Le Centre du Mali : épicentre du djihadisme?

La multiplication d'épisodes violents dans le centre du Mali, depuis la moitié de l'année 2015, démontre à quel point la paix reste fragile dans ce pays. La signature des accords pour la paix et l'amorce d'un processus de réconciliation ont certes marqué une avancée pour le gouvernement, mais la stabilité demeure précaire dans les régions Centre et Nord. En l'absence de l'autorité étatique, des groupes hétéroclites, se réclamant d'un mouvement djihadiste dont ils ignorent même le nom, dictent leur loi et se vengent de leurs adversaires/ennemis dans le centre du Mali. Ainsi dans le Macina, des pasteurs transhumants, ne voulant plus se soumettre aux règles établies par leurs chefs traditionnels (dioros) cautionnées par l'administration pour l'exploitation des pâturages, se sont armés et ont décidé de ne plus payer de taxes pour avoir accès aux bourgous (plantes fourragères). Le djihad apparaît, ainsi, comme une simple option instrumentale en vue d'objectifs autres que la diffusion de la foi rigoriste. ABSTRACT: Is the Mali Centre an epicenter of djihadism? The proliferation of violent episodes in the center of Mali since the middle of 2015, shows how fragile peace is in the country. The signing of peace agreements and the beginning of a reconciliation process certainly marks a step forward for the government, but stability remains fragile in the Centre and North. In the absence of state authority, disparate groups claiming a jihadist movement whose name they do not even know, dictate law and take revenge of their opponents / enemies in central Mali. Thus, in the Macina, transhumant pastoralists, not wanting to submit to the rules established by their traditional leaders (dioros) guaranteed by the administration for the exploitation of pastures, armed themselves and decided not to pay taxes for access to bourgous (forage crops). They are considered to be jihadists. Jihad thus appears as a simple instrumental option for objectives other than the dissemination of rigorous faith.ASC – Publicaties niet-programma gebonde

Contribution of Climate-Smart Agriculture Technologies to Food Self-Sufficiency of Smallholder Households in Mali

Climate change has resulted in food insecurity for the majority of farming communities in the Sudano-Sahelian zone of Mali. In this paper, we present a methodology for scaling climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies such as Contour Bunding (CB), Microdosing (MD), Intercropping (IC), Zaï pits, and Adapted crop Variety (AV) treatments, and evaluated their contribution to smallholder households’ food self-sufficiency. We used the participatory technology selection method and onfarm demonstration in order to tackle farm-related constraints. The study found that there has been a major shift in the spatial distribution of land use/land cover (LULC) classes between 2016 and 2020. About 25% of the areas changed from other land use/land cover to cropland. Crop yields obtained from CSA-treated fields were significantly higher than yields from farmers’ practice (FP). The application of CSA technologies resulted in millet yield increases by 51%, 35%, and 23% with contour bunding (CB), microdosing (MD) and intercropping (IC), respectively. With Zaï pits and adapted variety (AV) treatments, the yield increases were 69% and 27%, respectively. Further, the use of IC and MD technologies reduced the food-insecure household status to 13%, which corresponds to a food insecurity reduction of 60%. The application of Zaï technology reversed the negative status of food-insecurity to +4%, corresponding to a reduction in food insecurity of more than 100%. In the case of food-secure households, the application of CSA technologies led to increased food production. However, notwithstanding this, prospects for CSA in the Sahel hinge on the capacities of farming households and local extension agents to understand the environmental, economic and social challenges in the context of climate change, and consequently to self-mobilize in order to select and implement responsive technologies

Design and pv-biogas hybrid micro-network optimization for isolated zones to electrical grid

This paper deals the electrification problems in African rural localities particularly in Malian localities. One solution is to develop the renewable energy sources due to their enormous resource which is inexhaustible and their production mode which preserves environment. To increase the energy production and to manage the intermit tent period of renewable resource, it will be interesting to combine divers renewable sources. In this hybridization of renewable energy sources context, the PV-Bio mass hybrid system becomes very interesting compared to others hybrid energy systems, due to his high flexibility and low dependency to meteorological conditions . These properties place the PV-Bio mass hybrid energy system as one of the bests systems in reliable and sustainable energy production for rural areas. In this study, we propose a PV-Bio mass hybrid energy system with energy storage to produce 100 % renewable energy and to preserve at the same time the environment . This hybrid system is studied under HOMER PRO software in order to identify the optimal configuration in terms of reliable energy production, sustainable and minimal cost over the hybrid system life cycle. The obtained results after simulation show that the optimal configuration is composed of a biogasgenerator of 100kW, a PV field of 160kWc and a battery park for reliable and sustainable energy production with a low cost over the life cycle of the hybrid energy system for Kolokani locality

Determinants of Use of Insecticide Treated Nets for the Prevention of Malaria in Pregnancy: Jinja, Uganda

One established means of preventing the adverse consequences of malaria during pregnancy is sleeping under an insecticide treated net (ITN) throughout pregnancy. Despite increased access to this intervention over time, consistent ITN use during pregnancy remains relatively uncommon in sub-Saharan Africa.We sought to identify determinants of ITN use during pregnancy. Utilizing a population-based random sample, we interviewed 500 women living in Jinja, Uganda, who had been pregnant in the past year. ITN ownership at the start of pregnancy was reported by 359 women (72%) and 28 women (20%) acquired an ITN after the first trimester of pregnancy. Among 387 ITN owners, 73% reported either always sleeping under the ITN during all trimesters of pregnancy, or after acquiring their net. Owning more than 1 net was slightly associated with always sleeping under an ITN during pregnancy (RR: 1.13; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.28). Women who always slept under an ITN during pregnancy were more likely to be influenced by an advertisement on the radio/poster than being given an ITN free of charge (RR: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.24, 1.76). No differences were found between other socio-demographic factors, pregnancy history, ANC use or socio-cultural factors.While self-reported ITN ownership and use was common throughout pregnancy, we were unable to pinpoint why a sizable fraction of Ugandan women did not always adhere to recommendations for use of an ITN during pregnancy. More data are needed on the capacity of individual households to support the installation of ITNs which may provide insight into interventions targeted at improving the convenience and adherence of daily ITN use

Hypertension and Associated Factors in Rural and Urban Areas Mali: Data from the STEP 2013 Survey

Background. Our study aims to estimate hypertension (HTN) prevalence and its predictors in rural and urban area. Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional population-based study involving subjects aged 15 to 65 years. Collected data (sociodemographic, blood pressure, weight, height, and blood glucose) were analyzed using SPSS version 20. A logistic regression was conducted to look for factors associated with HTN. Results. Mean was 47 years. High blood pressure (HBP) prevalence was 21.1 and 24.7%, respectively, in rural and urban setting. In rural area age group significantly predicted hypertension with age of 60 years having more-than-4-times risk of hypertension, whereas, in urban area age group, sex and body mass index were predictors with OR: HTN raising from 2.06 [1.24–3.43] for 30–44 years old to 7.25 [4.00–13.13] for 60 years and more using <30 years as reference. Female sex was protective with OR of 0.45 [0.29–0.71] and using normal weight as reference OR for overweight was 1.54 [1.04–2.27] and 2.67 [1.64–4.36] for obesity. Conclusion. Hypertension prevalence is high and associated factors were age group in rural area and age group, female sex, and body mass index in urban area

Novel mutation in the NHLRC1 gene in a Malian family with a severe phenotype of Lafora disease

We studied a Malian family with parental consanguinity and two of eight siblings affected with late-childhood-onset progressive myoclonus epilepsy and cognitive decline, consistent with the diagnosis of Lafora disease. Genetic analysis showed a novel homozygous single-nucleotide variant in the NHLRC1 gene, c.560A>C, producing the missense change H187P. The changed amino acid is highly conserved, and the mutation impairs malin's ability to degrade laforin in vitro. Pathological evaluation showed manifestations of Lafora disease in the entire brain, with particularly severe involvement of the pallidum, thalamus, and cerebellum. Our findings document Lafora disease with severe manifestations in the West African population