Efficacy of artemether-lumefantrine for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Northeast Ethiopia

Background: The impact of resistance to antimalarials is insidious and unless efficacy studies are conducted, resistance may go unrecognized. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of artemether/lumefantrine, for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum infections in Kemisie Health Center, Northeast Ethiopia.Methods: Artemether/lumefantrine efficacy study was conducted in Kemisie Health Center, Northeast Ethiopia from September, 2012 to May, 2013. The study participants were febrile people above the age of 6 months with confirmed uncomplicated P. falciparum infection. Patients were treated with artemether/lumefantrine. Clinical and parasitological parameters were monitored over a 28 days follow-up period to evaluate drug efficacy. The Kaplan–Meier method was used for statistical analysis of data on drug efficacy.Results: Among the 66 enrolled participants 72.7% were 15 and above years of age while 15.3% were less than 5 years old. Of these study participants, 53% were male. There was 89.4% fever clearance and 84.8% parasite clearance on day 1, whereas, there was 100% fever clearance and 96.8% parasite clearance on day 3 from the 62 participants who carried on the study. Among 66 participants who had started 28 days of follow-up one patient had an early parasitological failure (parasitemia on day 3) and another patient had a late parasitological failure (parasitemia on day 21).Conclusions: In general, this study discovered good clinical and parasitological response of P. falciparum to artemether/lumefantrine. Further polymeric chain reaction and plasma drug concentration based effectiveness study of artemether/lumefantrine should be conducted throughout the country

Gender equality and social inclusion in relation to water, sanitation and hygiene in the Oromia region of Ethiopia

The main purpose of the study was to deepen the understanding of gender and social inclusion in the context of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. An explorative qualitative study was conducted in three districts of the Oromia region using gender analysis frameworks. Twenty-one key informant interviews and nine focus group discussions were conducted. Findings showed 52% of households in the study area have basic service level water, 29% have basic service level sanitation, and 14% have basic service level hygiene. Women, girls, and people living with disability disproportionately experience poor access to quality WASH services. Women and girls participate in unequal domestic labor related to water management which often exposes them to discrimination and violence such as rape, abduction, and assault. Overall, women, girls, and other socially excluded groups are rarely consulted and engaged by local actors. This results in incongruent policy and political commitment which limits action at the grassroots level. Integrating gender equality and inclusion efforts into local governance agendas can help to increase access to and the quality of WASH services. These efforts must advocate for moving beyond gender parity to promote gender transformative approaches and inclusion to realize better WASH services for the communities they serve

Registration of Tagasaste (Chamaecytisus palmensis) Variety "Lattuu" for the Highland Areas of Ethiopia

አህፅሮት ከዚህ በፊት የተለቀቀውን ዝርያ (MoA) ጨምሮ አስራ አምስት የታጋሳስቴ ዝርያዎች ያላቸው የመኖ ምርት፣ የመኖ ጥራት፣ በሽታን የመቋቋምና ሌሎች ከምርታማነት ጋር የተያያዙ ባህሪያትን ለመገምገም የምርምር ስራው በሆለታና በጀልዱ የምርምር ጣቢያዎች ላይ ለአራት ዓመታት (2008-2011 እኤአ) ተካሄዶ ነበር፡፡ ከእነዚህ ዝርያዎች ውስጥ ሶስት የተሻሉ ዝርያዎች ( CI-15052፣ CI-17497፣ እና CI-15039) ተመርጠው በሆለታ፣ በቁሉምሣና በጀልዱ የምርምር ጣቢያዎች ላይ እኤአ በ 2017 የማረጋገጫ ጥናት ተካሂዷል፡፡ ለቱ (CI-15052) ተብሎ የተለቀቀው አዲሱ የታጋሳስቴ ዝርያ ከፍተኛ የሆነ የሚበላ የመኖ ምርት (7.46 ቶን በሄክታር) ሲሰጥ CI-15039 የተባለው የታጋሳስቴ ዝርያ ደግሞ ዝቅተኛ (3.60 ቶን በሄክታር) የሚበላ የመኖ ምርት ሰጥቷል፡፡ ከዚህ በፊት የተለቀቀው የታጋሳስቴ ዝርያ (MoA) ከሌሎች እጩ ዝርያዎች ጋር ሲወዳደር በተቃራኒው ከፍተኛ የሆነ የማይበላ የመኖ ምርት (6.40 ቶን በሄክታር) ነበረው፡፡ ታጋሳስቴ የሚበላና (ቅጠልና የሚበላ ቅርንጫፍ) የማይበላ (ግንድ) የተክል ክፍል ያለው ሲሆን ለቱ ተብሎ የተለቀቀው ዝርያ በትክክለኛው ጊዜ ከታጨደ 61 ፐርሰንቱ የሚበላ ሲሆን 39 ፐርሰንቱ ግን የግንድ ክፍል ስለሆነ የማይበላ ነው፡፡ የተለቀቀው ለቱ ዝርያ 7.46 ቶን በሄክታር የሚበላ የመኖ ምርት፣ 1.64 ቶን በሄክታር የክሩድ ፕሮቲን ምርትና 3.99 ቶን በሄክታር የሚፈጭ የመኖ ምርት ሰጥቷል፡፡ ለቱ ዝርያ ከዚህ በፊት ከተለቀቀው ዝርያ ጋር ሲወዳደር 24.63 ፐርሰንት የክሩድ ፕሮቲን ምርትና 10.33 ፐርሰንት የሚፈጭ የመኖ ምርት ጭማሪ ነበረው፡፡ በአጠቃላይ የተለቀቀው ለቱ ዝርያ የተሻለ የሚበላ የተክል ክፍል፣ ክሩድ ፕሮቲን እና በእንስሳት ሆድ ውስጥ በተሻለ ሁኔታ የመፈጨት ባህሪያት ነበሩት፡፡ ስለዚህ በብሔራዊ የዝርያ አፅዳቂ ኮሚቴ ዝርያዎቹ ያላቸው የምርታማነት ሁኔታ  እኤአ በ2017 በመስክ ላይ ከተገመገመ በኋላ እኤአ በሚያዝያ 2018 ለቱ የተባለው ዝርያ ለደጋማ አከባቢዎች እንዲለቀቅ የተወሰነ ሲሆን ዘሩን በሆለታ ግብርና ምርምር ማዕከል ይገኛል፡፡      Abstract   Fifteen tagasaste varieties including the standard check variety (MoA) were evaluated for forage dry matter yield, nutritional profiles, disease and insect pest reaction, and other agro-morphological characteristics at Holetta and Jeldu research sites during the main cropping seasons of 2008-2011. Based on the overall performance, three best performing varieties (CI-15052, CI-17497, and CI-15039) were selected and verified with the standard check at Holetta, and Kulumsa Agricultural Research Centers and Jeldu sub-site in 2017 cropping season. The overall mean result indicated that the released variety Lattuu (CI-15052) produced the highest edible yield (7.46 t/ha) while variety CI-15039 produced the lowest (3.60 t/ha) edible yield when compared with other varieties. On the other hand, the standard check variety (MoA) produced the highest (6.40 t/ha) inedible yield. The tagasaste varieties comprise edible (leaf and edible branch) and inedible (stem) plant parts; however, the share of the edible part (61%) of the released Lattuu variety was much higher than its inedible (39%) part of the plant. The total edible dry matter, crude protein, and digestible yields of the Lattuu variety were 7.46, 1.64, and 3.99 t/ha, respectively. Moreover, the released Lattuu variety had 24.63 and 10.33% CP yield and digestible yield advantages over the standard check variety, respectively. Generally, the released Lattuu variety had relatively better leaf to stem ratio, CP, and IVOMD advantages over the standard check variety. Therefore, the national variety releasing committee evaluated the varieties at field conditions in October 2017 and variety Lattuu (CI-15052) was officially released in April 2018 for the highland areas and similar agro-ecologies of the country. The pre-basic and basic seeds of the released Lattuu variety are maintained by the feeds and nutrition research section of Holetta Agricultural Research Center

Does voluntary family planning contribute to food security? : evidence from Ethiopia

This study aims to explore the effects of voluntary family planning (FP) utilization on food security in selected districts of Ethiopia. Quantitative research methods were used to conduct a community-based study among a sample of 737 women of reproductive age. The data were analyzed using a hierarchical logistic regression constructed in three models. The findings showed 579 (78.2%) were using FP at the time of the survey. According to the household-level food insecurity access scale, 55.2% of households experienced food insecurity. The likelihood of food security was lower by 64% for women who used FP for less than 21 months (AOR = 0.64: 95%CI: 0.42–0.99) in comparison to mothers who used FP for more than 21 months. Households having positive adaptive behaviors were three times more likely (AOR = 3.60: 95%CI 2.07–6.26) to have food security in comparison to those not having positive adaptive behaviors. This study also revealed that almost half of the mothers (AOR: 0.51: 95%CI: 0.33–0.80) who reported being influenced by other family members to use FP had food security, in comparison to their counterparts. Age, duration of FP use, positive adaptive behaviors, and influence by significant others were found to be independent predictors of food security in the study areas. Culturally sensitive strategies need to be considered to expand awareness and dispel misconceptions that lead to hesitancy around FP utilization. Design strategies should take into account households’ resilience in adaptive skills during shocks, natural disasters, or pandemics which will be invaluable for food security

Technology generation to dissemination:lessons learned from the tef improvement project

Indigenous crops also known as orphan crops are key contributors to food security, which is becoming increasingly vulnerable with the current trend of population growth and climate change. They have the major advantage that they fit well into the general socio-economic and ecological context of developing world agriculture. However, most indigenous crops did not benefit from the Green Revolution, which dramatically increased the yield of major crops such as wheat and rice. Here, we describe the Tef Improvement Project, which employs both conventional- and molecular-breeding techniques to improve tef\u2014an orphan crop important to the food security in the Horn of Africa, a region of the world with recurring devastating famines. We have established an efficient pipeline to bring improved tef lines from the laboratory to the farmers of Ethiopia. Of critical importance to the long-term success of this project is the cooperation among participants in Ethiopia and Switzerland, including donors, policy makers, research institutions, and farmers. Together, European and African scientists have developed a pipeline using breeding and genomic tools to improve the orphan crop tef and bring new cultivars to the farmers in Ethiopia. We highlight a new variety, Tesfa, developed in this pipeline and possessing a novel and desirable combination of traits. Tesfa\u2019s recent approval for release illustrates the success of the project and marks a milestone as it is the first variety (of many in the pipeline) to be released

Field performance of tagasaste (Chamaecytisus Palmensis) under different harvesting management in a tropical highland area of Ethiopia

Tagasaste (Chamaecytisus palmensis) is one of productive multipurpose tree species grown in the tropical highlands of Ethiopia. Despite its potential role as a source of forage and natural resource conservation, adequate studies were not made on agronomic practices such as establishment, harvesting managements and utilization. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of establishment and subsequent harvesting managements on biomass (BM) yield, crude protein (CP) content, botanical fractions of total biomass and persistency of tagasaste. Establishment of tagasaste was undertaken for three consecutive years at Holeta Research Center (HRC) in the highlands of Ethiopia. The two harvesting management trials, harvesting stage and growing season were arranged separately in a randomized complete block design with three replications. In harvesting stage study, four treatments of harvesting stage including HS1 (3 harvests per year at 4 months interval), HS2 (2 harvests per year at 6 months interval), HS3 (one harvest at 8 months and the 2nd harvest after 4 months) and HS4 (one harvest at 10 months and the 2nd harvest after 2 months) were compared annually. In the growing season study, tagasaste was allowed to regrow for 6 months so that exposed to the main rain, dry and short rainy seasons of the area. Planting and harvesting year had a significant (

The Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites and Their Associated Factors among Diabetes Mellitus Patients at the University of Gondar Referral Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia

Background. Worldwide, more than one-sixth of the population is infected by intestinal parasites, of which the majority live in developing countries. On the other hand, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus has been increasing over recent decades in developing countries. Patients with diabetes mellitus encountered impaired immunity and suffer from the consequences of infection particularly intestinal parasitic infection. Objective. This study is aimed at assessing the prevalence of intestinal parasites and associated factors among diabetes mellitus patients at the University of Gondar Referral Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods and Materials. An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Referral Hospital from February 15 to March 30, 2018. A total of 234 diabetes mellitus patients were enrolled. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select study participants. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected using a semistructured questionnaire. A 5-gram stool sample was collected to identify parasitic infection using a direct wet mount and formal-ether concentration technique. Data was entered and analyzed by using SPSS version 20. A p value of ≤0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Result. In the current study, the overall prevalence of intestinal parasite infection among diabetics was 45 (19.2%). The parasites identified in this study were Ascaris lumbricoides 15 (6.41%), Entamoeba histolytica/dispar 9 (3.85%), Hookworm 9 (3.85%), Schistosoma mansoni 7 (3%), Enterobius vermicularis 3 (1.3%), and Giardia lamblia 2 (0.9%). Poor educational background (AOR=3.62; 95% CI (1.038, 12.65); p=0.043), poor hygiene and sanitation (AOR=4.67; 95% CI (1.82, 12.07); p=0.001), and inappropriate latrine usage (AOR=5.41; 95% CI (1.43, 20.56); p=0.013) were significantly associated with the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection among diabetes mellitus patients. Conclusion. The overall prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection among diabetes mellitus patients was relatively high. There should be continued prevention, control, and management of intestinal parasitic infection in such a study population

Rainwater harvesting for supplemental irrigation of onions in the southern dry lands of Ethiopia

Agricultural water scarcity is a major limiting factor for crop production in dry land regions of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Despite notable efforts of developing macro-catchment rainwater harvesting (RWH) techniques, few studies have evaluated the performance of RWH for deficit supplemental irrigation of crops. We examine the agro-meteorological risks such as late onset, early cessation, overall low rainfall amounts and long dry spells during the growing season and evaluate the potential of macro-catchment RWH for supplemental irrigation of onion in the southern dry lands of Ethiopia. Field experiments were undertaken during 2012 and 2013 to evaluate the effects of 50% ETc, 75% ETc and 100% ETc irrigation levels on yield and water productivity of onion during dry and wet seasons. The harvestable yield and water productivity of onion under 75% ETc irrigation were not significantly lower than that under 100% ETc irrigation during both the dry and wet seasons. Thus, deficit supplemental irrigation of onion at 75% ETc can be implemented with macro-catchment RWH to reduce the risks of crop failure and significant yield declines in dryland areas