Determinants of Loan Repayment Performance of Micro and Small Enterprises: Empirical Evidence from Somali Regional State, Ethiopia

Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) were introduced to reach a large number of active poor people who are excluded from the formal financial institutions due to rigorous collateral requirements. As an instrument of MFIs, Microfinance was introduced to address the financial need of the active poor people. To operate successfully MFIs have to unquestionable ensure that the loan expended to the Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) have to be repaid back so as he MFIs can have a financially sustainable and viable operation. In light of this, this research study was conducted to analyze the factors affecting loan repayment of MSEs financed by Somali Microfinance institution by taking lender characteristics in to consideration. Both primary and secondary data was employed. The primary data was collected by distributing questionnaire and through interview. A total of 175 MSEs were selected using purposive sampling technique. The secondary data was acquired from various issues of annual reports of Somali microfinance institution and other concerned institutions. Both descriptive analysis and econometric model, which is, binary logistic regression was employed to analyze the effect of the literature driven variables on loan repayment by MSEs. The econometric model used revealed that among the variables hypothesized to affect loan repayment are loan repayment period, grace period, and timeliness of loan release have statistically significant effect on loan repayment by the MSEs Whereas loan size have statistically insignificant effect on loan repayment by the MSEs

Enhancing Productivity and Production of Onion (Allium cepa L.) Through the use of Improved Varieties at North Western Zoze of Tigray, Ethiopia

Field experiment was conducted to study the effect different varieties on yield, yield attributing character and postharvest storability of onion (Allium cepa L.) in Tselemti district, North western Zone of Tigray During 2007-2009off season time. Four improved onion varieties namly:Bombey red, Adama red, Nasik red &Nafis including Shendi (imported from Sudan),were tested in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications. Accordingly, treatments were assigned randomly to the experimental plot within a block. The results showed that the difference in variety had significant effect on all characters except the non-significant effect of variety on neck thickness and bulb diameter. Nasik red variety gave significantlyhighest in plant height ,leaf number, leaf length bulb length and marketable bulb yield i.e 35588kg/ha that exhibited 18% and 36% advantages on the dominantly produced varieties bombey red and adama red respectively.The overall study revealed that growing Nasik red variety is not only significantly increased the marketable bulb yield , but also better shelf life. Therefore, it is recommended for onion producers of Tselemti wereda for profitable onion yiel

A Glimpse of Ethiopian Birds

52-54Ethopia boasts of a wide variety of bird life

Child health services and armed conflict in Tigray, North Ethiopia: a community-based study

Abstract Background Access to basic health services, notably child health services, is severely hampered by the armed conflict in Tigray, North Ethiopia. Little is known regarding the impacts of the armed conflict during the war in Tigray on access to child health services. The current study investigates the impact of the armed conflict on the utilization of child health services in Tigray. Methods 4,381 caregivers from randomly recruited households (HHs) with at least one child younger than 1 year old participated in a community-based cross-sectional survey. We collected data on childhood immunizations and illness-related treatment seeking from August 4 to 20, 2021. We describe data using frequency and percentage and carry out an internal comparison among the study participants using chi-square tests. Results 4,381 children under the age of one included in the study. In total, 39% of infants received no basic vaccines, 61.3% of the children under the age of one received at least one vaccine, and 20% received all the vaccinations recommended for their age. About 61% of children were affected by at least one childhood ailments where majority of them were from rural areas. Mothers who did not seek postnatal care (PNC) were responsible for more than 75% of reported childhood illnesses. Conclusions A sizable portion of children were unvaccinated and had at least one childhood sickness while the war was in progress. Particularly, people who live in rural areas reported a higher percentage of children’s illnesses but a lower use of child health services. To lower childhood morbidity and mortality in the besieged area, such as Tigray, local to global actors need to get coordinated and warrying parties should stop weaponization of vaccination healthcare services

Additional file 1 of Child health services and armed conflict in Tigray, North Ethiopia: a community-based study

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