Abr. abstr.: This is an account of a study concerning the occurrence of childhood malnutrition in Kilifi District, Kenya. The socioeconomic characteristics of women with malnourished children who... Show moreAbr. abstr.: This is an account of a study concerning the occurrence of childhood malnutrition in Kilifi District, Kenya. The socioeconomic characteristics of women with malnourished children who attended Kilifi Family Life Training Centre in the year 1984/1985 were analysed. Next, the possible influence of intra-household factors on the occurrence of childhood malnutrition was examined. A comparison of two groups of ten mother/child pairs, focusing on feeding and weaning patterns, hygiene, parental care and home stimulation, revealed important variations as regards child/caretaker relationships. In households where no malnutrition had occurred, children were fed more regularly and were provided with more types of stimulation. The question remains whether a malnourished child generates a lower level of stimulation on the caretaker's part, or whether lack of stimulation by the caretaker leads to an increased risk of malnutrition. However, the present findings indicate not only that a relationship between childhood malnutrition and home stimulation exists, but that it persists beyond the acute episode and subsequent rehabilitation. Consequently, it is recommended that emphasis during rehabilitation should not only be on nutritional requirements and general child care, but also on individual attention and stimulation given to the child Show less
Using a structuralist-inspired approach the author analyses a collection of oral historical data from central western Zambia, namely 'Likota lya Bankoya', ('The history of the Nkoya people'),... Show moreUsing a structuralist-inspired approach the author analyses a collection of oral historical data from central western Zambia, namely 'Likota lya Bankoya', ('The history of the Nkoya people'), compiled by the first Nkoya Christian pastor, J. Shimunika, in the 1950s-1960s. He focuses on mutative transformations that mark two types of discontinuity: 1) deviations, in the Likota text, from contemporary Nkoya cultural practice; and 2) inconsistencies, in the text, within the pattern of oppositions by which a particular past episode is evoked. These transformations are shown to converge on the same pattern of changes in gender relations in the process of State formation. In conjunction with the contemporary ethnographic evidence on Nkoya society, these mutative transformations indicate that the 'feminist' message in the Likota text is not an historically irrelevant statement concerning a static cosmological order, but a reflection of an actual historical process relegating women in central western Zambia to inferiority in the political, ritual, economic, and kinship domains. Show less
Zambia is among the few African countries where chiefs occupy an honorable position at the national level, and where a House of Chiefs is established, complementary to Parliament. This paper... Show moreZambia is among the few African countries where chiefs occupy an honorable position at the national level, and where a House of Chiefs is established, complementary to Parliament. This paper examines the relationship between chiefs and the central government on the basis of an analysis of newspaper articles from the 'Zambia Daily Mail' and the 'Times of Zambia' over the period 1 February 1972 to 1 February 1973. Attention is paid to the various images of the chiefs, both positive and negative, as expressed in the newspapers; the career of Princess Nakatindi of Sesheke (d. 1972); the continuity in the relations between chiefs and the central government; the chiefs' search for protection by the State; the subjugation of the chiefs by State bureaucracies; and the selective use of chiefly symbolism. The analysis shows that modern politics and traditional leadership do not constitute two separate worlds, but that State and chieftaincy are closely interlocking aspects of modern Zambian life. App., bibliogr., notes, ref Show less
The creation of the ONCPB (Office national de commercialisation des produits de base) in 1976 was a turning point in the history of government regulation of agricultural marketing in Cameroon. It... Show moreThe creation of the ONCPB (Office national de commercialisation des produits de base) in 1976 was a turning point in the history of government regulation of agricultural marketing in Cameroon. It went a long way in unifying and harmonizing the marketing arrangements in francophone and anglophone Cameroon. The ONCPB received legal powers to regulate and control the marketing of five export crops: cocoa, coffee, cotton, groundnuts and palm kernels. These powers do not dictate a standard pattern for ONCPB participation in marketing. Its commercial activities vary from crop to crop and between anglophone and francophone Cameroon, revealing a flexibility which seems characteristic for the Cameroonian authorities. ONCPB's collaboration with private enterprise, operating under licence, is noted for its close and vigilant supervision; relations between cooperative enterprise and the ONCPB are more relaxed but also require frequent negotiations and detailed agreement. Show less
This report reviews government policies concerning consumer food prices in Kenya. In respect of official food pricing, Kenya can be said to pursue a 'cheap food' policy. It was found that most... Show moreThis report reviews government policies concerning consumer food prices in Kenya. In respect of official food pricing, Kenya can be said to pursue a 'cheap food' policy. It was found that most foods falling under price control measures showed less price increases than the average rate of inflation during recent years (1975-1984). Moreover, when compared to international prices, the data reveal that domestic maize prices (maize is Kenya's staple food) were kept well below comparable world market prices for this commodity. Official food pricing policy, however, does not reach the majority of the Kenyans who live in the rural areas. Here, consumer prices are determined by market forces, i.e. by varying local supply conditions, and there are substantial price variations, both seasonal and regional, even between adjacent rural markets. These price variations are further aggravated by the government's stringent regulations on food transports across district boundaries. It is therefore widely recommended that the (maize) food sector be liberalized by lifting movement controls and allowing private traders to participate in maize trading operations, although it remains to be seen whether this will in fact lead to less fluctuating food prices in rural Kenya. Show less
Dans la vallée que peuplent les Halpulaar, Soninke, Wolof et Maures le long du cours moyen du fleuve Sénégal, on ne comptait en 1970 que quelques petits périmètres irrigués. Ils étaient plus de 400... Show moreDans la vallée que peuplent les Halpulaar, Soninke, Wolof et Maures le long du cours moyen du fleuve Sénégal, on ne comptait en 1970 que quelques petits périmètres irrigués. Ils étaient plus de 400 en 1982 et à la fin de 1984 plus de 500. Les habitants de la vallée sont en train d'intensifier rapidement leur agriculture. Les auteurs s'attachent pour ce qui concerne des Halpulaar de la rive gauche qui forment le plus important groupe ethnique, à identifier au profit des ingénieurs et des planificateurs les causes principales de ce succès relatif. Show less
