Who gets the information? Gender, power and equity considerations in the design of climate services for farmers

Central to understanding the usefulness of climate and weather forecasts in support of agricultural decision-making is addressing the issue of who receives what information. Many contend that improved climate forecasts since the late 1990s have had limited impact on smallholder farming communities in Africa and across the developing world. However, power and privilege may determine who has access to appropriate climate and advisory services within those communities. In 2011-2012, we tested this hypothesis in three climate-vulnerable farming communities in the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security semi-arid research site of Kaffrine, Senegal. Therein, we assessed gender-specific vulnerabilities to climate-related shocks, endogenous adaptation strategies, and coping mechanisms. From the gap between vulnerability and local capacity, we deduced farmers’ climate service needs, and then assessed whether these systematically differed between distinct vulnerable sub-groups within the community – chiefly, between male and female farmers. In 2011 we introduced a seasonal climate forecast for the first time in the community, and explored perceptions of forecast access, usefulness and value, by both men and women

Which climate services do farmers and pastoralists need in Malawi?

This report presents final findings from the baseline data collection exercise conducted for the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) Adaptation Programme in Africa. The GFCS programme seeks to improve climate services for agriculture, food security, heath and disaster risk reduction in Tanzania and Malawi. Under the auspices of this GFCS project, the CGIAR research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) is responsible to support baseline data collection and monitoring and evaluation to evaluate climate services for farmers and pastoralists in both countries. The purpose of this report is to inform national partners on farmers’ current needs and access to climate information services. Households interviewed in Malawi are mostly crop farmers, and have access to conventional climate information. However, they rely more on indigenous knowledge, personal experience and traditional cropping calendar than on climate information for their farm decision-making. Respondents would like to receive more advice about improved cropping practices, and better communication of climate information through village meetings and in their local languages. The climate information farmers would like to receive includes forecasts of extreme events, onset of the rains, seasonal rainfall, daily weather, and pest and diseases. These forecasts should be timely. Seasonal forecasts should be available preferably months before the start of the season to allow farmers to integrate them in their farm management decisions. The preferred communication channels were visits from extension agents, radio messages and SMS in cell phones. Farmers trust information from government extension agents, radio presenters and NGOs. Women particularly trust NGO workers

What climate services do farmers and pastoralists need in Tanzania?

This report presents final findings from the baseline data collection exercise conducted for Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) Adaptation Programme in Africa. The GFCS programme, having a focus on agriculture, food security, heath and disaster risk reduction, is implemented in Tanzania and Malawi. Under the auspices of this GFCS project, the CGIAR research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) is responsible to support baseline data collection and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) to evaluate climate services for farmers and pastoralists in Tanzania. The purpose of this report is to inform national partners on farmers’ current access and needs for climate information services. Communities of agro-pastoralists and pastoralists interviewed have little access to climate information, which is generally not associated with agricultural advice. To increase the relevance and communication of climate information in their communities, respondents have recommended training of local extension agents and traditional leaders on the concepts of climate information, having site specific information and using local languages and brochures. The forecasts of greatest interest include start of the rain and expected amount of rainfall over the season. Preferred formats cited by men are radio messages, visits from extension agents while women selected voice message on cell phones and villages communicators. Messengers suggested for radio presenters, local extension agents and village leaders highly recommended by women

Scaling up climate services for farmers: Mission Possible. Learning from good practice in Africa and South Asia

This report presents lessons learned from 18 case studies across Africa and South Asia that have developed and delivered weather and climate information and related advisory services for smallholder farmers. The case studies and resulting lessons provide insights on what will be needed to build effective national systems for the production, delivery, communication and evaluation of operational climate services for smallholder farmers across the developing world. The case studies include two national-scale programmes that have been the subject of recent assessments: India’s Integrated Agrometeorological Advisory Service (AAS) Program, which provides tailored weather-based agrometeorological advisories to millions of farmers; and Mali’s Projet d’Assistance Agro-meteorologique au Monde Rural, which provided innovative seasonal agrometeorological advisory services for smallholder farmers and 16 less mature initiatives operating at a pilot scale across Africa and South Asia. The case studies were examined from the standpoint of how they address five key challenges for scaling up effective climate services for farmers: salience, access, legitimacy, equity and integration

Climate forecasts in disaster management: Red Cross flood operations in West Africa, 2018

In 2008, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) used a seasonal forecast for West Africa for the first time to implement an Early Warning, Early Action strategy for enhanced flood preparedness and response. Interviews with disaster managers suggest that this approach improved their capacity and response. Relief supplies reached flood victims within days, as opposed to weeks in previous years, thereby preventing further loss of life, illness, and setbacks to livelihoods, as well as augmenting the efficiency of resource use. This case demonstrates the potential benefits to be realised from the use of medium-to-long-range forecasts in disaster management, especially in the context of potential increases in extreme weather and climate-related events due to climate variability and change. However, harnessing the full potential of these forecasts will require continued effort and collaboration among disaster managers, climate service providers, and major humanitarian donors

Adaptation Actions in Africa: Evidence that Gender Matters

This paper presents the initial data analyses of the CCAFS gender survey implemented in four sites in Africa. Using descriptive statistics we show gender differences in terms of perceptions of climate change, awareness and adoption of climate smart agricultural (CSA) practices, and types and sources of agro-climatic information in the four sites.We find that both men and women are experiencing changes in long-run weather patterns and that they are changing their behaviours in response; albeit relatively minor shifts in existing agricultural practices. For example, the most prevalent changes reported include switching crop varieties, switching types of crops and changing planting dates. As expected, women are less aware of many CSA practices. Encouragingly, this same pattern does not hold when it comes to adoption; in many cases, in East Africa in particular, women, when aware, are more likely than or just as likely as men to adopt CSA practices. In West Africa, overall, the adoption of these practices was much lower. In addition, we see that access to information from different sources varies greatly between men and women and among the sites; however, promisingly, those with access to information report using it to make changes to their agricultural practices. Our findings suggest that targeting women with climate and agricultural information is likely to result in uptake of new agricultural practices for adaptation

Analyse physico-chimique de l’eau de l’unité d’hémodialyse du chr de Saint- Louis (Sénégal)

L’insuffisance rénale chronique est un des problèmes majeurs de la santé publique dans le monde. Au Sénégal, une étude récente réalisée dans la population générale adulte avait retrouvé une prévalence de l’ordre de 6,1%. «L’eau pour dilution de concentrées d’hémodialyse» est produite en continue et utilisée en grande quantité chez l’hémodialysé chronique, donc il apparaît primordial de veiller à sa bonne qualité. Au Sénégal, aucune étude n’a été faite à ce jour pour évaluer l’efficacité du système de traitement de l’eau pour dilution des concentrés de dialyse dans les différents centres de dialyse du pays. L’objectif de ce travail est de contrôler l’efficacité du système de traitement de l’eau pour dilution de concentrées d’hémodialyse afin de s’assurer de son innocuité. Les prélèvements ont été effectués au niveau de trois points clés du circuit de traitement de l’eau pour hémodialyse. A l’entrée et à la sortie de l’osmoseur, à la sortie de la boucle de distribution. Les analyses ont été effectuées à l’aide d’électrodes spécifiques. Les valeurs de potentiels ont permis de tracer les courbes d’étalonnage. La détermination par régression des pentes et des ordonnées à l’origine de la relation de Nernst donne E(mV ) = B - A Log Cm avec des coefficients de corrélation variant entre 0,988 et 0,999 prouvant que 98% au moins des variations de tensions mesurées (E) sont attribuables à la concentration. L’analyse physico-chimique des teneurs en chlorures, nitrates et fluorures révèle des teneurs plus élevées à l’entrée de l’osmoseur qu’à la sortie. Ces basses valeurs découlent du rôle de l’osmoseur qui filtre une grande partie des électrolytes. Par contre, à la sortie de la boucle de distribution les teneurs en électrolytes des différents échantillons étaient plus importantes que celles à la sortie de l’osmoseur. Cette forte concentration en électrolytes atteste d’une pollution par la boucle de distribution de l’eau déjà filtrée par l’osmoseur. L’intérêt de cette étude réside dans le fait qu’elle met en lumière l’importance du contrôle de la qualité de l’eau pour l’hémodialyse et la nécessité d’un bon planning de maintenance préventive efficace de l’ensemble de la boucle de traitement d’eau au sein de chaque centre.© 2016 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Mots clés: Hémodialyse, eau, chlorures, fluorures, nitrates, électrodes spécifiquesEnglish Title: Physicochemical analysis of Saint–Louis regional hospital’s hemodialysis unit’s water (Senegal)English AbstractChronic kidney disease is a major public health problem worldwide. In Senegal, a recent study in the general adult population found a prevalence of about 6,1%. "Water for diluting concentrated hemodialysis" is produced and used continuously at high levels in hemodialysis chronic. It is therefore essential to ensure its quality. In Senegal, no study has been done to assess the effectiveness of water treatment system for dialysis concentrates dilution in different dialysis centers of the country. The objective of this work is to monitor the effectiveness of the water treatment system for hemodialysis concentrated dilution to ensure its safety. The samples were taken on key issues of hemodialysis water’s treatment circuit. Three levels of sampling were selected. At the entrance and at the outlet of the reverse osmosis unit at the outlet of the distribution loop. Analyses were performed using specific electrodes. Potential values allowed us to map the calibration curves. Determination by regression of slopes and intercepts of the Nernst relation gives with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.988 to 0.999 showing that at least 98% of the measured voltages fluctuations (E) are attributable to the concentration. Physicochemical analysis of the levels of chlorides, nitrates and fluorides reveals higher levels at the entrance of the reverse osmosis unit than at the outlet. These low values resulting of the role of reverse osmosis which filter much of the electrolytes. For against, at the outlet of the distribution loop the electrolyte content of the different samples were greater than those at the outlet of the reverse osmosis unit. This high electrolyte concentration attests to pollution of the water distribution loop already filtered by reverse osmosis. The interest of this study lies in the fact that it highlights the importance of monitoring the quality of water for hemodialysis and the need for good planning for effective preventive maintenance throughout the water treatment loop within each center.© 2016 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Keywords: Hemodialysis, water, nitrates, fluoride, chloride, specific electrode

Tumours of the thymus: a cohort study of prognostic factors from the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons database

OBJECTIVES A retrospective database was developed by the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons, collecting patients submitted to surgery for thymic tumours to analyse clinico-pathological prognostic predictors. METHODS A total of 2151 incident cases from 35 institutions were collected from 1990 to 2010. Clinical-pathological characteristics were analysed, including age, gender, associated myasthenia gravis stage (Masaoka), World Health Organization histology, type of thymic tumour [thymoma, thymic carcinoma (TC), neuroendocrine thymic tumour (NETT)], type of resection (complete/incomplete), tumour size, adjuvant therapy and recurrence. Primary outcome was overall survival (OS); secondary outcomes were the proportion of incomplete resections, disease-free survival and the cumulative incidence of recurrence (CIR). RESULTS A total of 2030 patients were analysed for OS (1798 thymomas, 191 TCs and 41 NETTs). Ten-year OS was 0.73 (95% confidence interval 0.69-0.75). Complete resection (R0) was achieved in 88% of the patients. Ten-year CIR was 0.12 (0.10-0.15). Predictors of shorter OS were increased age (P < 0-001), stage [III vs I HR 2.66, 1.80-3.92; IV vs I hazard ratio (HR) 4.41, 2.67-7.26], TC (HR 2.39, 1.68-3.40) and NETT (HR 2.59, 1.35-4.99) vs thymomas and incomplete resection (HR 1.74, 1.18-2.57). Risk of recurrence increased with tumour size (P = 0.003), stage (III vs I HR 5.67, 2.80-11.45; IV vs I HR 13.08, 5.70-30.03) and NETT (HR 7.18, 3.48-14.82). Analysis using a propensity score indicates that the administration of adjuvant therapy was beneficial in increasing OS (HR 0.69, 0.49-0.97) in R0 resections. CONCLUSIONS Masaoka stages III-IV, incomplete resection and non-thymoma histology showed a significant impact in increasing recurrence and in worsening survival. The administration of adjuvant therapy after complete resection is associated with improved surviva

The IASLC/ITMIG thymic epithelial tumors staging project: Proposals for the T component for the forthcoming (8th) edition of the TNM classification of malignant tumors

Despite longstanding recognition of thymic epithelial neoplasms, there is no official American Joint Committee on Cancer/ Union for International Cancer Control stage classification. This article summarizes proposals for classification of the T component of stage classification for use in the 8th edition of the tumor, node, metastasis classification for malignant tumors. This represents the output of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer and the International Thymic Malignancies Interest Group Staging and Prognostics Factor Committee, which assembled and analyzed a worldwide database of 10,808 patients with thymic malignancies from 105 sites. The committee proposes division of the T component into four categories, representing levels of invasion. T1 includes tumors localized to the thymus and anterior mediastinal fat, regardless of capsular invasion, up to and including infiltration through the mediastinal pleura. Invasion of the pericardium is designated as T2. T3 includes tumors with direct involvement of a group of mediastinal structures either singly or in combination: lung, brachiocephalic vein, superior vena cava, chest wall, and phrenic nerve. Invasion of more central structures constitutes T4: aorta and arch vessels, intrapericardial pulmonary artery, myocardium, trachea, and esophagus. Size did not emerge as a useful descriptor for stage classification. This classification of T categories, combined with a classification of N and M categories, provides a basis for a robust tumor, node, metastasis classification system for the 8th edition of American Joint Committee on Cancer/Union for International Cancer Control stage classification