The Threat of a Rising Sea Level: Saving Statehood through the Adoption of Uti Possidetis Juris

Climate change has several adverse effects. One of these is ‘sea level rise’, which threatens two key requirements of statehood as stipulated by the declaratory theory of statehood and subsequently listed in the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States. These are a defined territory and a permanent population. The focus of this paper is the implications of the rising sea level on the maritime boundaries, land territory and populations residing in small lowlying island nations. The central argument is that a rising sea level impugns the statehood of small low-lying island nations whose maritime boundaries are determined by ambulatory baselines. It further argues that a consistent rise in sea level may submerge small island nations, leading to their extinction. It concludes by proposing the principle of uti possidetis juris as a panacea to the retention of statehood of small island nations threatened by sea level rise

Valorisation of fish waste biomass through recovery of nutritional lipids and biogas

Commercial fish catch in Eastern Africa is dominated by Nile Perch. Of the fish that is processed for human consumption, 30-40% is wasted. Currently, these wastes are not fully utilized; they are sold off at low price, converted to low valued products or left to decompose leading to environmental pollution and wastage of bioresource. This biomass has however a potential to generate considerable revenue and can be turned into a commercially viable business. It can be used in production of fish oils, bio-energy, proteins and organic fertilizers. Fish oils are a source of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), in particular eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) associated with positive effect on human health. In this study, proteases were used to liberate oil from Nile perch (Lates niloticus) and salmon (Salmon salar) by-products. An oil yield of 11.2% and 15.7% of wet weight was obtained from warm water Nile perch and cold water salmon heads respectively, compared to 13.8% and 17.6% respectively, using solvents. Addition of water during the enzymatic hydrolysis decreased the oil yield. The DHA and EPA contents of oil extracted from Nile perch were 9 and 3 mol%, respectively. To further enrich DHA and EPA contents in Nile perch oil, use of lipases from Candida rugosa, Thermomyces lanuginosus and Pseudomanas cepacia were investigated. In the first case, the lipases were used to hydrolyse the natural oil. Non-regiospecific lipase from C. rugosa gave the best combined enrichment of EPA and DHA with EPA and DHA being enriched to 6 and 23 mol%, respectively. On the contrary, lipase from T. lanuginosus enriched DHA to 38 mol% but was ineffective in enriching EPA. Being a 1,3-specific lipase, the level of enrichment attained with T. lanuginous lipase was to a large extent influenced by the positional distribution of fatty acids within the triglyceride molecule. EPA was mainly in sn 1,3 positions while DHA was equally distributed in the 3 positions. To avoid complications associated with non-homogenous distribution of PUFAs in triglyceride molecules, free fatty acids (FFA) or fatty acid ethyl esters (FA-EE) derived from the natural oil were used as substrates in another study. In this case, lipase from T. lanuginosus was able to enrich both DHA and EPA. Evaluated lipases showed lowest specificity to EPA and DHA when present as ethyl esters and better recoveries of EPA and DHA were achieved when they were present as ethyl esters than when present as FFA or in glycerides. Both esterification of FFA and hydrolysis of FA-EE were more effective at enriching PUFAs than hydrolysis of the natural oil. In an attempt to add more value to fish oil, PUFA concentrate obtained from salmon heads by urea fractionation was used to lipophilize hydrophilic phenolic derivatives (vanillyl alcohol or rutin) which are natural antioxidants. Lipase from Candida antarctica was used to catalyse the esterification reaction. The synthesized lipophilic derivatives showed antioxidant activities with rutin esters showing more activity in the 2, 2-Diphenyl-1-Picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical assay than the vanillyl esters and on the contrary in the lipophilic medium, the vanillyl esters were found to be superior to the rutin esters. In bulk oil system, the antioxidant activities of rutin and vanillyl derivatives was lower than that of BHT and α-tocopherol but in emulsion, they showed better activity than α-tocopherol. The PUFA-phenolic molecules carry combined health beneficial properties associated with PUFAs and phenolics. In addition, the PUFAs are protected against oxidation by the phenolic moiety while PUFA makes the antioxidant more lipophilic which may enhance its function in lipid systems. To make maximum utilisation of the fish by-products, the insoluble fraction that remained after oil extraction was used for biogas production through anaerobic digestion. Methane yields before and after oil extractions were 828 and 742 m3 CH4/ton of volatile solids (VS) added, respectively. Despite the high methane yields, fish sludge/fish waste cannot be digested alone in a continuous anaerobic digester due to high content of proteins, lipids and light metals (sodium, potassium and calcium) that are inhibitory to methanogenesis. Co-digestion of the sludge with residues from crop cultivation was thus evaluated. Methane yields were 531 and 403 m3 CH4/ton of VS added when the ratio of Jerusalem artichoke residues: sludge was 1:1 or 3:1, respectively while that of JA alone was 283 m3 CH4/ton of VS. In conclusion, enzyme technology represents valuable tools that can be used in fish processing industries to convert fish waste into products with a higher market value. The use of proteases for the hydrolysis of the by-products results in maximum utilisation of the by-products since the intermediate hydrolysis products can be processed further for valorisation. Lipid fraction can be used for recovery of omega-3 fatty acids and biodiesel. The soluble protein fraction has several applications e.g. in food industries or in microbiological media and the sludge fraction can be used in anaerobic digestion for biogas production. Due to its high protein content, sludge fraction can also be used as animal feed or as biofertilizer due to high content of plant nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium

Effect of foreign aid dependency on taxation revenue in Sub-Saharan Africa

There is an ongoing debate in the literature on the effect of foreign aid - concessional loans and grants - on fiscal tax revenues. Most scholars argue that loans have a positive effect on taxation revenue because of the obligation to repay them, whereas grants have a negative effect because the recipient treats them as 'free' money and as a substitute for taxation. This study focuses on the impact of foreign loans and grants on tax revenues for 42 Sub-Saharan African countries for the period 1990-2014. We test the above hypothesis for these African countries, but divide them into different income groups to account for underlying structural differences. Our results show that both concessional loans and grants have a negative effect on taxation revenue when all countries are pooled, and similarly for low-income and lower-middle income countries. As most of these countries received debt relief under the Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative, we argue that recipient governments formulate an expectation of always receiving debt forgiveness and therefore treat both loans and grants as a "free" source of funds. This creates a disincentive to tax citizens who demand accountability for their taxes. However, upper-middle income countries (HICs) respond differently. Loans and grants have a positive effect on tax revenue in these countries. The effect of loans is a result of upper-income countries being ineligible for debt relief and therefore obligated to repay their loans, which creates an incentive to collect more taxes. The positive relationship between grants and tax revenue is explained by the fact that HICs have achieved a significant level of development, which translates to increased levels of efficiency and accountability in revenue systems from additional resources added to the fiscal. As a policy recommendation to address the disincentive created by grants, we argue that grants should be channeled through Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) or the private sector, rather than given directly to the governments

Reality or romantism? Potential of Jatropha to solve energy crisis and improve livelihoods

This paper evaluates the potential of Jatropha curcas Linnaeus (Jatropha) as an alternative source of energy for rural households. The plant is said to have potential to diversify rural incomes, reclaim unproductive lands, reduce importation of fossil fuels, and consequently accumulation of green house gases in the atmosphere. A cost benefit analysis was employed to evaluate the feasibility of producing Jatropha as a biodiesel feedstock in relation to other crops in Kwale district. An IRR of 11 percent, BCR of 0.62 and a NPV of (28267.56) showed that production of Jatropha is not feasible at the moment. However we conclude that the plant has a potential to achieve its intended purpose if there is coordination in research and development along the Jatropha value chain and if technical and financial support is accorded to actors at the production level of the chain.Crop Production/Industries,

Knowledge, attitudes and practice pertaining to depression among primary health care workers in Tanzania

Examination of consultation data in a variety of primary care settings in Tanzania shows that, while psychoses are routinely diagnosed and treated at primary care level, depression is rarely recorded as a reason for consultation. Since, epidemiological studies elsewhere show that depression is a much more common disorder than psychosis, a series of studies were undertaken to elucidate this apparent paradox in Tanzania and inform mental health policy; firstly, a household prevalence study to ascertain the prevalence of common mental disorders at community level in Tanzania; secondly, a study to ascertain the prevalence of common mental disorders in primary care attenders; and thirdly, a study to ascertain the current status of the knowledge, attitude and practice pertaining to depression among primary health care workers. This paper reports the findings of the latter study. All the primary health care workers (N = 14) in four primary health care centres in Tanzania were asked to complete the Depression Attitude Questionnaire, which assesses the health worker's knowledge and attitude towards the causes, consequences and treatment of depression. The majority of respondents felt that rates of depression had increased in recent years, believed that life events were important in the aetiology of depression, and generally held positive views about pharmacological and psychological treatments of depression, prognosis and their own involvement in the treatment of depressed patients.However, the majority of respondents felt that becoming depressed is a way that people with poor stamina deal with life difficulties. The findings suggest a need to strengthen the training of primary health care workers in Tanzania about the detection of depression, pharmacological and psychological treatments, and psychosocial interventions

Analysis of competition in the wholesale and retail markets for fish in Kisumu, Kenya

This study analyses competition in the wholesale and retail fish marketing system in Kisumu, which is Kenya's largest fish market. It is based on cross sectional and time series primary data collected in a survey involving 88 retailers and 47 wholesale traders of fish in the town. Stratified random sampling method was used in selecting the respondents, Concentration ratios, Lorenz curves and Gini coefficients are derived and evaluated for both markets. They demonstrate that market shares are unequally distributed among the wholesalers and retailers. The Gini coefficients are 0.37 and 0.45 for the whole and retail markets respectively. Based on a Gini coefficient cut-off level of 0.4, it is concluded that the wholesale fish market exhibits effective competition while the retail outlet has oligopolistic tendencies. The implication of this level of competition to price efficiency is discussed. Intervention measures to enhance competition in the market are recommended

Cervical cancer screening uptake among women in Naivasha

Background: About 86% of the cases of cervical cancer occur in developing countries. In Kenya, cervical cancer represents 21% of all cancers in women. With a development period as long as ten years, cervical cancer is possible to control through screening and treatment. Several projects in reproductive health have been offering cervical cancer screening using visual methods through visual inspection with acetic acid or visual inspection with Lugol’s iodine (VIA/VILI). Family planning counselling programs are a good opportunity to discuss the benefits of cervical cancer screening with gynaecological examination more easily accepted. The study looked at the outcomes in relation to screening.Methods: A total of 384 women aged 18 – 49 years were enrolled through systematic sampling in the descriptive cross sectional study. These were clients who attended the family planning clinic in June-July 2014. Participants answered questions from semi-structured questionnaires.Results: Participants who reported to have been screened for cervical cancer were 15.4%. Those screened during the study period were 2.3% and of these, 44.4% had positive VIA/VILI results. Age-group, residence, employment status and usual treatment centre were significant in relation to cervical cancer screening uptake.Conclusion: The availability of screening services in clinics that clients normally attend does not translate into high proportions in cervical cancer screening uptake. However, targeted screening will result in more positive cases being reported.Keywords: Cervical cancer screening uptake, VIA/VILI, family planning clinic, KenyaAfr J Health Sci. 2014; 29(1):13-2

Education and Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) in

This paper examines the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in expanding opportunities in education and improving access to quality education in Sub-Saharan Africa. The paper observes that the application of ICTs has become the engine of chunge in emerging information societies of the new millennium. While development is increasingly ICT driven, Africa still has limited capacities and infrastructures that support ICT By use of secondary data, the conditions of ICT development and use in education in Africa are highlighted. The paper further illustrates the potential for improvement in performanceof the education sector in Africa with appropriate application of  ICT The conclusion drawn is that the application of ICTs would improve the education sector in Africa in three critical areas namely; Increased access to education, improved quality of teaching and learning and improved efficiency in administration and management of schools. 

Education and Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) inAfrica: Using ICT to improve education in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper examines the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in expanding opportunities in education and improving access to quality education in Sub-Saharan Africa. The paper observes that the application of ICTs has become the engine of change in emerging information societies of the new millennium. While development is increasingly ICT driven, Africa still has limited capacities and infrastructures that support ICT By use of secondary data, the conditions of ICT development and use in education in Africa are highlighted. The paper further illustrates the potential for improvement in performanceof the education sector in Africa with appropriate application of  ICT The conclusion drawn is that the application of ICTs would improve the education sector in Africa in three critical areas namely; Increased access to education, improved quality of teaching and learning and improved efficiency in administration and management of schools. 

Effects of Market Reforms on Irish Potato Price Volatility in Nyandarua District, Kenya

This paper evaluates the effects of market reform policies on the volatility of Irish potato prices in Kenya through an analysis of a 20 year monthly time series data set from Nyandarua district using an autoregressive econometric approach. The empirical results show that there has been a rise in Irish potato prices and lowering of price volatility after the implementation of market reform policies. The real prices exhibit seasonal variations around an upward trend with the prices being depressed during the harvesting period. The price risk premia is found to be negative revealing that the cost of carrying out Irish potato business declined, and farmers were better off with the implementation of the reforms. The collection and distribution of price information, storage of Irish potatoes during periods of glut, improvement in productivity and use of commodity exchange markets can help to reduce price volatility. Keywords: Price volatility, Market reforms, Autoregressive mode