Credit Characteristics and Business Performance: A Survey of Women owned Microenterprises in Tanzania

This article provides assessment of the effects of four credit characteristics including size, interest rate, repayment period and borrowing experience on business performance. The article makes use of survey data collected from 217 women microcredit clients from Arusha, Dar es Salaam and Mwanza regions in Tanzania.  Bivariate correlation analysis was used to find out specific effect of each of those four credit characteristics on three business performance measures namely total sales revenue, net profit and business net worth. The combined effect of all four credit characteristics on business performance was estimated by a multiple linear regression model. The findings revealed that size of credit was positively correlated with total sales revenue and business net worth at significant level. Interest rate was negatively correlated with all three measures of business performance at significant level. It was also found out that repayment period was positively correlated with all three business performance indicators at significant level. Furthermore, the study established that borrowing experience was positively correlated with total sales revenue at significant level but not with other two indicators. The model accounted for 25% of sales revenue, 9% of net profit and 28% of business net worth

Iatrogenic ureteric and bladder injuries in obstetric and gynaecologic surgeries

No Abstract. East African Medical Journal Vol. 83(2) 2006: 79-8

HIV risk behaviours, perceived severity of drug use problems, and prior treatment experience in a sample of young heroin injectors in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Interviews were conducted with 203 male and 95 female heroin injectors aged 17 to 25 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Nearly one-quarter of participants reported injecting with needles used by someone else. Few reported cleaning needles with bleach. Multiple sexual partnerships, unprotected sex, and trading sex for money were especially present among women, the majority (55%) of whom was HIV seropositive. Self reports suggest the presence of heroin dependence among users. While most participants expressed a desire to quit their use, only 14 (5%) had been in treatment. There appears to be a large unmet need for heroin use treatment. These findings need to be considered in light of a potential forthcoming wave of heroin injection in sub-Saharan Africa.Key Words: HIV, injection drug use, Africa, heroin, drug dependence treatmen

Role of traditional healers in psychosocial support in caring for the orphans: A case of Dar-es Salaam City, Tanzania

Orphans are an increasing problem in developing countries particularly in Africa; due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic; and needs collective effort in intervention processes by including all stakeholders right from the grass roots level. This paper attempts to present the role of traditional healers in psychosocial support for orphan children in Dar-es-Salaam City with special focus on those whose parents have died because of HIV/AIDS. Six traditional healers who were involved in taking care of orphans were visited at their "vilinge" (traditional clinics). In total they had 72 orphans, 31 being boys and 41 being girls with age range from 3 years to 19. It was learned that traditional healers, besides providing remedies for illnesses/diseases of orphans, they also provided other basic needs. Further, they even provided psychosocial support allowing children to cope with orphan hood life with ease. Traditional healers are living within communities at the grass roots level; and appear unnoticed hidden forces, which are involved in taking care of orphans. This role of traditional healers in taking care of orphans needs to be recognised and even scaling it up by empowering them both in financial terms and training in basic skills of psychosocial techniques in how to handle orphans, in order to reduce discrimination and stigmatisation in the communities where they live

The quality of operation notes after trans-urethral resection of the prostate at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College Hospital Tanzania

Background: Operation notes are very vital in the practice of surgery. They are the only comprehensive account of what took place in theatre. Accurate and detailed documentation of surgical notes after Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP) is vital. Yet it is usually forgotten in medical teaching. The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCSE) safety standards are usually used as the benchmark for the assessment of operation notes.Patients and Methods: The study was descriptive retrospective conducted at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC). All patients who underwent TURP between January and December 2017 were enrolled. The Urology theatre register was used to trace patient identities. The Files were then extracted from the registry. Operation note sheets were analysed by the research team using a structured data collection tool. Two Independent assessors(residents) were used to assess legibility. If both agreed that the notes were decipherable, then they were deemed legible. The content of the notes was assessed for Presence or absence of recorded variables. Utmost confidentiality was kept about the surgeon and the patient.Results: A total of 251 files were assessed. Recording of date, Inpatient number, Post-Operative instructions and whether there were any intraoperative complications was at 100%. However, the time of surgery, Resection technique and Method of introduction of the resectoscope were not recorded at all. Other variables recorded were: Signature of surgeon -99.6%, Patient name-99.6%, Details of prostate chips-89%, Sheath used-81%, Circulating nurse-68%, Working element used-35%, Telescope used-12%, Type of diarthermy-7%, Loop Specifications-0.8% and type of Irrigant at 0.8%. Ninety-eight percent of the  operation notes were legible. Overall 56.6% of the operation notes had recorded variables after TURP.Conclusion: Some variables (Inpatient number, Date of operation, intraoperative complications and Postoperative instructions) were recorded at 100%. Others (Time of operation, Resection technique and method of introduction of resectoscope) were not recorded at all. Overall 56.6% of the variables were recorded and 98% of the notes were legible

Drug trafficking, use, and HIV risk: The need for comprehensive interventions

The rapid increase in communication and transportation between Africa and other continents as well as the erosion of social fabric attended by poverty, ethnic conflicts, and civil wars has led to increased trafficking and consumption of illicit drugs. Cannabis dominates illicit trade and accounts for as much as 40% of global interdiction. Due to escalating seizures in recent years, the illicit trade in heroin and cocaine has become a concern that has quickly spread from West Africa to include Eastern and Southern Africa in the past 10 years. All regions of Africa are characterized by the use of cannabis, reflecting its entrenched status all over Africa. Most alarming though is the use of heroin, which is now being injected frequently and threatens to reverse the gain made in the prevention of HIV/AIDS. The prevalence of HIV infection and other blood-bornediseases among injection drug users is five to six times that among the general population, calling for urgent intervention among this group. Programs that aim to reduce the drug trafficking in Africa and needle syringe programs as well as medication-assisted treatment (MAT) of heroin dependence while still in their infancy in Africa show promise and need tobe scaled up

Impact of invasive Lantana camara on maize and cassava growth in East Usambara, Tanzania

The impacts of invasive alien plant species on native plants are generally well documented, but little is known about the mechanisms underlying their impacts on crop growth. A better understanding of immediate as well as legacy effects and of direct and indirect impacts of invasive alien plant species is essential for an improved management of invaded cropland. We investigated how Lantana camara impacts the growth of two subsistence crops (maize and cassava) through competition for resources, allelopathy and the indirect plant–plant interactions. We carried out two pot experiments using soils from invaded abandoned, invaded cultivated and non-invaded cultivated crop fields. In the first experiment maize and cassava were grown alone or together with L. camara and half of the pots were treated with activated carbon to suppress allelochemicals. The effect of the soil microbial community on L. camara—crop interactions was assessed in a second experiment using autoclaved soil with 5% of soil from the three soil types. We found that L. camara reduced the growth of maize by 29%, but cassava was not affected. We did not find evidence of allelopathic effects of L. camara. Inoculation of autoclaved soil with microorganisms from all soil types increased biomass of cassava and reduced the growth of maize. Because L. camara only caused impacts when growing simultaneously with maize, the results suggest that removal of L. camara will immediately mitigate its negative impacts on maize

Credit Characteristics and Business Performance: A Survey of Women owned Microenterprises in Tanzania

This article provides assessment of the effects of four credit characteristics including size, interest rate, repayment period and borrowing experience on business performance. The article makes use of survey data collected from 217 women microcredit clients from Arusha, Dar es Salaam and Mwanza regions in Tanzania. Bivariate correlation analysis was used to find out specific effect of each of those four credit characteristics on three business performance measures namely total sales revenue, net profit and business net worth. The combined effect of all four credit characteristics on business performance was estimated by a multiple linear regression model. The findings revealed that size of credit was positively correlated with total sales revenue and business net worth at significant level. Interest rate was negatively correlated with all three measures of business performance at significant level. It was also found out that repayment period was positively correlated with all three business performance indicators at significant level. Furthermore, the study established that borrowing experience was positively correlated with total sales revenue at significant level but not with other two indicators. The model accounted for 25% of sales revenue, 9% of net profit and 28% of business net worth

The hepatitis C cascade of care in people who inject drugs in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

The World Health Organisation has recently called for hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination and has identified people who inject drugs (PWID) as a key population to scale‐up screening and linkage to care. This study reports the cascade of care for HCV in PWID attending the largest opioid substitution treatment (OST) clinic in Dar‐es‐Salaam, Tanzania. Between February 2011 and March 2016, HCV serology for all PWID registered at the Muhimbili National Hospital OST clinic, Dar‐es‐Salaam were obtained from records. In 2015 consecutive HCV‐seropositive PWID were invited to undergo a clinical evaluation including epidemiological questionnaire, liver stiffness measurement (Fibroscan) and virological analysis (HCV RNA viral load and genotyping). During the study period, 1,350 persons registered at the OST clinic: all had a HCV serology including 409 (30%) positive results. Among the HCV‐seropositive individuals, 207 (51%) were active attenders and 153 (37%) were enrolled for clinical assessment: 141 (92%) were male, median age: 38 years (IQR 34‐41), and 65 (44%) were co‐infected with HIV; 116 patients (76%) had detectable HCV RNA, with genotypes 1a (68%) and 4a (32%); 21 (17%) had clinically significant fibrosis (≥F2) and 6 (5%) had cirrhosis (F4). None were offered HCV treatment. Chronic hepatitis C among PWID enrolled in the OST centre in Dar‐es‐Salaam is frequent, but its continuum of care is insufficient; integration of HCV diagnosis and treatment should form a part of OST intervention in PWID in Tanzania