Development, operation and maintenance of RWS

Development, operation and maintenance of RW

Are insecticide-treated bednets more protective against Plasmodium falciparum than Plasmodium vivax-infected mosquitoes?

BACKGROUND: The outcomes of insecticide-treated bednet (ITN) interventions for malaria control in Papua New Guinea tend to suggest a differential protective effect against Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. Little is known about the impact of ITNs on the relative abundance of mosquitoes infected with either P. falciparum or P. vivax. This paper describes the biting cycle of P. falciparum and P. vivax-infected mosquitoes and the impact of an ITN intervention on the proportion of mosquitoes infected with either parasite species. METHODS: Entomological investigations were performed in East Sepik (ESP) and New Ireland Provinces (NIP) of PNG. Mosquitoes were collected using the all-night (18:00 - 06:00) landing catch and CDC light-trap methods and species specific malaria sporozoite rates were determined by ELISA. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The distribution of sporozoite positive mosquitoes in three four-hour periods (18:00-22:00, 22:00-02:00 & 02:00-06:00) showed that a higher proportion of P. vivax-infected mosquitoes were biting before people retired to bed under the protection of bednets. In the intervention village, the 308 mosquitoes collected before ITNs were introduced included eight (2.0%) P. falciparum-positive and four (1.0%) P. vivax-positive specimens, giving a parasite ratio of 2:1. The sporozoite rate determined from 908 mosquitoes caught after ITNs were introduced showed a significant decrease for P. falciparum (0.7%) and a slight increase for P. vivax (1.3%), resulting in a post intervention parasite ratio of 1:2. In the East Sepik Province, where ITNs were not used, P. falciparum remained the dominant species in 12 monthly mosquito collections and monthly P. falciparum:P. vivax formula varied from 8:1 to 1.2:1. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that people sleeping under treated bednets may be more exposed to P. vivax than P. falciparum-infected mosquitoes before going to sleep under the protection of bednets. This difference in the biting behaviour of mosquitoes infected with different malaria parasites may partly explain the change in the P. falciparum:P. vivax formula after the introduction of ITNs

Air Pollution and Climate Forcing of the Charcoal Industry in Africa

The demand for charcoal in Africa is growing rapidly, driven by urbanization and lack of access to electricity. Charcoal production and use, including plastic burning to initiate combustion, release large quantities of trace gases and particles that impact air quality and climate. Here, we develop an inventory of current (2014) and future (2030) emissions from the charcoal supply chain in Africa that we implement in the GEOS-Chem model to quantify the contribution of charcoal to surface concentrations of PM2.5 and ozone and direct radiative forcing due to aerosols and ozone. We estimate that the charcoal industry in 2014 required 140–460 Tg of biomass and 260 tonnes of plastic and that industry emissions could double by 2030, so that methane emissions from the charcoal industry could outcompete those from open fires by 2025. In 2014, the largest enhancements in PM2.5 (0.5–1.4 μg m–3) and ozone (0.4–0.7 ppbv) occur around the densely populated cities in East and West Africa. Cooling due to aerosols (−100 to −300 mW m–2) is concentrated over dense cities, whereas warming due to ozone is widespread, peaking at 4.2 mW m–2 over the Atlantic Ocean. These effects will worsen with ongoing dependence on this energy source, spurred by rapid urbanization and absence of viable cleaner alternatives

Mass Drug Administration and beyond: how can we strengthen health systems to deliver complex interventions to eliminate neglected tropical diseases?

Achieving the 2020 goals for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) requires scale-up of Mass Drug Administration (MDA) which will require long-term commitment of national and global financing partners, strengthening national capacity and, at the community level, systems to monitor and evaluate activities and impact. For some settings and diseases, MDA is not appropriate and alternative interventions are required. Operational research is necessary to identify how existing MDA networks can deliver this more complex range of interventions equitably. The final stages of the different global programmes to eliminate NTDs require eliminating foci of transmission which are likely to persist in complex and remote rural settings. Operational research is required to identify how current tools and practices might be adapted to locate and eliminate these hard-to-reach foci. Chronic disabilities caused by NTDs will persist after transmission of pathogens ceases. Development and delivery of sustainable services to reduce the NTD-related disability is an urgent public health priority. LSTM and its partners are world leaders in developing and delivering interventions to control vector-borne NTDs and malaria, particularly in hard-to-reach settings in Africa. Our experience, partnerships and research capacity allows us to serve as a hub for developing, supporting, monitoring and evaluating global programmes to eliminate NTDs

Work-care satisfaction and capabilities: Examining single mother's satisfaction with juggling paid work and childcare in Gugulethu, South Africa

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA (DVS)Capabilities as espoused by Sen are the realizable opportunities that are open to an individual that enable her to be or do that which she finds reasonably valuable. This study assessed the work-care arrangement capabilities that single mothers in Gugulethu have at their disposal to undertake a juggling arrangement schedule that they find satisfying (fulfilling). In this study, single mothers were asked to affiliate themselves to one of three work-care arrangement groups namely, work-centered, child-centered and flexible. Then, the study empirically examined if there is a significant difference in respondents' work-care satisfaction within these three groups. It accomplished this by using the Kruskal-Wallis Test. The study then went on to identify the work-care arrangement capabilities of 7 single mothers who were undertaking juggling arrangement schedules that were not of their preference or choice. They were interviewed in this study to ascertain whether they had viable opportunities/ capabilities to undertake their preferred juggling arrangement schedule, which they believed would bring them much personal fulfilment/satisfaction

Migration Intentions of Ghanaian Medical Students: The Influence of existing Funding Mechanisms of Medical Education("The Fee Factor")

Background: To explore the effects of fee paying status on migration intentions of Ghanaian medical students.Design: Cross sectional questionnaire based survey Setting: All established Ghanaian medical schools with students in their clinical years Participants: Fee-paying and non-fee-paying Ghanaian medical students in their clinical yearsInterventions: NoneMain outcome measures: Migration intentions of Ghanaian medical students after graduation, Allegiance to Government of GhanaResults: Approximately half (49%) of the medical students surveyed had intentions of migrating after school. Over 48% of those with migration intentions plan on doing so immediately after completing their house job, while 44% plan to migrate at least one year after their house job. The most popular destination chosen by the potential migrant doctors was North America (38%). Fee-paying students were significantly more likely (OR=2.11, CI=1.32, 3.38) than non-fee-paying students to have intentions of migrating after their training. Secondly, fee-paying students were more likely (OR=9.66, CI=4.42, 21.12) than non-fee paying students to feel they owe no allegiance to the Government of Ghana because of their fee-paying status.Conclusions: Medical Students’ fee-paying status affects their intentions to migrate and their allegiance to the country after completion of their training.Keywords: Migration intention, fee paying, medical students, allegianc

Air pollution and climate forcing of the charcoal industry in Africa

Demand for charcoal in Africa is growing rapidly, driven by urbanization and lack of access to electricity and other reliable and clean off-grid energy. Charcoal production and use, including plastic burning to initiate combustion, release large quantities of trace gases and particles that impact air quality and climate. In this work, past (2000-2014) trends in charcoal production and use in Africa are quantified and the dominant drivers identified to forecast the future (2030) of the industry. An inventory of current (2014) and future (2030) emissions from the charcoal supply chain in Africa has also been developed and implemented in the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model to quantify the contribution of charcoal to surface concentrations of PM$_{2.5}$ and ozone, and direct radiative forcing due to aerosols and ozone. Charcoal production (and use) increased from 2000 to 2014 in Africa by a factor of 2. In 2014, the charcoal industry required 140-460 Tg fuelwood, depending on efficiency of combustion, to produce charcoal and 260 tonnes plastic for charcoal use to initiate combustion. The variability in wood required is due to variability in combustion efficiency of 9-30% that depends on kiln type and technology. The plastic use is an educated guess in the absence of statistics on its use and is most prevalent in low-income homes. A rough estimate of forest loss suggests that by 2030, 4.4-15 million hectares of forest will be lost in Africa due to charcoal production. By 2030, charcoal production will almost double which will drive a similar increase in emissions from the industry. Charcoal production makes a substantial contribution to CH$_4$ emissions in Africa. These may outcompete CH$_4$ emissions from open fires in West Africa by 2025. As expected, inefficient combustion emissions of CH$_4$, NMVOCs, and CO are predominantly from charcoal production, whereas BC and NO$_x$, signatures of efficient combustion, are predominantly from charcoal use. An exception is OC that in the inventory is mostly from charcoal use, but should be predominantly from charcoal production, due to the use in the inventory of emission factors that in recent field studies are shown to underestimate OC emissions from charcoal production. In 2014, the largest enhancements in PM$_{2.5}$ (0.5-1.4 $\mu$g m$^{-3})$ and ozone (0.4-0.7 ppbv) occur in densely populated cities in East and West Africa. Cooling due to aerosols (-100 to -300 mW m$^{-2}$) is concentrated over dense cities, whereas warming due to ozone is widespread, peaking at 4.2 mW m$^{-2}$ over the Atlantic Ocean. Population-weighted PM$_{2.5}$ exposure increases from 0.34 $\mu$g m$^{-3}$ in 2014 to 0.51 $\mu$g m$^{-3}$ in 2030. The air quality and climate impact of charcoal will only worsen with ongoing dependence on this energy source, as most of the future (2100) largest megacities will likely be in Africa

Shrinking the lymphatic filariasis map of Ethiopia: reassessing the population at risk through nationwide mapping

BACKGROUND Mapping of lymphatic filariasis (LF) is essential for the delineation of endemic implementation units and determining the population at risk that will be targeted for mass drug administration (MDA). Prior to the current study, only 116 of the 832 woredas (districts) in Ethiopia had been mapped for LF. The aim of this study was to perform a nationwide mapping exercise to determine the number of people that should be targeted for MDA in 2016 when national coverage was anticipated. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDING A two-stage cluster purposive sampling was used to conduct a community-based cross-sectional survey for an integrated mapping of LF and podoconiosis, in seven regional states and two city administrations. Two communities in each woreda were purposely selected using the World Health Organization (WHO) mapping strategy for LF based on sampling 100 individuals per community and two purposely selected communities per woreda. Overall, 130 166 people were examined in 1315 communities in 658 woredas. In total, 140 people were found to be positive for circulating LF antigen by immunochromatographic card test (ICT) in 89 communities. Based on WHO guidelines, 75 of the 658 woredas surveyed in the nine regions were found to be endemic for LF with a 2016 projected population of 9 267 410 residing in areas of active disease transmission. Combining these results with other data it is estimated that 11 580 010 people in 112 woredas will be exposed to infection in 2016. CONCLUSIONS We have conducted nationwide mapping of LF in Ethiopia and demonstrated that the number of people living in LF endemic areas is 60% lower than current estimates. We also showed that integrated mapping of multiple NTDs is feasible and cost effective and if properly planned, can be quickly achieved at national scale

STABILITY OF MONEY DEMAND IN SIERRA LEONE USING AUTOREGRESSIVE DISTRIBUTED LAG (ARDL) APPROACH 1980 – 2018

This work seeks to investigate whether money demand is stable in Sierra Leone. The study uses annual data for the period 1980 to 2018. A standard money demand is defined and estimated using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach. This technique permits error correction modeling to examine the short and long-run relationship between money demand and its determinants. The determinants of money demand (MD) are Real Gross Domestic Product GDP(Y) Real Exchange Rate (RER), Real Interest rate (RIR), GDP Deflator used as a proxy for inflation rate were empirically examined to determine their relative statistical significance as they affect money demand. In advance of adopting the ARDL Approach, the time series properties of the variables in the model were examined using the ADF and PP tests. All variable was found to be I(1) - stationary at the first difference, therefore the use of ADRL Approach is suitable and ideal. The model used in this study has passed all of the diagnostic tests – specification, serial correlation, heteroscedasticity, and structural stability. Hence the estimated model cannot be spurious. Therefore, these results are not misleading, rather they are reliable. The test of stability was done using CUSUM and CUSUMSQ plots, and both suggest that there exists a stable relationship between real broad money demand in Sierra Leone and its determinants. JEL: E61, E62, P3