Trade and Global Value Chains Initiative: Mid-Term Evaluation Report

The Trade and Global Value Chains Initiative seeks to test whether investments in social upgrading (better working conditions and access to better work) can lead to business and development gains, and also ensure that better skilled, younger workers enter the sector and work more productively. Previous research indicated that companies do not invest in social upgrading because they lack both sufficient incentive to act on their own and convincing evidence of the benefits. Investment with other stakeholders in social upgrading could deliver business benefits and help to ensure the longer-term profitability and sustainability of corporate supply chains. A catalytic fund is the delivery mechanism (a modified challenge fund with technical advice provided to grantees), making public funds available to successful coalition applicants and leveraging private sector investment. The aim is to facilitate corporate behavioural change, benefitting workers/smallholders (social upgrading) and suppliers and retailers (economic upgrading). The TGVCI focuses on Ready Made Garments, Bangladesh, and horticulture in South Africa and Kenya. This report presents the Mid-Term Evaluation (MTE) of the TGVCI conducted by the Evaluation Management Unit (EMU). Twenty projects have been funded in two rounds. The Round 1 projects are nearing completion and Round 2 projects are still on-going. This slightly delayed implementation means that the evidence available and the analysis feasible at this stage are necessarily limited. The projects do nevertheless allow reasonable conclusions to be drawn on relevance, effectiveness and plausible impacts, provide initial findings on cost-effectiveness and indications on sustainability

Does insecticide resistance contribute to heterogeneities in malaria transmission in The Gambia?

BACKGROUND: Malaria hotspots, areas with consistently higher than average transmission, may become increasingly common as malaria declines. This phenomenon, currently observed in The Gambia, may be caused by several factors, including some related to the local vectors, whose contribution is poorly understood. METHODS: Using WHO susceptibility bioassays, insecticide resistance status was determined in vector populations sampled from six pairs of villages across The Gambia, each pair contained a low and high prevalence village. RESULTS: Three vector species were observed (23.5% Anopheles arabiensis, 31.2% Anopheles gambiae, 43.3% Anopheles coluzzii and 2.0% An. coluzzii × An. gambiae hybrids). Even at a fine scale, significant differences in species composition were detected within village pairs. Resistance to both DDT and deltamethrin was more common in An. gambiae, most markedly in the eastern part of The Gambia and partly attributable to differing frequencies of resistance mutations. The Vgsc-1014F target site mutation was strongly associated with both DDT (OR = 256.7, (95% CI 48.6-6374.3, p < 0.001) and deltamethrin survival (OR = 9.14, (95% CI 4.24-21.4, p < 0.001). A second target site mutation, Vgsc-1575Y, which co-occurs with Vgsc-1014F, and a metabolic marker of resistance, Gste2-114T, conferred additional survival benefits to both insecticides. DDT resistance occurred significantly more frequently in villages with high malaria prevalence (p = 0.025) though this did not apply to deltamethrin resistance. CONCLUSION: Whilst causality of relationships requires further investigation, variation in vector species and insecticide resistance in The Gambia is associated with malaria endemicity; with a notably higher prevalence of infection and insecticide resistance in the east of the country. In areas with heterogeneous malaria transmission, the role of the vector should be investigated to guide malaria control interventions

Ethnicity: A Cause of Political Instability in Africa?

Document collected by the University of Texas Libraries from the web-site of the Reseau Documentaire International Sur La Region Des Grands Lacs Africains (International Documentation Network on the Great African Lakes Region). The Reseau distributes "gray literature", non-published or limited distribution government or NGO documents regarding the Great Lakes area of central Africa including Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.UT Librarie

Orality and Sublimation of Repressed Desires: The Renaming of Everyday Phenomena by the Luo Women of Kenya

The psychoanalytic theory of sublimation within Freudian conceptualizations involves the channeling of socially unacceptable behaviours into approved ones for social cohesion. The human mind, in this context, is capable of protecting itself from painful experiences by repressing unpleasant experiences into the unconscious and sublimating the same safely onto socially correct overt expressions. For Freud, the repressed desires can be unearthed from dreams. Like dreams, myths, legends and other folklore material as works of the human imagination can help unearth the repressed desires of a people. Although repression and its attendant sublimation act as an institution of social propriety and harmony, understanding its underlying presence is important in the interrogation and possible explanations of conflicting undercurrents that may be perceived in society. This paper looks at the renaming of varying objects and ideas among the contemporary women in rural Luo Nyanza as subversions of western feminism. The argument is that the renaming of obvious objects and ideas within the woman’s area of socio-cultural operation is a code that she uses to sublimate her desired expression of sexuality. The phrases used to rename phenomena are analyzed within Freudian theorizations of sublimation as society valuation acts, but which nevertheless exhibit underlying contestations of western feminism by the modern Luo woman.&nbsp; The study focusses on one ethnic group as the issues raised can be interpreted within their conceptualizations of gender relations that subvert the woman’s occupation of power roles and covert suppression of the same. The phrases analyzed are in constant use among the rural Luo women, but some have been appropriated by both men and children. The analysis points to these as creative constructions which belie psychological symbolisms and which can be read as contemporary strategies to resist popular expectations by feminist liberality

Meditações sobre The Sacrificial Egg

This text-mediated meditation on colonialism, ethnological reason, and the dynamics of encounter and recognition proceeds through a reading of Chinua Achebe’s short story The Sacrificial Egg alongside a series of philosophical, fictional, and ethnological texts. Heeding how Achebe treats questions of conversion, immunity/community ,the passage of beliefs , curses, and knowledge from one generation to another (or even to a strangers), I also offer some reflections on the politics of knowledge, genre, citation/attribution, and ethics of co-habitation.Esta meditación mediada por texto sobre el colonialismo, la razón etnológica y la dinámica del encuentro y el reconocimiento continúa a través de la lectura del cuento El huevo de sacrificio de Chinua Acheb, junto con una serie de textos filosóficos, ficticios y etnológicos. Prestando atención a cómo Achebe trata los temas de conversión, inmunidad / comunidad, el paso de creencias, maldiciones y conocimientos de una generación a otra (o incluso a extraños), también ofrezco algunas reflexiones sobre la política del conocimiento, género, citación / atribución y ética de la convivencia.Esta meditação mediada por texto sobre o colonialismo, a razão etnológica e a dinâmica do encontro e reconhecimento prossegue através da leitura do conto The Sacrificial Egg, de Chinua Acheb, juntamente com uma série de textos filosóficos, ficcionais e etnológicos. Atentando a como Achebe trata as questões de conversão, imunidade/comunidade, a passagem de crenças, maldições e conhecimento de uma geração para outra (ou mesmo para estranhos), também ofereço algumas reflexões sobre a política do conhecimento, gênero, citação/atribuição, e a ética da coabitação

A Rapid Assessment of the Quality of Neonatal Healthcare in Kilimanjaro Region, Northeast Tanzania.

While child mortality is declining in Africa there has been no evidence of a comparable reduction in neonatal mortality. The quality of inpatient neonatal care is likely a contributing factor but data from resource limited settings are few. The objective of this study was to assess the quality of neonatal care in the district hospitals of the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania. Clinical records were reviewed for ill or premature neonates admitted to 13 inpatient health facilities in the Kilimanjaro region; staffing and equipment levels were also assessed. Among the 82 neonates reviewed, key health information was missing from a substantial proportion of records: on maternal antenatal cards, blood group was recorded for 52 (63.4%) mothers, Rhesus (Rh) factor for 39 (47.6%), VDRL for 59 (71.9%) and HIV status for 77 (93.1%). From neonatal clinical records, heart rate was recorded for3 (3.7%) neonates, respiratory rate in 14, (17.1%) and temperature in 33 (40.2%). None of 13 facilities had a functioning premature unit despite calculated gestational age <36 weeks in 45.6% of evaluated neonates. Intravenous fluids and oxygen were available in 9 out of 13 of facilities, while antibiotics and essential basic equipment were available in more than two thirds. Medication dosing errors were common; under-dosage for ampicillin, gentamicin and cloxacillin was found in 44.0%, 37.9% and 50% of cases, respectively, while over-dosage was found in 20.0%, 24.2% and 19.9%, respectively. Physician or assistant physician staffing levels by the WHO indicator levels (WISN) were generally low. Key aspects of neonatal care were found to be poorly documented or incorrectly implemented in this appraisal of neonatal care in Kilimanjaro. Efforts towards quality assurance and enhanced motivation of staff may improve outcomes for this vulnerable group

Laparoscopic Conservative Management Of A Spontaneously Ruptured Spleen: Case Report

A case of an acute abdomen secondary to a ruptured spleen managed laparoscopically is presented. Laparoscopy is currently widely used for the initial diagnosis and management of such cases as an alternative to laparotomy due to the numerous advantages of the minimal access techniques. With widespread availability and adequate training in laparoscopy, minimal access surgery is likely to play a bigger role in the initial management of patients with an acute abdomen in Kenya. It is with this realisation that we present the case of a 25 year old male who presented with an acute abdomen and thrombocytopaenia due to a ruptured spleen following severe malaria that was managed laparoscopically. The aim is to highlight and encourage conservative management of acute abdomen due to splenic rupture in a patient with malaria

Isolated teres major rupture in an amaturer volleyball player

Isolated lesions to the teres major muscle are extremely rare. These injuries have been report in cases reports only due to the rarity of these injuries. I report the case of an amateur volleyball player who suffered an isolated injury to the teres major while volleyball for recreational purposes. The clinical presentation was confirmed by clinical examination and MRI scanning. Conservative treatment was chosen and consisted of brief immobilization and analgesics, followed by rehabilitative treatment. The patient recovered quickly from a conservative regime of physiotherapy and analgesics. The results and the data from the literature suggest that non-operative rather than surgical treatment is preferable in isolated lesions to the teres major muscle.

Closed medial subtalar dislocation: case report and review of the literature

A rare case of medial subtalar dislocation is presented and the literature concerning this injury is reviewed. Subtalar joint dislocations are rare and often the result of a high-energy trauma. These talar dislocations represent 1%-2% of all dislocations. A case of uncomplicated medial subtalar joint dislocation managed by closed reduction under anaesthesia with excellent functional outcome is presented. In cases of open subtalar joint dislocation immediate reduction, wound debridement and if necessary (external) stabilization is critical. Up to fifty percent of patients suffering complicated injury are at risk of developing complications such as avascular necrosis of the talus. Other long-term sequelae include osteochondral fracture and subtalar joint instability