Haematological features in children less than 12 years on cotrimoxazole prophylaxis seen in opportunistic onfection clinics at Harare and Parirenyatwa Teaching Hospitals

A journal article on HIV/AIDS infections in children in Zimbabwe.Paediatric Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection has been growing parallel to the adult pandemic. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for more than two thirds of the people living with HIV in the world. Approximately 90% of children with HIV infection in the world reside in this region. Estimates show that more than 145 000 children were living with HIV in Zimbabwe in 2010[Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, AIDS and TB Unit, Unpublished data]. Maternal to child transmission of HIV accounts for more than 95% of infections in children. Opportunistic infections (OI) are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in children infected with HIV. These infectious complications are critical indicators of disease progression

Haematological features in children less than 12 years on cotrimoxazole prophylaxis seen in opportunistic infection clinics at Harare and Parirenyatwa teaching hospitals

No Abstrac

An Assessment of the Extent of Use of Off-License and Unlicensed Drugs on Children at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare, Zimbabwe

This study was undertaken to assess the extent of use of unlicensed and off-license drugs on children at Parirenyatwa Teaching Hospital in Harare, Zimbabwe. The study was conducted in the two pediatric wards at the hospital. Data on three hundred patients aged 5 years and below was collected prospectively. Ten percent of the pediatric patients at Parirenyatwa Hospital aged five years and below received at least one drug in an off-license way while 31 % received at least one drug in an unlicensed way. Fifty nine percent of the patients received licensed drugs in a licensed way. There is a significant amount of unlicensed and off-license use of drugs at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare, Zimbabwe. Regulatory authorities and the pharmaceutical industry should re-double their efforts in order to ensure that children receive only well-tolerated and effective medicines. Keywords: Children, off-label medicines, unlicensed drugs, licensing. The East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol. 8 (3) 2005: pp 3-

Postharvest agriculture in changing climates: Its importance to African smallholder farmers

Climate change and variability affect not only the field stages and yields of crops, but also what happens to them after harvest. There has been little discussion of the impacts of climate change on postharvest agriculture, and still less on these impacts in developing countries. Many studies have focused on potential crop yield and pre-harvest implications of different climatic projections, but have omitted an analysis of the need and ability to then protect this increasingly valuable harvest as a vital aspect of food security. Postharvest systems will be affected by changes in temperature, rainfall, humidity, extreme events and the natural and human responses to climate change and variability. This study describes typical grain postharvest systems in east and southern Africa and discusses the likely impacts of different climate change trends on postharvest activities, assets and human well-being outcomes. Adaptation opportunities for creating more climate resilient postharvest agricultural systems and associated livelihoods are identified. Many of these adaptation opportunities are already known and understood by postharvest service providers, highlighting the significant challenge of getting postharvest knowledge into use at a larger scale. A discussion is presented on the factors influencing attempts to strengthen the adaptive capacity of postharvest systems, such as its invisibility, its omission from training curricula, innovation system challenges, the policy bias towards pre-harvest agricultural spending, limited understanding of gender and diversity aspects of postharvest roles, and the dominance of maize in the food system. The study recognises the crucial role of postharvest agriculture in helping communities adapt and cope with change