Engagement of Agricultural, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (ATVET) Institutions

Egerton University, a member university of the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), held an engagement meeting with Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions on 6th May 2022. The meeting was held under the auspices of the University-TVET forum. This forum sought to enhance the collaboration and working partnership between universities and TVET institutions to strengthen the education value chain. The UniversityTVET forum is part of an arrangement championed under the RUFORUM's Transforming African Agricultural Universities to meaningfully contribute to Africa's growth and development (TAGDev) programme

Men at risk; a qualitative study on HIV risk, gender identity and violence among men who have sex with men who report high risk behavior in Kampala, Uganda.

In Uganda, men who have sex with men (MSM) are at high risk for HIV. Between May 2008 and February 2009 in Kampala, Uganda, we used respondent driven sampling (RDS) to recruit 295 MSM≥18 years who reported having had sex with another man in the preceding three months. The parent study conducted HIV and STI testing and collected demographic and HIV-related behavioral data through audio computer-assisted self-administered interviews. We conducted a nested qualitative sub-study with 16 men purposively sampled from among the survey participants based on responses to behavioral variables indicating higher risk for HIV infection. Sub-study participants were interviewed face-to-face. Domains of inquiry included sexual orientation, gender identity, condom use, stigma, discrimination, violence and health seeking behavior. Emergent themes included a description of sexual orientation/gender identity categories. All groups of men described conflicting feelings related to their sexual orientation and contextual issues that do not accept same-sex identities or behaviors and non-normative gender presentation. The emerging domains for facilitating condom use included: lack of trust in partner and fear of HIV infection. We discuss themes in the context of social and policy issues surrounding homosexuality and HIV prevention in Uganda that directly affect men\u27s lives, risk and health-promoting behaviors

Elaboration of Additional Modules on Climate Smart Agriculture and Climate Information System for Staff, Students, and other Stakeholders in Universities in Africa

The Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa project (AICCRA) working through CCAFS, intends to make CGIAR-led cutting-edge science practices/technologies/tools available throughout Africa; especially in Sub-regions extremely vulnerable to climate change. The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), a network of 150 universities in 38 countries spanning the whole African continent is a partner in the AICCRA project. RUFORUM’s contribution in the AICCRA project is focused on mobilising African universities, create awareness and enhance the use of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) and Climate information services (CIS) knowledge and products developed by the CGIAR Centres and other research institutions engaged in CSA and CIS. Enhancing the use of CSA and CIS involves capacity, knowledge and technology audits at national and institutional level, mobilise CGIAR and other research centres to provide CSA and CIS knowledge, technology and skills and training of faculty to deploy the CSA and CIS products in training, research and outreach. Knowledge transfer and capacity building activities therefore form the central part of RUFORUM’s participation in the AICCRA project

Development of Climate Smart Agriculture and Climate Information System Relevant Curricula for Staff, Students and other stakeholders in Universities in Africa

The Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa project (AICCRA), working through CCAFS, intends to make CGIAR-led cutting-edge science practices/technologies/tools available throughout Africa; especially in Sub-regions extremely vulnerable to climate change. The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), a network of 150 universities in 38 countries spanning the whole African continent is a partner in the AICCRA project. RUFORUM’s contribution in the AICCRA project is focused on mobilising African universities, create awareness and enhance the use of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) and Climate information services (CIS) knowledge and products developed by the CGIAR Centres and other research institutions engaged in CSA and CIS. Enhancing the use of CSA and CIS involves capacity, knowledge and technology audits at national and institutional level, mobilise CGIAR and other research centres to provide CSA and CIS knowledge, technology and skills and training of faculty to deploy the CSA and CIS products in training, research and outreach. Knowledge transfer and capacity-building activities therefore form the central part of RUFORUM’s participation in the AICCRA project

University Climate Curriculum Knowledge Sharing and Co-Design Workshop for RUFORUM Curriculum Platform

Tackling the climate crisis means equipping the youth with the knowledge and skills they need to manage climate risk. Universities across Africa have an enormous role to play towards this end. By equipping the next generation of researchers, policymakers, and leaders with the knowledge and skills they need to build resilient societies, education systems represent an important avenue for sustained capacity building beyond project life cycles

'Pregnancy comes accidentally - like it did with me': reproductive decisions among women on ART and their partners in rural Uganda

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>As highly active antiretroviral therapy (ART) restores health, fertility and sexual activity among HIV-infected adults, understanding how ART influences reproductive desires and decisions could inform interventions to reduce sexual and vertical HIV transmission risk.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We performed a qualitative sub-study among a Ugandan cohort of 1,000 adults on ART with four purposively selected categories of participants: pregnant, not pregnant, delivered, and aborted. In-depth interviews examined relationships between HIV, ART and pregnancy, desire for children, perceived risks and benefits of pregnancy, decision-making regarding reproduction and family planning (FP) among 29 women and 16 male partners. Analysis focused on dominant explanations for emerging themes across and within participant groups.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among those who had conceived, most couples stated that their pregnancy was unintentional, and often occurred because they believed that they were infertile due to HIV. Perceived reasons for women not getting pregnant included: ill health (included HIV infection and ART), having enough children, financial constraints, fear of mother-to-child HIV transmission or transmission to partner, death of a child, and health education. Most women reported FP experiences with condoms and hormonal injections only. Men had limited FP information apart from condoms.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Counselling at ART initiation may not be sufficient to enable women who do not desire children to adopt relevant family planning practices. On-going reproductive health education and FP services, with emphasis on the restoration of fertility after ART initiation, should be integrated into ART programs for men and women.</p

University Climate Curriculum Technical Writeshop for the RUFORUM Curriculum Platform

Tackling the climate crisis means equipping the youth with the knowledge and skills they need to manage climate risk. Universities across Africa have an enormous role to play towards this end. By equipping the next generation of researchers, policymakers, and leaders with the knowledge and skills they need to build resilient societies, education systems represent an important avenue for sustained capacity building beyond project life cycles. Technological innovations and in particular e-Learning platforms such as the RUFORUM Curriculum Platform (Moodle) have been and will continue to be instrumental in expanding access to such information and advancing skills to meet the climate challenge

Family planning among people living with HIV in post-conflict Northern Uganda: A mixed methods study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Northern Uganda experienced severe civil conflict for over 20 years and is also a region of high HIV prevalence. This study examined knowledge of, access to, and factors associated with use of family planning services among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in this region.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Between February and May 2009, a total of 476 HIV clinic attendees from three health facilities in Gulu, Northern Uganda, were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with another 26 participants. Factors associated with use of family planning methods were examined using logistic regression methods, while qualitative data was analyzed within a social-ecological framework using thematic analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was a high level of knowledge about family planning methods among the PLHIV surveyed (96%). However, there were a significantly higher proportion of males (52%) than females (25%) who reported using contraception. Factors significantly associated with the use of contraception were having ever gone to school [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 4.32, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.33-14.07; p = .015], discussion of family planning with a health worker (AOR = 2.08, 95% CI: 1.01-4.27; p = .046), or with one's spouse (AOR = 5.13, 95% CI: 2.35-11.16; p = .000), not attending the Catholic-run clinic (AOR = 3.67, 95% CI: 1.79-7.54; p = .000), and spouses' non-desire for children (AOR = 2.19, 95% CI: 1.10-4.36; p = .025). Qualitative data revealed six major factors influencing contraception use among PLHIV in Gulu including personal and structural barriers to contraceptive use, perceptions of family planning, decision making, covert use of family planning methods and targeting of women for family planning services.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Multilevel, context-specific health interventions including an integration of family planning services into HIV clinics could help overcome some of the individual and structural barriers to accessing family planning services among PLHIV in Gulu. The integration also has the potential to reduce HIV incidence in this post-conflict region.</p

Reproductive Intentions and Outcomes among Women on Antiretroviral Therapy in Rural Uganda: A Prospective Cohort Study

Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) may influence the biological, social and behavioral determinants of pregnancy in HIV-infected women. However, there are limited longitudinal data on the reproductive intentions and outcomes among women on ART in Africa. Methodology /Principal Findings: Using a prospective cohort design, we analyzed trends in desire for children and predictors of pregnancy among a cohort of 733 HIV-infected women in rural Uganda who initiated ART between May 2003 and May 2004 and were followed up in their homes until June 2006. Women answered in-depth social and behavioral questionnaires administered every quarter in year 1 after initiating ART, and every 6 to 12 months thereafter. Use of family planning methods was assessed at 18 and 24 months after starting ART. We tested for non-constant pregnancy incidence by using a shape parameter test from the Weibull distribution. We modeled repeated measurements of all variables related to the women’s desire for children over time using a generalized estimating equation (GEE) extension to the logistic regression model. Risk factors for pregnancy were examined using Cox proportional hazards model. 711 women eligible for the study were followed-up for a median time of 2.4 years after starting ART. During this time, less than 7 % of women reported wanting more children at any time point yet 120 (16.9%) women experienced 140 pregnancies and pregnancy incidence increased from 3.46 per 100 women-years (WY) in the first quarter to 9.5 per 100 WY at 24 months (p,0.0001). This wa