Identification des risques professionnels dans l’industrie textile en République Démocratique du Congo

Introduction: le but de cette étude est de mettre en évidence les facteurs de risques professionnels liés aux conditions de travail. Méthodes: cette étude qualitative basée sur les entretiens de groupe a été réalisée par une équipe pluridisciplinaire dans l'industrie textile de la région du Est de la RDC ; comprenant un médecin de travail, un médecin de santé publique, un toxicologue, deux infirmiers du centre hospitalier de l'usine, un représentant du comité d'hygiène et un technicien de prévention. La démarche méthodologique a consisté en des entretiens en groupe, des observations et visites guidées de lieux de travail de l'entreprise. Résultats: dans la culture du coton, les effets d'une forte exposition aux pesticides peuvent entraîner des intoxications aiguës, chroniques et voire le décès. Les autres risques sont les accidents de travail, les maladies professionnelles, les troubles psychologiques. Dans l'industrie, les travailleurs sont exposés aux risques liés à l'empoussiérage des fibres de coton, aux facteurs des risques traumatiques, physiques (bruits, vibration) et chimiques (acides forts, bases fortes, solvants et colorants minéraux), ainsi qu'aux risques psychosociaux. La pollution de l'environnement et l'écotoxicité inhérente à ces activités restent l'effet de l'usage des grandes quantités d'intrants agricoles, engrais et produits phytosanitaires. Conclusion: cette étude a permis de mettre en évidence les différents facteurs de risques auxquelles sont soumis les travailleurs textiles; ainsi que les risques environnementaux liés à cette activité. Cela est de nature à permettre la mise sur pied d'une stratégie efficace de prévention et de protection des travailleurs

Uptake of HIV testing among adolescents and associated adolescent-friendly services

Abstract Background HIV testing remains low among adolescents. Making public health services more adolescent-friendly is one strategy used to encourage testing. However, it remains unclear whether government-led initiatives have a meaningfully impact. Methods The current study is observational and utilizes two sources of data (health-facility and adolescent-level) from one round of data collection of an on-going, longitudinal impact evaluation of a pilot cash plus program targeting adolescents. This study linked data from adolescent surveys (n = 2191) to data collected from nearby government-run health facilities (n = 91) in two rural regions of Tanzania. We used log binomial regression models to estimate the association between specific adolescent-friendly health service (AFHS) characteristics and adolescents' uptake of 1) HIV testing and 2) visiting a health care facility in the past year for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. Results Most adolescents (67%) lived in a village with a health facility, and all offered HIV services. We find, however, that AFHS have not been fully implemented. For example, less than 40% of facilities reported that they had guidelines for adolescent care. Only 12% of facilities had a system in place for referral and follow-up with adolescent clients, yet this was an important predictor of both past-year HIV testing (RR = 1.28, p < 0.1) and SRH visits (RR = 1.44, p < 0.05). Less than half (44%) offered services for survivors of gender-based violence (GBV), a significant predictor of past-year HIV testing (RR = 1.20, p < 0.05) and SRH visits (RR = 1.41, p < 0.01) among sexually-active adolescents. Conclusions We find that national guidelines on AFHS have not been fully translated into practice at the local level. We highlight particular gaps in adolescent referral systems and GBV services. Scaling up these two essential services could encourage greater HIV testing among a high-risk population, in addition to providing much needed support for survivors of violence

Disability status and multi-dimensional personal well-being among adolescents in the Southern Highlands Region of Tanzania: results of a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: Examine how disability status among adolescents is associated with the following domains of personal well-being: schooling, livelihoods, health, violence and psychosocial well-being. It is hypothesised that adolescents with a disability will have greater deficits in these areas of well-being compared with their healthier counterparts. DESIGN: Cross-sectional data from 2018 were obtained from the second round of an on-going study of adolescents living in poor households in two regions of the Southern Highlands of Tanzania (Iringa and Mbeya). We use the Washington Group (WG) Short Set indicators to measure disability and undertook logistic and linear multivariate regressions to understand the association between disability and the outcomes of interest. PARTICIPANTS: The sample included 2274 participants aged 15-20 years living in households participating in a government social protection programme targeted to households living in extreme poverty. RESULTS: Overall, 310 participants (14%) were classified as having disabilities. Outcomes not associated with disability status included literacy, schooling, livelihoods and self-efficacy. Adolescents with disabilities were less likely to report good or very good health (adjusted OR (aOR)=0.39, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.52) and had increased odds of reporting depressive symptoms in (aOR=1.46, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.90), emotional violence (aOR=2.18, 95% CI 1.49 to 3.20) and physical violence (aOR=1.71, 95% CI 1.13 to 2.59), compared with those without disabilities. Reports of depression were higher among men, and violence was more prevalent among women. Patterns of association were generally similar between men and women, although the association of disability with markers of well-being reached statistical significance more often among men. CONCLUSION: This study highlights areas where adolescents with disabilities are falling behind their peers in terms of personal well-being. These findings suggest that interventions may be needed to mainstream disability in programmes and policies aiming to improve well-being, mental health and violence prevention among adolescents. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Pan African Clinical Trial Registry (PACTR201804003008116)

Identification of occupational risks in the textile industry in the Democratic Republic of Congo

peer reviewedIntroduction: The aim of this study is to highlight the occupational risk factors related to working conditions in DRC. Methods: The qualitative study was carried out by a multidisciplinary team in the textile industry of the north-eastern DRC, including an occupational physician, a public health physician, a toxicologist, two nursing from the center hospital plant, a representative of health committee and a prevention technician. The methodological approach consisted of interviews, observations and guided visit of workplace of the company. Results: In cotton, the effects of high exposure to pesticides can cause acute poisoning, chronic and even death. Other risks include accidents, occupational diseases, and psychological disorders. In industry, workers are exposed to risks associated with dusting of cotton fibers, traumatic risk factors, physical (noise, vibration) and chemical (strong acids, bases, solvents and inorganic dyes ) as well as factors related to the environment of the workplace including psychosocial. The environmental pollution and ecotoxicity are a result of the use of great quantities of agricultural inputs, fertilizers and pesticides. Conclusion: This study has highlighted the various risk factors that are subject textile workers and the environmental risks associated with this activity. This will allow the establishment of an effective strategy of prevention and protection

The Effects of Political Disruption on African Agricultural Productivity: A Statistical and Spatial Investigation

Civil wars, insecurity, and ethnic disputes have imposed a high human and economic toll in Africa. In this dissertation, I examine the destructive impacts of war on agricultural productivity growth across the continent. Poor agricultural sector performance is more likely to be present around or during times of conflict. Using a panel of 51 countries from 1962-2009 I find that war impedes agricultural productivity growth. But a decline in productivity growth is not associated with the onset of civil war. Results show that low per capita income, stagnant economic growth, a large population, and lack of political freedom correspond to higher incidence of war, while conflict and lack of rainfall are associated with low agricultural productivity growth. I find that armed conflict reduces agricultural productivity growth by 0.76 percent per year and a major armed conflict reduces TFP growth by 1.16 percent. The incidence of a major armed conflict is associated with an efficiency decline in the year by 1.24 percent, substantial setback, for more than three-quarters of countries. This dissertation extends the discussion from productivity and efficiency analysis to the inclusion of the spatial dimension by applying exploratory and confirmatory spatial data analysis and capitalizing on successful spatial techniques and analytical tools proven in geospatial science. The exploratory spatial data analysis provides evidence of spatial autocorrelation in agricultural TFP growth rates in Africa. The results of hot spot analysis reveal that Algeria, Tunisia, Libya in the northern region and Nigeria and Benin in the western region constitute hot spots of agricultural performance and the cold spot, which includes areas of meager productivity, Rwanda and Burundi in central Africa. Africa suffers substantial losses in agricultural productivity when certain countries experience major armed conflict. The dissertation shows that a war may reduce productivity in a given country, but its real effects are larger because it impacts surrounding countries. Overall African TFP declined by 0.0572 percent per year as a result of conflict in Sudan. A war in the Democratic Republic of Congo caused African TFP growth to decline by 0.0285 percent per year

Le Maniéma exclu du programme triennal de l'Unicef 2003-2005

Document collected by the University of Texas Libraries from the web-site of the Reseau Documentaire International Sur La Region Des Grands Lacs Africains (International Documentation Network on the Great African Lakes Region). The Reseau distributes "gray literature", non-published or limited distribution government or NGO documents regarding the Great Lakes area of central Africa including Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.UT Librarie

Le Maniema exclu du programme triennal de l'UNICEF 2003-2005

Document collected by the University of Texas Libraries from the web-site of the Reseau Documentaire International Sur La Region Des Grands Lacs Africains (International Documentation Network on the Great African Lakes Region). The Reseau distributes "gray literature", non-published or limited distribution government or NGO documents regarding the Great Lakes area of central Africa including Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.UT Librarie

Health problems in textile industry in Democratic Republic of Congo

ABSTRACT The objective of this work was to highlight the influence of the occupational conditions on the textile sector workers’ health in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We conduct an exploratory cross-sectional study of two populations within a plant located at the North of the DRC : workers (N = 114) and executive or employees (N = 96). Our total sample data (N = 210) were collected by a questionnaire focused on the procedures, the exposures and the effects on health. Odds ratio (OR) and confidence interval at 95 % were estimated. For each significant diseases symptom, a regression model has been achieved in order to estimate OR adjusted for association of disease symptoms and occupational statute. Workers compared to employees present high frequencies and exposure rates for many diseases symptoms. These OR are respectively for cough (OR = 5,1 ; IC : 2,93-10,68) ; respiratory difficulty (OR = 2,9 ; IC : 1,42-6,42) thoracic pain (OR = 2,6 ; IC : 1,31-5,24) ; fever (OR = 2,4 ; IC : 1,27-4,50) ; upper limbs pain (OR = 4,8 ; IC : 2,55-8,80) ; neckshoulder pain (OR = 3,8 ; IC : 2,02-7,31) ; ocular diseases (OR = 2,2 ; IC : 1,17-3,89) and cutaneous diseases (OR = 2,5 ; IC : 1,18-5,46). The OR related to the libido loss is highest (OR = 5,5 ; IC : 2, 84-10,71). In the other hand, the OR of the neuropsychics disorders are lower than 1 in this comparison and are respectively of 0,5 (0,28-0,95) for tiredness ; 0,2 (0,08-0,28) for the lack of concentration and 0,07 (0,04-0,18) for the stress. In conclusion, the frequencies and high OR observed attest differences of the health issues between the workers and employees whose causes could be under the live and work conditions. These results should be confronted with those of other studies in health at the wor

Les déchets des emballages en plastic sur les rues de Bukavu (R.D.Congo): Essai d'une explication ''économico-écologique''.

Document collected by the University of Texas Libraries from the web-site of the Reseau Documentaire International Sur La Region Des Grands Lacs Africains (International Documentation Network on the Great African Lakes Region). The Reseau distributes "gray literature", non-published or limited distribution government or NGO documents regarding the Great Lakes area of central Africa including Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.UT Librarie