Nigerian Companies and the Prohibition on Political Donations: A Paradigmatic Shift as a Panacea for Compliance

Democratic rule is generally acclaimed as a better form of governance, but its operation does not appear to come cheap. This is especially so in Nigeria where new democratic dispensations are heralded by expensive electioneering campaigns. The funds for these campaigns are sourced from willing donors or through subtle coercion. Corporate organizations are easy prey to politicians. This paper is provoked by the frequency and blatancy with which corporate organizations in Nigeria donate to political parties and for political purposes without any sanctions despite the unambiguous prohibition in S.38 (2) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA). This exposes the inability of the provision to halt or reduce this practice to the barest minimum and also reveals the unpopularity of the provision. The paper argued that it is not possible to completely extricate organizations from the political dynamics in their host committees and proffered some mitigating factors which will make the provision more acceptable to the people and more respected. The paper discovered normative reasons why the prohibition in S.38 (2) of CAMA is largely ignored.It therefore recommended wide ranging amendments to the provisions so as to enhance compliance, improve its enforcement strategies, reflect present day realities and align it with International best practices

Joint management of shared resources as an alternative approach for addressing maritime boundary disputes : the Kenya-Somalia maritime boundary dispute

Socio-economic security has motivated African states to explore natural resources in areas of overlapping maritime claims. However, Africa’s maritime boundaries are characterized by unresolved disputes. Resolution of these disputes is time-consuming, expensive and can undermine the state’s ability to exploit natural resources. The Somalia and Kenya maritime dispute under litigation with the International Court of Justice demonstrates the continental commitment to peaceful resolution. Citing cases from across Africa, we discuss outright delimitation or Joint Management Zones (JMZs) as means to address disputes over shared resources, particularly transboundary fisheries, which have received little attention. Reframing the Kenya-Somalia maritime dispute resolution process as cooperation over fisheries management will have spill-over effects into greater diplomatic relations. Fish do not abide by maritime boundaries. As such, we posit that the peaceful resolution of maritime boundary disputes lies in Africa’s ability to consider settlements by way of JMZs to motivate sustainable use of natural resources.PostprintPeer reviewe

Consumer use and attitude towards 'zobo': a Nigerian sorrel drink

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Exploring the agricultural landscape diversity-food security nexus: an analysis in two contrasted parklands of Central Senegal

International audienceCONTEXT: Fostering diversity within agricultural systems can substantially contribute to improved food security among smallholder farmers. Agroforestry parklands are diverse agricultural landscapes where trees can provide an array of ecosystem services. Previous studies analyzing the agricultural landscape diversity-food security nexus in agroforestry parklands have only considered tree cover. OBJECTIVE: We propose an original empirical approach that combines the analysis of spatial data on agricultural landscape diversity with agricultural field monitoring and household surveys. These three sources of data were used to scrutinize the direct and indirect contributions of agricultural landscape diversity to food availability and food access. METHODS: Millet yield was used as a proxy for food availability, and household food access was approximated using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) indicator. Two contrasted agroforestry parklands of Central Senegal were chosen as case studies. Firstly, we used a Gradient Boosting Machine (GBM) algorithm to disentangle the relative contribution of landscape diversity, biophysical and crop management variables in explaining millet yield variability. Secondly, we investigated the pathways linking agricultural landscape di-versity to HFIAS using a Correlation Network Analysis (CNA). RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The GBM model explained 77% and 84% of millet yield variability for the two parklands, respectively, with landscape diversity variables accounting for 53% and 47% of relative influence. Among the landscape diversity variables, tree species richness and tree density were the most important ones. Millet yield was positively associated with tree density in the Nioro site until a threshold of 5 trees/ha, and with tree species richness in the two sites. The CNA showed that greater tree cover and larger tree patches were moderately correlated with HFIAS. This suggests that tree species with large crown, as it the case for most fruit bearing tree species in the region, are the main species contributing directly to food access. Agricultural land-scape diversity contributed mainly indirectly to household food access through an "agroecological pathway", i.e. by the provision of ecosystem services regulating and supporting crop production. SIGNIFICANCE: Using an integrated landscape approach relying on up-to-date remote sensing data and recent advances in data analysis methods, our study shows that tree species diversity matters as much as the amount of tree cover for the production of food, and it can contribute to improve food security. We bring a more nuanced picture of the contribution of agricultural landscape diversity to food security suggesting that land management policies supporting food security should consider both tree density and tree species diversity to optimize the co -benefits of trees for the different food security dimensions

The remaining unknowns: a mixed methods study of the current and global health research priorities for COVID-19

INTRODUCTION:In March 2020, the WHO released a Global Research Roadmap in an effort to coordinate and accelerate the global research response to combat COVID-19 based on deliberations of 400 experts across the world. Three months on, the disease and our understanding have both evolved significantly. As we now tackle a pandemic in very different contexts and with increased knowledge, we sought to build on the work of the WHO to gain a more current and global perspective on these initial priorities. METHODS:We undertook a mixed methods study seeking the views of the global research community to (1) assess which of the early WHO roadmap priorities are still most pressing; (2) understand whether they are still valid in different settings, regions or countries; and (3) identify any new emerging priorities. RESULTS:Thematic analysis of the significant body of combined data shows the WHO roadmap is globally relevant; however, new important priorities have emerged, in particular, pertinent to low and lower middle-income countries (less resourced countries), where health systems are under significant competing pressures. We also found a shift from prioritising vaccine and therapeutic development towards a focus on assessing the effectiveness, risks, benefits and trust in the variety of public health interventions and measures. Our findings also provide insight into temporal nature of these research priorities, highlighting the urgency of research that can only be undertaken within the period of virus transmission, as well as other important research questions but which can be answered outside the transmission period. Both types of studies are key to help combat this pandemic but also importantly to ensure we are better prepared for the future. CONCLUSION:We hope these findings will help guide decision-making across the broad research system including the multilateral partners, research funders, public health practitioners, clinicians and civil society

Investigation of optimized observation periods for estimating a representative home range of free-roaming domestic dogs

Abstract Free-roaming domestic dogs (FRDD), as vectors of zoonotic diseases, are of high relevance for public health. Understanding roaming patterns of dogs can help to design disease control programs and disease transmission simulation models. Studies on GPS tracking of dogs report stark differences in recording periods. So far, there is no accepted number of days required to capture a representative home range (HR) of FRDD. The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in HR size and shape over time of FRDD living in Chad, Guatemala, Indonesia and Uganda and identify the period required to capture stable HR values. Dogs were collared with GPS units, leading to a total of 46 datasets with, at least, 19 recorded days. For each animal and recorded day, HR sizes were estimated using the Biased Random Bridge method and percentages of daily change in size and shape calculated and taken as metrics. The analysis revealed that the required number of days differed substantially between individuals, isopleths, and countries, with the extended HR (95% isopleth value) requiring a longer recording period. To reach a stable HR size and shape values for 75% of the dogs, 26 and 21 days, respectively, were sufficient. However, certain dogs required more extended observational periods

Research priorities in maternal and neonatal health in Africa: results using the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative method involving over 900 experts across the continent

Survey results of MNCH experts working in Africa to determine the priorities that the continent should focus on to achieve the SDG targets in MNCH