Social embeddedness of human smuggling in East Africa: brokering Ethiopian migration to the Sudan

This article discusses the migration processes and brokering practices that link Ethiopia and Sudan by taking into account the social, economic, political and cultural underpinnings of human smuggling in the region. The analysis is based on three months of fieldwork using a conventional qualitative research methodology. Respondents were selected from actors such as smugglers, migrants and government personnel involved in the migration process, facilitation and control activities. Since the 1990s, significant irregular overland labour migration has emerged from Ethiopian towns and villages to Khartoum, Sudan via the border towns of Metema on the Ethiopian side and Galabat on the Sudanese side. However, how various actors engage in shaping this migration process and how human smuggling sustains despite increasing control efforts by the state is less understood. This paper demonstrates that this mobility is facilitated mainly by smugglers who are involved in transnational social relations, material practice and migration knowledge production, including informal money transfer practices, transport and communication infrastructures. This challenges the view reflected in popular discourses that such smuggling is organised by independent criminal organisations. Smugglers and their connectors in Metema facilitate Ethiopian migrants’ clandestine border crossings via the town of Metema by mobilising support and resources from local communities along the border, bribing border guards and capitalising on their ethnic, religious and economic connections along Ethiopian-Sudanese borderlands. The study concludes that human smuggling and brokering migration partly thrives in the border areas since the actors extend benefits of smuggling to the economically disadvantaged local community and in return generate social and community support for smuggling activities

Starting up and starting over: how networking can enable refugee entrepreneurs to regain livelihoods in East Africa

Establishing a secure livelihood is a key element that enables refugees to rebuild their lives and overcome protracted dis placement situations. Not only can a steady source of income help refugees afford housing, food and other basic necessities, it can also facilitate their integration by connecting them with others in the community. While some seek jobs in existing organisations or businesses in the formal or informal economy, others create their own enterprises from scratch. This policy brief shares TRAFIG findings from two key refugee-hosting countries in Africa, Ethiopia and Tanzania, and illustrates how refugees are using connectivity to create livelihood opportunities, with a focus on those engaging in entrepreneurial activities. It also puts forth ideas for those seeking to scale up access to entrepreneurship for displaced persons

Figurations of displacement in and beyond Ethiopia: empirical findings and reflections on protracted displacement and translocal connections of Eritreans in Ethiopia

This working paper is based on empirical research on translocal figurations of displacement in Ethiopia. It explores TRAFIG’s central question: "How are protractedness, dependency and vulnerability related to the factors of local and translocal connectivity and mobility, and, in turn, how can connectivity and mobility be utilised to enhance the self-reliance and strengthen the resilience of displaced people?" The paper presents findings from six camps in Tigray and Afar regional states, as well as urban refugees in Addis Ababa and several cities in Tigray. The findings show that the capability to break free from protracted displacement is primarily determined by each refugee's networks and connectivity. Local and translocal connectivity enable refugees to move out of camps, secure livelihoods, widen future chances and process their onward mobility. In the cities or in other countries in which displaced people temporarily or permanently settle, network contacts provide information about job opportunities, support local integration, help to access business licenses informally and to cover costs of living. The extent of support provided through networks, however, depends on the quality of translocal/national social relations. Particularly, such connections that could avail of financial resources determine the pathways of refugees' mobility. For those who have strong networks, camps are just a transit space where they process their onward mobility. Those who do not have strong networks are more susceptible to experiencing protracted waiting periods, diminished livelihood options and general vulnerability. Our study reveals that context is vital for mobility and translocal connectivity: Both dimensions need to be put in the context of previous histories of migration, bonds and alliances with the hosting communities, and the state of current political affairs. Against this backdrop, the study reveals significant differences between the three groups of Eritrean refugees we studied (Tigrinya, Afar and Kunama) in terms of their connectivity, mobility and vulnerability

The effect of ivermectin® on fertility, fecundity and mortality of Anopheles arabiensis fed on treated men in Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Insecticide resistance is a growing threat to malaria vector control. Ivermectin, either administered to humans or animals, may represent an alternate strategy to reduce resistant mosquito populations. The aim of this study was to assess the residual or delayed effect of administering a single oral dose of ivermectin to humans on the survival, fecundity and fertility of Anopheles arabiensis in Ethiopia. METHODS: Six male volunteers aged 25-40 years (weight range 64-72 kg) were recruited; four of them received a recommended single oral dose of 12 mg ivermectin and the other two individuals were untreated controls. A fully susceptible insectary colony of An. arabiensis was fed on treated and control participants at 1, 4, 7, 10 and 13 days post ivermectin-administration. Daily mosquito mortality was recorded for 5 days. An. arabiensis fecundity and fertility were measured from day 7 post treatment, by dissection to examine the number of eggs per mosquito, and by observing larval hatching rates, respectively. RESULTS: Ivermectin treatment induced significantly higher An. arabiensis mortality on days 1 and 4, compared to untreated controls (p = 0.02 and p < 0.001, respectively). However, this effect had declined by day 7, with no significant difference in mortality between treated and control groups (p = 0.06). The mean survival time of mosquitoes fed on day 1 was 2.1 days, while those fed on day 4 survived 4.0 days. Mosquitoes fed on the treatment group at day 7 and 10 produced significantly lower numbers of eggs compared to the untreated controls (p < 0.001 and p = 0.04, respectively). An. arabiensis fed on day 7 on treated men also had lower larval hatching rates than mosquitoes fed on days 10 and 13 (p = 0.003 and p = 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: A single oral dose of ivermectin given to humans can induce mortality and reduce survivorship of An. arabiensis for 7 days after treatment. Ivermectin also had a delayed effect on fecundity of An. arabiensis that took bloodmeals from treated individuals on day 7 and 10. Additional studies are warranted using wild, insecticide-resistant mosquito populations, to confirm findings and a phase III evaluation among community members in Ethiopia is needed to determine the impact of ivermectin on malaria transmission

Prevalence, risk factors and bacterial causes of bovine mastitis in southern Ethiopia

Mastitis is one of the most economically important diseases in dairy farms worldwide. It is particularly important in Ethiopia where no routine prevention and control practices are in place. This cross-sectional study was carried out between October 2017 and June 2018 to estimate the prevalence of mastitis, identify the associated risk factors and isolate bacterial causes in dairy farms located in southern Ethiopia using standard microbiological methods and questionnaire survey. A total of 686 lactating cows which were found in 122 selected dairy farms were investigated by physical examination and California mastitis test. The overall cow-level prevalence of mastitis was 54.2% (95% CI: 50.5 – 57.9%). Based on the study site, the prevalence was 55.7% in Hawassa, 54.3% in Arsi Negele, 52.6% each in Wondo Genet and Wolayta Soddo towns with no significant (p &gt; 0.05) difference among the sites. The majority of mastitis cases were subclinical (48.1%) while the clinical mastitis was only 6.1%. Of the 122 herds tested, 109 (89.3%; 95% CI: 82.1 – 93.9%) had at least a cow positive for mastitis. The study showed that high parity number (OR = 1.6; p = 0.015), flat (OR = 4.5; p &lt;0.001) and round (OR = 2; p &lt;0.001) teat end shape, history of mastitis in preceding lactation (OR = 3.3; p &lt;0.001), and slightly (OR = 3.5; p &lt; 0.001), moderately (OR = 4.9; p &lt; 0.001), and very dirty (OR = 9.2; p &lt; 0.001) udder and legs were the major risk factors which are significantly associated with higher prevalence of mastitis. Based on the available media and reagents, the major bacteria isolated from subclinical mastitic milk samples were Staphylococcus spp. (57.3%), Streptococcus spp. (18.6%), E. coli (17.3%) and Bacillus spp. (7.5%) in order of their abundance. The present study revealed a high prevalence of mastitis, particularly the subclinical one, and the associated risk factors. Enhancing the awareness of dairy farmers, regular screening of cows for subclinical mastitis, proper treatment of the clinical cases, improving the hygienic condition of the cows, and culling of chronically infected cows are critically important to prevent and control bovine mastitis. Keywords: Mastitis, Prevalence, Risk factors, Southern Ethiopi

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century