
P.O.Box 339
Bloemfontein
South Africa
9300
Tel +27 (0) 51 401 2181
Fax +27 (0) 51 4480370
Cell 0832932890
e-mail: arvconference.hum@mail.uovs.ac.za

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