Innovations technologiques pour l’adaptation et l’atténuation des effets des changements climatiques en Afrique de l’Ouest: Récits paysans.

En Afrique subsaharienne, comme dans d’autres parties du monde, les changements climatiques constituent une menace sans précédent qui af- fecte des millions de populations rurales et urbaines. Ils sont aussi un obstacle à la réalisation des Objectifs du Millénaire pour le Développement (OMD). Le changement climatique affecte l’agriculture et la sécurité alimentaire, tout comme l’agriculture et la gestion des ressources naturelles affectent le système climatique

Les enjeux de la mise en œuvre des activités conjointes tuberculose et VIH dans les districts sanitaires de Bamako (Mali).

Introduction : Au Mali, le rapport du programme national de lutte contre la tuberculose (PNLT) révèle en 2015 que 541/4035 soit 13% des cas de tuberculose toutes formes dépistées sont infectées par le VIH. Le but de cette étude est de décrire le suivi biologique des patients co-infectés par le VIH et la tuberculose dans les communes de Bamako en période de crise et d’évaluer le niveau actuel de réalisation des activités conjointes TB/VIH recommandées au Mali. Méthodologie : Nous avons réalisé une étude rétro-prospective d’évaluation du niveau de réalisation des activités conjointes TB/VIH recommandées au Mali. La phase rétrospective a eu lieu de janvier 2012 à juin 2013 et celle prospective de Janvier à mars 2015 dans les communes de Bamako. Résultats : L’étude rétrospective a montré que la tuberculose est survenue chez 124 patients sur 4026 dépistés positifs au VIH soit un taux d’infection à tuberculose parmi les patients VIH+ de 2,95% de janvier 2012 à juin 2013. Le suivi biologique a été plus réalisé pour la tuberculose que le VIH chez les patients co-infecté avec un taux très faible de réalisation de la charge virale. L’étude prospective montre que le niveau de réalisation demeure faible pour la plupart des activités conjointes. Mais au plan pratique, seuls 2/10 agents enquêtés faisaient la prise en charge des deux pathologies selon les protocoles en vigueur en se basant sur les directives des chargés correspondant. Conclusion : Les mécanismes de collaboration des services intégrés de TB/VIH nécessitent d’être renforcés pour une meilleure réalisation des points inscrits dans le cadre stratégique des activités conjointes TB/VIH recommandées au Mali

Efficiency of common washing treatments in reducing microbial levels on lettuce in Mali

Lettuce is one of the most cultivated vegetables (eaten raw) in Mali with a percentage of 69.4 amongst leafy vegetables and 30.4 of all vegetables. Vegetables consumed raw, particularly lettuce, are sources of foodborne pathogens. This study was conducted to assess bacterial contamination of unwashed lettuce and the efficiency of disinfecting it with tap water and varying concentrations of some chemical disinfectants: bleach (0.00285, 0.00570 and 0.00855 ppm), potassium permanganate (170, 340 and 510 ppm), vinegar (0.00285, 0.00570 and 0.00855 ppm) and common salt (500, 1000 and 1500 ppm) based on the three consecutive washing protocol recommended for vegetables in Mali. Lettuce samples were randomly selected from farms irrigated with untreated river water within communities five and six in Bamako. Lettuce leaves were exposed to low concentration of the chemical disinfectants at 15 min, intermediate at 10 min and high at 5 min. A bleach (0.00285 ppm)/vinegar (0.00285 ppm) combination disinfection was also tested at 15 min. Tap water, bleach, potassium permanganate, vinegar and common salt reduced faecal coliform populations by 1.3–2.9, 1.5–3.0 and 1.9–3.5 log CFU/100 g, at 5, 10 and 15 min, respectively. Disinfection treatment using bleach (0.00285 ppm) was found to be more effective than other disinfectants at all contact times. All the disinfectants reduced Escherichia coli populations by 2.0–2.8 log CFU/100 g on lettuce and completely eliminated Salmonella spp. at all treatment contact times. Disinfection treatment using bleach/vinegar combination at 15 min also reduced faecal coliform populations on lettuce by 2.8 log CFU/100 g and completely eliminated E. coli and Salmonella spp. All chemical disinfectants including tap water at 15 min reduced faecal coliform populations below the undesirable ICMSF (2011) level (1000 CFU/100 g wet weight). These could contribute to reduce the health risk associated with the consumption of lettuce in Mali

On-Farm Evaluation on Yield and Economic Performance of Cereal-Cowpea Intercropping to Support the Smallholder Farming System in the Soudano-Sahelian Zone of Mali

Cereal-cowpea intercropping has become an integral part of the farming system in Mali. Still, information is lacking regarding integrated benefits of the whole system, including valuing of the biomass for facing the constraints of animal feedings. We used farmers’ learning networks to evaluate performance of intercropping systems of millet-cowpea and sorghum-cowpea in southern Mali. Our results showed that under intercropping, the grain yield obtained with the wilibali (short maturing duration) variety was significantly higher than the yield obtained with the sangaranka (long maturing duration) variety whether with millet (36%) or sorghum (48%), corresponding, respectively, to an economic gain of XOF (West African CFA franc) 125 282/ha and XOF 142 640/ha. While for biomass, the yield obtained with the sangaranka variety was significantly higher by 50% and 60% to that of wilibali with an economic gain of XOF 286 526/ha (with millet) and XOF 278 516/ha (with sorghum). Total gain obtained with the millet-cowpea system was significantly greater than that obtained with the sorghum-cowpea system by 14%, and this stands irrespective of the type of cowpea variety. Farmers prefer the grain for satisfying immediate food needs instead of economic gains. These results represent an indication for farmer’s decision-making regarding cowpea varieties selection especially for addressing household food security issues or feeding animals

High maternal mortality estimated by the sisterhood method in a rural area of Mali

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Maternal mortality is high in Mali. Nevertheless, there are few studies on this topic from rural areas, and current estimates are mostly based on studies from urban settings. Our objective was to estimate the maternal mortality ratio in Kita, rural Mali.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using the "sisterhood method", we interviewed participants aged 15-50 years from 20 villages in Kita, Mali, and thereby created a retrospective cohort of their sisters in reproductive age. Based on population and fertility estimates, we calculated the lifetime risk of maternal death, and from that the estimated approximate maternal mortality ratio.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The 2,039 respondents reported 4,628 sisters who had reached reproductive age. Of these 4,628 sisters, almost a third (1,233; 27%) had died, and 429 (9%) had died during pregnancy or childbirth. This corresponded to a lifetime risk of maternal death of 20% and a maternal mortality ratio of 3,131 per 100,000 live births (95% confidence interval 2,967-3,296), with a time reference around 1999.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We found a very high maternal mortality in rural Mali and this highlights the urgent need for obstetric services in the remote rural areas.</p

Trends in malaria morbidity among health care-seeking children under age five in Mopti and Sévaré, Mali between 1998 and 2006

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In Mali, malaria is the leading cause of death and the primary cause of outpatient visits for children under five. The twin towns of Mopti and Sévaré have historically had high under-five mortality. This paper investigates the changing malaria burden in children under five in these two towns for the years 1998-2006, and the likely contribution of previous interventions aimed at reducing malaria.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A retrospective analysis of daily outpatient consultation records from urban community health centres (CSCOMs) located in Mopti and Sévaré for the years 1998-2006 was conducted. Risk factors for a diagnosis of presumptive malaria, using logistic regression and trends in presumptive malaria diagnostic rates, were assessed using multilevel analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Between 1998-2006, presumptive malaria accounted for 33.8% of all recorded consultation diagnoses (10,123 out of 29,915). The monthly presumptive malaria diagnostic rate for children under five decreased by 66% (average of 8 diagnoses per month per 1,000 children in 1998 to 2.7 diagnoses per month in 2006). The multi-level analysis related 37% of this decrease to the distribution of bed net treatment kits initiated in May of 2001. Children of the Fulani (Peuhl) ethnicity had significantly lower odds of a presumptive malaria diagnosis when compared to children of other ethnic groups.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Presumptive malaria diagnostic rates have decreased between 1998-2006 among health care-seeking children under five in Mopti and Sévaré. A bed net treatment kit intervention conducted in 2001 is likely to have contributed to this decline. The results corroborate previous findings that suggest that the Fulani ethnicity is protective against malaria. The findings are useful to encourage dialogue around the urban malaria situation in Mali, particularly in the context of achieving the target of reducing malaria morbidity in children younger than five by 50% by 2011 as compared to levels in 2000.</p

Diversity, dynamics, direction, and magnitude of high-altitude migrating insects in the Sahel

Long-distance migration of insects impacts food security, public health, and conservation–issues that are especially significant in Africa. Windborne migration is a key strategy enabling exploitation of ephemeral havens such as the Sahel, however, its knowledge remains sparse. In this first cross-season investigation (3 years) of the aerial fauna over Africa, we sampled insects flying 40–290 m above ground in Mali, using nets mounted on tethered helium-filled balloons. Nearly half a million insects were caught, representing at least 100 families from thirteen orders. Control nets confirmed that the insects were captured at altitude. Thirteen ecologically and phylogenetically diverse species were studied in detail. Migration of all species peaked during the wet season every year across localities, suggesting regular migrations. Species differed in flight altitude, seasonality, and associated weather conditions. All taxa exhibited frequent flights on southerly winds, accounting for the recolonization of the Sahel from southern source populations. “Return” southward movement occurred in most taxa. Estimates of the seasonal number of migrants per species crossing Mali at latitude 14°N were in the trillions, and the nightly distances traversed reached hundreds of kilometers. The magnitude and diversity of windborne insect migration highlight its importance and impacts on Sahelian and neighboring ecosystems

Intensifying Maize Production Under Climate Change Scenarios in Central West Burkina Faso

Combination of poor soil fertility and climate change and variability is the biggest obstacle to agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa. While each of these factors requires different promising adaptive and climate-resilient options, it is important to be able to disaggregate their effects. This can be accomplished with ordinary agronomic trials for soil fertility and climate year-to-year variability, but not for long-term climate change effects. In turn, by using climate historical records and scenario outputs from climate models to run dynamic models for crop growth and yield, it is possible to test the performance of crop management options in the past but also anticipate their performance under future climate change or variability. Nowadays, the overwhelming importance given to the use of crop models is motivated by the need of predicting crop production under future climate change, and outputs from running crop models may serve for devising climate risk adaptation strategies. In this study we predicted yield of one maize variety named Massongo for the time periods 1980–2010 (historical) and 2021–2050 (2030s, near future) across agronomic practices including the fertilizer input rates recommended by the national extension services (28 kg N, 20 kg P, and 13 kg K ha−1). The performance of the crop model DSSAT 4.6 for maize was first evaluated using on-farm experimental data that encompassed two seasons in the Sudano-Sahelian zone in six contrasting sites of Central West Burkina Faso. The efficiency of the crop model was evidenced by reliable simulations of total aboveground biomass and yields after calibration and validation. The root-mean-square error (RMSE) of the entire dataset for grain yield was 643 kg ha−1 and 2010 kg ha−1 for total aboveground biomass. Three regional climate change projections for Central West Burkina Faso indicate a decrease in rainfall during the growing period of maize. All the three scenarios project that the decrease in rainfall is to the tune of 3–9% in the 2030s under RCP4.5 in contrast to climate scenarios produced by the regional climate model GCM ICHEC-EC-Earth which predicted an increase of rainfall of 25% under RCP8.5. Simulations using the CERES-DSSAT model reveal that maize yields without fertilizer show the same trend as with fertilizer in response to climate change projections across RCPs. Under RCP4.5 with output from the climate model ICHEC-EC-Earth, yield can slightly increase compared to the historical baseline on average by less than 5%. In contrast, under RCP8.5, yield is increased by 13–22% with the two other climate models in fertilized and non-fertilized plots, respectively. Nevertheless, the average maize yield will stay below 2000 kg ha−1 under non-fertilized plots in RCP4.5 and with recommended mineral fertilizer rates regardless of the RCP scenarios produced by ICHEC-EC-Earth. Giving the fact that soil fertility improvement alone cannot compensate for the adverse impact of future climate on agricultural production particularly in case of high rainfall predicted by ICHEC-EC-Earth, it is recommended to combine various agricultural techniques and practices to improve uptake of nitrogen and to reduce nitrogen leaching such as the splitting of fertilizer applications, low-release nitrogen fertilizers, agroforestry, and any other soil and water conservation practices

Results from the implementation of aid effectiveness principles in the health sector in Mali

The international community holds high expectations for aid producing demonstrable results in the health sector, at the global and developing country levels. Yet, measuring the effectiveness of aid presents methodological challenges. Existing evaluation frameworks are not sufficiently geared toward learning whether and how practices have changed. We present a framework for measuring the results of implementing aid effectiveness principles at three levels: implementation process, health system strengthening, and outcomes/impact. We developed this framework in the context of monitoring results on the effectiveness of the aid agenda in the health sector in Mali. Despite some changes in behavior that resulted in increased aid effectiveness and improved results at system and outcome levels, overall, the aid effectiveness principles have not been fully implemented. Thus expectations in terms of health outcomes should be realistic.GRAP-PA Sant