Effects of Armed Conflict on Agricultural Markets and Post-conflict Engagement of Women in Export-led Agriculture in Nepal

Nepal entered into a new era after ending 10 years of civil war through signing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the government and the rebel radical Maoist party in November, 2006. Women’s positions were constitutionally secured and space widened for the engagement of women in the broad social, political and economic spheres. Therefore, the post-conflict context provided tremendous opportunities for women to engage in high value commercial agricultural business. The main objectives of the study were a) to examine the effects of armed conflict on agricultural markets, and b) to analyse the state of women’s engagement in high value agricultural exports and its role in market revival. This study involved qualitative research to analyse women’s engagement in commercial agriculture with a specific focus on the marketing of large cardamom (Amomum Subulatum Roxb.), which does not include the small cardamom (Elettaria Cardamomum, Maton). The main finding of this study is the proactive engagement of women in high value, low volume commercial agriculture and its positive contribution to the social, economic and political spheres at individual, households and community levels in Nepal. Women were recognised more in society once they engaged in commercial agriculture especially when they were members of cooperatives and in the position of sanctioning the loans as members of the executive committee to local people (including men). They were also offered political positions in the party structures. They were, comparatively, economically stronger and independent. However, while the government’s efforts were appreciated they were not able to secure better prices for the cash crops and tackle the disease problem. Women were not able to secure a better price in the study area due to lack of up-to-date market price information. Further, in the past 7-10 years their cardamom plants suffered heavily from disease (appearance of black spots on leaves, shrinking, and gradually drying of the leaves which people locally called Chhirke-Furke) affecting production

“We know the taste of sugar because of cardamom production”: Links among Commercial Cardamom Farming, Women’s Involvement in Production and the Feminization of Poverty

This paper analyses the impact of commercial cardamom farming on the livelihoods of women, revisiting the concept of the “feminization of poverty”. For the analysis of cash crop farming in Eastern Nepal, both quantitative and qualitative approaches have been used. A quantitative survey was conducted in 513 households in Ilam district between November and December 2015 followed by qualitative data collection. A literature review on the feminization of poverty and cash crop farming has also been included. A descriptive data analysis has been conducted from the perspective of the feminization of poverty against the background of cash crop farming. The paper concludes that women of different ethnic backgrounds engaged in commercial cardamom farming have been able to improve their livelihoods, spend on their children’s education, their family’s health and invest in savings. For marginalized communities the impact is even more pronounced, as women have been able to step out of poverty. The high return from cardamom farming has changed the livelihood trajectories of these women. Engagement in cash crop farming has empowered women financially and socially through their visible participation in savings and community groups. This study also opens up pathways for further studies on issues of sustainable cardamom farming and its impact on women’s livelihoods, particularly focusing on women and poverty. This study addresses that in developing or under-developed countries reliant on agriculture, their economic development can be improved if women’s economic and social conditions are understood and facilitated through policies inline with sustainable cash crop farming

The SCIDOTS Project: Evidence of benefits of an integrated tobacco cessation intervention in tuberculosis care on treatment outcomes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is substantial evidence to support the association between tuberculosis (TB) and tobacco smoking and that the smoking-related immunological abnormalities in TB are reversible within six weeks of cessation. Therefore, connecting TB and tobacco cessation interventions may produce significant benefits and positively impact TB treatment outcomes. However, no study has extensively documented the evidence of benefits of such integration. SCIDOTS Project is a study from the context of a developing nation aimed to determine this.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>An integrated TB-tobacco intervention was provided by trained TB directly observed therapy short-course (DOTS) providers at five chest clinics in Malaysia. The study was a prospective non-randomized controlled intervention using quasi-experimental design. Using Transtheoretical Model approach, 120 eligible participants who were current smokers at the time of TB diagnosis were assigned to either of two treatment groups: conventional TB DOTS plus smoking cessation intervention (integrated intervention or SCIDOTS group) or conventional TB DOTS alone (comparison or DOTS group). At baseline, newly diagnosed TB patients considering quitting smoking within the next 30 days were placed in the integrated intervention group, while those who were contemplating quitting were assigned to the comparison group. Eleven sessions of individualized cognitive behavioral therapy with or without nicotine replacement therapy were provided to each participant in the integrated intervention group. The impacts of the novel approach on biochemically validated smoking cessation and TB treatment outcomes were measured periodically as appropriate.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A linear effect on both 7-day point prevalence abstinence and continuous abstinence was observed over time in the intervention group. At the end of 6 months, patients who received the integrated intervention had significantly higher rate of success in quitting smoking when compared with those who received the conventional TB treatment alone (77.5% vs. 8.7%; p < 0.001). Furthermore, at the end of TB treatment (6 months or later), there were significantly higher rates of treatment default (15.2% vs. 2.5%; p = 0.019) and treatment failure (6.5% vs. 0%; p = 0.019) in the DOTS group than in the SCIDOTS group.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study provides evidence that connecting TB-tobacco treatment strategy is significant among TB patients who are smokers. The findings suggest that the integrated approach may be beneficial and confer advantages on short-term outcomes and possibly on future lung health of TB patients who quit smoking. This study may have important implications on health policy and clinical practice related to TB management among tobacco users.</p

Plasmodium falciparum Reticulocyte Binding-Like Homologue Protein 2 (PfRH2) Is a Key Adhesive Molecule Involved in Erythrocyte Invasion

Erythrocyte invasion by Plasmodium merozoites is a complex, multistep process that is mediated by a number of parasite ligand-erythrocyte receptor interactions. One such family of parasite ligands includes the P. falciparum reticulocyte binding homologue (PfRH) proteins that are homologous with the P. vivax reticulocyte binding proteins and have been shown to play a role in erythrocyte invasion. There are five functional PfRH proteins of which only PfRH2a/2b have not yet been demonstrated to bind erythrocytes. In this study, we demonstrated that native PfRH2a/2b is processed near the N-terminus yielding fragments of 220 kDa and 80 kDa that exhibit differential erythrocyte binding specificities. The erythrocyte binding specificity of the 220 kDa processed fragment of native PfRH2a/2b was sialic acid-independent, trypsin resistant and chymotrypsin sensitive. This specific binding phenotype is consistent with previous studies that disrupted the PfRH2a/2b genes and demonstrated that PfRH2b is involved in a sialic acid independent, trypsin resistant, chymotrypsin sensitive invasion pathway. Interestingly, we found that the smaller 80 kDa PfRH2a/2b fragment is processed from the larger 220 kDa fragment and binds erythrocytes in a sialic acid dependent, trypsin resistant and chymotrypsin sensitive manner. Thus, the two processed fragments of PfRH2a/2b differed with respect to their dependence on sialic acids for erythrocyte binding. Further, we mapped the erythrocyte binding domain of PfRH2a/2b to a conserved 40 kDa N-terminal region (rPfRH240) in the ectodomain that is common to both PfRH2a and PfRH2b. We demonstrated that recombinant rPfRH240 bound human erythrocytes with the same specificity as the native 220 kDa processed protein. Moreover, antibodies generated against rPfRH240 blocked erythrocyte invasion by P. falciparum through a sialic acid independent pathway. PfRH2a/2b thus plays a key role in erythrocyte invasion and its conserved receptor-binding domain deserves attention as a promising candidate for inclusion in a blood-stage malaria vaccine