Regional Co-operation and Imperialist Penetration: A Preliminary Perspective Of SADCC

Preliminary paper presented to the International Seminar on "Southern African Responses to Imperialism", 21 - 23 April, 1987, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe

Experiences of Antenatal Care Among Pregnant Adolescents at Kanyama and Matero Reference Clinic in Lusaka District

ABSTRACT Introduction: Adolescent pregnancy is among the many public health concerns not only in Zambia but also in other parts of the world. Access to skilled health providers is essential for the health and wellbeing of both the mother and the unborn child. Exploring pregnant adolescent’s experiences of antenatal care provides an important approach to identify specific problems that may require reevaluation of existing policies and programs in health care systems in Zambia. However, there is limited documentation on the experiences of antenatal care among pregnant adolescents in Zambia. Methodology: A qualitative, phenomenological research design was adopted, using semi structured in-depth interviews to collect data. The interviews with the research participants were audio recorded. Maximum variation sampling technique was used to select 12 pregnant adolescents (1219 years) that attended antenatal care from both Kanyama and Matero Reference clinic in Lusaka District. The participants were identified through observation of antenatal cards at the clinics. Consent was sought from adolescents who were 17years old and above. Parental consent/assent was also sought from the biological mother/father or guardian from participants below 17 years old. Data was analyzed thematically with the help of Nvivo software version 10. Results: The findings of this study indicate that pregnant adolescents had both positive and negative experiences with the health care providers. They complained that the health care providers were rude in the way they communicated with them. However other participants reported that the health providers were friendly and welcoming. The participants also described their experiences of antenatal care with older pregnant women. Some participants reported being judged and discriminated against by older women, while others (older women) were reported to be unfriendly towards the adolescents. On the other hand, some participants revealed that older women offered them good advice on how to take good care of their pregnancy. In addition, a number of learning outcomes from antenatal classes were also noted by the participants with specific reference to antenatal education. Furthermore, the participants also raised a number of other issues with regards to their experiences with the antenatal care services. These included long waiting period to receive care, issues of privacy and confidentiality during counselling and physical examinations of pregnancy, and lack of adolescent specific spaces. Conclusion: Therefore there is a need to establish an adolescent friendly antenatal care that would address some of the issues facing pregnant adolescents at the antenatal clinic. Key Words: Pregnant Adolescents, Experiences, Antenatal Car

Core-scale solute transport model selection using Monte Carlo analysis

Model applicability to core-scale solute transport is evaluated using breakthrough data from column experiments conducted with conservative tracers tritium and sodium-22 , and the retarding solute uranium-232 . The three models considered are single-porosity, double-porosity with single-rate mobile-immobile mass-exchange, and the multirate model, which is a deterministic model that admits the statistics of a random mobile-immobile mass-exchange rate coefficient. The experiments were conducted on intact Culebra Dolomite core samples. Previously, data were analyzed using single-porosity and double-porosity models although the Culebra Dolomite is known to possess multiple types and scales of porosity, and to exhibit multirate mobile-immobile-domain mass transfer characteristics at field scale. The data are reanalyzed here and null-space Monte Carlo analysis is used to facilitate objective model selection. Prediction (or residual) bias is adopted as a measure of the model structural error. The analysis clearly shows single-porosity and double-porosity models are structurally deficient, yielding late-time residual bias that grows with time. On the other hand, the multirate model yields unbiased predictions consistent with the late-time slope diagnostic of multirate mass transfer. The analysis indicates the multirate model is better suited to describing core-scale solute breakthrough in the Culebra Dolomite than the other two models

Policy Concerns, Opportunities, Challenges, and Attitude towards One Health Practice in Zambia

One Health in terms of collaboration, particularly between human and animal health sectors to prevent and control zoonoses has been low while the sectors have a lot of things in common. Such common things include aspects of disease causative agents (viruses, bacteria, parasites, etc.) and those of disease occurrence mediator conditions (social, cultural, economic or climatic). Therefore, the research from which this paper is based was done with the objectives to: (a) assess the extent to which human and animal health policies facilitate one health in terms of collaboration; (b) rank opportunities for and challenges to collaboration among medical, and veterinary officers according to the views and experiences of the respondents in the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture; and (c) determine the attitude of the respondents towards One Health approaches in terms of collaboration in dealing with zoonoses. A cross-sectional research design was used in this study whereby data were collected at a single point in time without repetition. Purposive sampling method was used to make sure that the respondents were only officials who usually participated in policy formulation in the two Ministries. It was found that almost three quarters (73.1%) of the respondents from both ministries agreed that there was no policy which directly facilitated One Health in terms of collaboration. It was also found that 83.6% of the respondents pointed out that human and animal health policy making process was a top-down process. Furthermore, it was found that the main opportunities that could enhance collaboration were sufficient money in budgeting; advocacy for control of neglected zoonotic diseases in human and animal health; and one health policy formulation (71.3%, 68.2% and 65.5% respectively). The overall attitude towards collaboration among respondents was favourable; they scored an average of 62.2 out of 100.0 points on a Likert scale. It is concluded that if opportunities enhancing collaboration were strengthened and challenges to collaboration were overcome, human health and animal health experts could collaborate more in reduction of disease burden in both humans and livestock. Keywords: One health, policy, attitude, opportunities, challenge

Benchmark assessment of orphaned and vulnerable children in areas of the Zambia Family (ZAMFAM) Project

The US Agency for International Development and US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) are supporting the Zambia Family (ZAMFAM) project to strengthen comprehensive, integrated service delivery and support to children living with, affected by, or vulnerable to HIV/AIDS (OVC) in the Lusaka, Copperbelt, Southern, and Central Provinces of Zambia. To inform that effort, Project SOAR conducted a benchmark survey among beneficiaries in the four provinces of the ZAMFAM program. The benchmark survey measured the status and conditions of OVC and their families. The findings provide a deeper understanding of the needs of OVC families and the gaps in service provision, as well as suggestions for strengthening care and support strategies for OVC in Zambia

CA-Markov Approach in Dynamic Modelling of LULCC Using ESA CCI Products Over Zambia

The Markov, Cell Atom and CA-Markov modules in TerrSet v19.0 have been applied to predict LULC maps for 2030 over Zambia. The European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative (ESA CCI) classified LULC maps for 2000, 2010 and 2020 were used in this study. The ESA-CCI LULC maps were reclassified using QGIS 3.20 into 10 classes. The 2000 and 2010 LULC maps were used to predict the 2020 LULC maps. The Kappa statistics between the 2020 reference and predicted LULC maps was kappa (0.9918). The probability and transition matrix between the 2010 and 2020 LULC maps were used as inputs into the CA-Markov module to generate the 2030 LULC map. The LULCC from 2020-2030 shows an expansion and contraction of different classes. However, Built-up (42.38% [481.82 km2]) constitutes major changes among the LULC classes. However, Cropland, Dense forest, Grassland, Wetland and Bare land will reduce by 376.00, 1087.65, 70.60, 26.67 and 0.36 km2, respectively. Other LULC changes from 2020-2030 are in seasonally flooded grassland (94.66 km2), Sparse forest (497.05 km2), Shrub land (410.11 km2) and Water body (77.63 km2). The prediction of future LULC from historical LULC using CA-Markov model plays a significant role in policy making and land use planning

Lay perceptions, beliefs and practices linked to the persistence of anthrax outbreaks in cattle in the Western Province of Zambia

Anthrax, a neglected zoonotic disease that is transmitted by a spore-forming, rod-shaped bacterium, Bacillus anthracis, has reached endemic proportions in the Western Province of Zambia. Transmission of anthrax from the environment as well as between cattle has been observed to be partly because of entrenched beliefs, perceptions and traditional practices among cattle farmers in the known outbreak areas. This study was aimed at exploring lay perceptions, beliefs and practices that influence anthrax transmission in cattle of the Western Province. A mixed-methods study was conducted from August to December 2015. Quantitative data were collected using a cross-sectional survey. Qualitative data were generated by interviewing professional staff and community members. Five focus group discussions and five key informant interviews were conducted. Thematic analysis of interview data was performed using NVivo software. The findings suggested that cattle anthrax was biologically as well as culturally maintained. Cattle farmers were reluctant to have their livestock vaccinated against anthrax because of perceived low efficacy of the vaccine. Also, the cattle farmers did not trust professional staff and their technical interventions. Popular cultural practices that involved exchange of animals between herds contributed to uncontrolled cattle movements between herds and subsequent transmission of anthrax. These findings imply the need for professional staff to be culturally competent in handling socio-cultural issues that are known to be barriers for disease control in animals. There is a need to develop a policy framework that will foster integrated control of anthrax across disciplines

Determinants of unmet need for family planning among married women in Zambia

Unmet need for family planning remains a major family planning problem in most countries around the world. It presents serious consequences for the women, their families and society at large. This study was undertaken to establish the factors that affect total unmet needs for family planning and its components in Zambia. This study used the 2013/14 Zambia Demographic Health Survey (ZDHS) dataset focusing on currently married women aged 15 to 49. Data analysis took the form of descriptive, binary logistic and multinomial logistic regressions. The study shows that, although there has been a substantial increase in the use of contraceptives, combined unmet need for family planning has only decreased slightly over time, and currently stand at 21%, made up of 14% limiters and 7% spacers. Various factors were identified as determinants of unmet need for spacing, limiting or total unmet need for family planning. These included age, partner’s level of education, contraceptive side effects, husband opposition to contraceptives and number of living children. To enhance utilization, policy should not be blind to the respective factors that influence combined unmet needs for spacing and limiting