Trans-boundary natural resources management in the Horn of Africa: The role of IGAD Peace and Security Strategy

La Autoridad Intergubernamental de Desarrollo (IGAD) ha generado una estrategia de paz y seguridad que pretende tratar de manera integral y sistemática los numerosos conflictos que continúan infestando la región del Cuerno de África (CdA). La estrategia identifica la gestión de recursos naturales transfronterizos como una de las potenciales causas de conflicto. La IGAD ya ha lanzado con éxito un programa de alerta temprana en comunidades pastorales fronterizas, frenando conflictos por el agua y el pasto. No obstante, en términos de gestión de los numerosos recursos transfronterizos de la región (lagos y ríos en particular), el esfuerzo de la IGAD sigue necesitando desarrollarse. El argumento clave de este trabajo es que la implementación del plan IPSS sobre este asunto puede encontrar problemas porque la gestión de los recursos naturales (incluso los transfronterizos) están en el centro de la soberanía nacional de los estados miembros, un área no permitida a organizaciones como la IGAD]. Además, la IGAD está sufriendo problemas internos principalmente debidos a la financiación para tratar con éxito asuntos como los recursos naturales transfronterizosThe Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has produced a peace and security strategy that aims at comprehensively and systematically dealing with the numerous conflicts that continue to bedevil the Horn of Africa (HoA) region. The strategy identifies the management of trans-boundary natural resources as one of the potential causes of conflict. Already IGAD has been running a conflict early warning programme in borderland pastoral communities which has proved successful in stemming conflicts over water and pastures. Nevertheless, in terms of managing the numerous trans-boundary natural resources of the region (lakes and rivers in particular) IGAD’s effort is still work in progress. The key argument of the paper is that implementation of the IPSS plan on this issue may ran into problems because the management of natural resources (even those that are trans-boundary) is at the heart of the member states national sovereignties, which is a no-go area for regional organisations such as IGAD. Moreover, IGAD is saddled with many problems especially financial to deal with the issue of trans-boundary natural resources management successfull

Regional Integration: A Political Federation of the East African Countries?

The aim of this paper is to explore the possibility and viability of an East African political federation project. Since the late 1800s under the then British East Africa, the countries of East Africa have been searching for ways to integrate. The search led to the establishment of the East African Community (EAC) in December 1967, which later collapsed in 1977. The argument of the paper is that it appears that among the current crop of leaders of the region there is the political will to establish the East African federation. However, it will take more than political will to bring the federation to fruition, as conditions in the region currently do not augur well for the project. Also, the leaders have not carried the people along with them on the integration journey. One main problem of attempts at integration in East Africa in particular and Africa in general, has been that they have been leader-led. Whether it was the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) or now the African Union (AU), the people at the grassroots have played no role in their establishment and consolidation. The question therefore is: Do existing conditions in the region advance the project of an East African federation

The African Union’s notion of ‘African solutions to African problems’ and the crises in Côte d’Ivoire (2010–2011) and Libya (2011)

The formation of the African Union (AU) was precisely aimed at finding African solutions for African problems. The AU’s institutions, powers and objectives were meant to bring about fundamental shifts away from the constraints imposed on actions under the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) charter. When the crises in Côte d’Ivoire and Libya began, it was hoped that the AU would be the one to find solutions under its much cherished notion of ‘African solutions to African problems’. However, the organisation has sometimes taken half-hearted measures, and suffered from internal divisions among its members on how to react to the crises and their consequences, which rendered the notion of ‘African solutions to African problems’ moot.African Journal On Conflict Resolution, 12(2) 201

Recursos naturales transfronterizos en la región del Cuerno de África: El papel de la Estrategia de Paz y Seguridad de la IGAD

La Autoridad Intergubernamental de Desarrollo (IGAD) ha generado una estrategia de paz y seguridad que pretende tratar de manera integral y sistemática los numerosos conflictos que continúan infestando la región del Cuerno de África (CdA). La estrategia identifica la gestión de recursos naturales transfronterizos como una de las potenciales causas de conflicto. La IGAD ya ha lanzado con éxito un programa de alerta temprana en comunidades pastorales fronterizas, frenando conflictos por el agua y el pasto. No obstante, en términos de gestión de los numerosos recursos transfronterizos de la región (lagos y ríos en particular), el esfuerzo de la IGAD sigue necesitando desarrollarse. El argumento clave de este trabajo es que la implementación del plan IPSS sobre este asunto puede encontrar problemas porque la gestión de los recursos naturales (incluso los transfronterizos) están en el centro de la soberanía nacional de los estados miembros, un área no permitida a organizaciones como la IGAD]. Además, la IGAD está sufriendo problemas internos principalmente debidos a la financiación para tratar con éxito asuntos como los recursos naturales transfronterizos

Teachers’ Protest Movements and Prospects for Teachers Improved Welfare in Uganda

Since the early 40s to today, teachers in Uganda organized themselves into unions and demanded for better conditions of service. Despite the long history of different forms of teachers’ protests, the contribution of these protests towards influencing the teacher’s welfare in the country is not sufficiently analyzed in the academic and policy circles. Up till now, it is not very clear what these protests have achieved. Written against the background of teachers’ protests in Uganda, this paper examines the effects of collective action of teachers on their welfare. Interviews with Uganda National Teachers Union Staff, Primary School Teachers, and Ministry of Education and Sports officials indicate that, teachers protests movement have enabled to show the public that teachers are unfairly remunerated and have also contributed to some incremental changes in teachers’ salaries and provision of some housing facilities by government. However, these protests have had minimal contribution to a policy and institutional framework that favour sustained improvement in teachers’ welfare as these protests are recurrent. The findings suggest that prospects for teachers’ protests to cause welfare changes in lives of teachers reside in proper mobilization of different categories of teachers as well as teachers’ ability to broadly link their welfare to professionalism and attainment of the education outcomes

Evidence for conservation in antigen gene sequences combined with extensive polymorphism at VNTR loci

Theileria parva is a tick‐transmitted apicomplexan protozoan parasite that infects lymphocytes of cattle and African Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer), causing a frequently fatal disease of cattle in eastern, central and southern Africa. A live vaccination procedure, known as infection and treatment method (ITM), the most frequently used version of which comprises the Muguga, Serengeti‐transformed and Kiambu 5 stocks of T. parva, delivered as a trivalent cocktail, is generally effective. However, it does not always induce 100% protection against heterologous parasite challenge. Knowledge of the genetic diversity of T. parva in target cattle populations is therefore important prior to extensive vaccine deployment. This study investigated the extent of genetic diversity within T. parva field isolates derived from Ankole (Bos taurus) cattle in south‐western Uganda using 14 variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) satellite loci and the sequences of two antigen‐encoding genes that are targets of CD8+T‐cell responses induced by ITM, designated Tp1 and Tp2. The findings revealed a T. parva prevalence of 51% confirming endemicity of the parasite in south‐western Uganda. Cattle‐derived T. parva VNTR genotypes revealed a high degree of polymorphism. However, all of the T. parva Tp1 and Tp2 alleles identified in this study have been reported previously, indicating that they are widespread geographically in East Africa and highly conserved

Sustainable urban infrastructure for all: Lessons on solar-powered street lights from Kampala and Jinja, Uganda

Providing access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all is the seventh Sustainable Development Goal. The New Urban Agenda also commits to the provision of inclusive and safe streets that are free from crime and violence, including gender-based violence. Solar-powered street lights can contribute to these goals by increasing the electricity supply, improving safety in urban areas and protecting the environment. This paper offers lessons from the cities of Kampala and Jinja in Uganda, where solar street lighting has proven cheaper to build and operate than conventional street lights. It has also generated a range of economic and social benefits, including lower crime rates, better road safety, a more vibrant night-time economy and higher property values. Tens of thousands of working hours a day – equivalent to 14,000 full-time jobs nationwide – could be added to the economy by extending trading beyond daylight hours. Based on this case study, installing and maintaining solar-powered LED street lights across sub-Saharan Africa rather than conventional grid-based options could reduce upfront installation costs by at least 25 percent, electricity consumption from street lighting by 40 percent and maintenance costs of new roads by up to 60 percent. Lighting new roads in sub-Saharan Africa with solar would be an opportunity to generate between 96 and 160 GW of distributed renewable energy across the sub-continent, more than doubling sub-Saharan Africa’s current energy generation capacity of 92 GW

Supporting decent livelihoods through sustainable service provision: Lessons on solid waste management from Kampala, Uganda

Better waste management could cut up to a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, making it an essential part of delivering the Paris climate agreement. A waste management strategy which supports the 15 to 20 million people who informally work in the waste sector globally can also contribute to achieving the first Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of ending poverty, and the eighth SDG of decent work for all. Partnerships with community-based organisations and small enterprises involved in waste management can generate multiple economic and social benefits in a sector otherwise notorious for appalling conditions and the vulnerability of workers. This paper offers lessons from Kampala, Uganda, where community-based organisations and small enterprises play an important role in municipal solid waste management, especially in informal settlements. One example from Kampala is the Luchacos cooperative, which uses organic waste to produce biomass briquettes – an energy source for cooking that simultaneously reduces both urban air pollution and deforestation. If the Luchacos model could be scaled up to replace half of all charcoal use in Kampala, almost 12,000 additional people would find employment in the biomass briquette industry. Similarly, the private firm Plastic Recycling Industries (PRI) contracts 120 community-based organisations and small enterprises to collect almost one-fifth of Kampala’s plastic waste. 80 percent of the 1,200 employees contracted by these organisations are women, who earn nearly three times as much as they would working as individual waste pickers. Both Luchacos and PRI work closely with the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA). These examples from Kampala highlight how national governments can improve and expand solid waste management services by supporting municipalities to take a more strategic, multi-stakeholder approach to waste management. They can stimulate positive social and economic impacts by designing a framework which requires the systematic inclusion and support of community-based and small-scale enterprises in waste management processes, rather than only seeking partnerships with large private firms. This could involve establishing procurement policies that are more accessible for community-based organisations and small enterprises, providing public land for waste sorting, facilitating links between formal and informal operations, and reforming regulation to favour locally-led initiatives over large-scale technological solutions. The outcome would be an upgraded municipal waste management system that is more economically efficient, socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable

Oral Vaccination With a Formulation Combining Rhipicephalus microplus Subolesin With Heat Inactivated Mycobacterium bovis Reduces Tick Infestations in Cattle

Vaccines are an environmentally friendly alternative to acaracides for the control of tick infestations, to reduce the risk for tick-borne diseases affecting human and animal health worldwide, and to improve animal welfare and production. Subolesin (SUB, also known as 4D8) is the functional homolog of Akirin2 involved in the regulation of development and innate immune response, and a proven protective antigen for the control of ectoparasite infestations and pathogen infection. Oral vaccination combining protein antigens with immunostimulants has proven efficacy with increased host welfare and safety, but has not been used for the control of tick infestations. Here we describe the efficacy of oral vaccination with a formulation combining Rhipicephalus microplus SUB and heat inactivated Mycobacterium bovis (IV) on cattle tick infestations and fertility. The levels of IgG antibody titers against SUB and M. bovis P22, and the expression of selected immune response genes were determined and analyzed as possible correlates of protection. We demonstrated that oral immunization with the SUB+IV formulation resulted in 51% reduction in the number of female ticks and 30% reduction in fertility with an overall efficacy of 65% in the control of R. microplus infestations by considering the cumulative effect on reducing tick survival and fertility in cattle. The akr2, IL-1β, and C3 mRNA levels together with antibody levels against SUB correlated with vaccine efficacy. The effect of the oral immunization with SUB+IV in cattle on tick survival and fertility is essential to reduce tick infestations, and extended previous results on the effect of R. microplus SUB for the control of cattle tick infestations. These results support the development of oral vaccines formulations for the control of tick infestations and the incidence of tick-borne diseases

FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH VOLUNTARY BLOOD DONATION AMONG LIRA UNIVERSITY STUDENTS. CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY.

Abstract According to UBTS, the total units of blood collected increased from 131,226 in 2007/2008 to 274,308 in 2018/19 but still less than the WHO recommendation of 1% of Uganda's population. To save the lives of patients due to accidents, obstetric and gynecological bleedings, cancers, and severe anemia with low blood volumes. This study will assess the factors associated with voluntary blood donation among Lira University students.  Methodology A cross-sectional study using mixed methods of data collection was carried out among Lira University students. A sample size of 311 was calculated using the Yamane formula and recruited using a stratified random sampling technique and 5 key informants for qualitative data.  SPSS version 20 was used for data entry and analysis. Univariate analysis was used to determine frequencies, proportions, and ranges. At bivariate analysis, a bivariate logistic regression was performed between the independent variables and dependent variable at a 95% confidence interval, Crude odds ratios (COR) were used as measures of association. Variables with P ≤0.05 were considered significant associations with the dependent variable.  Results Their mean age was 23.7 years. The study population comprised approximately 40.5% blood donors of which 23.8% were blood donors. The majority of the participants (79.8%) had positive attitudes towards blood donation and the non-donors (61.7%) had never got a chance to donate. The majority of the respondents (59.5%) were male.  Conclusion  High awareness, influencing positive attitude, and regular blood donation drives should be prioritized if we are to achieve 1% donors of the population as recommended by WHO.  Recommendation The Uganda Blood Transfusion Service should do more talk shows via announcements in public gatherings, and mouth-to-mouth engagements with the students, and handle first-time donors well to recruit and retain donors