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AbstractUpon its cession from 1874 to 1970, Fiji was under the British colonial government, and the colonial government attempted to control the spread of smallpox in the colony. The vaccination of Smallpox in the colonial era was effectively eradicated and controlled by the colonial authority with the help of Native Medical Practitioners. This paper looks at how smallpox was prevented and controlled in Fiji. The control drive was established, executed, and expanded in the face of all medical, financial, logistical, social, political, and geographical challenges. Indeed, this paper examines the relationship between native and colonial administrations in tackling the spread of smallpox. The changes in vaccination policies’ formulation, implementation, and budgetary in Colonial Fiji were also examined in this paper. This research helps fill in the gaps in our understanding of the effects of colonial health policy in Fiji by focusing on the vaccination of indentured labourers and the construction of quarantine centres. By examining the historical backdrop of smallpox vaccination in colonial Fiji, this research has the potential to provide significant insights that can be utilized to improve the efficacy of contemporary public health initiatives, particularly in environments characterized by cultural diversity.

AbstractThis survey study examines how online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic affected the students’ perception of an ideal English teacher. A close-ended questionnaire prepared in light of the students’ short descriptive views on the characteristics of an ideal English teacher was used to collect data about personal, social, and professional aspects of an ideal English teacher before the Covd-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, the survey was repeated. The present article compares and contrasts the calculated percentage of the data collected prior to and during the pandemic to conclude how the circumstances created by the global crises changed the students’ perceptions of an ideal English teacher. Based on comparative analysis, this research is a quantitative, descriptive study with some interesting results. The results reveal that, with the change of circumstances, some aspects of an ideal teacher remained irrelevant (e.g. age, gender, etc.); some others remained considerably compelling (e.g. the teacher’s interaction with the students, reading skills, listening skills, and punctuality); some became more important (e.g. show concern); some became less important (e.g. dress sense and physical features). The article touches on the Indian value system to interpret the results.

Background: Similar to other African countries, life expectancy of people living with HIV infection has improved due to access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Rwanda. However, both HIV infection and use of ART are associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks, due to adverse changes in some biomarkers, causing dyslipidemia and other metabolic imbalances. Biomarkers for CVD risk in HIV-infected individuals taking ART, has not been well characterized in Rwanda. We evaluated the association between the use and duration of ART and biomarkers of CVD risk among HIV infected adults in Rwanda. Methods: A total of 150 participants (18-45 years) from HIV clinics in public Health Center in Kigali included n=30 HIV-uninfected (HIV-) and n=120 HIV-infected (HIV+) adults. Among the HIV+ adults, n=40 participants were ART-naïve. Cross-sectional data were collected on healthrelated behaviors and biochemical markers of CVD risk. We compared CVD-related biomarkers between HIV-, HIV+ ART-naïve, and HIV+ on ART groups. Results: The majority of participants were women (60%) and HIV- were younger (35 ± 6 vs. 31 ± 6 years). Total cholesterol and triglycerides concentrations were associated with ART usage. Serum triglycerides concentrations were lower in HIV+ ART-naïve compared to HIV+ on ART (76.6 ± 38.9 mg/dl vs. 85.0 ± 38.3 mg/dl; p< 0.01). While total cholesterol concentrations were higher in HIV+ on ART than HIV+ ART-naïve (136.0 ± 45.1 mg/dl vs. 130.0 ± 36.5 mg/dl; p<0.04), HDL-C was higher in those taking ART (68.7 ± 30.0 mg/dl vs. 55.0 ± 25.7 mg/dl; p=0.02) among HIV+ on ART for 0-6 months and 7-12 months respectively. Conclusion: Elevated levels of cardiovascular risk biomarker profiles (serum total cholesterol and triglycerides) were associated with use of ART in young adults with HIV in the present study. Although these values were within the upper limits of normal, our findings suggest early alterations in biomarkers of cardiovascular risk. These findings underscore the need for early evaluation of lipid profiles as biomarkers of CVD risk, to effectively monitor how ART may contribute to cardiovascular disease and deter treatment programs in Rwanda and other African countries.

Indigenous Fijians have a long history of using medicinal resources from both land and ocean. Terrestrial medicinal plants have been documented in numerous studies carried out across the islands of Fiji but there is a dearth of research regarding marine resources. Ten marine medicinal seaweeds were documented in this study derived from information provided by villagers. Usage of these seaweeds varied depending on the type of illness and availability of resources. Common preparation methods of extracting medicinal properties from these resources include boiling the plant, raw consumption or simply using it as an ingredient in meals. Traditional healers are a crucial component of a traditional Fijian community as villagers depend on them for guidance to cure illnesses. The information collected for this study reveals an erosion of traditional knowledge occurring in Indigenous societies and highlights the need for documentation of this wealth of knowledge as well as an awareness of the importance of medicinal plants in Pacific Islands.

This study is a systematic review of the United Nations and African Union reports on the controversial identity of the Batwa and their recognition as an Indigenous people in post-genocide Rwanda. Using the criteria of inclusion and exclusion, 25 United Nations and African Union periodic reports dating from 2000 onwards were systematically selected and reviewed. The findings of the study indicate that both the United Nations and African Union agree and disagree on the position of the Government of Rwanda on the identity recognition and the strategies used to empower the Batwa. Therefore, lack of a unified position on the status of the Batwa grossly undermines the United Nations human rights–based approach leading to the violation of their rights. This study proposes a new thinking that rectifies the status of the Batwa as a historically marginalized people. The study also subscribes to the tenets of national unity advanced by the Government of Rwanda.

AbstractAstroviruses (AstVs) have been discovered in over 80 animal species including diverse bat species and avian species. A study on Astrovirus circulation and diversity in different insectivorous and frugivorous chiropteran species roosting in trees, caves and building basements was carried out at 11 different sites across Zimbabwe. Pooled and individual faecal sampling methods were used for this study, with collection dates ranging from June 2016 to July 2021. In two sites, Magweto and Chirundu, sampling was carried out at monthly intervals from August 2020 to July 2021. Astroviruses and bat mitochondrial genes were amplified using pan-AstVs and CytB /12S RNA PCR systems respectively. Phylogenetic analysis of theRdRpAstrovirus sequences revealed a high genetic diversity of astroviruses. All the bat astroviruses tested in this study clustered with theMamastrovirusgenus. Two distinct groups of amplified sequences were identified. One group was comprised of sequences isolated fromHipposideros, RhinolophusandEidolon helvumspp. clustered with Human Astrovirus strains:HuAstVtypes1-6,HuAstV-MLB1-3 andHuAstV-VA-1. The second group comprising the majority of the sequences clustered with different strains of Bat AstVs. Results from the longitudinal study at Magweto and Chirundu showed an overall AstV prevalence of 13.7% and 10.4% respectively. Peaks of AstV infection at Chirundu coincided with the period when juveniles are 4-6 months old. By combining data from our previous work on Coronaviruses, we also anaylzed co-infection of bats with Coronaviruses and Astroviruses at Magweto and Chirundu sites for which the prevalence of co-infection was 2.6% and 3.5% respectively.

This article examines Marcel Gauchet’s claim that the political history of religion is the key to a new understanding of contemporary liberal democratic societies in the shape that they have come to assume since the 1970s. The Disenchantment of the World presents a history of religion starting out from the thesis that, from the perspective of universal history, the primary function of religion can be identified with the production of the unity and identity of societies. Present-day liberal democracies, it is argued, perform the same function through an alternative disposition of the constitutive elements of collective life. Where religions institute the identity of the society by accepting dependence upon a supernatural origin, contemporary society is organized as a ‘subjective form of social functioning’, in the sense that it is able to create and transform itself. Gauchet argues that the central structural features of contemporary society – the administrative state, the separation of civil society and the freedom of individuals, and the global orientation to the future – allow the practical accomplishment of the ideal of autonomy announced by the tradition of modern and revolutionary political thought. The explication of this logic establishes the preconditions for the criticism of these societies, by showing the historical decision and the internal articulations that give them their cohesion.