My mother told me …” Indigenous and decolonial approaches to maternal mental health in the Global South- Dr Sarah Mlambo

The significance of alternative Global South narratives is a critical determinant in shaping and identifying a community often not given a place and value in promoting maternal mental well-being. Decolonisation of Health aims to achieve more significant equity and justice by creating a myriad of perspectives and knowledge systems that may have been marginalised yet having positive and practical impacts on women’s health. Diversity, access, equity, and inclusion initiatives are critical in identifying and enhancing context-specific maternal mental health well-being interventions. Drawing from a range of global south perspectives like ‘Masungiro’, the integration and inclusion of alternative narratives into mainstream mental health practices to uphold inclusive, complementary, and culturally sensitive care models. Advocating for and recognising Indigenous-alternative knowledge as a tool in advancing maternal mental well-being should be prioritised in ensuring cultural safety and inclusivity. The resilience and healing wisdom that is embedded in alternative knowledge seeks to include the excluded in promoting maternal mental health and wellbeing. This presentation, therefore, narrates the social alternatives to promoting maternal mental well-being through a bottom-up approach with intergenerational knowledge and practices, UBUNTU, community, and family support structures, and the effects of social isolation among displaced women.

Distribution of dark matter in galaxies-Dr Marie Korsage

Stars, galaxies and everything else we observe with the naked eye and through telescopes make up only a small fraction of all the matter contained in the Universe. The unseen component, referred to as Dark Matter, cannot be detected by direct observations; rather, its shape and distribution are inferred from the study of visible matter. Interestingly, an important fraction of the Universe’s matter content is found within galaxies, making them ideal laboratories for investigating the properties of dark matter and uncovering the secrets of the Universe. Understanding dark matter distribution is crucial to solving fundamental questions about galaxy formation and the structure of the universe. In fact, this constitutes a key science goal of the upcoming SKA (Square Kilometre Array, located in South Africa and Australia), the most ambitious project in radio astronomy to date.

In this talk, I will discuss methods used to investigate mass distribution in galaxies with an emphasis on Dark Matter and present results of a study we conducted on the relationship between the mass of gas in galaxies and that of the Dark Matter. The study was performed using state-of-the-art instruments, and the results it provides constitute an important step in our understanding of the dark matter properties.

From Pastoral to Displacement Economy? Protracted displacement and livelihood in the Somali Region of Ethiopia-Dr Fekadu Adguna

Conflict and climate change displaced millions across the Horn and East Africa. The region is currently hosting over 18 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and 5.3 million refugees and asylum seekers – close to a third of the global IDP and 17% of refugees. Mobility has been part of the pastoral way of life. Pastoral mobility had established the Somali population in Northeast Africa across the present national borders of Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya and Somalia. Since the 1960s, however, conflict and displacement have significantly affected the Somali inhabited territories. Most of the inhabitants have experienced multiple displacements and lived as ‘refugee’, ‘host’ ‘IDP’ etc. due to conflict, drought and flood. The longstanding vulnerability created livelihood that very much depend on socio-cultural, kinship and informal cross-border relationships. By setting the context of displacement in the region and among the Somali population in the Horn of Africa, the presentation will highlight the complex layers of displacement and criticize the simplistic approaches in the humanitarian/development response.