Financial Reconstruction in Conflict and 'Post-Conflict' Economies

aid, conflict, financial development, sub-Saharan Africa

Determinants of calcified placenta and its association with fetal outcome among mothers who gave birth in Southern Ethiopia, 2018

Background: Placenta is a complex multifunctional organ that maintains pregnancy and promotes normal fetal development. Fetal outcome is adversely influenced by pathological changes in placenta because it is a mirror which reflects intrauterine status of fetus. Placental abnormalities are considered as leading cause of maternal and perinatal mortality. Objective of the study was to assess determinants of calcified placenta and its association with fetal outcomes.Methods: Institutional based unmatched case-control study was conducted on 213 placentas from mothers who gave birth at Dilla university referral hospital with an age range of 19-34 years. Calcifications were assessed radiologically and graded according to Grannum. Bivariate logistic regression analysis was identified and fitted to the multiple logistic regression analysis to identify the independent effects of each variable to the outcome variable. Chi-square test was used to find the potential association between grade two and above levels of calcification and fetal outcomes.Results: Total 213 singles parturient with their placenta above 37 weeks gestational age were included. The likelihood of developing grade two and above level of calcification associated with the following variables: educational status (OR=3.134; 95%CI: 1.208, 8.135),parity (OR 3.125; 95% CI: 1.354, 7.213) ,maternal anemia (OR 6.834;95%C: I2.626,17.803), smoking (OR 6.343;95% CI: 2.624,15.334),  abruption (OR 6.046;95% CI: 2.392,15.277), and pregnancy- induced hypertension (OR 4.868 ;95% CI: 2.095,11.354). In this study, neonatal outcomes in grade II and above level of calcification were poorer than grade I and bellow level of calcification in chi-square association test.Conclusions: Grade II and above level of placental calcification (case) was significantly associated with maternal pregnancy-induced pathologies, number of parity, maternal educational status, and results in different kind of anomalies, maternal and neonatal mortality. Therefore, the practice of placental examination before and after birth guarantees for feto-maternal wellbeing

The Existing Forest Coffee Market Channel of Essara Woreda and Actors Involved in the Chain the Cause of Dawuro Zone, Southern Nation Natonalits and Peoples Region, Ethiopia

Forest coffee originates in Southwestern and Southeastern Ethiopia where 30% of production and 10 % to 20% of the country’s total export originates from. The general objective of the study was to analyze the factors that affect the existing forest coffee value chain of Essara woreda with specific focus of identify the existing coffee market channel and actors involved in the chain, the structure and performance of coffee chain determinants of market surplus production, price received by coffee farm households and the role of gender in coffee value chain. To these end 235 sample producers, local coffee collector, local traders, wholesalers and consumers were identified from 9 kebele, Balle and Tarcha town for the study. Based on the findings of the study the volume of production and marketing were found to be affected by age, family size, market Center and all-weather road distance, the level of deforestation and factors that aggravated deforestation, selling price, experience of producer households and mixing forest coffee to garden coffee to increase the volume. About 2%  of market surplus coffee is transacted in through formal market while, 98 % is through conventional market, as a result of which producer obtain less income and 98 % forest coffee producer’s income source is depending on natural forest coffee production and marketing while, the level of deforestation is too high it needs appropriate intervention and awareness creation. Market margin of the area indicated that the large share of benefit is concentrated at roadside, café and hotel coffee brewers and venders. Hence, in order to improve the profit margin and level of producers’ benefit value addition and increase in sale price for their produce at farm get level is recommended Keywords: Essara Woreda, value chain, actor’s, market channe

Approaches, methods and processes for innovative apiculture development: experiences from Ada'a-Liben Woreda Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

The Improving Productivity and Marketing Success (IPMS) for Ethiopian Farmers'; Project being implemented by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) commissioned Sap-Tec PLC to study the existing potential and execute apiculture development in Ada';a-Liben woreda, one of the IPMS'; ten Pilot Learning Woredas (PLWs). The main objective of this apiculture intervention was to identify the current beekeeping practices, assess potentials and problems, and provide solutions through the introduction of a participatory market-oriented modern beekeeping practice as an income-generating activity to farmers and others who are interested to complement their income. The activities reported in this paper are based on studies and interventions undertaken to enhance market-oriented apiculture development in Ada';a-Liben woreda between 2005 and 2007. This working paper is divided into a number of sections. The first two sections describe the major strengths and constraints of the bee industry in Ethiopia. Section 3 describes the beekeeping institutes and associations. Sections 4 and 5 analyse the most important opportunities and threats for apiculture development and marketing intervention in Ada';a-Liben woreda. Section 6 presents IPMS intervention strategies and lessons learned in knowledge sharing, capacity building, and commodity development including technology transfer, platforms, input supply, credit facilitation and market linkage. This section also discusses the methods used and the achievements obtained so far. Finally, Section 7 discusses both general and industry specific recommendations, which form the basis for further development of the industry. This working paper is intended to provide preliminary information on lessons drawn in beekeeping interventions in Ada';a-Liben woreda and to share the experiences to those who have already launched or are planning to launch apiary development program as an alternative income generating activity. It also highlights the methodologies applied and the lessons learned from the apiculture interventions of the IPMS project for scaling up to other woredas. The main objective of this apiculture intervention was to identify the current beekeeping practices, assess potentials and problems, and provide solutions through the introduction of a participatory market-oriented modern beekeeping practice as an income-generating activity to farmers and others who are interested to complement their income

Bending and Breaking of Stripes in a Charge-Ordered Manganite

In complex electronic materials, coupling between electrons and the atomic lattice gives rise to remarkable phenomena, including colossal magnetoresistance and metal-insulator transitions. Charge-ordered phases are a prototypical manifestation of charge-lattice coupling, in which the atomic lattice undergoes periodic lattice displacements (PLDs). Here we directly map the picometer scale PLDs at individual atomic columns in the room temperature charge-ordered manganite Bi$_{0.35}$Sr$_{0.18}$Ca$_{0.47}$MnO$_3$ using aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). We measure transverse, displacive lattice modulations of the cations, distinct from existing manganite charge-order models. We reveal locally unidirectional striped PLD domains as small as $\sim$5 nm, despite apparent bidirectionality over larger length scales. Further, we observe a direct link between disorder in one lattice modulation, in the form of dislocations and shear deformations, and nascent order in the perpendicular modulation. By examining the defects and symmetries of PLDs near the charge-ordering phase transition, we directly visualize the local competition underpinning spatial heterogeneity in a complex oxide.Comment: Main text: 20 pages, 4 figures. Supplemental Information: 27 pages, 14 figure

Commensurate Stripes and Phase Coherence in Manganites Revealed with Cryogenic Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy

Incommensurate charge order in hole-doped oxides is intertwined with exotic phenomena such as colossal magnetoresistance, high-temperature superconductivity, and electronic nematicity. Here, we map at atomic resolution the nature of incommensurate order in a manganite using scanning transmission electron microscopy at room temperature and cryogenic temperature ($\sim$ 93K). In diffraction, the ordering wavevector changes upon cooling, a behavior typically associated with incommensurate order. However, using real space measurements, we discover that the underlying ordered state is lattice-commensurate at both temperatures. The cations undergo picometer-scale ($\sim$6-11 pm) transverse displacements, which suggests that charge-lattice coupling is strong and hence favors lattice-locked modulations. We further unearth phase inhomogeneity in the periodic lattice displacements at room temperature, and emergent phase coherence at 93K. Such local phase variations not only govern the long range correlations of the charge-ordered state, but also results in apparent shifts in the ordering wavevector. These atomically-resolved observations underscore the importance of lattice coupling and provide a microscopic explanation for putative "incommensurate" order in hole-doped oxides

Financial reconstruction in conflict and post-conflict economies

This paper discusses some of the principal issues relating to the reconstruction of the financial sector in conflict-affected countries, focusing on currency reform, the rebuilding (or creation) of central banks, the revitalization of the banking system, and its prudential supervision and regulation. Different types of conflict have different effects on the financial system. Country priorities for reconstruction therefore vary accordingly. Nevertheless, the following problems repeatedly occur in reconstruction. First, central banks often remain weak and under-resourced. The consequence is haphazard and lenient supervision of the financial system, which is compounded by the frequently lax accounting and reporting standards of commercial banks. This hinders the application of international models of prudential supervision, such as the Basle Core Principles. Second, regulatory forbearance is common, reflecting both the technical weakness of central banks, but also the pressure of powerful interests—including war criminals—that straddle both state institutions and the financial sector. The consequences are leniency in the licensing of banks, insider-lending, excessive risk exposure, and a general failure to curb emergent bank crises. These in turn destabilize economies in recovery from war, and the fiscal burden of bank crises limits development and poverty spending—thereby threatening ‘postconflict’ reconstruction itself. – aid ; conflict ; financial development ; sub-Saharan Afric