Sources of Technical Efficiency Among Smallholders Maize Farmers in Babati District, Tanzania

Maize yield in Tanzania has been decreasing in the past few years. The decline has been attributed to many factors. This paper assesses  production efficiency and its determinants among maize farmers in Babati district. The paper uses data collected from 122 maize farmers residingin six villages in the study district. A stochastic frontier model has been used to determine the sources of inefficiency among maize farmers in the study area. The results show that the mean technical efficiency score for famers in the study area is 62.3%. This implies that there is a significant room for increasing maize yield in the study area if farmers use the  resources at their disposal efficiently. Moreover, the results show that the efficiency of maize farmers in the study area is influenced by farm size, formal education, number of plots owned by the farmer, frequency of contacts with extension officers, and the use of insecticides. It is therefore plausible to argue that improving farmers’ access to extension services and important inputs such as insecticides will have a significant influence on maize yield in the study area.Key words: Smallholders, maize, production efficiency, stochastic frontie

Burns in Tanzania: Morbidity and Mortality, Causes and Risk Factors: A Review.

Burn injuries in low and middle income countries still remain a significant health problem, even though numbers of burn injuries in high income countries have decreased showing that such events are not "accidents" but are usually preventable. WHO states that the vast majority (over 95%) of fire-related burns occur in low and middle income countries. Burn injuries are a major cause of prolonged hospital stays, disfigurement, disability, and death in Africa Region. Evidence shows that prevention strategies can work. However prevention strategies need to be tailored to the specific environment taking into account local risk factors and available resources. An examination of the patterns and causes of burns should allow site specific recommendations for interventions. This literature review, specific to the United Republic of Tanzania, was conducted by researching PubMed, SafetyLit, and African Journals on Line data bases for primary sources using key words <Tanzania> plus <burns, suicide, homicide, injury mortality, injury morbidity>. Two sets of student data collected as part of Bachelor's degree final dissertations at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences were used. In all, twenty two primary sources were found. Risk factors for burn morbidity in Tanzania are: 1/ a young age, especially years 1-3, 2/ home environment, especially around cooking fires, 3/ epilepsy, during seizures, and 4/ perceived inevitability of the incident. It was expected that ground level cooking fires would be found to be a risk factor, but several studies have shown non-significant results about raised cooking fires, types of fuel used, and cooking appliances. Risk factors for burn mortality are: being male, between 20-30 years of age, and being punished for alleged thieving by community mobs. An important factor in reducing burn morbidity, especially in children, is to educate people that burns are preventable in most cases and that most burns occur in the home around cooking fires. Children need to be kept away from fires. Epileptics should be monitored for medication and kept away from cooking fires as well. Community members need to be encouraged to bring wrong doers to the police

CONSUMER PREFERENCES AS DRIVERS OF THE COMMON BEAN TRADE IN TANZANIA: A MARKETING PERSPECTIVE

The objective of this study was to determine the impact of bean grain quality characteristics on market price. The data was collected from retail markets in Tanzania. Hedonic pricing provides a statistical estimate of premiums and discounts. Implications for development of bean markets include: i) extension agents should identify cost-effective ways to educate producers on targeting urban market niches based on consumer preferences for varieties, ii) breeding for bruchid resistant beans and use of appropriate storage technologies would alleviate the problems of storage damage, and iii) requiring a portfolio of grain quality characteristics to fit consumer preferences in local markets.Beans, markets, consumer preferences, hedonic, storage, Tanzania

Chemical Cues for Malaria Vectors Oviposition Site Selection:\ud Challenges and Opportunities

The attractiveness of oviposition site for malaria vector mosquitoes is dependent upon a number of physical and chemical factors. Many aspects of mosquito behavior, including host location and oviposition, are mediated by volatile semiochemicals. It is anticipated that selection of oviposition site by semio-chemicals in the form of attractants or stimulants can be used in oviposition traps to monitor or possibly in combination with insecticides to control gravid mosquito populations for mass trapping. So far, volatile compounds identified as oviposition attractants for mosquitoes include phenol, 4-methyl phenol, 4-ethyl phenol, indole, skatole, and p-cresol from hay infusions; 3-carene, terpinene, copaene, cedrene, and d-cadinene released by copepods; alcohol and terpenoids including p-cresol fromplants; ethyl acetate and hydrocarbon substances, probably released by filamentous algae; 3-methyl-1-butanol identified frombacteria. Research priorities should be directed at identifying more oviposition attractants to determine the properties of these semio-chemicals for possible use in designing control tools. This would aim at luring females to lethal traps or stimulants to increase their exposure to insecticide-impregnated substrates.\ud \u

Patterns of Elbow Fractures and Complications of Those Seen Late in Children Treated at KCMC in Northern Tanzania

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Identification and Characterization of Cassava Mosaic Begomoviruses in Non-crop Plants from Unguja and Pemba Islands

Cassava mosaic disease caused by cassava mosaic begomoviruses (CMBs) remains one of the major constraints to cassava production since it causes yield losses up to 100%. Researches showed that some of CMBs infecting cassava plants may be coming from non-crop plants. This study intended to identify and characterize CMBs isolated from non-crop plant species in Unguja and Pemba Islands. A total of 108 viral symptomatic and asymptomatic non-crop leaf samples were collected using stratified sampling. DNA was extracted by using CTAB protocol followed by polymerase chain reaction using universal and specific primers for cassava mosaic begomoviruses identification. Results showed that, among eleven samples that were amplified, four were African cassava mosaic viruses (ACMV) and seven were East African cassava mosaic viruses (EACMV). DNA sequencing by Sanger method showed 97–99% similarities with isolates of ACMV and EACMV reported elsewhere in Africa. Using RbcL and MatK plant barcode genes, Datura stramonium, Solanum melongena and Solanum incanum were found associated with ACMV, while Senna occidentalis, Sida acuta and Ricinus communis harboured EACMV. These findings are a key in understanding the epidemiology of cassava mosaic disease and are potential in the development of sustainable management strategies for this disease. Keywords: Begomoviruses, Cassava mosaic disease, East African cassava mosaic virus, Non crop plants

Assessment of Patient Satisfaction with Pharmaceutical Services in Hospital Pharmacies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Exit survey was conducted at four hospitals in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where 401 outpatients (51% males and 49% females) were randomly recruited in the survey. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain the required information from the patients and the data was analyzed using Epi-Info version 6 software. The presence of a polite pharmacist at a particular pharmacy attracted many patients (85.8%). Availability of a reputable medical practitioner at the hospital was another reason for many patients (55.6%) going to the hospital pharmacy. A number of patients (46.3%) went to particular hospital pharmacies to obtain their medicines because of good services in those facilities. Dissatisfied respondents (23.7%) rated the waiting time to obtain the medicines as too long. This was followed by unavailability of prescribed medicines (18.2%) and poor facilities in the waiting room. Quality of services at the hospital pharmacies were rated at 46%. Patients felt that the waiting time and the availability of medicines could be improved.Key words: Pharmaceutical services, patient satisfaction, Dar es Salaa

Community Awareness of Adverse Effects of Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs in Ilala Municipality, Dar es Salaam

A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted within Ilala Municipality in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. A total of 196 community members were recruited into the study. The participants were asked to provide information on what drugs they took when they had pain and if they knew any adverse effects associated with the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. They were also asked if they had been given any education by health personnel on the adverse effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Fifty two percent of the participants responded that when they had pain, they bought pain killers from pharmacies while 42% said they would go to hospital for treatment. About 4% drank a lot of water when they had a headache, while 1% performed massage at the site of pain. One percent visited traditional healers to seek treatment for the pain. Only 8% of the study participants knew some adverse effects caused by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Hence, there is a need for health personnel to educate patients on the potential adverse effects of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.Key words: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, adverse drug reactions, community knowledge, Ilala Municipalit

Anti-diabetic drugs in the private and public sector in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Objectives: To compare availability, cost, affordability and sources of anti-diabetic drugs between private and public health facilities in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Design: Cross sectional descriptive study.Setting: Diabetic clinics in private and public health facilities in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Subjects: Eighty patients randomly selected and 45 health facility personnel staff working in the diabetic clinics. Semi-structured questionnaires and a checklist were used to collect the information. Results: Oral hypoglycaemic agents were available in all seven private and three public facilities that were studied. Private facilities stocked more types of oral hypoglycaemic agents than public facilities, which stocked only chlorpropamide and tolbutamide, based on the National Essential Drugs List. The cost of chlorpropamide was five times higher in private facilities compared to public facilities. Insulin was also available in all the facilities. The price of animal insulin in private health facilities was ten times that in public health facilities. Human insulin, which is generally more expensive than animal insulin, was only available in private facilities. Although prices were much lower in public facilities, affordability emerged as a common issue in both private and public facilities. Conclusions: Urban private health facilities offer a wider choice for the needs of diabetic patients but this advantage is compromised by higher prices as compared to public facilities as well as inconsistent supply across facilities. Public health facilities offer only a limited selection of essential oral hypoglycaemics and insulin but at a lower price and across all facilities. Twenty six per cent and 10% of patients in public and private facilities respectively are unable to afford anti-diabetic drugs. The need for intervention to increase affordability of anti-diabetic drugs is evident. Financing and cost of drugs needs to be addressed, either by means of health insurance or other mechanisms, in this era of increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus among developing countries