How to cite: Nondalana-Vuzane, N & Stofile, S 2026, ‘Unlocking the role of isiXhosa idioms in early childhood learning and development’, in T Moodley, S Stofile & R Govender (eds.), Holistic and inclusive education practices for young learners in South Africa: From early childhood to Foundation Phase, The University of the Western Cape Faculty of Education Book Series, vol. 2, AOSIS Books, Cape Town, pp. 103–122. https://doi.org/10.4102/aosis.2026.BK568.06
<span>In a journey towards reaching universal access to early childhood development (ECD) services in South Africa, the recent 2030 ECD Strategy (Department of Basic Education of the Republic of South Africa, 2023) proposes targets for enrolment in early childhood care or educational (ECCE) opportunities. The 2030 ECD strategy acknowledges that meeting expansion targets will require significant financial, infrastructural and human resource investments. Against this context, this research report provides further specificity on the human resource requirements needed to support targeted access to specifically early learning programmes (ELPs) as expressed in the 2030 ECD Strategy. The first aim of this report is to identify the current supply of ECD practitioners under current enrolment conditions, considering the size of the existing ECD workforce and the levels of training and qualifications among the existing ECD workforce. The second objective is to identify the demand for ECD practitioners under targeted enrolment conditions in South Africa.</span> <br>
Background: Nigeria introduced a second dose of measles-containing vaccine (MCV2) to improve population immunity, but second-year uptake remains insufficiently described in urban settings. Objective: To determine MCV2 uptake, MCV1-MCV2 dropout, associated factors, and caregiver-reported barriers among age-eligible children in Benin City. Methods: This mixed-methods cross-sectional study analysed 460 children aged 15-23 months from a survey of 620 caregiver-child pairs. Six focus group discussions involved 54 mothers. Pearson's chi-square test and multivariable logistic regression assessed factors associated with MCV2 receipt; qualitative data were analysed thematically. Results: MCV1 and MCV2 uptake were 90.0% and 82.2%, respectively. Among MCV1 recipients, dropout was 9.7%. Antenatal-care attendance and health-facility delivery were associated with uptake at bivariate analysis. After adjustment, antenatal-care attendance remained independently associated with MCV2 receipt (adjusted odds ratio 3.71; 95% confidence interval 1.72-8.01). Caregivers described poor awareness, forgetfulness, weak reminders, competing responsibilities, occasional service unavailability, and distance. Conclusion: MCV2 uptake remained below the 95% elimination target. Antenatal and immunisation counselling, reliable sessions, reminder-recall systems, and active defaulter tracking should be strengthened.
Efemena Daniel Onowugbeda, Pius Agbalugo Odunze, Oghenerukevwe Trinitas Omonigho et al.
How to cite: Levin, J & Moodley, T 2026, ‘Scaffolding early childhood development through storytelling and play in a Waldorf kindergarten’, in T Moodley, S Stofile & R Govender (eds.), Holistic and inclusive education practices for young learners in South Africa: From early childhood to Foundation Phase, The University of the Western Cape Faculty of Education Book Series, vol. 2, AOSIS Books, Cape Town, pp. 163–183. https://doi.org/10.4102/aosis.2026.BK568.09
Climate variability is reshaping infectious disease risk through ecological, environmental, social, and health-system pathways. However, its operational implications remain insufficiently defined in fragile and conflict-affected settings. Somalia is a critical case because recurrent droughts and floods intersect with displacement, food insecurity, weak water and sanitation infrastructure, disrupted immunisation, livestock dependence, and constrained health-system capacity. This narrative review synthesises evidence on climate-sensitive infectious disease risks in Somalia, examines existing surveillance and early warning systems, identifies policy and implementation gaps, and proposes priorities for a climate-informed surveillance-to-action model for infectious disease control. The review distinguishes directly climate-sensitive infections, including cholera, malaria, dengue, and Rift Valley fever, from indirectly climate-amplified vaccine-preventable diseases, including measles, diphtheria, and polio. While Somalia has important surveillance and early warning assets, including EWARN, IDSRS/DHIS2, FEWS NET, FSNAU intelligence, WASH monitoring, livestock signals, and community-based reporting, these streams remain insufficiently integrated into district-level risk assessment and pre-financed preparedness action. Therefore, the central challenge is not the absence of warning signals but the failure to convert them into timely, disease-specific, and accountable responses. We propose a surveillance-to-action framework based on multisource signal detection, integrated district risk assessment, disease-specific trigger decisions, early preparedness actions, and feedback, accountability, and learning. Closing Somalia's warning-to-action gap requires pre-agreed disease-specific triggers, One Health coordination, flexible anticipatory financing, strengthened district surveillance capacity, and equity-centred outreach to internally displaced persons, pastoralist and nomadic communities, zero-dose children, malnourished populations, and hard-to-reach areas. Climate-informed surveillance should be understood not merely as better data collection but as an anticipatory public health function designed to act before climate shocks become infectious disease emergencies.
Abdikadir Ahmed Hassan, Liibaan Abdulahi Sudi, Mohamed Daud Mohamed et al.
Abstract The delivery of high-quality education is considerably aided by effective school management, which includes managing finances. Understanding financial management in early childhood education (ECE) is crucial and essential given that high-quality ECE is now recognised as a foundation for successful higher education and productive adulthood. This study aimed at exploring township early childhood development centre principals' experiences with their financial management responsibilities. Four early childhood development centres were purposively selected from the township areas in Gauteng Province, South Africa, using a qualitative research approach and case study design. Data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with the principals of the selected centres. The findings demonstrate that the ECD principals have limited knowledge of financial management responsibilities and that there is no formal legal framework for financial management at ECD centres. Township ECD financial management practices include planning (identifying needs), organising (fees paid into the bank account and procurement made through bank card) and reporting (giving accounts to the board of directors and parents). In this study, it can be concluded that township ECD principals are making an effort to ensure effective financial management of their centres. However, several obstacles, including the principals' lack of accounting expertise, their heavy workload, the non-payment of school fees, and the absence of a financial management legislative framework, prevent ECD centres' effective and efficient financial management.
The rate of immunization in children remains very low in many countries in Africa. The reason for this is identified as poverty, lack of education among mothers, unavailability of healthcare, and lack of community education. However, until now, there does not exist any review in the literature that evaluates the combined effect of these four factors as determinants of childhood immunisation in Africa. Hence, the current systematic review undertaken herein aims to investigate the influence of the previously mentioned determinants of childhood immunisation. In order to accomplish this, a systematic search was carried out in the following databases: PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, African Journals Online. The result of the search was the selection of articles mentioning any number of determinants presented and providing results on childhood immunization. Twenty-seven articles met the inclusion criteria. Poor children had 1.8-4.2 times lower immunization odds. Maternal education had the strongest effect (OR: 1.9-5.6). There were also other significant variables in terms of health care access (OR: 1.6-3.8) and community awareness (OR: 1.3-1.7). Interactions among determinants strengthened their impacts. Poverty, maternal education, healthcare access, and community awareness have an association between one another, whereby these factors act as determinants of immunization decisions in Africa. Hence, there is a need for different/intersectoral approaches based on various determinants to enhance immunization coverage.
Background: In South Africa, the Department of Basic Education removed the non-profit organisation (NPO) registration mandate for early childhood development (ECD) programmes. The aim was to alleviate administrative burdens. If the messaging is not received correctly, it could lead to the inaccurate belief that all programmes are subsidy-eligible without any formal registration, potentially risking the quality and sustainability of ECD services. Aim: This study investigated the determinants influencing the decision of ECD centres to register as NPOs prior to the NPO registration mandate. Setting: A nationwide ECD census was conducted in all nine South African provinces. Methods: Data from 39 176 centres were analysed quantitatively to investigate the association between ECD centre registration as an NPO and various independent variables. Results: The findings show that 68.34% of ECD centres were registered as NPOs. The odds ratio (OR) of receiving a subsidy (OR 10.17; 7.82–13.22), having a bank account (OR 4.20; CI 3.01–5.72) and the ECD programme being part of a wider network (OR 1.81; CI 1.46–2.26) were strong predictors of ECD NPO registration. Conclusion: Subsidies matter in encouraging ECD centres to formalise their operations. ECDs that are part of wider networks have an opportunity to access resources, information and support that can enhance operational effectiveness. Contribution: The study provides empirical evidence to guide policy decisions and resource allocation, which can potentially lead to improved service quality and access to resources for children and families to support the growth and sustainability of the ECD sector in South Africa.
The Malaria Vaccine Pilot Evaluation (MVPE) is a joint initiative of the World Health Organisation’s Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals, and the Global Malaria Programme, to evaluate the effectiveness of the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine delivered through the routine immunisation services in Kenya, Malawi and Ghana, over 4 years. In the phase 3 trial of the vaccine conducted from 2009 to 2014, in children who received four vaccine doses (three primary doses and a fourth dose 18 months later), the incidence of uncomplicated malaria and of severe malaria were reduced by 39% and 32% respectively over 4 years of follow-up. For every 1000 children vaccinated with 4 doses, a total of 1774 cases of malaria and 40 hospital admissions due to malaria were averted over about 4 years1. A total of 19 cases of severe malaria were averted, cases which, without the enhanced access to care provided in the context of the trial, might have led to death. The vaccine therefore could have a substantial public health impact. The current vaccination schedules include three primary doses to be administered before 9 months of age and a fourth dose at about 2 years of age. This involves three to four additional vaccination visits than are currently recommended in this age range. The MVPE seeks to determine the impact realised in practice when the vaccine is introduced in areas of high to moderate malaria incidence in three countries with year-round malaria transmission. The programme will evaluate the safety of RTS,S/AS01 in routine use, the feasibility of administering four doses of the vaccine, and the impact of the vaccine at population level, using a cluster-randomized design. The vaccine is being introduced sub-nationally in pilot areas in each of the three countries, by the EPI programme. Within the pilot area in each country, districts (in Ghana), subcounties (in Kenya), and clusters of equivalent population (in Malawi), have been randomized to either introduce the vaccine in 2019 (implementation clusters), or to delay introduction until the initial introduction has been evaluated (comparison clusters). Thus, the evaluation will use a cluster-randomized design. Community reporters will document all deaths occurring in children under 5 years of age in the implementation and comparison clusters. Hospital surveillance is being established in sentinel hospitals in a subset of clusters to monitor the incidence of admission with malaria and other conditions. Vaccine administration will be delivered through, and monitored by, the Expanded Programme for Immunization (EPI) in each country and uptake of RTS,S/AS01RTS,S will also be measured independently through cluster-sample household surveys. The MVPE will determine whether the introduction of RTS,S/AS01RTS,S leads to a reduction in child deaths, and a reduction in the incidence of hospital admission with severe malaria, over the 4 years of the implementation programme (MVIP, Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme). The MVPE also addresses three safety signals that were observed in the phase 3 trial but whose significance was unclear: an unexplained excess of meningitis cases in RTS,S/AS01 recipients, an excess in cerebral malaria cases among RTS,S/AS01 recipients who developed severe malaria and, among the relatively small number of deaths that occurred in the trial, an excess of deaths among girls who received RTS,S/AS01 compared to girls who did not receive RTS,S/AS01. The data to be collected over 4 years will inform a policy decision about wider use of RTS,S/AS01 as a means to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality, when provided in addition to existing malaria control measures. It is anticipated that sufficient data to assess the safety signals are likely to be available after the first 2 years of the evaluation. At that time, all available data would be reviewed, including outcomes related to safety of the vaccine in routine use (meningitis, cerebral malaria, mortality by gender, AEFI), the impact on severe malaria and all-cause mortality, coverage of the first 3 doses, preliminary data on administration of the 4th dose, and cost-effectiveness assessment. A recommendation about wider use of the vaccine might therefore be made before final impact data are available, recognizing that the impact in any setting will depend on coverage and timeliness of vaccination and the malaria burden, which may differ from those in the MVIP.
How to cite: Bondesio, N 2026, ‘The integration of indigenous knowledge systems into early childhood development curriculum frameworks’, in T Moodley, S Stofile & R Govender (eds.), Holistic and inclusive education practices for young learners in South Africa: From early childhood to Foundation Phase, The University of the Western Cape Faculty of Education Book Series, vol. 2, AOSIS Books, Cape Town, pp. 81–102. https://doi.org/10.4102/aosis.2026.BK568.05
