Live animal and meat export value chains for selected areas in Ethiopia: constraints and opportunities for enhancing meat exports

The Ethiopian live animal and meat export marketing system is operating in an environment characterized by several constraints that needs the attention and action of the government and other non-governmental development organizations. Despite the reported high livestock population of the country, the major meat and live animal exporters are complaining of shortage of supply and inferior quality of animals (especially shoats). The problem could be because of the constraints in the marketing system of exporters themselves, the market information system, poor market infrastructures like road, seasonality in production, competition of the domestic and the export sector, problems in the production system, or a combination of several factors. Thus, it is imperative to identify the major factors contributing to the reported supply shortage that has hindered smooth functioning of the Ethiopian live animal and meat export market and take appropriate action as much as possible. This study, therefore, characterizes live animal and meat export value chains to determine constraints and opportunities for enhancing the efficiency of meat export from Ethiopia. The study was conducted using a Rapid Market Appraisal (RMA), which is a method that offers a quick and effective means for: learning about the main characteristics of the marketing system; mapping the supply chains, understanding constraints and opportunities, and generating information as a basis for designing follow-up research such as focused survey of value chain components and actors

Immediate unfavorable birth outcomes and determinants of operative vaginal delivery among mothers delivered in East Gojjam Zone Public Hospitals, North West Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study

Introduction Operative vaginal delivery is the use of forceps or vacuum devices to assist the eligible laboring mother to avoid poor birth outcomes. It is associated with increased maternal, neonatal morbidity and perinatal complications if it is not used appropriately. Instrumental delivery use needs health care providers' skills, knowledge, and decision-making ability for good maternal outcomes. Objective This study aimed to assess immediate unfavorable birth outcomes and associated factors of operative vaginal delivery among women delivered in East Gojjam Zone Public Hospitals, North West Ethiopia. Method The study design was institution based cross-sectional and consecutive sampling procedure was used to select 313 mothers in the study, from March 1, 2019, to April 30, 2019. We used Epi data version 3.1 for data entry and SPSS version 25 software for cleaning and analysis. A Bivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify the association between each outcome variable and each factor. Again, a multivariable logistic regression analysis was employed to identify factors associated with each outcome variable, and variables with a p-value less than 0.05 were taken as significant variables. Results The overall unfavorable maternal outcomes of operative vaginal delivery were found to be 32.9% [95% CI: 27.8, 38.3]. No formal education (AOR = 8.36; 95% CI: 1.01, 69.2), rural residence (AOR: 11.77; 95% CI: 2.02, 68.41), male sex of the neonate (AOR: 2.87; 95% CI: 1.08, 7.61) and zero station during instrumental application (AOR: 6.93; 95% CI: 1.75, 27.5) were factors associated with unfavorable maternal outcomes. The study also showed that the magnitude of unfavorable neonatal outcomes was 34.8% (95% CI: 29.7, 40.3). Vaginal first-degree tear (AOR = 0.03, 95% CI: 0.001, 0.951) and blood transfusion (AOR = 7.38, 95% CI: 1.18-46.15) was statistically significant factors associated with unfavorable neonatal outcomes. Conclusion The overall unfavorable maternal and neonatal outcomes of operative vaginal delivery were high compared with some other studies done in Ethiopia

Programmatic correlates of maternal healthcare seeking behaviors in Ethiopia

Background: Considerable improvement in maternal healthcare use has been observed since the inception of the health extension program (HEP) in Ethiopia in 2003.Objective: This paper evaluates the influence of HEP outreach strategies on maternal healthcare use.Method: Cross-sectional survey of 2,916 women with children 0 to 11 months from Amhara, Oromiya, Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s, and Tigray regions, obtained between December 2008 and January 2009, were analyzed using regression models to assess the impacts of HEP strategies on maternal health outcomes.Result: The analyses found that communities (i.e., kebeles) with relatively high prevalence of model families, higher rate of household visits by health extension workers, and higher rate of household visits by voluntary community health workers were associated with improved antenatal care use, tetanus toxoid vaccination coverage, and receiving postnatal care visits; but the strategies were not associated with deliveries attended by health professionals.Conclusion: Although the impacts of HEP strategies on maternal healthcare use were statistically significant, they were not optimum to reach the maternal mortality reduction targets of the government of Ethiopia. The HEP needs to review and strengthen its community based strategies in order to reach its goals. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2010;24 Special Issue 1:92-99

Evapotranspiration in the Nile Basin: Identifying Dynamics, Trends, and Drivers 2002-2011

Analysis of the relationship between evapotranspiration (ET) and its natural and anthropogenic drivers is critical in water-limited basins such as the Nile. The spatiotemporal relationships of ET with rainfall and vegetation dynamics in the Nile Basin during 2002–2011 were analyzed using satellite-derived data. Non-parametric statistics were used to quantify ET-rainfall interactions and trends across land cover types and subbasins. We found that 65% of the study area (2.5 million km2) showed significant (p \u3c 0.05) positive correlations between monthly ET and rainfall, whereas 7% showed significant negative correlations. As expected, positive ET-rainfall correlations were observed over natural vegetation, mixed croplands/natural vegetation, and croplands, with a few subbasin-specific exceptions. In particular, irrigated croplands, wetlands and some forests exhibited negative correlations. Trend tests revealed spatial clusters of statistically significant trends in ET (6% of study area was negative; 12% positive), vegetation greenness (24% negative; 12% positive) and rainfall (11% negative; 1% positive) during 2002–2011. The Nile Delta, Ethiopian highlands and central Uganda regions showed decline in ET while central parts of Sudan, South Sudan, southwestern Ethiopia and northeastern Uganda showed increases. Except for a decline in ET in central Uganda, the detected changes in ET (both positive and negative) were not associated with corresponding changes in rainfall. Detected declines in ET in the Nile delta and Ethiopian highlands were found to be attributable to anthropogenic land degradation, while the ET decline in central Uganda is likely caused by rainfall reduction

The relationship between the firm's social media strategy and the consumers' engagement behavior in aviation

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Maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity of uterine rupture and its association with prolonged duration of operation in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Uterine rupture is the leading cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and it accounts for 36% of the maternal mortality in Ethiopia. The maternal and perinatal outcomes of uterine rupture were inconclusive for the country. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the pooled maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity of uterine rupture and its association with prolonged duration of operation. METHODS: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist was used for this systematic review and meta-analysis. We systematically used PubMed, Cochrane Library, and African Journals online databases for searching. The Newcastle- Ottawa quality assessment scale was used for critical appraisal. Egger's test and I2 statistic used to assess the check for publication bias and heterogeneity. The random-effect model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence and odds ratios with 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: The pooled maternal mortality and morbidity due to uterine rupture in Ethiopia was 7.75% (95% CI: 4.14, 11.36) and 37.1% (95% CI: 8.44, 65.8), respectively. The highest maternal mortality occurred in Southern region (8.91%) and shock was the commonest maternal morbidity (24.43%) due to uterine rupture. The pooled perinatal death associated with uterine rupture was 86.1% (95% CI: 83.4, 89.9). The highest prevalence of perinatal death was observed in Amhara region (91.36%) and the lowest occurred in Tigray region (78.25%). Prolonged duration of operation was a significant predictor of maternal morbidity (OR = 1.39; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.81). CONCLUSIONS: The percentage of maternal and perinatal deaths due to uterine rupture was high in Ethiopia. Uterine rupture was associated with maternal morbidity and prolonged duration of the operation was found to be associated with maternal morbidities. Therefore, birth preparedness and complication readiness plan, early referral and improving the duration of operation are recommended to improve maternal and perinatal outcomes of uterine rupture

Systematic review and meta-analysis: prevalence of alcohol use among young people in eastern Africa.

OBJECTIVE: Systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies of alcohol use among young people (age 15-24 years) in eastern Africa to estimate prevalence of alcohol use and determine the extent of use of standardised screening questionnaires in alcohol studies. METHODS: Five databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Global Health, Africa-wide, and PsycINFO) were searched for publications until 30th June 2013. Results were summarised using the guidelines on preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) and on quality assessment using the modified quality assessment tool for systematic reviews of observational studies (QATSO). Heterogeneity was assessed using the I(2) statistic (DerSimonian-Laird). RESULTS: We identified 2785 potentially relevant studies, of which 56 were eligible for inclusion. Only two studies (4%) used the standardised Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) questionnaire, and six studies (13%) used the Cut down, Annoyed, Guilt, Eye opener (CAGE) questionnaire. The reported median prevalence of alcohol use was ever-use 52% [interquartile range (IQR): 20-58%], use in the last month 28% (IQR: 17-37%), use in the last year 26% (IQR: 22-32%), and problem drinking as defined by CAGE or AUDIT 15% (IQR: 3-36%). We observed high heterogeneity between studies, with the highest prevalence of ever use of alcohol among university students (82%; 95%CI: 79-85%) and female sex workers (66%; 95%CI: 58-74%). Current use was most prevalent among male sex workers (69%; 95%CI: 63-75%). CONCLUSIONS: Reported alcohol use and problem drinking were common among diverse groups of young people in eastern Africa, indicating the urgent need for alcohol-focused interventions in this population. Few studies have used standardised alcohol screening questionnaires. Epidemiological research to investigate alcohol-focused interventions in young people should aim to apply such questionnaires that should be validated for use in this population

Epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineages and strain clustering within urban and peri-urban settings in Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Previous work has shown differential predominance of certain Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) lineages and sub-lineages among different human populations in diverse geographic regions of Ethiopia. Nevertheless, how strain diversity is evolving under the ongoing rapid socio-economic and environmental changes is poorly understood. The present study investigated factors associated with M. tb lineage predominance and rate of strain clustering within urban and peri-urban settings in Ethiopia. METHODS: Pulmonary Tuberculosis (PTB) and Cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis (TBLN) patients who visited selected health facilities were recruited in the years of 2016 and 2017. A total of 258 M. tb isolates identified from 163 sputa and 95 fine-needle aspirates (FNA) were characterized by spoligotyping and compared with international M.tb spoligotyping patterns registered at the SITVIT2 databases. The molecular data were linked with clinical and demographic data of the patients for further statistical analysis. RESULTS: From a total of 258 M. tb isolates, 84 distinct spoligotype patterns that included 58 known Shared International Type (SIT) patterns and 26 new or orphan patterns were identified. The majority of strains belonged to two major M. tb lineages, L3 (35.7%) and L4 (61.6%). The observed high percentage of isolates with shared patterns (n = 200/258) suggested a substantial rate of overall clustering (77.5%). After adjusting for the effect of geographical variations, clustering rate was significantly lower among individuals co-infected with HIV and other concomitant chronic disease. Compared to L4, the adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (AOR; 95% CI) indicated that infections with L3 M. tb strains were more likely to be associated with TBLN [3.47 (1.45, 8.29)] and TB-HIV co-infection [2.84 (1.61, 5.55)]. CONCLUSION: Despite the observed difference in strain diversity and geographical distribution of M. tb lineages, compared to earlier studies in Ethiopia, the overall rate of strain clustering suggests higher transmission and warrant more detailed investigations into the molecular epidemiology of TB and related factors