Orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP). Investment implementation guide.

This OFSP Investment Implementation Guide is targeted at those involved in the implementation of OFSP investment programmes such as local government or NGO field staff. It provides a brief overview of the reasons for investing in pro-poor, nutrition-sensitive agricultural growth and vitamin A deficiency reduction programmes such as the promotion of OFSP. It presents a decision tool for determining where the key opportunities exist in the OFSP value chain. It then unpacks each of the investment areas in detail and presents the activities for achieving its transformation, including details on the required human, financial and physical resources. It assumes such an investment will be undertaken using a multisectoral approach

Orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP). Investment summary.

This OFSP Investment Summary is part of a set of three OFSP investment products: The OFSP Investment Guide that unpacks the investment opportunities along the OFSP value chain, offering a decision tool for identifying where they exist and the activities needed to transform them, including details on the human, financial and physical resources. And the OFSP Investment Implementation Guide that is targeted at those involved in the implementation of OFSP investment programmes such as local government or NGO field staff. It provides a brief overview of the reasons for investing in pro‐poor, nutrition‐sensitive agricultural growth and vitamin A deficiency reduction programmes such as the promotion of OFSP

Orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP). Investment guide.

OFSP investment guide aims to unpack the investment opportunities in the OFSP value chain and offer a decision tool for determining where the key opportunities are and the activities for transforming them, including details on the human, financial and physical resources required. This guide is targeted at national level technical experts in public, private and development institutions, to support them through multisectoral and multi-stakeholder actions to identify and attract investments and implement pro-poor, nutrition-sensitive agricultural growth programmes to reduce vitamin A deficiency

Risks to the community pharmacists and pharmacy personnel during COVID-19 pandemic:perspectives from a low-income country

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease that has become a global pandemic. COVID-19 is spreading in Africa, and Zimbabwe has not been spared. The cases in Zimbabwe are mainly from imported cases due to high volume of travellers from the COVID-19 hotspots. In Zimbabwe, local transmission is also anticipated due to inter- and intracity travelling. Frontline health workers are at risk of infection due to contact with infected people as they discharge their duties. In this setting, the risk to community pharmacists and pharmacy personnel is poorly understood and characterised. This paper looked at the risks of infection that are peculiar to community pharmacy personnel and suggested some recommendations to reduce the risk to COVID-19 infection

THE EFFECT OF FEEDING HEAT TREATED MORINGA OLEIFERA (LAM) LEAF MEAL ON THE GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF OREOCHROMIS NILOTICUS (LAM) FRY.

In aquaculture the increasing price of feed is one of the most important factors that limit profitability. The high costs have led to the need to identify alternative protein sources for use in fish feed formulations. The utilization of non-conventional and lesser–utilized plant protein sources to replace fishmeal in fry diets has been an area of focus in aquaculture nutrition. The objective of the study was to determine the effects of feeding heat-treated moringa (Moringa oleifera) supplemented diets on the growth performance of the Oreochromis niloticus fry. Four iso-nitrogenous diets were used; 5 % boiled moringa and 95 % fry meal (Diet A); 10 % boiled moringa and 90 % fry meal (Diet B); 5 % steamed moringa and 95 % fry meal (Diet C) and 10 % steamed moringa and 90 % fry meal (Diet D),and Diet E was the control diet containing fishmeal as protein source. A standard 24-day fry feeding trial was carried out in fry tanks with each tank stocked with 15 000 fry. The growth rate, feed conversion ratio and protein efficiency ratio of fry fed for the five diets were similar. The body weight gain were not different) and ranged from 0.012 to 0.014 g/d for fry fed boiled moringa and the control diets. Fry fed steamed moringa and control diets had higher FCR values compared to those on boiled moringa diets but the differences were not significant. Fry fed steamed diets had better growth performance than those on boiled diets although the differences were not significant. It was concluded that steam-heated moringa leaf meal could be used to substitute 10 % of dietary protein in Nile tilapia fry diets without significant reduction in growth performance

The global distribution of fatal pesticide self-poisoning: Systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Evidence is accumulating that pesticide self-poisoning is one of the most commonly used methods of suicide worldwide, but the magnitude of the problem and the global distribution of these deaths is unknown.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We have systematically reviewed the worldwide literature to estimate the number of pesticide suicides in each of the World Health Organisation's six regions and the global burden of fatal self-poisoning with pesticides. We used the following data sources: Medline, EMBASE and psycINFO (1990–2007), papers cited in publications retrieved, the worldwide web (using Google) and our personal collections of papers and books. Our aim was to identify papers enabling us to estimate the proportion of a country's suicides due to pesticide self-poisoning.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We conservatively estimate that there are 258,234 (plausible range 233,997 to 325,907) deaths from pesticide self-poisoning worldwide each year, accounting for 30% (range 27% to 37%) of suicides globally. Official data from India probably underestimate the incidence of suicides; applying evidence-based corrections to India's official data, our estimate for world suicides using pesticides increases to 371,594 (range 347,357 to 439,267). The proportion of all suicides using pesticides varies from 4% in the European Region to over 50% in the Western Pacific Region but this proportion is not concordant with the volume of pesticides sold in each region; it is the pattern of pesticide use and the toxicity of the products, not the quantity used, that influences the likelihood they will be used in acts of fatal self-harm.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Pesticide self-poisoning accounts for about one-third of the world's suicides. Epidemiological and toxicological data suggest that many of these deaths might be prevented if (a) the use of pesticides most toxic to humans was restricted, (b) pesticides could be safely stored in rural communities, and (c) the accessibility and quality of care for poisoning could be improved.</p

A review of the landscape and approach for biofortification initiatives in Zimbabwe

Micronutrient deficiencies “hidden hunger” can result in stunting, blindness, mental retardation, learning disabilities, low work capacity, and even premature death. Biofortification is an agro-based intervention designed to increase the content of key micronutrients in staple crops in order to correct or prevent micronutrient deficiencies primarily among the rural poor who are vulnerable to “hidden hunger”. This paper summarises a review of the current issues and recommendations to scaling up biofortification initiatives in Zimbabwe. The biofortification initiatives; vitamin A orange maize, iron-zinc beans, zinc pearl millet and Orange Fleshed Sweet Potatoes (OFSP). Although, the country has the necessary policy frameworks and multi-sectoral platforms to accelerate the use of biofortified crops, the current initiatives are still in the pilot stage with fragmented efforts by stakeholders. This is the key challenge that will stale the efforts to scale up to national level. Interestingly, the government led food-based approach “dietary diversification” provides an opportunity to integrate and scaling up of biofortification initiatives in Zimbabwe. However, there is need for a comprehensive implementation plan within the existing policy and institutional frameworks. In this paper we raised some questions that will need to be addressed to enable successful scaling up of biofortification in the Zimbabwean context. Addressing these questions will help create a supportive policy framework and assist Zimbabwe to identify specific impact pathways for biofortification