Effect of Land Use/Cover Changes on Ecological Landscapes of the Four Lakes of Central Rift Valley Ethiopia

The objective of this study was to analyze land use land cover (LULC) changes in the landscape of Central Rift Valley over a period of 30 years (1985–2015). Satellite images of Landsat5 TM (1985), (1995) and Landsat8 OLI (2015) were used. All images were classified using supervised classification technique with ERDAS-13. Change analysis was carried out using post classification comparison in GIS-10.3.1. Twelve LULCCs were successfully captured and the classification result revealed that intensive cultivated land (44.52%), mixed cultivation (18.31%), and woodlands (11.13%), open water (7.99%), large scale farming (7.50%) was dominant LULC types in 1985. In 2015, mixed cultivation (35.90%), large scale farming (14.87%), intensive cultivation (13.99%), open woodland (8.37%) and irrigated land (6.94 %) were the major LULC types followed by others. The change result shows that a rapid increase in irrigable land, large scale farming, and mixed cultivation 8.37%, 14.87%, and 35.90 % occurred between the 1985 and 2015 study period, respectively. Similarly, open water/lake decreased by 2.31%, during the 1985 and 2015 study periods. More specifically, Lake Abijata showed a progressive decline by 25.6%. Analysis of the 30-year change revealed that about 80.79% of the land showed major changes in LULC. Based on the DPSIR framework of analysis, an integrated land use and development planning and policy reform are suggested to encourage the ongoing and planned ecosystem restoration, degraded land rehabilitation, and biodiversity conservation intervention in the Ethiopia Central Rift Valley areas. However, further detailed investigation may be need prior to any recommendation to address the drivers and consequences of land use and land cover changes in the area. Keywords: CRV, ERDAS, GIS; Image; Landsat TM /Oli, Lake, LULC, R

Understanding the key processes of excellence as a prerequisite to establishing academic centres of excellence in Africa

Background: Africa’s economic transformation relies on a radical transformation of its higher education institutions. The establishment of regional higher education Centres of Excellence (CoE) across Africa through a World Bank support aims to stimulate the needed transformation in education and research. However, excellence is a vague, and often indiscriminately used concept in academic circles. More importantly, the manner in which aspiring institutions can achieve academic excellence is described inadequately. The main objective of this paper is to describe the core processes of excellence as a prerequisite to establishing academic CoE in Africa. Methods: The paper relies on our collaborative discussions and real-world insight into the pursuit of academic excellence, a narrative review using Pubmed search for a contextual understanding of CoEs in Africa supplemented by a Google search for definitions of CoEs in academic contexts. Results: We identified three key, synergistic processes of excellence central to institutionalizing academic CoEs: participatory leadership, knowledge management, and inter-disciplinary collaboration. (1) Participatory leadership encourages innovations to originate from the different parts of the organization, and facilitates ownership as well as a culture of excellence. (2) Centers of Excellence are future-oriented in that they are constantly seeking to achieve best practices, informed by the most up-to-date and cutting-edge research and information available. As such, the process by which centres facilitate the flow of knowledge within and outside the organization, or knowledge management, is critical to their success. (3) Such centres also rely on expertise from different disciplines and ‘engaged’ scholarship. This multidisciplinarity leads to improved research productivity and enhances the production of problem-solving innovations. Conclusion: Participatory leadership, knowledge management, and inter-disciplinary collaborations are prerequisites to establishing academic CoEs in Africa. Future studies need to extend our findings to understand the processes key to productivity, competitiveness, institutionalization, and sustainability of academic CoEs in Africa

Ecosystem history of the Bale Mountains

This paper presents results of the multiproxy palaeoenvironmental study of three zoogenic deposits, situated at the different altitudes in the Bale Mountains (South-central Ethiopia). Radiocarbon dating, pollen and diatom analyses were used to reconstruct the ecosystems‟ dynamics of the Bale Mountains during the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene. Pollen analysis revealed signals of the African Humid Period (AHP) and specified its precise time (15,000−4,600 cal yrs BP). The Weyib valley remained relatively arid from 15,000 to 8,600 cal yrs BP. A short humid period commenced at 8,500−8,000 cal yrs BP. Gradual climate aridization took place since 8,000 cal yrs BP. Diatom data show that the Sanetti plateau was relatively wet during the past 7000 years with some fluctuations in moisture. The plateau experienced more oxygenated systems after 2,500 cal yrs BP until now than before due to the creation of new lakes that indicate a humid climatic regime. The Weyib valley experienced a relatively humid period ca. 2,500 cal yrs BP. After the termination of the AHP, vegetation changes signaled the climate aridization that prevailed on more humid southern macroslope of the Bale Mountains and continued further during around 2,500 cal yrs BP, resulting in an extensive development of dry forests type of Olea, Hagenia and Podocarpus. Gradual climate aridity was interrupted by humid and warm period of 2,000−1,000 cal yrs BP. Noticeable human-induced environmental modification was registered on the Sanetti Plateau around 600 cal yrs BP, and around 1,000 cal yrs BP on the southern macroslope.Keywords/phrases: Bale Mountains, Climate reconstruction, Diatom, Holocene, Pollen, Radiocarbon datin

Correction to: Understanding the key processes of excellence as a prerequisite to establishing academic centres of excellence in Africa

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty ofNon UBCReviewedFacult

Regional and temporal variations in COVID-19 cases and deaths in Ethiopia: Lessons learned from the COVID-19 enhanced surveillance and response.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most devastating public health emergencies of international concern to have occurred in the past century. To ensure a safe, scalable, and sustainable response, it is imperative to understand the burden of disease, epidemiological trends, and responses to activities that have already been implemented. We aimed to analyze how COVID-19 tests, cases, and deaths varied by time and region in the general population and healthcare workers (HCWs) in Ethiopia.MethodsCOVID-19 data were captured between October 01, 2021, and September 30, 2022, in 64 systematically selected health facilities throughout Ethiopia. The number of health facilities included in the study was proportionally allocated to the regional states of Ethiopia. Data were captured by standardized tools and formats. Analysis of COVID-19 testing performed, cases detected, and deaths registered by region and time was carried out.ResultsWe analyzed 215,024 individuals' data that were captured through COVID-19 surveillance in Ethiopia. Of the 215,024 total tests, 18,964 COVID-19 cases (8.8%, 95% CI: 8.7%- 9.0%) were identified and 534 (2.8%, 95% CI: 2.6%- 3.1%) were deceased. The positivity rate ranged from 1% in the Afar region to 15% in the Sidama region. Eight (1.2%, 95% CI: 0.4%- 2.0%) HCWs died out of 664 infected HCWs, of which 81.5% were from Addis Ababa. Three waves of outbreaks were detected during the analysis period, with the highest positivity rate of 35% during the Omicron period and the highest rate of ICU beds and mechanical ventilators (38%) occupied by COVID-19 patients during the Delta period.ConclusionsThe temporal and regional variations in COVID-19 cases and deaths in Ethiopia underscore the need for concerted efforts to address the disparities in the COVID-19 surveillance and response system. These lessons should be critically considered during the integration of the COVID-19 surveillance system into the routine surveillance system