One health research in Northern Tanzania – challenges and progress

East Africa has one of the world’s fastest growing human populations—many of whom are dependent on livestock—as well as some of the world’s largest wildlife populations. Humans, livestock, and wildlife often interact closely, intimately linking human, animal, and environmental health. The concept of One Health captures this interconnectedness, including the social structures and beliefs driving interactions between species and their environments. East African policymakers and researchers are recognising and encouraging One Health research, with both groups increasingly playing a leading role in this subject area. One Health research requires interaction between scientists from different disciplines, such as the biological and social sciences and human and veterinary medicine. Different disciplines draw on norms, methodologies, and terminologies that have evolved within their respective institutions and that may be distinct from or in conflict with one another. These differences impact interdisciplinary research, both around theoretical and methodological approaches and during project operationalisation. We present experiential knowledge gained from numerous ongoing projects in northern Tanzania, including those dealing with bacterial zoonoses associated with febrile illness, foodborne disease, and anthrax. We use the examples to illustrate differences between and within social and biological sciences and between industrialised and traditional societies, for example, with regard to consenting procedures or the ethical treatment of animals. We describe challenges encountered in ethical approval processes, consenting procedures, and field and laboratory logistics and offer suggestions for improvement. While considerable investment of time in sensitisation, communication, and collaboration is needed to overcome interdisciplinary challenges inherent in One Health research, this can yield great rewards in paving the way for successful implementation of One Health projects. Furthermore, continued investment in African institutions and scientists will strengthen the role of East Africa as a world leader in One Health research

Rockefeller Foundation - 1999 Annual Report

Contains statement of mission and vision, president's message, program information, grants list, financial statements, and list of board members and staff

Climate-Smart Livestock Interventions in West Africa: A Review

The livestock sector is one of the major contributors in agriculture, by some estimates contributing up to 18% of the global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Of this, about one third is reported to be due to land use change associated with livestock production, another one third is nitrous oxide from manure and slurry management, and roughly 25% is attributed to methane emissions from ruminant digestion. Recent analysis suggests that developing world regions contribute about two thirds of the global emissions from ruminants, with sub- Saharan Africa a global hotspot for emissions intensities, largely due to low animal productivity, poor animal health and low quality feeds. These numbers suggest, therefore, that there are opportunities for easy gains to be made in terms of mitigation in the livestock sector, as improving feed resource use efficiencies would improve livestock productivity as well as reduce emissions per unit of product. In this context, climate-smart agricultural practices are necessary in the West Africa region and in sub-Saharan Africa in general. Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) is an approach that provides a conceptual basis for assessing the effectiveness of agricultural practice change to support food security under climate change. This review focuses on livestock-related CSA options in West Africa looking at herd management, feed, grazing management, animal breeding strategies, manure management, and policy options

Monitoring and evaluating capacity building activities in low and middle income countries: challenges and opportunities.

BACKGROUND: Lower and middle income countries (LMICs) are home to >80% of the global population, but mental health researchers and LMIC investigator led publications are concentrated in 10% of LMICs. Increasing research and research outputs, such as in the form of peer reviewed publications, require increased capacity building (CB) opportunities in LMICs. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) initiative, Collaborative Hubs for International Research on Mental Health reaches across five regional 'hubs' established in LMICs, to provide training and support for emerging researchers through hub-specific CB activities. This paper describes the range of CB activities, the process of monitoring, and the early outcomes of CB activities conducted by the five research hubs. METHODS: The indicators used to describe the nature, the monitoring, and the early outcomes of CB activities were developed collectively by the members of an inter-hub CB workgroup representing all five hubs. These indicators included but were not limited to courses, publications, and grants. RESULTS: Results for all indicators demonstrate a wide range of feasible CB activities. The five hubs were successful in providing at least one and the majority several courses; 13 CB recipient-led articles were accepted for publication; and nine grant applications were successful. CONCLUSIONS: The hubs were successful in providing CB recipients with a wide range of CB activities. The challenge remains to ensure ongoing CB of mental health researchers in LMICs, and in particular, to sustain the CB efforts of the five hubs after the termination of NIMH funding

Advancing the science of health research capacity strengthening in low-income and middle-income countries: a scoping review of the published literature, 2000–2016

Objectives Substantial development assistance and research funding are invested in health research capacity strengthening (HRCS) interventions in low-income and middle-income countries, yet the effectiveness, impact and value for money of these investments are not well understood. A major constraint to evidence-informed HRCS intervention has been the disparate nature of the research effort to date. This review aims to map and critically analyse the existing HRCS effort to better understand the level, type, cohesion and conceptual sophistication of the current evidence base. The overall goal of this article is to advance the development of a unified, implementation-focused HRCS science. Methods We used a scoping review methodology to identify peer-reviewed HRCS literature within the following databases: PubMed, Global Health and Scopus. HRCS publications available in English between the period 2000 and 2016 were included. 1195 articles were retrieved of which 172 met the final inclusion criteria. A priori thematic analysis of all included articles was completed. Content analysis of identified HRCS definitions was conducted. Results The number of HRCS publications increased exponentially between 2000 and 2016. Most publications during this period were perspective, opinion or commentary pieces; however, original research publications were the primary publication type since 2013. Twenty-five different definitions of research capacity strengthening were identified, of which three aligned with current HRCS guidelines. Conclusions The review findings indicate that an HRCS research field with a focus on implementation science is emerging, although the conceptual and empirical bases are not yet sufficiently advanced to effectively inform HRCS programme planning. Consolidating an HRCS implementation science therefore presents as a viable option that may accelerate the development of a useful evidence base to inform HRCS programme planning. Identifying an agreed operational definition of HRCS, standardising HRCS-related terminology, developing a needs-based HRCS-specific research agenda and synthesising currently available evidence may be useful first steps

HIV prevention for young people in Sub-Saharan Africa : effectiveness of interventions and areas for improvement: evidence from Rwanda

These conclusions and recommendations mainly affect five parties: researchers, intervention managers, evaluators, funders and scientific journal editors. Given the absence of a vaccine or a cure, the focus remains on preventing HIV transmission. By analysing existing data on the determinants of the complex sexual behaviour of young people and their causal pathways, and by gathering additional information, researchers should make unprecedented efforts to develop alternative and more effective interventions. Accepting the complexity of sexual behaviour of young people, also means dealing with a considerable degree of uncertainty and flexibility. Intervention development, implementation and evaluation are to be considered inseparable: results of effectiveness evaluations should be considered of little use if no information is provided on the intervention or its implementation and vice versa. Since the evaluation should be an integral part of the intervention, intervention managers and evaluators need to work in close collaboration, without suspicion. Donors have to accept that a complex intervention cannot be designed beforehand, but requires a process approach that maps risky behaviours, dominant predictors, causal pathways and key stakeholders. This pre-intervention research should be considered a fundamental part of the intervention and donors should be aware that effectiveness depends on this phase, hence funding should be made available. In this process, reality, and not morality, should be at the forefront: young people should be approached as responsible individuals who are able to make their own decisions and need to be made competent to ensure their choice to (not) have sexual intercourse is made autonomous, without coercion or regret and with the necessary in-depth knowledge of risks. This requires a change in attitudes of all stakeholders involved. A complex intervention approach also means that the intervention is monitored and can be changed during its course, resulting in the need for flexible, mixed and triangulated evaluation approaches (“combination evaluation”) and flexible funding strategies. Scientific journals have the responsibility to make innovative approaches public, even though they might not be considered most rigorous by current scientific standards, as well as allow for elaborate reports on intervention development and implementation. We are convinced this can be done if all parties remain conscious of the ultimate objective; eradicating HIV among the important and vulnerable population of young people

Mapping regional cooperation of state actors for health research systems in Africa:: a social network analysis

Regional bodies can potentially play an important role in improving health research in Africa. This study analyses the network of African state-based regional organisations for health research and assesses their potential relationship with national health research performance metrics. After cataloguing organisations and their membership, we conducted a social network analysis to determine key network attributes of national governments’ connections via regional organisations supporting functions of health research systems. This data was used to test the hypothesis that state actors with more connections to other actors via regional organisations would have higher levels of health research performance across indicators. With 21 unique regional organisations, the African continent is densely networked around health research systems issues. In general, the regional network for health research is inclusive. No single actor serves as a nexus. However, when statistics are grouped by African Union regions, influential poles emerge, with the most predominate spheres of influence in East and West Africa. Further, when connectivity data was analysed against national health research performance, there were no statistically significant relationships between increased connectivity and higher performance of key health research metrics. The inclusive and dense network dynamics of African regional organisations for health research strengthening present key opportunities for knowledge diffusion and cooperation to improve research capacity on the continent. Further reflection is needed on appropriate and meaningful ways to assess the role of regionalism and evaluate the influence of regional organisations in strengthening health research systems in Africa

Strategies to Sustain Small-and-Medium Sized Business Enterprises

Eighty-five percent of all firms operating in Nigeria are small-and medium-sized business enterprises (SMEs) and contribute almost 55% to the gross domestic product (GDP) in Nigeria. Capital flight and other growth inhibitors pose threats to the sustainability of SMEs in Nigeria. This exploratory multiple-case study was to determine strategies SME leaders use to sustain business operations in Nigeria. The study participants consisted of 15 SME leaders from 3 regional manufacturing firms who had successfully implemented strategies to sustain SMEs in Nigeria. Bertalanffy\u27s general systems theory and Freeman\u27s stakeholder theory were the conceptual frameworks used in the research. The data collection processes included semistructured interviews and reviewing company documents. After analyzing the interview data and validating through member checking, 5 core themes emerged during the data analysis process: creating new markets, encouraging opportunity for sustainable growth, securing additional funding sources, employee participation in decision making, and gaining competitive advantages. The findings may promote social change among the business community leaders by identifying essential characteristics to improve the posterity of SMEs in Nigeria

Use of genetically improved and alien species for aquaculture and conservation of aquatic biodiversity in Africa

Aquaculture species are being domesticated and improved through genetic enhancement. Despite the benefits of improved fish in terms of increased production, there are risks associated with conservation of biodiversity when the introduced strains/species escape in natural waters. This is especially important in Africa which is one of the worldÆs repository of diverse freshwater fish fauna and home to native tilapias. This proceedings is a useful tool in bringing awareness among African institutions, agencies, planners of the issues involved in improving production through introductions of improved strains/alien species while sustaining the biodiversity.Aquaculture, Tilapia, Selective breeding, Brood stocks, Biodiversity, Quarantine regulations, Introduced species, Resource conservation, Africa,