Setting the research agenda: involving parents in research on children who are HIV-free

INTRODUCTION: There is growing interest in health, developmental and survival outcomes of children who are born HIV-free to women living with HIV (children born HIV-free). To date, the research agenda has been largely determined by researchers, funders and policy makers, with limited involvement of parents, who are key stakeholders. Researchers at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health in partnership with community-based organisation 4M Network of Mentor Mothers conducted two workshops with parents in March 2022 to establish research priorities for children born HIV-free, and key considerations for methodological approaches both to research and engagement with the affected communities. DISCUSSION: When exploring research on children born HIV-free, we consider the following: what aspects of current research are aligned with women and parents' priorities, what is missing and what approaches would be preferred. A holistic approach to research on children born HIV-free should be prioritised, focussing on a breadth of outcomes and how they intersect. Secondary use of existing data sources should be maximised to facilitate this, with a view of monitoring the long-term effects of fetal antiretroviral drug exposure alongside other key health and developmental outcomes. Involving and engaging with parents, and children where possible, must be at the heart of research design to maximise relevance and impact of findings for the affected communities. Potential barriers to engaging with individuals who were children born HIV-free include parental disclosure and individuals not identifying as a child born HIV-free to a mother living with HIV. Stigma-free language must be incorporated into the vocabulary of researchers and other stakeholders, avoiding reference to exposure; we propose the term "children born HIV-free." CONCLUSIONS: Mothers and parents living with HIV should be involved in research about their children born HIV-free and are key in identifying research priorities so that findings may translate into an impact on their children's health and wellbeing. Meaningful involvement of women living with HIV through trusted community partners is an effective mechanism by which to elicit views on research about their children

High iron and zinc beans: Kicking hidden hunger out of Malawi

Two thirds (63%) of Malawian children suffer from anaemia; a condition of low haemoglobin levels in the body, and iron is a key component of haemoglobin [1]. Iron deficiency is estimated to be esponsible for half of all global anaemia cases, and iron-deficiency anaemia is a leading cause of global sickness [2]. Children suffering from iron-deficiency anaemia have poorer cognition, school achievement, and more behavioral issues into middle childhood [3]

Immediate impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on bean value chain in selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa

Africa's agriculture and food systems were already grappling with challenges such as climate change and weather variability, pests and disease, and regional conflicts. With rising new cases of COVID 19 propelling various African governments to enforce strict restrictions of varying degrees to curb the spread. Thus, the pandemic posed unprecedented shocks on agriculture and food supply chains in Sub Saharan Africa. In this study, we use survey data collected from nine countries in Central, Eastern, and Southern, Africa to understand the immediate impact of COVID-19 on production, distribution, and consumption of common beans, and possible food security implications. Descriptive analysis of data collected from bean farmers, aggregators, processors, bean regional coordinators, and mechanization dealers reveal that COVID-19 and government restrictions had impacted the availability and cost of farm inputs and labour, distribution, and consumption of beans in Eastern and Southern Africa. The immediate impacts were dire in Southern Africa with Central Africa slightly impacted. The production and distribution challenges negatively impacted on frequency and patterns of food consumption in households in Africa. Thus, the pandemic poses a greater risk to food security and poverty in the region. Governments could play a significant role in supporting the needs of smallholder farmers, traders and other actors through provision of subsidized agricultural inputs

Piloting the G + Customer and Product Profile Tools for gender-responsive bean breeding in Zimbabwe

Gender is an integral part of bean breeding initiatives and provides the platform through which plant breeding should be implemented. Gender-sensitive breeding offers a clear focus on addressing gender gap in agriculture by considering different traits preferred by both men and women (Nchanji et al., 2021b). Through the gender lens, critical elements in women and men’s preferences are consulted even though such profiles do not necessarily have different traits for men and women (Nchanji et al., 2021b). Breeding teams are therefore capable of assessing gender-relevant differences in preferences, constraints, needs, and potential impact on women and men’s livelihood strategies. This observation is founded on the critical role women play in production of common beans in Zimbabwe. Therefore, their participation in bean breeding initiatives is considered essential because it is regarded as a women’s crop (PABRA 2015a). The CGIAR gender and breeding initiative has developed an important tool to guide breeders in identifying the gender gaps and preferences of customer to develop and prioritize new product that address persistent gender gaps in crop production. The tool; G+ product and customer profile recognizes changes in the modern agriculture as production and marketing systems transition towards more demand-driven business models for social inclusivity

May Measurement Month 2018: a pragmatic global screening campaign to raise awareness of blood pressure by the International Society of Hypertension

Aims Raised blood pressure (BP) is the biggest contributor to mortality and disease burden worldwide and fewer than half of those with hypertension are aware of it. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global campaign set up in 2017, to raise awareness of high BP and as a pragmatic solution to a lack of formal screening worldwide. The 2018 campaign was expanded, aiming to include more participants and countries. Methods and results Eighty-nine countries participated in MMM 2018. Volunteers (≥18 years) were recruited through opportunistic sampling at a variety of screening sites. Each participant had three BP measurements and completed a questionnaire on demographic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP ≥140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg, or taking antihypertensive medication. In total, 74.9% of screenees provided three BP readings. Multiple imputation using chained equations was used to impute missing readings. 1 504 963 individuals (mean age 45.3 years; 52.4% female) were screened. After multiple imputation, 502 079 (33.4%) individuals had hypertension, of whom 59.5% were aware of their diagnosis and 55.3% were taking antihypertensive medication. Of those on medication, 60.0% were controlled and of all hypertensives, 33.2% were controlled. We detected 224 285 individuals with untreated hypertension and 111 214 individuals with inadequately treated (systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg) hypertension. Conclusion May Measurement Month expanded significantly compared with 2017, including more participants in more countries. The campaign identified over 335 000 adults with untreated or inadequately treated hypertension. In the absence of systematic screening programmes, MMM was effective at raising awareness at least among these individuals at risk

Use of a clean delivery kit and factors associated with cord infection and puerperal sepsis in Mwanza, Tanzania.

Our objective was to determine the effectiveness of an intervention that incorporated education about the "six cleans" with the use of a clean delivery kit in preventing cord infection and puerperal sepsis. A stepped-wedge, cross-sectional study was conducted in 10 surveillance sites across two rural districts of Mwanza Region, Tanzania. A total of 3262 pregnant women between the ages of 17 and 45 years were enrolled in the study. Village health workers administered questionnaires to each mother at 5 days postpartum and inspected the infants' umbilical cord stumps for signs of infection. Newborns whose mothers used the delivery kit were 13.1 times less likely to develop cord infection than infants whose mothers did not use the kit. Furthermore, women who used the kit for delivery were 3.2 times less likely to develop puerperal sepsis than women who did not use the kit. Women who bathed before delivery were 2.6 times less likely to develop puerperal sepsis than women who did not bathe, and their infants were 3.9 times less likely to develop cord infection. Single-use delivery kits, when combined with education about clean delivery, can have a positive impact on the health of women and their newborns by significantly decreasing the likelihood of developing puerperal sepsis or cord infection

Facile synthesis of graphene wool doped with oleylamine-capped silver nanoparticles (GW-αAgNPs) for water treatment applications

Please read abstract in the article.The University of Pretoria Commonwealth Doctoral Scholarship and the Rand Water Professorial Chair program.https://www.springer.com/journal/13201hj2022Chemical EngineeringChemistr

Setting the research agenda: involving parents in research on children who are HIV‐free

Abstract Introduction There is growing interest in health, developmental and survival outcomes of children who are born HIV‐free to women living with HIV (children born HIV‐free). To date, the research agenda has been largely determined by researchers, funders and policy makers, with limited involvement of parents, who are key stakeholders. Researchers at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health in partnership with community‐based organisation 4M Network of Mentor Mothers conducted two workshops with parents in March 2022 to establish research priorities for children born HIV‐free, and key considerations for methodological approaches both to research and engagement with the affected communities. Discussion When exploring research on children born HIV‐free, we consider the following: what aspects of current research are aligned with women and parents’ priorities, what is missing and what approaches would be preferred. A holistic approach to research on children born HIV‐free should be prioritised, focussing on a breadth of outcomes and how they intersect. Secondary use of existing data sources should be maximised to facilitate this, with a view of monitoring the long‐term effects of fetal antiretroviral drug exposure alongside other key health and developmental outcomes. Involving and engaging with parents, and children where possible, must be at the heart of research design to maximise relevance and impact of findings for the affected communities. Potential barriers to engaging with individuals who were children born HIV‐free include parental disclosure and individuals not identifying as a child born HIV‐free to a mother living with HIV. Stigma‐free language must be incorporated into the vocabulary of researchers and other stakeholders, avoiding reference to exposure; we propose the term “children born HIV‐free.” Conclusions Mothers and parents living with HIV should be involved in research about their children born HIV‐free and are key in identifying research priorities so that findings may translate into an impact on their children's health and wellbeing. Meaningful involvement of women living with HIV through trusted community partners is an effective mechanism by which to elicit views on research about their children

Market segmentation (G + Customer and Product Profile Tools) for gender responsive bean breeding in Zimbabwe: Piloting report

Gender is an integral part of bean breeding initiatives and provides the platform through which plant breeding should be implemented. Gender-sensitive breeding offers a clear focus on addressing gender gap in agriculture by considering different traits preferred by both men and women (Nchanji et al., 2021b). Through the gender lens, critical elements in women and men’s preferences are consulted even though such profiles do not necessarily have different traits for men and women (Nchanji et al., 2021b). Breeding teams are therefore capable of assessing gender-relevant differences in preferences, constraints, needs, and potential impact on women and men’s livelihood strategies. This observation is founded on the critical role women play in production of common beans in Zimbabwe. Therefore, their participation in bean breeding initiatives is considered essential because it is regarded as a women’s crop (PABRA 2015a). The CGIAR gender and breeding initiative has developed an important tool to guide breeders in identifying the gender gaps and preferences of customer to develop and prioritize new product that address persistent gender gaps in crop production. The tool; G+ product and customer profile recognizes changes in the modern agriculture as production and marketing systems transition towards more demand-driven business models for social inclusivity. Below is a step-by-step process followed when collecting information using the G+ tools