Vaccination timeliness and associated factors among children aged 12–23 months in Debre Libanos district of North Shewa Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

BackgroundGlobally, vaccination is one of the most cost-effective interventions in promoting child survival, preventing 2–3 million child deaths annually from vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs). In Ethiopia, timely vaccination is stated as key to the prevention of unnecessary childhood mortality from measles, pneumonia, diarrheal diseases, and other VPDs. However, Ethiopia ranked fifth among the ten countries with the most unprotected children. Furthermore, previous vaccine timeliness studies produced widely disparate results. As a result, it was suggested that more research be conducted to investigate the potential factors behind the high proportion of untimely vaccination. Therefore, this study was intended to explore the association between different factors and the proportion of vaccination timeliness administered under the Expanded Program on Immunization in Debre Libanos district, Ethiopia.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study design was employed from 1 May to 30 May 2021 among children aged 12 to 23 months with their mother/caregiver, who had started vaccination and had vaccination cards in the Debre Libanos. Simple random sampling techniques and pretested semi-structured questionnaires were used for data collection. At last, a multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with the vaccination timeliness.ResultIn this study, 413 children aged 12 to 23 months were interviewed with their mother/caregiver. Overall, 33.7% [95% CI (29.1–38.3)] of children received their vaccines timely. Having a female child [AOR: 2.9, 95% CI: 1.58–5.35], mother/caregiver attending primary [AOR: 6.33, 95% CI: 2.66–15.06] and secondary/above education [AOR: 5.61, 95% CI: 2.41–13.04], sufficient vaccination knowledge [AOR: 3.46, 95% CI: 1.87–6.38], mother/caregiver with least hesitant [AOR: 3.35, 95% CI: 1.51–7.41] and middle hesitant [AOR: 1.89, 95% CI: 1.05–3.58], utilization of ANC [AOR: 2.89, 95% CI: 1.32–6.33], and giving birth at health facility [AOR: 4.32, 95% CI: 1.95–9.59] were the factors independently associated with vaccination timeliness.ConclusionIn comparison to Ethiopia’s existing vaccination coverage, the proportion of children immunized at the recommended time interval is low in the study district. Policymakers should prioritize vaccine timeliness and integrate it into childhood vaccination strategies

Innovative Partnership Approach to Chickpea seed production and Technology Dissemination: Lessons from Ethiopia

Innovative partnership in chickpea seed production and technology dissemination was assessed in increasing chickpea productivity through facilitated access to quality seed. The study was designed to evaluate the benefits gained from partnership implemented for the last 10 years in chickpea technology by seed system of crop production. Farmers' participatory variety selection (FPVS)' has been implemented as epicenter of the new innovation. The varieties selected by the farmers were ultimately demonstrated and visited by large number of farmers and other stakeholders. This was complemented with the establishment and technical backstopping of farmers' seed producer associations to produce and market quality seed to fill the gap by the formal sector. Intervention with chickpea technologies were initiated right after training partners in chickpea seed and grain vale chain. From 2008 to 2015, over 350 FPVS trials were conducted concurrently with demonstrations. The farmers' seed producer associations cover the lion's share of the seed supply and became an innovative approach that enhanced the chickpea seed system. The production of certified and quality declared seed increased from 632.7t in 2008 to 3290 tons in 2014. The drastic increase in productivity and production of chickpea during the intervention period were largely attributed to the interventions made. The national chickpea productivity has doubled in a decade's time (2006-2015) and attained peak of 1.9ton ha-1 in 2014. Similarly production showed drastic increase during the intervention period where the production in 2015 was 124% more compared to the production in 2006. Lessons were driven from the approach that many development parties and the government policy recognized the approach as key player for enhancing the chickpea sector

Genotype by environment interaction and grain yield stability of Ethiopian black seeded finger millet genotypes

Finger millet ( Eleusine coracana \ua0(L.) Gaertn) is an important cereal widely produced in Ethiopia across diverse agro-ecologies. It is valued by local farmers for its ability to grow in adverse agro-climatic conditions, where other cereals fail. The yield potential of this crop is in the range of 4-5 tonnes/ha, but the current national average grain yield is far below the potential (2.1 tonnes). Lack of improve varieties which are stable, high yielder and stress tolerant is a major limiting factor to production of this crop in Ethiopia. A field experiment was conducted using twelve black seeded finger millet (Eleusine coracana subsp. coracana) genotypes, including local and standard checks (Degu) at two locations (Bako and Gute) in Ethiopia for three years (2014 - 2016). The objective of this study was to identify stable and high yielding genotypes for grain yield and other agronomic traits among the black seeded finger millet genotypes of Ethiopia. The additive main effect and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) model analysis of variance revealed highly significant (P<0.01) differences between environments, genotype, and Interaction Principal Component Analysis (IPCA-I), but significant variations (P<0.05) for G x E interactions. This indicates that the genotypes performed differently over environments and that the test environments are highly variable. Only the first IPCA-I showed high significance (P<0.01) and contributed 48.39% of the total genotype by environment interaction (G x E). Genotypes BKFM0020, BKFM0006 and BKFM0010, which had high grain yield, but with IPCA value close to zero, indicated the wide adaptability/stability. Similarly, analysis using Eberhart and Russell model revealed that these genotypes were within the relatively acceptable range of regression coefficients (bi), approaching to one (0.742, 0.8176 and 1.0578), and deviation from regression closer to zero (s2di) (0.0385, -0.0661 and -0.0248), respectively. This implied that pipeline genotypes were stable, widely adaptable and high yielders than the other genotypes. Genotype and genotype by environment (GGE bi-plot) analysis also revealed that these candidate genotypes were stable and high yielder. Besides, these genotypes showed resistance to blast disease, which is a threat to finger millet production in the study areas. Therefore, these genotypes were selected as potential candidates for possible release in western Oromia and similar agro-ecologies of the country.Le petit mil ( Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) est une c\ue9r\ue9ale importante largement produite en \uc9thiopie dans les diff\ue9rents zones agro-\ue9cologiques. Il est appr\ue9ci\ue9 par les agriculteurs locaux pour sa capacit\ue9 de grandir dans des conditions agro-climatiques d\ue9favorables, o\uf9 les autres c\ue9r\ue9ales \ue9chouent. Le potentiel du rendement en grain de cette culture de mil se situe entre 4 \ue0 5 t ha-1, mais le rendement moyen national actuel est tr\ue8s inf\ue9rieur au potentiel (2,1 tonnes). Le manque de vari\ue9t\ue9s am\ue9lior\ue9es, stables, \ue0 rendement en grain \ue9lev\ue9 et tol\ue9rantes au stress est un t facteur majeur limitant la production de cette culture de mil en \uc9thiopie. Une exp\ue9rience au champs a \ue9t\ue9 conduite avec douze g\ue9notypes des grains noir de mil (Eleusine coracana subsp. Coracana), y compris des contr\uf4les locaux et standard (Degu) \ue0 deux locations (Bako et Gute) en \uc9thiopie pendant trois ans (2014 - 2016). L\u2019objectif de cette \ue9tude \ue9tait d\u2019identifier des g\ue9notypes stables et de rendement tr\ue8s\ua0\ue9lev\ue9 pour le rendement en grain de mil et d\u2019autres caract\ue9ristiques agronomiques parmi les genotypes des grains noir de mil en \uc9thiopie. L\u2019analyse de variance du methode avec effet principal additif et interaction multiplicative (AIM) a r\ue9v\ue9l\ue9 des diff\ue9rences tr\ue8s significatives (P <0,01) entre les locations, le g\ue9notype et l\u2019analyse en composantes principales de l\u2019interaction (IPCA-I), mais des variations significatives (P <0,05) pour G x E interactions. Cela indique que les g\ue9notypes se sont comport\ue9s diff\ue9remment selon les locations et que les locations de test sont tr\ue8s variables. Seule la premi\ue8re IPCA-I a montr\ue9 une signification \ue9lev\ue9e (P <0,01) et a contribu\ue9 pour 48,39% du total des interactions g\ue9notype par la location (G x E). G\ue9notypes BKFM0020, BKFM0006 et BKFM0010, qui avait un rendement en grain \ue9lev\ue9, mais avec une valeur IPCA proche de z\ue9ro, a indiqu\ue9 la grande adaptabilit\ue9 / stabilit\ue9. De m\ueame, une analyse utilisant les m\ue9thodes\ua0d\u2019Eberhart et Russell a r\ue9v\ue9l\ue9 que ces g\ue9notypes se situaient dans la plage relativement acceptable des coefficients de r\ue9gression (bi), se rapprochant de un (0,742, 0,8176 et 1,0578) et de l\u2019\ue9cart par rapport \ue0 la r\ue9gression proche de z\ue9ro (s2di) (0,0385, 0,0661 et -0,0248), respectivement. Cela impliquait que les g\ue9notypes de pipeline \ue9taient stables, largement adaptables et ont eu le rendement tr\ue8s\ua0\ue9lev\ue9 que les autres g\ue9notypes. Les analyses de g\ue9notype et g\ue9notype par la location (bi-parcelle GGE) ont \ue9galement r\ue9v\ue9l\ue9 que ces g\ue9notypes candidats \ue9taient stables et avaient une bonne rentabilit\ue9. En outre, ces g\ue9notypes ont montr\ue9 une r\ue9sistance \ue0 la maladie fongique qui constitue une menace pour la production de mil dans les zones d\u2018 \ue9tude. Par cons\ue9quent, ces g\ue9notypes ont \ue9t\ue9 s\ue9lectionn\ue9s comme candidats potentiels pour une lib\ue9ration \ue9ventuelle dans l\u2019ouest d\u2019Oromia et des zones agro-\ue9cologiques similaires du pays

Impact of COVID-19 on HIV services and anticipated benefits of vaccination in restoring HIV services in Ethiopia: A qualitative assessment

BackgroundHIV services were inevitably disrupted and affected due to COVID-19. There are many challenges in implementing appropriate HIV services, particularly in the provision of health care and the link between people living with HIV/AIDS and retention in care. The study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on HIV services and the anticipated benefit of the COVID-19 vaccination on HIV service restoration in North Shewa, Oromia, Ethiopia.MethodsA qualitative descriptive study approach was used to explore how healthcare delivery evolved during the outbreak of COVID-19 in Ethiopia. Sixteen antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinics were selected from 13 districts and one administrative town in Ethiopia. From them, 32 ART providers were purposively selected based on their experience in ART provision. Data were collected from June to July 2021 using in-depth interviews. A thematic analysis approach was used to analyze the data, based on themes and subthemes emerging from the data. ATLAS.ti software was used for coding.ResultsHealthcare for people living with HIV was interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical appointments, HIV testing and counseling services, opportunistic infection treatment, medicine supply, and routine viral load and CD4 T-cell count tests were interrupted. Due to a shortage of healthcare staff, outreach testing services and home index testing were discontinued and HIV testing was limited only to hospitals and health centers. This has substantially affected accessibility to HIV testing and reduced the quality of HIV service delivery. Telehealth and less frequent visits to health facilities were used as alternative ways of delivering HIV services. The COVID-19 vaccination campaign is expected to restore healthcare services. Vaccination may also increase the confidence of healthcare providers by changing their attitudes toward COVID-19.ConclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic has substantially impacted HIV services and reduced the quality of HIV care in Ethiopia. Health facilities could not provide routine HIV services as they prioritize the fight against COVID-19, leading to an increase in service discontinuation and poor adherence.</jats:sec

Safe menstrual hygiene management practice and associated factors among female adolescent students at high schools in central Ethiopia: A mixed–method study

BackgroundMenstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) is a much-neglected issue in developing countries, including Ethiopia. Menstruating women and girls are forced into isolation, prevented from movement, dietary restrictions, and can be prevented from participating in daily routine activities. Furthermore, the way almost all previous studies conducted in Ethiopia measured the practice of MHM did not meet standard definition of safe MHM. This study aimed to assess safe management of menstrual hygiene practice and associated factors among female adolescent students in public high schools in central Ethiopia.MethodsA mixed-methods approach was employed in this study. Systematic random sampling technique was used to select 846 study participants. The collected data were entered through EPI INFO version 7 and exported to SPSS version 23 for cleaning and analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to identify the association between MHM and independent variables. Finally, AOR, 95% CI, and p-value &lt; 0.05 were considered statistically significant. The qualitative data was analyzed by ATLAS.ti in order to extract the main themes and categories. Direct quotations were presented with a thick description of the findings.ResultsThe safe management of menstrual hygiene was 28.20%. Living with parents (AOR = 2.51, 95% CI:1.11–5.68), living with relatives (AOR = 7.41, 95% CI:2.55–21.54), having a merchant mother (AOR = 1.81, 95% CI:1.14–2.9), having a mother who has private work (AOR = 4.56, 95% CI:1.31–5.90), having a farmer father (AOR = 1.53, 95% CI:1.1–2.31), rural resident (AOR = 1.61, 95% CI: 1.17–2.21) and realizing the absence of container for storing sanitary napkins in the toilet of the school latrine (AOR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.1–0.94) were factors associated with MHM. Findings from a qualitative study were discussed under four themes to explore barriers to menstrual hygiene management, and three themes emerged as enablers to menstrual hygiene management.ConclusionsThe safe management of menstrual hygiene was low among adolescent girls. People with whom adolescent girls live, the occupational status of mother and father, residence, the availability of a container to dispose of sanitary napkins in school toilets were factors associated with menstrual hygiene management. Behavioral change communications must be provided to female students about menstrual hygiene

A Prospective Study of Causes of Illness and Death in Preterm Infants in Ethiopia: The SIP Study Protocol

Background With nearly 15 million annual preterm births globally, preterm birth is the most common cause of neonatal death. Forty to 60 % of neonatal deaths are directly or indirectly associated with preterm mortality. As countries aim to meet the Sustainable Development Goals to reduce neonatal mortality, significant reductions in preterm mortality are needed. This study aims to identify the common causes of preterm illness and their contribution to preterm mortality in low-resource settings. This article will describe the methods used to undertake the study. Methods This is a prospective, multi-centre, descriptive clinical study. Socio-demographic, obstetric, and maternal factors, and clinical and laboratory findings will be documented. The major causes of preterm mortality will be identified using clinical, laboratory, imaging, and autopsy methods and use the national Ethiopian guidelines on management of preterm infants including required investigations to reach final diagnoses. The study will document the clinical and management protocols followed in these settings. The approach consists of clinical examinations and monitoring, laboratory investigations, and determination of primary and contributory causes of mortality through both clinical means and by post-mortem examinations. An independent panel of experts will validate the primary and contributory causes of mortality. To obtain the estimated sample size of 5000 preterm births, the study will be undertaken in five hospitals in three regions of Ethiopia, which are geographically distributed across the country. All preterm infants who are either born or transferred to these hospitals will be eligible for the study. Three methods (last menstrual period, physical examination using the New Ballard Score, and ultrasound) will be used to determine gestational age. All clinical procedures will be conducted per hospital protocol and informed consent will be taken from parents or caretakers prior to their participation in the study as well as for autopsy if the infant dies. Discussion This study will determine the major causes of death and illness among hospitalized preterm infants in a low-resource setting. The result will inform policy makers and implementers of areas that can be prioritized in order to contribute to a significant reduction in neonatal mortality