Khat Production and Household Welfare among Khat Growers Ethiopia

ABSTRACTThe main objective of this study was to examine the welfare effects of khat production on households. Our finding shows that, khat production was found to be associated with better living conditions; this was not the case with regard to improvements in household income and housing quality. On the other hand, khat growers had generally better food consumption, which could be due to the immediate but seemingly temporary effect of increasing household income. Given the implications of these aspects of food consumption as key elements for food security at household or individual levels, our findings call for maximum caution as to what policy implications should be drawn since inferences from these findings may be misleading. That is, notwithstanding the positive effects in terms of food consumption and hence food security, khat production could have aggregate negative effect on aggregate through reducing crop production and it is trade-off between them

Children’s Schooling in Rural Ethiopia: The Role of Household Food Security, Parental Education and Income

Investment in children’s education is widely recognized as one of the basic requirements for economic development. However, for the vast majority of the poor in developing countries like Ethiopia, hunger and food insecurity are linked with low schooling among children. However, the effect of food security and other household factors on rural children’s schooling outcomes in Ethiopia remains largely unexplored. This paper used three different measures of schooling to examine the impact of household food security, and other household and child-specific factors on children’s schooling outcome using probit, Heckman sample selection, Tobit and IV regressions. The results revealed that household food security had a significant positive impact on all of the schooling outcomes and that this impact differed by gender in favor of girls. Income and the literacy of adult household members in general and mother’s education in particular also had a significant positive impact on children’s schooling. Children’s school achievements were on average lower for female-headed households (except for ever-attendance). On the other hand, child labor demand by household (for domestic chores and farm work) negatively affected children’s schooling (grade attainment and schooling efficiency). Interventions that raise household food security, literacy of adult household members, and household income in rural areas help enhance children’s schooling, thereby positively contributing to human capital development. Moreover, improvements in household food security would also have an important implication for intra-household distribution of wellbeing in such a way that helps enhance girls’ education in rural Ethiopia. Keywords: Children’s schooling outcomes, Grade attainment, Household Food Security, Ethiopi

IMPACT OF CHEMICAL FERTILIZER ON YIELDS AMONG SMALLHOLDER FARMERS: THE CASE OF SIBU SIRE WOREDA, ETHIOPIA

This study analyzed the impact of technology adoption decisions on the yields of smallholder households in the study area. The data used for the study were obtained from 191 randomly selected sample households in the study area. The average treatment effect of adoption on household yield was estimated by using the propensity score matching method. The propensity score matching estimation showed that the average yields of adopters are greater than that of non-adopters. Since income and income proxy variables have a significant influence on the likelihood of farmers’ adoption income diversification interventions could have a pay-off. The PSM result showed that the positive effects of chemical fertilizer adoption on farm household yields. Since adopters are in a better position; appropriate strategies that increase the intensity of use for the adopter and encourage non-adopter to use chemical fertilizer on their farmland should be promoted and that there is a large scope for enhancing the role of chemical fertilizer in contributing to promoting production

Impact of Micro-Finance on Women’s Economic Empowerment: A Case study in Gimbo Woreda, South Nation, Nationalities and Peoples Region, Ethiopia

In a subsistence agriculture and low income developing countries, microfinance provision to rural areas is taken as a mechanism to reduce poverty and to empower women economically. MFI have made important contributions to poor people particularly to women, by providing a financial service to those who are excluded from the formal financial sector. The study aims to assess the impact of microfinance on women economic empowerment with a case study of Omo Microfinance Institution in Gimbo woreda. By using multi-stage sampling method, the primary data was collected from a total of 200 rural women of which 115 of them are non-clients of Omo Microfinance Institution, which are used as control group. The control groups are future clients that are very similar to clients in their overall characteristics. The empirical analysis of this research was carried out both by descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The regression analysis part was used propensity score matching method of analysis. The estimated logistic regression result depict that women’s involvement in major decision making is significantly affected by age, women’s spouse level of education, number of family size, head of the house hold, being member of other MFI and amount of initial wealth.  Women’s level of education, marital status and ecology were variables that are insignificant in affecting women’s economic empowerment. The propensity score matching estimation result reveals that OMFI has significant effect in increasing average yearly household income and personal cash saving of its client but it is insignificant in affecting positively women’s access and ownership and control over assets. Thus, the program intervention has been resulted a positive impact on women’s economic empowerment in the study area. Therefore, it is recommended that credit provision of OMFI should give priority in asset formation, access to resources, acquire asset and able to control over it

Prevalence of Traumatic Brain Injury Among Trauma Patients in Ethiopia: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common cause of mortality and disability in young age populations, particularly in children and adolescents. The objective of this systematic review and metaanalysis was to assess the prevalence of TBI among trauma patients in Ethiopia. Methods: A three-stage search strategy was conducted on PubMed/Medline, Science Direct and African Journals Online, and a grey literature search was conducted on Google Scholar. Data were analyzed with R version 3.6.1. Results: The pooled prevalence of TBI in Ethiopia was 20% (95% confidence interval (CI), 11–32). Subgroup analysis revealed that road traffic accident was the commonest mechanism of injury in Ethiopia at 21% (95% IC, 15– 30), next was assault at 18% (95% CI, 5–48). Conclusion: This review shows a high prevalence of TBI among trauma patients in Ethiopia when compared with continental and global reports. Policymakers and stakeholders should work on regulatory laws on transportation; pre-hospital emergency medical care system is also in high demand.Keywords: Head injury, Road traffic accident, Assault, Ethiopi

Does Maternal Social Capital Have a Health Payoff? Evidence from Jimma Zone, Ethiopia

The relationship between social capital and health has been the subject of research in developed countries. However, empirical evidence from developing countries is scarce. This study examines the association between different dimensions of social capital and maternal health in Jimma Zone of Ethiopia.  We utilized a cross sectional data gathered from a random sample of 422 mothers in four districts of the zone. We utilized two-stage regression procedure. We have also controlled for other confounding factors and heterogeneity of the study areas. We find that an increase in an overall score of a mother’s social capital would increase her probability of enjoying better health condition by about 0.61. However, we found mixed effects of different sub-dimensions of social capital. Increases in scores of sub-dimensions of structural social capital like social cohesion and networks are associated with 0.39 and 0.19 decreases in probability of enjoying better health status. Nevertheless, increases in scores of dimensions of cognitive social capital like general trust, institutional trust and sense of security would increase probability of enjoying better health status by 81%, 64% and 65% respectively. Therefore, people with higher levels of social capital – especially in terms of social interaction and all forms of cognitive social capital– engage in healthier behaviors and feel healthier. Since the other forms of capital such as physical and human capital are scarce in countries like Ethiopia, health policies that aim to promote maternal health should promote favorable social capital, which is abundantly available in these countries

Estimating Nonmarket Values in Halong Bay, Vietnam: A View from Theory of Planned Behavior

The lack of psychological factors in traditional CV model doesn’t only influence the explanation of payment behavior, but also it affects the accuracy of the WTP result, which is closely related to the policy making process for natural conservation and environmental improvement programs. Therefore, there is a need to link the psychological factors and to the payment behavior. This paper is started by discussion of some influential causes on validity and reliability of estimation results in traditional CV model, and then introduces a new model that is built from incorporating the theory of planned behavior (TPB) into the CVM. Linear regression model and hierarchical technique was applied for empirical analysis. The results of empirical analysis indicated that if WTP was identified as an expression of individual behavior, then it would be explained preferably by the theoretical framework of planned behavior while still conform to principles in the theory of consumer behavior. The results also shown that the WTP was not only affected by factors like income, cost, personal context, and attributes of environmental good in hypothetical market, but also it was influenced strongly and significantly by psychological factors. Regarding with the reliability of estimation result, this paper investigated that the CV result depends on the number and types of explanatory variables that put into the estimation model. The WTP value, for environmental quality improvement in Halong Bay, Vietnam, was US$0.60/ person/ trip. An extra charge might be added to the price of entrance ticket. Keywords: Contingent valuation method, theory of planned behavior, psychological factors, validity and reliability

Pattern and Outcomes of Injuries among Trauma Patients in Gedeo Zone, Dilla, South Ethiopia: A 5 Years Retrospective Analysis

BACKGROUND: Injury has become a life threatening community health problem associated with significant mortality and morbidity worldwide. The aim of this study was to assess the burden of injury in Dilla University Hospital.METHODS: Institution-based retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2015 to June 2019. Data was collected using questionnaire adapted from WHO injury surveillance guideline. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were performed to determine the factors associated with hospital mortality.RESULTS: Road traffic accident was the commonest cause of injury 178(47.3%) followed by interpersonal violence 113(30.1%). Revised trauma score (RTS) < 10 (AOR=2.5; 95% CI, 1.8-25.6), Glasgow coma scale (GCS) (AOR =0.3; 95% CI, 0.13-0.5), length of hospitalization (LOS) 1-7 days (AOR=0.1; 95% CI, 0.01-0.8) and time of arrival >24hr were predictors of mortality in a patient with injury.CONCLUSION: Lower extremity injury was common and mostly associated with RTA. Pre-hospital emergency medical service system and trauma registry need to be established to decrease the burden of injury

Prevalence of Low Self-esteem and Mental Distress among Undergraduate Medical Students in Jimma University: A Cross- Sectional Study

BACKGROUND፡ Medical students often experience chronic stress. Self-esteem is one of the most important factors in the process of psychosocial growth and has remarkable effect on thoughts, feelings, values, and goals. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of low self-esteem (LSE) and mental distress among Medical Students of Jimma University.METHOD: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Jimma University from June to July, 2018. Self-esteem was measured with Rosenberg self-esteem scale. Self-administered Short form with General Health Questionnaire was used to assess presence of mental distress.RESULT: Out of 422 students enrolled to the study, 279 (66.1%) were male, and 413 (97.9 %) were 18 to 25 years of age. The prevalence of LSE and mental distress were 19.0%, and 19.7 %, respectively. Students who had LSE had 5 times higher risk of having mental distress, AOR= 5.1 (95% CI, 2.9-8.9). Moreover, female students had higher risk of developing mental distress (AOR=1.9, 95% CI, 1.1-3.3). Students who had poor social support were 4.3 times at higher risk of developing LSE, AOR=4.3 (95% CI, 1.9-9.8). Those who reported to have poor academic performance were also more likely to have LSE AOR= 3.7 (95% CI, 1.3- 10.0).CONCLUSION: One in five medical students had LSE and it is strongly associated with metal distress. Female students were at higher risk of mental distress. Preventive, curative and rehabilitative mental health services should be available for medical students with particular attention to those with poorsocial support