Collective action in space: assessing how collective action varies across an African landscape

This paper develops and applies a new approach for analyzing the spatial aspects of individual adoption of a technology that produces a mixed public-private good. The technology is an animal insecticide treatment called a “pouron” that individual households buy and apply to their animals. Private benefits accrue to households whose animals are treated, while the public benefits accrue to all those who own animals within an area of effective suppression. A model of household demand for pourons is presented. As a private good, household demand for the variable input depends upon output price, input cost, and household characteristics. Input costs for pouron treatments include both the market price of the pourons and the transaction costs that the household must incur to obtain the treatments. Demand also depends upon the way that each household expects its neighbors to respond to one's own behavior. Free-riding is expected in communities with no tradition or formal organization to support collective action. Greater cooperation is expected in communities that have organizations that reward cooperative behavior and punish deviant behavior. Data for estimation of the model were collected for all of the 5,000 households that reside within the study area of 350 square kilometers in southwest Ethiopia. Geographic reference data were collected for every household using portable Geographic Positioning System units. GIS software was used to generate spatial variables. Variables for distance from the household to the nearest treatment center and number of cattle-owning neighbors within a 1-kilometer radius of the household were created. The density of cattle-owning neighbors was used as a measure of the potential benefits from cooperation; this variable was expected to have a positive effect on household pouron demand in communities able to support effective collective action and a negative effect in communities not able to support effective collective action. A set of community binary variables was interacted with the density variable to capture differences between communities. The results confirm the importance of the household-level variables. The results also indicate large differences in ability to cooperate between local administrative units. Everything else equal, the areas least able to cooperate were located farthest from the treatment center, were ethnically heterogenous, and had a different ethnic composition than areas around the treatment centers.

Implementation of intensified tuberculosis case finding among people living with HIV in Kampala, Uganda: a cross sectional study

Introduction: Intensified Case Finding (ICF) is a cost-effective strategy for tuberculosis (TB) control and improving quality of life however, its implementation by health workers is generally reported as low in Uganda. There is limited information on the level of ICF implementation and the barriers or facilitators to its implementation among public health facilities in Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA). In this study we determined the level of ICF implementation, facilitators and its barriers in KCCA public health facilities. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study between May-July 2015. We purposively selected six KCCA public health facilities and conducted exit interviews with patients attending Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) clinics to assess whether they were screened for TB. In-depth and key informant interviews with health workers were conducted to explore their experiences in implementing ICF. Results: Overall, ICF implementation was sub optimal. Less than 10% (30/321) clients reported being screened for current cough, fever, weight loss or night sweats. Conversely, 90.0% (289/321) clients screened for at least one TB symptom with cough being the most frequently asked symptom 87.5% (281/321). Of 131 clients who were screened and reported having at least one TB symptom, 36.6% (48/131) were sent to the laboratory, 2.3% (3/131) for X-Ray and 61.1% (80/131) to pharmacy. Training, support supervision, proper coordination, and support from implementing partners were facilitators of ICF implementation. Poor staff attitude, irregular supply of ICF related inputs/materials, high workload, transport and stigma were key barriers to ICF policy implementation. Conclusion: ICF implementation at ART clinics in KCCA public health facilities was sub optimal. Health workers’ attitude, training, support supervision and stigma of TB clients should be addressed for better ICF implementation

Mercury Contamination and Spill-over at Human-Wildlife-Environment Interface

Man’s quest for energy demands that fuel for running machines and cooking is vital for mankind. Oil and coal have served this energy quest for time immemorial. This oil quest has been present in the Albertine Graben since 1920, threatening biodiversity spots, terrestrial wildlife, and aquatic resources. The current book chapter provides insights into the spatial distribution of potentially toxic elements (Mercury) in terrestrial and marine species and the health risk posed to terrestrial and aquatic species due to oil exploitation

Awareness, Knowledge, and Perceptions Regarding Rabies Prevention Among Rural Communities in Masaka District, Central Uganda: A Qualitative Study.

Rabies is a zoonotic disease that is mainly transmitted to humans through dog bites. It remains a major public health threat in many Asian and African countries, including Uganda. The main objective of this study was to investigate awareness, knowledge, and perceptions of communities toward human and dog health related to rabies prevention, as well as dog management practices within Masaka district, central Uganda. Data collection involved nine key informant interviews (KIIs) and six focus group discussions (FGDs). Methods used during focus group discussions included qualitative interviews (using open-ended questions), simple ranking, and proportional piling. Data from KIIs and FGDs were analyzed using content analysis in NVivo (version 12.0). This study reveals that community members in the rural settings uses herbal concoctions in replacement or as an alternative to dog vaccination. Furthermore, the study reveals that dogs play the vital roles in the households like as they offer protection to people and household properties, despite being ranked second least among the household animals. The commonest livelihood activity was a small-scale mixed farming. Most of the households kept dogs, but they are ranked at second lowest in terms of economic value among all domestic animals. Free roaming and tethering were the common dog-keeping systems, and home-based feed (food leftovers, bones) was provided mainly to the tethered dogs. Rabies, also locally known as "Eddalu Lyembwa" (that can be translated as "madness of the dogs"), was ranked as the disease of most important among dogs, besides other common diseases such as skin diseases, venereal diseases, worm infestations, and tick infestations. Inadequate vaccination services for both humans and dogs were reported, and dog bite victims traveled a long distance to seek for post-exposure prophylaxis after dog bites. It can be concluded that there is a clear request for periodic mass vaccination campaigns against rabies among dogs, and access to vaccines within reasonable distances by humans after a rabies exposure, but also pre-emptive vaccination for those at high risk, such as veterinarians, needs to be improved

Antimicrobial resistance among farming communities in Wakiso District, Central Uganda: A knowledge, awareness and practice study

Background Antibiotics are increasingly becoming ineffective as antimicrobial resistance (AMR) continues to develop and spread globally—leading to more difficult to treat infections. Countries such as Uganda are still challenged with implementation of AMR related strategies due to data paucity. This includes a lack of data on the prevailing knowledge and awareness of antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic use among farming communities, both commercial and subsistence, which are instrumental in the implementation of targeted interventions. The aim of our study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices on AMR among subsistence and commercial farmers in Wakiso district, central Uganda. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire in Wakiso district, Central Uganda in between June and September 2021. Polytomous latent class analyses were performed to group participants based on their responses. Multivariable regression and conditional inference trees were used to determine the association between demographic factors and knowledge on antibiotics and AMR. Results A total of 652 respondents participated in the study among whom 84% were able to correctly describe what antibiotics are. Subsistence farmers (OR = 6.89, 95% CI [3.20; 14.83]), and to a lesser extent, farming community members which obtained their main income by another business (OR = 2.25, 95% CI [1.345; 3.75]) were more likely to be able to describe antibiotics correctly than individuals involved in commercial farming. Based on the latent class analysis, three latent classes indicating different levels of knowledge on AMR, were found. Subsistence farming, higher educational level and younger age were found to be associated with belonging to a class of better knowledge. Conclusion The majority of participants were able to correctly describe antibiotics and aware of AMR, however there was some degree of misunderstanding of several AMR concepts. Targeted AMR interventions should improve awareness and also ensure that not only subsistence farmers, but commercial farmers, are included

Towards Institutionalization of One Health in Eastern and Southern Africa

The integration of One Health (OH) approaches, principles, and ethos within international organizations and public sectors’ national health and environmental structures is a long process that requires both institutionalization and operationalization. Within the framework of a development project covering 12 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa, an innovative process to institutionalize OH approaches and principles at the national level is presented. Supported by international research and technical organizations, national higher education institutions were empowered to assist relevant ministries and stakeholders in their roadmap towards the integration of OH approaches and principles. A rapid OH assessment tool was designed to understand the existing OH stakeholders, governance structures, and gaps in the implementation of OH in each country. This provided evidence for developing plans for furthering the country’s goals towards institutionalizing OH and was implemented through a stakeholder, demand-driven process. After close to 2 years of implementation, five key insights for OH institutionalization developed: (1) utilizing higher education ‘multiplier’ institutions for intersectoral cohesion and action; (2) emphasizing participatory design driven by demand; (3) having a flexible project framework to ensure national needs are met with timing adapted to local administrative and political rhythms; (4) promoting cross-country learning opportunities that offer peer-to-peer buy-in, trust; and (5) the need for soft skills training in OH for better intersectoral collaboration

Collective Action in Space: Assessing How Collective Action Varies Across an African Landscape

This paper develops and applies a new approach for analyzing the spatial aspects of individual adoption of a technology that produces a mixed public-private good. The technology is an animal insecticide treatment called a “pouron” that individual households buy and apply to their animals. Private benefits accrue to households whose animals are treated, while the public benefits accrue to all those who own animals within an area of effective suppression. A model of household demand for pourons is presented. As for a private good, household demand for the variable input depends upon output price, input cost, and household characteristics. Input costs for pouron treatments include both the market price of the pourons and the transaction costs that the household must incur to obtain the treatments. Demand also depends upon the way that each household expects its neighbors to respond to one’s own behavior. Free-riding is expected in communities with no tradition or formal organization to support collective action. Greater cooperation is expected in communities that have organizations that reward cooperative behavior and punish deviant behavior. Data for estimation of the model were collected for all of the 5,000 households that reside within the study area of 350 square kilometers in southwest Ethiopia. Geographic reference data were collected for every household using portable Geographic Positioning System units. GIS software was used to generate spatial variables. Variables for distance from the household to the nearest treatment center and number of cattle-owning neighbors within a 1- kilometer radius of the household were created. The density of cattle-owning neighbors was used as a measure of the potential benefits from cooperation; this variable was expected to have a positive effect on household pouron demand in communities able to support effective collective action and a negative effect in communities not able to support effective collective action. A set of community binary variables was interacted with the density variable to capture differences between communities. The results confirm the importance of the household-level variables. The results also indicate large differences in ability to cooperate between local administrative units. Everything else equal, the areas least able to cooperate were located farthest from the treatment center, were ethnically heterogenous, and had a different ethnic composition than areas around the treatment centers

Hyperspectral total upward sea surface leaving radiance observed at 45° nadir angle observed during cruise aboard RV IBIS on Lake Victoria, Uganda, from 13 to 15 October 2021

Hyperspectral radiometric quantities were observed at a 5-minute sampling interval in the Ugandan portion of Lake Victoria during a scientific field campaign aboard research vessel (RV) IBIS from 13 to 15 October 2021. The three day fieldwork was cooridnated starting from the Napoleon Bay, Jinja, Uganda. A radiometer setup one TriOS RAMSES-ARC hyperspectral radiance meters to measure total upward sea surface leaving radiance (Lsfc) at 45° nadi was installed using a custom-made frame at the bow of RV IBIS. Data logging of raw and calibrated radiometric quantities was automated using TriOS MSDA XE version 8.9.2 software. Further processing was done using Mathworks Matlab 2016a and R software. Processed data was interpolated to 1 nm spectral resolution using PCHIP function in Matlab between 320 and 950 nm. Only the data with valid GPS coordinates and with spectra contributing less than 3% is included in this file, the rest of the data is available on request

Hyperspectral downward sky leaving radiance observed at 45° zenith angle during cruise aboard RV IBIS on Lake Victoria, Uganda, from 13 to 15 October 2021

Hyperspectral radiometric quantities were observed at a 5-minute sampling interval in the Ugandan portion of Lake Victoria during a scientific field campaign aboard research vessel (RV) IBIS from 13 to 15 October 2021. The three day fieldwork was cooridnated starting from the Napoleon Bay, Jinja, Uganda. A radiometer setup one TriOS RAMSES-ARC hyperspectral radiance meters to measure total upward sky-leaving radiance (Lsky) at 45° zenith angle was installed using a custom-made frame at the bow of RV IBIS. Data logging of raw and calibrated radiometric quantities was automated using TriOS MSDA XE version 8.9.2 software. Further processing was done using Mathworks Matlab 2016a and R software. Processed data was interpolated to 1 nm spectral resolution using PCHIP function in Matlab between 320 and 950 nm. Only the data with valid GPS coordinates and with spectra contributing less than 3% is included in this file, the rest of the data is available on request

Hyperspectral downward irradiance observed during cruise aboard RV IBIS on Lake Victoria, Uganda, from 13 to 15 October 2021

Hyperspectral radiometric quantities were observed at a 5-minute sampling interval in the Ugandan portion of Lake Victoria during a scientific field campaign aboard research vessel (RV) IBIS from 13 to 15 October 2021. The three day fieldwork was cooridnated starting from the Napoleon Bay, Jinja, Uganda. A radiometer setup with one TriOS RAMSES-ACC hyperspectral cosine irradiance meter to measure incoming solar irradiance was installed using a custom-made frame at the bow of RV IBIS. Data logging of raw and calibrated radiometric quantities was automated using TriOS MSDA XE version 8.9.2 software. Further processing was done using Mathworks Matlab 2016a and R software. Processed data was interpolated to 1 nm spectral resolution using PCHIP function in Matlab between 320 and 950 nm. Only the data with valid GPS coordinates and with spectra contributing less than 3% is included in this file, the rest of the data is available on request