The Impact of Exchange Rate and Unemployment Rate on the Real Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate in Ghana

Unemployment Rate and Exchange Rate are perhaps the two most important challenges that face the Ghanaian economy in recent time. This study seeks to examine the effect of the Exchange Rate and Unemployment Rate on the Real Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate in Ghana. The study used secondary data collected from World Bank, International Labour Organization and International Monetary Fund covering the period 1999–2018. Real Exchange Rate and Unemployment Rate were the independent variables whilst Real Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate was the dependent variable. The findings of the study were arrived at using the quantitative research method. The extent and nature of relationship between the various variables under study were identified using Pearson correlation, regression and hypotheses. The study found out that Unemployment Rate exhibited insignificant negative relationship towards Real Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate, while Real Exchange Rate was positive and also insignificant relationship on Real Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate. Based on the linearity of the multiple linear regression model, the independent variables contribute to 15.0% of the overall LN_GDP. The study then concludes that based on the effect of Exchange Rate and Unemployment Rate on RGDPGR in the findings, Government and other stakeholders should take steps such as creating new local industries and factories, and invest in existing ones to increase domestic produce which will in turn decrease Unemployment Rate and increase Exchange Rate. Keywords: Gross Domestic Product, Unemployment Rate, Exchange Rate, Pearson correlation, Linear Regression. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/10-18-15 Publication date:September 30th 201

The growth performance and carcass characteristics of broiler guinea fowls (Numida meleagris) fed on diets containing RE3™ probiotics

The increasing abuse of antibiotics in production of food animals has led to development of resistant strains of bacteria (and other microbiota) which are responsible for several infectious diseases in animals and in humans. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of RE3TM, a third-generation probiotic used in place of a conventional antibiotics (to minimise incidence of antimicrobial resistance in livestock and human consumers), on growth performance and some carcass characteristics of guinea fowls. One hundred and twenty guinea fowl keets of mixed sexes with an average weight of 28.3±0.364g were used for the study conducted in a Completely Randomised Design. There were 4 treatments in which RE3TM was incorporated at; 0.0ml/kg feed (Diet 1; Control), 1.0ml/kg feed (Diet 2) ,1.5ml/kg feed (Diet 3) and 2.0ml/kg feed (Diet 4); each treatment had 30 birds. The feeding trial covered the entire meat production phase (starter, grower and finisher) which lasted for 84 days. Feed and water were given ad libitum. At maturity (12 weeks old), a total of thirty-six (36) birds (9 from each treatment, comprising 5 males and 4 females across the treatments) were selected, weighed and slaughtered. Carcass and viscera weights were taken, carcasses were then sectioned into primal cuts after 24-hour chilling at 4°C. Breast muscles from sampled carcasses were grilled for sensory evaluation by a trained panel, whilst the thigh muscles were subjected to proximate analyses. Data obtained were analysed for statistical significance using the one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Test, of the GenStat Statistical Package (Discovery Edition, VSN, 2012). Results obtained showed higher (p < 0.05) growth rates and lower feed conversion ratio for birds on the diets with 1.0 ml of RE3TM per Kg feed The carcass and body parts characteristics assessed however, showed no significant differences (p > 0.05), except for the thighs which were heavier (p < 0.05) in birds on the RE3TM supplemented diets, compared with those on the control diets. The use of RE3™ probiotics, up to 2.0ml/kg feed for guinea fowls, had no adverse effects on the growth of the birds, but it reduced the cost of providing medication for the birds. Fat content in the meat reduced, as inclusions of RE3TM increased in the diets. It is recommended that relevant Government authorities and other stakeholders should aid in promoting the use of probiotics, instead of antibiotics in livestock production to minimise possible antibiotic residue in meat

Expectations, outcomes and attitude change of study abroad students

As universities prepare students for the 21st century, the value of a globalized education is increasing. Study abroad programs are increasingly important means for students to gain the global education that they will need to be successful in international settings. Many universities now offer students the ability to integrate a study abroad program into already intensive academic programs by offering shorter study abroad programs (2–8 weeks) during break periods between academic sessions in winter and summer. This study is based upon a larger dataset collected from students participating in several international study abroad programs offered by a US university’s tourism program. This study builds upon two previous studies conducted by the authors, by examining the extent to which students’ expectations were fulfilled and attitudes changed after participating in a short-term study abroad program using a large dataset collected from four study abroad programs

National AIDS Control Programme:AIDS Surveillance,Report No.4

This report covers the status of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Tanzania main land by December 1990, and contains updated figures since the third report of August 1990. Moreover, data were analyzed more in depth, to reveal any trends. Maps on AIDS cases and HIV prevalence have been added as well. Figures from various sources all indicate that the HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to increase at alarming rates throughout Tanzania. Two groups are of particular importance : Antenatal clinic attenders and adolescents: Among pregnant women, attending Antenatal clinics in Mbeya, Mwanza and Bukoba region, the percentage HIV-positive women has increased from 10% to 16% (Mbeya) and from 8% to 14% (Mwanza) in little over a year. In Bukoba the percentage of infected women rose from 20.8 to 23.3. The effect on the infant mortality rate will be considerable : as 30% of children born to these women will die from AIDS within the first few years of their life, up to 5% of newborns (50 per 1,000) in Mwanza and Mbeya towns are expected to die from AIDS. Children escaping infection with HIV(up to 11%) are unlikely to have a mother (or any parent) still alive by the end of the century. Although a similar situation might not prevail throughout the country, data from bloodtransfusion services throughout the country suggest that the problem is virtually nationwide. As previously reported, a second group of great concern are adolesccents (15-19 year old) : data from blood donors show an alarming increase among the 15-19 and 20-24 year agegroups. Among 15-19 year old, the percentage seropositives was 0.0% in 1987,increased rapidly thereafter, and has reached fivefold from 1.6% to 8.2% between 1987 and 1990. Further analysis revealed that the situation among adolescents was more serious for girls than boys. In the light of these facts, there remains an urgent need to review programme strategies, in order to come up with interventions which will bring trends to a halt. Projections of AIDS Cases reported during the 1990’s are presented as well. Even if transmission of HIV would cease as from now, from the estimated number of approx. 800,000 HIV infected persons 450,000 will develop AIDS during the remainder of this decade. If transmission continues up to 1995 at a rate of 1% new HIV infections per year, 750,000 will have developed AIDS by the year 2,000

Haptoglobin and Sickle Cell Polymorphisms and Risk of Active Trachoma in Gambian Children

BACKGROUND: Susceptibility and resistance to trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness, have been associated with a range of host genetic factors. In vitro studies of the causative organism, Chlamydia trachomatis, demonstrate that iron availability regulates its growth, suggesting that host genes involved in regulating iron status and/or availability may modulate the risk of trachoma. The objective was to investigate whether haptoglobin (Hp) haplotypes constructed from the functional polymorphism (Hp1/Hp2) plus the functional promoter SNPs -61A-C (rs5471) and -101C-G (rs5470), or sickle cell trait (HbAS, rs334) were associated with risk of active trachoma when stratified by age and sex, in rural Gambian children. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In two cross sectional surveys of children aged 6-78 months (n = 836), the prevalence of the clinical signs of active trachoma was 21.4%. Within boys, haplotype E (-101G, -61A, Hp1), containing the variant allele of the -101C-G promoter SNP, was associated with a two-fold increased risk of active trachoma (OR = 2.0 [1.17-3.44]). Within girls, an opposite association was non-significant (OR = 0.58 [0.32-1.04]; P = 0.07) and the interaction by sex was statistically significant (P = 0.001). There was no association between trachoma and HbAS. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that genetic variation in Hp may affect susceptibility to active trachoma differentially by sex in The Gambia

Treatment outcomes in multidrug resistant tuberculosis-human immunodeficiency virus Co-infected patients on anti-retroviral therapy at Sizwe Tropical Disease Hospital Johannesburg, South Africa

BACKGROUND: Multidrug resistant-tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a threat to global tuberculosis control which is worsened by human immune-deficiency virus (HIV) co-infection. There is however paucity of data on the effects of antiretroviral treatment (ART) before or after starting MDR-TB treatment. This study determined predictors of mortality and treatment failure among HIV co-infected MDR-TB patients on ART. METHODS: A retrospective medical record review of 1200 HIV co-infected MDR-TB patients admitted at Sizwe Tropical Disease Hospital, Johannesburg from 2007 to 2010 was performed. Chi-square test was used to determine treatment outcomes in HIV co-infected MDR-TB patients on ART. Multivariable logistic regression and Poisson models were used to determine predictors of mortality and treatment failure respectively. RESULTS: Mortality was higher (21.8 % vs. 15.4 %) among patients who started ART before initiating MDR-TB treatment compared with patients initiated on ART after commencing MDR-TB treatment (p = 0.013). Factors significantly associated with mortality included: the use of ART before starting MDR-TB treatment (OR 1.65, 95 % CI 1.02–2.73), severely-underweight (OR 3.71, 95 % CI 1.89–7.29) and underweight (OR 2.35, 95 % CI 1.30–4.26), cavities on chest x-rays at baseline (OR 1.76, 95 % CI 1.08–2.94), presence of other opportunistic infections (OR 1.80, 95 % CI 1.10–2.94) and presence of other co-morbidities (OR 2.26, 95 % CI 1.20–4.21). Factors predicting failure were severe anaemia (IRR (OR 4.72, 95 % CI 1.47–15), other co-morbidities (OR 2.39, 95 % CI 1.05–5.43) and modified individualised regimen at baseline (OR 2.15, 95 % CI 0.98–4.71). CONCLUSIONS: High mortality among patients already on ART before initiating MDR-TB treatment is a worrisome development. Management of adverse-events, opportunistic infections and co-morbidities in these patients is important if the protective benefits of being on ART are to be maximized. There is the need to intensify intervention programmes targeted at early identification of MDR-TB, treatment initiation, drug monitoring and increasing adherence among HIV co-infected MDR-TB patients

Measuring performance on the Healthcare Access and Quality Index for 195 countries and territories and selected subnational locations: A systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

Background A key component of achieving universal health coverage is ensuring that all populations have access to quality health care. Examining where gains have occurred or progress has faltered across and within countries is crucial to guiding decisions and strategies for future improvement. We used the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016 (GBD 2016) to assess personal health-care access and quality with the Healthcare Access and Quality (HAQ) Index for 195 countries and territories, as well as subnational locations in seven countries, from 1990 to 2016. Methods Drawing from established methods and updated estimates from GBD 2016, we used 32 causes from which death should not occur in the presence of effective care to approximate personal health-care access and quality by location and over time. To better isolate potential effects of personal health-care access and quality from underlying risk factor patterns, we risk-standardised cause-specific deaths due to non-cancers by location-year, replacing the local joint exposure of environmental and behavioural risks with the global level of exposure. Supported by the expansion of cancer registry data in GBD 2016, we used mortality-to-incidence ratios for cancers instead of risk-standardised death rates to provide a stronger signal of the effects of personal health care and access on cancer survival. We transformed each cause to a scale of 0–100, with 0 as the first percentile (worst) observed between 1990 and 2016, and 100 as the 99th percentile (best); we set these thresholds at the country level, and then applied them to subnational locations. We applied a principal components analysis to construct the HAQ Index using all scaled cause values, providing an overall score of 0–100 of personal health-care access and quality by location over time. We then compared HAQ Index levels and trends by quintiles on the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a summary measure of overall development. As derived from the broader GBD study and other data sources, we examined relationships between national HAQ Index scores and potential correlates of performance, such as total health spending per capita. Findings In 2016, HAQ Index performance spanned from a high of 97·1 (95% UI 95·8–98·1) in Iceland, followed by 96·6 (94·9–97·9) in Norway and 96·1 (94·5–97·3) in the Netherlands, to values as low as 18·6 (13·1–24·4) in the Central African Republic, 19·0 (14·3–23·7) in Somalia, and 23·4 (20·2–26·8) in Guinea-Bissau. The pace of progress achieved between 1990 and 2016 varied, with markedly faster improvements occurring between 2000 and 2016 for many countries in sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia, whereas several countries in Latin America and elsewhere saw progress stagnate after experiencing considerable advances in the HAQ Index between 1990 and 2000. Striking subnational disparities emerged in personal health-care access and quality, with China and India having particularly large gaps between locations with the highest and lowest scores in 2016. In China, performance ranged from 91·5 (89·1–93·6) in Beijing to 48·0 (43·4–53·2) in Tibet (a 43·5-point difference), while India saw a 30·8-point disparity, from 64·8 (59·6–68·8) in Goa to 34·0 (30·3–38·1) in Assam. Japan recorded the smallest range in subnational HAQ performance in 2016 (a 4·8-point difference), whereas differences between subnational locations with the highest and lowest HAQ Index values were more than two times as high for the USA and three times as high for England. State-level gaps in the HAQ Index in Mexico somewhat narrowed from 1990 to 2016 (from a 20·9-point to 17·0-point difference), whereas in Brazil, disparities slightly increased across states during this time (a 17·2-point to 20·4-point difference). Performance on the HAQ Index showed strong linkages to overall development, with high and high-middle SDI countries generally having higher scores and faster gains for non-communicable diseases. Nonetheless, countries across the development spectrum saw substantial gains in some key health service areas from 2000 to 2016, most notably vaccine-preventable diseases. Overall, national performance on the HAQ Index was positively associated with higher levels of total health spending per capita, as well as health systems inputs, but these relationships were quite heterogeneous, particularly among low-to-middle SDI countries. Interpretation GBD 2016 provides a more detailed understanding of past success and current challenges in improving personal health-care access and quality worldwide. Despite substantial gains since 2000, many low-SDI and middle- SDI countries face considerable challenges unless heightened policy action and investments focus on advancing access to and quality of health care across key health services, especially non-communicable diseases. Stagnating or minimal improvements experienced by several low-middle to high-middle SDI countries could reflect the complexities of re-orienting both primary and secondary health-care services beyond the more limited foci of the Millennium Development Goals. Alongside initiatives to strengthen public health programmes, the pursuit of universal health coverage hinges upon improving both access and quality worldwide, and thus requires adopting a more comprehensive view—and subsequent provision—of quality health care for all populations.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mapping child growth failure across low- and middle-income countries

Child growth failure (CGF), manifested as stunting, wasting, and underweight, is associated with high 5 mortality and increased risks of cognitive, physical, and metabolic impairments. Children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) face the highest levels of CGF globally. Here we illustrate national and subnational variation of under-5 CGF indicators across LMICs, providing 2000–2017 annual estimates mapped at a high spatial resolution and aggregated to policy-relevant administrative units and national levels. Despite remarkable declines over the study period, many LMICs remain far from the World Health 10 Organization’s ambitious Global Nutrition Targets to reduce stunting by 40% and wasting to less than 5% by 2025. Large disparities in prevalence and rates of progress exist across regions, countries, and within countries; our maps identify areas where high prevalence persists even within nations otherwise succeeding in reducing overall CGF prevalence. By highlighting where subnational disparities exist and the highest-need populations reside, these geospatial estimates can support policy-makers in planning locally 15 tailored interventions and efficient directing of resources to accelerate progress in reducing CGF and its health implications

Alcohol use and burden for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2016 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

Background Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for death and disability, but its overall association with health remains complex given the possible protective effects of moderate alcohol consumption on some conditions. With our comprehensive approach to health accounting within the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016, we generated improved estimates of alcohol use and alcohol-attributable deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 195 locations from 1990 to 2016, for both sexes and for 5-year age groups between the ages of 15 years and 95 years and older. Methods Using 694 data sources of individual and population-level alcohol consumption, along with 592 prospective and retrospective studies on the risk of alcohol use, we produced estimates of the prevalence of current drinking, abstention, the distribution of alcohol consumption among current drinkers in standard drinks daily (defined as 10 g of pure ethyl alcohol), and alcohol-attributable deaths and DALYs. We made several methodological improvements compared with previous estimates: first, we adjusted alcohol sales estimates to take into account tourist and unrecorded consumption; second, we did a new meta-analysis of relative risks for 23 health outcomes associated with alcohol use; and third, we developed a new method to quantify the level of alcohol consumption that minimises the overall risk to individual health. Findings Globally, alcohol use was the seventh leading risk factor for both deaths and DALYs in 2016, accounting for 2.2% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 1.5-3.0) of age-standardised female deaths and 6.8% (5.8-8.0) of age-standardised male deaths. Among the population aged 15-49 years, alcohol use was the leading risk factor globally in 2016, with 3.8% (95% UI 3.2-4-3) of female deaths and 12.2% (10.8-13-6) of male deaths attributable to alcohol use. For the population aged 15-49 years, female attributable DALYs were 2.3% (95% UI 2.0-2.6) and male attributable DALYs were 8.9% (7.8-9.9). The three leading causes of attributable deaths in this age group were tuberculosis (1.4% [95% UI 1. 0-1. 7] of total deaths), road injuries (1.2% [0.7-1.9]), and self-harm (1.1% [0.6-1.5]). For populations aged 50 years and older, cancers accounted for a large proportion of total alcohol-attributable deaths in 2016, constituting 27.1% (95% UI 21.2-33.3) of total alcohol-attributable female deaths and 18.9% (15.3-22.6) of male deaths. The level of alcohol consumption that minimised harm across health outcomes was zero (95% UI 0.0-0.8) standard drinks per week. Interpretation Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for global disease burden and causes substantial health loss. We found that the risk of all-cause mortality, and of cancers specifically, rises with increasing levels of consumption, and the level of consumption that minimises health loss is zero. These results suggest that alcohol control policies might need to be revised worldwide, refocusing on efforts to lower overall population-level consumption.Peer reviewe