Research on non-timber forest products in selected countries in Southern and East Africa: themes, research issues, priorities and constraints

In this paper, the outcomes of a consultative meeting on non-timber forest products are reported and discussed. The meeting was organised by CIFOR and IUCN's Eastern Africa Regional Office on 15 and 16 September 1995 in Nairobi, Kenya, with the aim of discussing research priorities and information gaps related to non-timber forest products. The workshop brought together 11 people, representing forest research institutions, NGOs and other organisations involved in research related to non-timber forest products. The countries represented were Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. During the meeting priority themes and issues were identified. These relate to management systems, policy and institutions, and community roles and social dimensions. Priority constraints include lack of personnel with appropriate expertise, inadequate financial resources, and insufficient data and information. A large number of solutions to overcome these constraints was discussed. It is concluded that since the main relevance of non-timber forest products in Southern and East Africa is at the local and subsistence level, an elaboration of the results of the meeting into workable research questions and methods should be defined at that level in an iterative process of action research, involving researchers and local users and managers of the forest. The meeting can be considered as a first, though authoritative, approximation of the needs in research on non-timber forest products in the region. It was agreed that elaboration of the findings of the meeting into specific action would be the only useful next step

Constructing tests of cognitive abilities for schooled and unschooled children.

It is frequently necessary to assess children with little or no schooling to determine their level of cognitive functioning, especially in developing countries. It is not possible, however, to assume that assessments will hold equal validity for children with and without the experience of schooling. The authors, therefore, set out to create a battery of tests suitable for both schooled and unschooled children. They assessed 973 schooled and 645 unschooled children in rural coastal Kenya using culturally adapted cognitive tests. Significant effects of age and schooling were found on all tests. On some tests (verbal knowledge, speeded figure matching, and pattern copying), unschooled children did not improve as much with age as schooled children. The effects of length of exposure to schooling and of age were greater than that of initial enrollment in school. The authors conclude that it is possible to assess unschooled children, but test batteries must be carefully constructed and standardized

Mortality from esophagectomy for esophageal cancer across low, middle, and high-income countries: An international cohort study.

BACKGROUND No evidence currently exists characterising global outcomes following major cancer surgery, including esophageal cancer. Therefore, this study aimed to characterise impact of high income countries (HIC) versus low and middle income countries (LMIC) on the outcomes following esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. METHOD This international multi-center prospective study across 137 hospitals in 41 countries included patients who underwent an esophagectomy for esophageal cancer, with 90-day follow-up. The main explanatory variable was country income, defined according to the World Bank Data classification. The primary outcome was 90-day postoperative mortality, and secondary outcomes were composite leaks (anastomotic leak or conduit necrosis) and major complications (Clavien-Dindo Grade III - V). Multivariable generalized estimating equation models were used to produce adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS Between April 2018 to December 2018, 2247 patients were included. Patients from HIC were more significantly older, with higher ASA grade, and more advanced tumors. Patients from LMIC had almost three-fold increase in 90-day mortality, compared to HIC (9.4% vs 3.7%, p < 0.001). On adjusted analysis, LMIC were independently associated with higher 90-day mortality (OR: 2.31, CI: 1.17-4.55, p = 0.015). However, LMIC were not independently associated with higher rates of anastomotic leaks (OR: 1.06, CI: 0.57-1.99, p = 0.9) or major complications (OR: 0.85, CI: 0.54-1.32, p = 0.5), compared to HIC. CONCLUSION Resections in LMIC were independently associated with higher 90-day postoperative mortality, likely reflecting a failure to rescue of these patients following esophagectomy, despite similar composite anastomotic leaks and major complication rates to HIC. These findings warrant further research, to identify potential issues and solutions to improve global outcomes following esophagectomy for cancer