Prevalence of ticks on local and crossbred cattle in and around Asella town, southeast Ethiopia

The prevalence of bovine tick species in and around Asella town was studied over a period of eight months from October 2007 to May 2008. Adult ticks were collected from 384 local and crossbred cattle which were kept under extensive management system and at different agro-ecological zones. A total of 6298 adult ticks were collected from half body part of cattle, and were identified to genera and species level. Five tick species of four genera were identified, in which two species belong to genus Amblyomma, and one species each in the genus Boophilus, Rhipicephalus and Hyalomma. Of all the total ticks collected, Amblyomma, Rhipicephalus, Boophilus and Hyalomma constituted 60.1%, 22%, 15.4% and 2.5%, respectively. The tick species encountered were A. variegatum (48.2%), Rhipicephalus evertsi-evertsi (22%), Boophilus decolaratus (15.4%), A. cohaerence (11.9%) and Hyalomma marginatum rufipes (2.5%). The burden of ticks on cattle had statistically significant difference (

Challenges of Retaining Skilled Employees, The Case of Eritrean Public Sector

This article uses the public sector in the sub-Saharan nation of Eritrea to illustrate how the problem of brain drain poses severe challenges to developing countries. Following its analysis of the views of 313 Eritrean public servants, the article comes to the conclusion that deteriorating economic conditions, lack of good governance and political instability are the major causes of the brain drain in developing countries. On that basis, the article suggests some policy implications as well as frontiers for possible future research

Health service utilization and reported satisfaction among adolescents in Dejen district, Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study

Background: There is no adequate health service or counseling specifically suitable for adolescents in Ethiopia. Adolescents’ satisfaction on the health service provided is important to increase utilization and quality of care. The objective of this study was to assess health service utilization, reported satisfaction and predictors of satisfaction among adolescents of 15-19 years in Dejen District.Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was done from February 05 to 17, 2012. Interview method was used to collect data from 690 adolescents. Following stratification into urban and rural, six kebeles were selected by lottery method. Study participants allocated proportionally to households’ size of kebele. Households were selected randomly, and one from each household was used. Descriptive measures and binary logistic regression were used to identify independent predictors for health service satisfaction.Results: Among 690 adolescents, 313(45%) used health service. Of these, 190 (60.7%) were satisfied. Physical proximity (AOR=3.6, 95% CI: 1.8, 7.3), drug availability (AOR=2.7, 95% CI: 1.3, 5.8), health services availability (AOR=2.5, 95% CI: 1.1, 6.0), treatment in separate room (AOR=2.9, 95% CI: 1.4, 5.6), checked all adolescents problem (AOR=4.0, 95% CI: 2.0, 8.5), treated with respect (AOR=3.0, 95% CI: 1.4, 5.7) and opportunity to explain feeling (AOR=3.3, 95% CI: 1.7, 6.6) were predictors of satisfaction.Conclusion: Adolescents’ health service utilization and satisfaction were low. Adolescents’ perception of accessibility, acceptability and interaction with health workers’ had significant influence on health services satisfaction. Therefore, health professionals and administrators should work on availing services with close proximity and acceptable behavior in order to increase adolescents’ satisfaction.Keywords: Adolescent, Health service, Utilization, Satisfaction. Ethiopi

Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Zinc and Copper, Compositions of Human Milk from Populations with Cereal and ‘Enset’ Based Diets

Backround: As breast milk is normally the only source of food in the early stages of life, the dietary levels of the essential elements in the milk of lactating mothers are significantly important. Ethiopia is a country of many nations and nationalities with distinct dietary habits. This variation in food habit may result in the variation of the nutritional quality of milk of lactating mothers who live in different part of the country, which in turn may affect the intake of nutrients by breast-fed infants. Therefore, a cross-sectional study of the levels of Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn and Cu in milk of mothers from societies with cereal and ‘enset’ based dietary habits was carried out to assess the influence of maternal diet on the levels of the elements in human milk.Methods: Milk samples were collected from 27 voluntary mothers in Jimma and in 18 rural areas of Welkite. Breast milk samples were collected within four days postpartum and the concentrations of the elements were determined by using FAAS.Results: Average concentrations (mg/L) of the elements determined in the milk of mothers from Jimma and rural Welkite respectively were: Ca (758 ± 107, 579 ± 168); Mg (22.6 ± 7.87, 30.5 ± 13.4); Fe (0.50 ± 0.08, 0.41 ± 0.17); Zn (2.3 ± 1.2, 2.49 ± 0.88) and Cu (0.28 ± 0.14, 0.16 ± 0.08).Conclusions: Milk samples from Jimma were found to have significantly higher levels of Ca and Cu than those of rural Welkite (P < 0.05). Breast milk Ca and Cu levels were thus found to be influenced by dietary intake.Keywords: Human milk, Ethiopia, Welkite, Jimma, Essential elements, ‘Teff’, ‘Enset’

Community Attitudes Toward Wildlife and Protected Areas in Ethiopia

Across Africa, national policies that established protected areas (PAs) typically limited local use of wildlife and other resources. Over time, these policies have raised tensions with rural communities and today threaten to undermine conservation goals. This article examines community–PA relationships at four important sites in Ethiopia—a country of rich tradition with an unusual colonial past. Using focus groups and household surveys, we found that despite local tensions, most respondents held positive views toward wildlife and nearby PAs. Factors influencing positive views included receiving PA benefits, good relations with PA staff, higher education levels, being older, having a large family, diversified income sources, owning fewer livestock, and fewer incidents of wildlife conflicts. In contrast, the devolved control of PAs from federal to regional levels has not influenced community–PA relations as intended. Our results suggest that relations could be improved through involving communities in co-management arrangements, honoring resource tenure and use rights, providing benefits, and implementing conservation education programs

Client and facility level determinants of quality of care in family planning services in Ethiopia: multilevel modelling

Over the last two decades, while contraceptive use has improved in Ethiopia, the contraceptive prevalence rate remains low. In addition to socio-demographic and cultural factors, the quality of care in Family Planning (FP) services is an important determining factor of FP utilization. However, little research exists on the determinants of quality of care in FP services in Ethiopia. This study aims to identify the client and facility level determinants of quality of care in FP services in Ethiopia.This study was based on the first Ethiopian Services Provision Assessment Plus (ESPA+) survey conducted in 2014. A total of 1247 clients nested in 374 health facilities were included in the analysis. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression modelling was conducted. The outcome variable, client satisfaction, was created using polychoric principal component analysis using eleven facets that reflect client satisfaction.The results showed that both client-level and facility-level factors were associated with quality of care in FP services in Ethiopia. At the client-level; provision of information on potential side effects of contraceptive method (AOR = 5.22, 95% CI: 2.13-12.80), and number of history and physical assessments (AOR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.03-1.34) were positively associated with client satisfaction, whereas waiting times of 30 minutes to two hours (AOR = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.03-0.33) was negatively associated with client satisfaction. At the facility-level; urban location (AOR = 4.61, 95% CI: 1.04-20.58), and availability of FP guidelines/protocols for providers (AOR = 4.90, 95% CI: 1.19-20.19) had positive significant effect on client satisfaction.Quality improvement programs in FP services in Ethiopia should focus on shortening waiting times and provision of information about the potential side effects of contraceptive methods. It is also important to improve health providers' skills in thorough client history taking and physical assessment. Further distribution and implementation of best practice guidelines for providers working in the FP services must be a priority.Gizachew Assefa Tessema, Mohammad Afzal Mahmood, Judith Streak Gomersall, Yibeltal Assefa, Theodros Getachew Zemedu, Mengistu Kifle, Caroline O. Laurenc

Associations between endometriosis and adverse pregnancy and perinatal outcomes: a population-based cohort study.

PURPOSE To examine the association between endometriosis and adverse pregnancy and perinatal outcomes (preeclampsia, placenta previa, and preterm birth). METHODS A population-based retrospective cohort study was conducted among 468,778 eligible women who contributed 912,747 singleton livebirths between 1980 and 2015 in Western Australia (WA). We used probabilistically linked perinatal and hospital separation data from the WA data linkage system's Midwives Notification System and Hospital Morbidity Data Collection databases. We used a doubly robust estimator by combining the inverse probability weighting with the outcome regression model to estimate adjusted risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS There were 19,476 singleton livebirths among 8874 women diagnosed with endometriosis. Using a doubly robust estimator, we found pregnancies in women with endometriosis to be associated with an increased risk of preeclampsia with RR of 1.18, 95% CI 1.11-1.26, placenta previa (RR 1.59, 95% CI 1.42-1.79) and preterm birth (RR 1.45, 95% CI 1.37-1.54). The observed association persisted after stratified by the use of Medically Assisted Reproduction, with a slightly elevated risk among pregnancies conceived spontaneously. CONCLUSIONS In this large population-based cohort, endometriosis is associated with an increased risk of preeclampsia, placenta previa, and preterm birth, independent of the use of Medically Assisted Reproduction. This may help to enhance future obstetric care among this population