An Examination Of Ethiopia’s Anti -Terrorism Proclamation On Fundamental Human Rights

Since the enactment of Ethiopia’s Proclamation on Anti-Terrorism in August 2009, at least11 journalists have been convicted, each sentenced to at least 10 years imprisonment. There are concerns that the proclamation limits the right to freedom of thought, opinion and expression, provided for in Ethiopia’s Constitution. Through the lens of the right to freedom of thought, opinion and expression, the paper argues that Ethiopia’s Anti-Terrorism Proclamation violates the human rights of people within its jurisdiction. It finds that there is a real potential for the state to crack down on political dissent in governance and curtail the growth of democracy in Ethiopia

Federalism and Multilevel Governance in Tobacco Policy: The European Union, the United Kingdom, and Devolved UK Institutions

Most studies of tobacco control policy focus on the central level of national governments. Yet within the European Union, three levels of government have responsibilities for tobacco control: the EU; the central governments of member states; and provinces or devolved levels of government. This article examines the role of each in the formation of tobacco policy in the United Kingdom. It compares the theory of regulatory federalism with multilevel governance as explanations for tobacco regulatory policy within the EU. While executive-legislative fusion in the United Kingdom leads to the practice of discretionary federalism, the EU provides mixed support for the theory of regulatory federalism. There is significant policy innovation in the UK and its devolved territories as well as limited policy authority for tobacco control in the EU. Overall, multi-level governance (MLG) may be a superior, albeit incomplete, explanation of tobacco control within the EU and the UK

Federalism, multi-level governance and tobacco control: Comparative public policy in the United Kingdom and South Africa.

The dissertation investigates the effects of federalism and multi-level governance on tobacco control policy in the United Kingdom and South Africa. It uses theories of federalism and multi-level governance, as well as policy transfer (diffusion) and interest groups politics to investigate their effects on tobacco control policy adoption. Methodologically, the research uses comparative case analyses augmented by elite interviews and secondary sources. The study found that each of the various explanations have influenced the adoption of comprehensive tobacco control policies in the two countries. In the end, the study argues that the policies of the two countries are converging, except for minor differences relating to the role of provinces in policy adoption

Effect of supplier appraisal on firm performance in Ghana: Views of employees of selected manufacturing firms

In Ghana, recent financial sector clean-ups and reforms have impacted the operations of several corporations in the business-to-business market. Coupled with this, several issues have been reported concerning procurement practises in the past few years. Regardless of corporate governance practises and public procurement regulations, institutions in Ghana are yet to fully realise the relevance of supplier appraisal. Grounded by the resource base theory, the study examines the effect of appraisal of suppliers’ financial stability, technical capacity to produce, adherence to systems and procedures, conformance to legislation, and suppliers’ supply chain on the performance of industrial firms in Ghana. A sample of 171 employees was drawn from a total of 250 employees. Data processing and analysis were undertaken through the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) estimator. The results clearly suggest that firms’ technical capacity does not constitute firm resources that translate to firm performance. However, firms’ financial stability, adherence to systems, conformance to legislation, and supply chains are regarded as firm resources that contribute to the overall performance of the firm. We conclude that supplier evaluation is a significant predictor of manufacturing firms’ performance

Support for Smoke-Free Public Places Among Adults in Four Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa

Introduction: There is no known safe level of secondhand smoke exposure; yet, less than 30% of the global population is covered by comprehensive smoke-free policies as of 2016 and there are few smoke-free policies in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).This study examines the support for smoke-free public places in SSA and delineates their correlates. Methods: Data collected through the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (2012–2017) were analyzed using SAS for descriptive and multivariable analyses, with a significance level set at p \u3c .05. Results: No SSA country had comprehensive smoke-free policies, defined as a prohibition of smoking in eight public places. In the four countries whose Global Adult Tobacco Survey data were analyzed (Nigeria, Cameroon, Kenya, and Uganda), support for the prohibition of smoking in public places was over 90% in all eight public places except bars. Support for smoking prohibition in bars was 65.8%, 81.1%, 81.4%, and 91.0% in Nigeria, Cameroon, Kenya, and Uganda, respectively. Factors associated with support for smoke-free bars differed across the four countries, but in all countries, current smokers had decreased odds of support for smoke-free bars. Knowledge of secondhand smoke harm and living in smoke-free homes were associated with increased odds of support for smoke-free bars in all countries except Kenya. Conclusion: The high support for smoke-free public places should inform the efforts of the public health community and policymakers in these four SSA countries toward meeting their obligations of Article 8 of theWorld Health Organization Framework Convention onTobacco Control (WHO FCTC). Implications: Much of the population in SSA is not protected by comprehensive smoke-free policies. It was found that the overwhelming majority of adults in four large countries in SSA support the prohibition of smoking in public places and that knowledge of the health dangers of smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke and home smoking rules increased support for the prohibition. High support for the prohibition of smoking in these four SSA countries suggests tobacco control proponents should advocate for comprehensive smoke-free policies

Exposure to the number of tobacco control policies and tobacco use cessation among adults in Sub-Saharan Africa

Background Tobacco use and tobacco-induced diseases are rapidly increasing in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Addressing this problem requires both tobacco use prevention and cessation. This study examined the rate of smoking cessation and assessed effects of tobacco control policies (TCPs) on cessation among adults in SSA. Methods During 2012 and 2014, Global Adult Tobacco Survey data were collected in Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda and analyzed, with smoking cessation as the outcome. The exposure variable consisted of a composite index of the number of TCPs that participants have been exposed to. Covariates included participants' characteristic, knowledge of tobacco harm, exposure to anti-smoking messages, and tobacco industry promotions. Descriptive analyses were conducted for prevalence of smokers who had quit in the past year (i.e., ex-smokers) for each country and pooled data. A multivariable logistic regression was used to examine whether the number of TCPs a participant has been exposed to increase the likelihood of cessation. The odds ratios and associated 95% confidence intervals were ascertained. Results Of 27,952 participants, 48%, 32.1%, 17.5%, 81.2% had been exposed to anti-smoking media messages, health warning labels, smoke-free workplace, and smoke-free homes, respectively. Approximately 14.1% of the participants were ex-smokers, of which 7.1%, 6.1%, 5.0%, and 10.6% had been exposed to anti-smoking media messages, health warning labels, and smoke-free workplace, and smoke-free homes, respectively. Preliminary logistic regression analyses suggest that likelihood of smoking cessation increases with increase in exposure to TCPs. Conclusions As of 2014, only 41 countries had comprehensive tobacco control programs, with < 10 of the 47 SSA countries having national tobacco control laws. This study suggests that the number of TCPs in a country facilitates smoking cessation, suggesting that achieving the WHO FCTC goal of reduced tobacco use requires adoption of many TCPs, even in absence of a national law

Support for ban on smoking in public places among adults in Sub-Saharan Africa

Background Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure continues to be a major problem across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Studies have called for immediate steps to address SHS exposure in SSA. Although several SSA countries are implementing smoke-free policies (SFPs), public support of these policies can affect their success. While support for SFPs has been studied in other countries, there is limited literature on SFPs in SSA. This study estimated the prevalence and factors associated with support for SPFs in four SSA countries. Methods Data from 27,952 participants of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey conducted in Nigeria (2012), Cameroon (2013), Uganda (2013) and Kenya (2014) were analyzed. Supports for smoking ban in eight public places were assessed. Descriptive analysis was conducted to estimate prevalence of support for SPF for the eight places and any support (defined as a support for SFP in at least one public place) for each country and pooled data. A multivariable logistic regression was used to examine factors associated with any support for SFPs. We report odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results Support for any SFP was 99.3% ,99.4%, 99.8%, and 99.8% in Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon and Nigeria, respectively. In the pooled data, support for SFPs ranged from 64.4% in restaurants to 98.8% in worship places. Adjusting for covariates, support for SFPs was significantly increased in participants who were aware of SHS harm, believed smoking causes serious illness, lived in homes where smoking is restricted, lived in smoke-free homes, resided in countries where three to five public places were completely smoke-free, and those aged 15-44 years. Conclusions The results suggest that support for SFPs increases as the number of smoke-free public places in a country increases. Implementing complete SFPs as described in the WHO FCTC in the SSA countries will likely succeed due to the prevailing high support for these policies