Unleashing the Potential of Kelurahan Tanjung Harapan Through the Development of a Website Profile

In today's digital age, a profile website has become an essential tool for promoting the potential of a region. The rise of digital technologies and the increasing importance of the online world have made it easier to communicate and access information. This paper explores the effectiveness of a profile website in promoting the potential of a region, with a case study of the Tanjung Harapan neighborhood. Numerous studies have shown that a profile website can significantly increase public knowledge about the potential of a region and boost tourist interest in visiting the area. In the context of a neighborhood, a profile website can play a vital role in promoting its potential, including its tourist attractions, cuisine, culture, and more. By showcasing the best of what the neighborhood has to offer, a profile website can attract more visitors, thus increasing the area's economic potential. This paper highlights the importance of creating a profile website for the Tanjung Harapan neighborhood in the current digital era. The website can act as a digital brochure, presenting the best of the neighborhood, and giving visitors a taste of what they can expect to see and experience in Tanjung Harapan. The website also increases public trust and opens up opportunities to reach out to a wider audience. The findings of this paper have implications for policymakers and community leaders who seek to promote the potential of their region through digital media

Micronutrient Deficiencies among Breastfeeding Infants in Tanzania

Infant mortality accounts for the majority of child deaths in Tanzania, and malnutrition is an important underlying cause. The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to describe the micronutrient status of infants in Tanzania and assess predictors of infant micronutrient deficiency. We analyzed serum vitamin D, vitamin B12, folate, and ferritin levels from 446 infants at two weeks of age, 408 infants at three months of age, and 427 mothers three months post-partum. We used log-Poisson regression to estimate relative risk of being deficient in vitamin D and vitamin B12 for infants in each age group. The prevalence of vitamin D and vitamin B12 deficiency decreased from 60% and 30% at two weeks to 9% and 13% at three months respectively. Yet, the prevalence of insufficiency at three months was 49% for vitamin D and 17% for vitamin B12. Predictors of infant vitamin D deficiency were low birthweight, urban residence, maternal education, and maternal vitamin D status. Maternal vitamin B12 status was the main predictor for infant vitamin B12 deficiency. The majority of infants had sufficient levels of folate or ferritin. Further research is necessary to examine the potential benefits of improving infants' nutritional status through vitamin D and B12 supplements.</p

Home gardening improves dietary diversity, a cluster-randomized controlled trial among Tanzanian women

Homestead food production (HFP) programmes improve the availability of vegetables by providing training in growing nutrient-dense crops. In rural Tanzania, most foods consumed are carbohydrate-rich staples with low micronutrient concentrations. This cluster-randomized controlled trial investigated whether women growing home gardens have higher dietary diversity, household food security or probability of consuming nutrient-rich food groups than women in a control group. We enrolled 1,006 women of reproductive age in 10 villages in Pwani Region in eastern Tanzania, split between intervention (INT) and control (CON) groups. INT received (a) agricultural training and inputs to promote HFP and dietary diversity and (b) nutrition and public health counselling from agricultural extension workers and community health workers. CON received standard services provided by agriculture and health workers. Results were analysed using linear regression models with propensity weighting adjusting for individual-level confounders and differential loss to follow up. Women in INT consumed 0.50 (95% CI [0.20, 0.80], p = 0.001) more food groups per day than women in CON. Women in INT were also 14 percentage points (95% CI [6, 22], p = 0.001) more likely to consume at least five food groups per day, and INT households were 6 percentage points (95% CI [-13, 0], p = 0.059) less likely to experience moderate-to-severe food insecurity compared with CON. This home gardening intervention had positive effects on diet quality and food security after 1 year. Future research should explore whether impact is sustained over time as well as the effects of home garden interventions on additional measures of nutritional status.</p

Large –scale wheat flour folic acid fortification program increases plasma folate levels among women of reproductive age in urban Tanzania

There is widespread vitamin and mineral deficiency problem in Tanzania with known deficiencies of at least vitamin A, iron, folate and zinc, resulting in lasting negative consequences especially on maternal health, cognitive development and thus the nation’s economic potential. Folate deficiency is associated with significant adverse health effects among women of reproductive age, including a higher risk of neural tube defects. Several countries, including Tanzania, have implemented mandatory fortification of wheat and maize flour but evidence on the effectiveness of these programs in developing countries remains limited. We evaluated the effectiveness of Tanzania’s food fortification program by examining folate levels for women of reproductive age, 18–49 years. A prospective cohort study with 600 non-pregnant women enrolled concurrent with the initiation of food fortification and followed up for 1 year thereafter. Blood samples, dietary intake and fortified foods consumption data were collected at baseline, and at 6 and 12 months. Plasma folate levels were determined using a competitive assay with folate binding protein. Using univariate and multivariate linear regression, we compared the change in plasma folate levels at six and twelve months of the program from baseline. We also assessed the relative risk of folate deficiency during follow-up using log-binomial regression. The mean (±SE) pre–fortification plasma folate level for the women was 5.44-ng/ml (±2.30) at baseline. These levels improved significantly at six months [difference: 4.57ng/ml (±2.89)] and 12 months [difference: 4.27ng/ml (±4.18)]. Based on plasma folate cut-off level of 4 ng/ml, the prevalence of folate deficiency was 26.9% at baseline, and 5% at twelve months. One ng/ml increase in plasma folate from baseline was associated with a 25% decreased risk of folate deficiency at 12 months [(RR = 0.75; 95% CI = 0.67–0.85, P<0.001]. In a setting where folate deficiency is high, food fortification program with folic acid resulted in significant improvements in folate status among women of reproductive age

Market food diversity mitigates the effect of environment on women's dietary diversity in the Agriculture to Nutrition (ATONU) study, Ethiopia.

OBJECTIVE: In Ethiopia, women's dietary diversity is low, primarily due to poor food availability and access, both at home and market level. The present study aimed to describe market access using a new definition called market food diversity (MFD) and estimate the impact of MFD, crop and livestock diversity on dietary diversity among women enrolled in the Agriculture to Nutrition (ATONU) trial. DESIGN: Baseline cross-sectional data collected from November 2016 to January 2017 were used for the analysis. Availability of foods in markets was assessed at the village level and categorized into nine food groups similar to the dietary diversity index for women. Bivariate and multivariate mixed-effects regression analyses were conducted, adjusted for clustering at the village level. SETTING: Chicken-producing farmers in rural Ethiopia.ParticipantsWomen (n 2117) aged 15-49 years. RESULTS: Overall, less than 6 % of women met the minimum dietary diversity (≥5 food groups) and the most commonly consumed food groups were staples and legumes. Median MFD was 4 food groups (interquartile range: 2-8). Multivariate models indicated that women's dietary diversity differed by livestock diversity, food crop diversity and agroecology, with significant interaction effects between agroecology and MFD. CONCLUSIONS: Women's dietary diversity is poor in Ethiopia. Local markets are variable in food availability across seasons and agroecological zones. The MFD indicator captures this variability, and women who have access to higher MFD in the highland agroecological zone have better dietary diversity. Thus, MFD has the potential to mitigate the effects of environment on women's dietary diversity

Morbidity and Mortality Among a Cohort of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1-Infected and Uninfected Pregnant Women and Their Infants From Malawi, Zambia, and Tanzania

Morbidity and mortality patterns among pregnant women and their infants (before antiretroviral therapy was widely available) determines HIV-1 diagnostic, monitoring, and care interventions

Risk Factors for Small-for-Gestational-age and Preterm Births among 19,269 Tanzanian Newborns.

Few studies have differentiated risk factors for term-small for gestational age (SGA), preterm-appropriate for gestational age (AGA), and preterm-SGA, despite evidence of varying risk of child mortality and poor developmental outcomes. We analyzed birth outcome data from singleton infants, who were enrolled in a large randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of neonatal vitamin A supplementation conducted in Tanzania. SGA was defined as birth weight <10th percentile for gestation age and sex using INTERGROWTH standards and preterm birth as delivery at <37 complete weeks of gestation. Risk factors for term-SGA, preterm-AGA, and preterm-SGA were examined independently using log-binomial regression. Among 19,269 singleton Tanzanian newborns included in this analysis, 68.3 % were term-AGA, 15.8 % term-SGA, 15.5 % preterm-AGA, and 0.3 % preterm-SGA. In multivariate analyses, significant risk factors for term-SGA included maternal age <20 years, starting antenatal care (ANC) in the 3(rd) trimester, short maternal stature, being firstborn, and male sex (all p < 0.05). Independent risk factors for preterm-AGA were maternal age <25 years, short maternal stature, firstborns, and decreased wealth (all p < 0.05). In addition, receiving ANC services in the 1(st) trimester significantly reduced the risk of preterm-AGA (p = 0.01). Significant risk factors for preterm-SGA included maternal age >30 years, being firstborn, and short maternal stature which appeared to carry a particularly strong risk (all p < 0.05). Over 30 % of newborns in this large urban and rural cohort of Tanzanian newborns were born preterm and/or SGA. Interventions to promote early attendance to ANC services, reduce unintended young pregnancies, increased maternal height, and reduce poverty may significantly decrease the burden of SGA and preterm birth in sub-Saharan Africa

A Randomized Controlled Phase Ib Trial of the Malaria Vaccine Candidate GMZ2 in African Children

BACKGROUND: GMZ2 is a fusion protein of Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein 3 (MSP3) and glutamate rich protein (GLURP) that mediates an immune response against the blood stage of the parasite. Two previous phase I clinical trials, one in naïve European adults and one in malaria-exposed Gabonese adults showed that GMZ2 was well tolerated and immunogenic. Here, we present data on safety and immunogenicity of GMZ2 in one to five year old Gabonese children, a target population for future malaria vaccine efficacy trials. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Thirty children one to five years of age were randomized to receive three doses of either 30 µg or 100 µg of GMZ2, or rabies vaccine. GMZ2, adjuvanted in aluminum hydroxide, was administered on Days 0, 28 and 56. All participants received a full course of their respective vaccination and were followed up for one year. Both 30 µg and 100 µg GMZ2 vaccine doses were well tolerated and induced antibodies and memory B-cells against GMZ2 as well as its antigenic constituents MSP3 and GLURP. After three doses of vaccine, the geometric mean concentration of antibodies to GMZ2 was 19-fold (95%CI: 11,34) higher in the 30 µg GMZ2 group than in the rabies vaccine controls, and 16-fold (7,36) higher in the 100 µg GMZ2 group than the rabies group. Geometric mean concentration of antibodies to MSP3 was 2.7-fold (1.6,4.6) higher in the 30 µg group than in the rabies group and 3.8-fold (1.5,9.6) higher in the 100 µg group. Memory B-cells against GMZ2 developed in both GMZ2 vaccinated groups. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Both 30 µg as well as 100 µg intramuscular GMZ2 are immunogenic, well tolerated, and safe in young, malaria-exposed Gabonese children. This result confirms previous findings in naïve and malaria-exposed adults and supports further clinical development of GMZ2. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00703066

Men's nutrition knowledge is important for women's and children's nutrition in Ethiopia.

In an effort to address undernutrition among women and children in rural areas of low-income countries, nutrition-sensitive agriculture (NSA) and behaviour change communication (BCC) projects heavily focus on women as an entry point to effect nutritional outcomes. There is limited evidence on the role of men's contribution in improving household diets. In this Agriculture to Nutrition trial (Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT03152227), we explored associations between men's and women's nutritional knowledge on households', children's and women's dietary diversity. At the midline evaluation conducted in July 2017, FAO's nutrition knowledge questionnaire was administered to male and female partners in 1396 households. There was a high degree of agreement (88%) on knowledge about exclusive breastfeeding between parents; however, only 56-66% of the households had agreement when comparing knowledge of dietary sources of vitamin A or iron. Factor analysis of knowledge dimensions resulted in identifying two domains, namely, 'dietary' and 'vitamin' knowledge. Dietary knowledge had a larger effect on women's and children's dietary diversities than vitamin knowledge. Men's dietary knowledge had strong positive associations with households' dietary diversity scores (0.24, P value = 0.001), children's dietary diversity (0.19, P value = 0.008) and women's dietary diversity (0.18, P value < 0.001). Distance to markets and men's education levels modified the effects of nutrition knowledge on dietary diversity. While previous NSA and BCC interventions predominantly focused on uptake among women, there is a large gap and strong potential for men's engagement in improving household nutrition. Interventions that expand the role of men in NSA may synergistically improve household nutrition outcomes