Assessment of Household Food Security and Coping Strategies in Wolaita Zone: The Case of Sodo Zuria Woreda

This study attempts to assess household food security and local coping strategies of rural farm households in Sodo Zuria Woreda, Wolaita Zone. Data were collected from 150 sample farm households from six peasant administration (PAs) using systematic random sampling techniques. Primary data were collected by conducting a household survey. In addition, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were used. Secondary data were collected from various sources. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean, minimum and maximum, standard deviation, percentage and frequency distribution.   Moreover, T-test and chi-square tests were used to describe characteristic of food secure and insecure households. In general Sodo Zuria Woreda, suffer from chronic food insecurity.  From the total sample households about 72 % are food insecure while the rest 28% are food secure. More than 80% of the respondents face serious food shortage for six to eight months a year. The result revealed   that factors associated with size of farm land, number of livestock and draught oxen, off-farm and non-farm incomes,   dependency ratio, educational level of household head, and uses of agricultural inputs are significantly related to household food security. Copings strategies including reducing size and number of meals, borrowing grains or cash from relatives and friends, engaging in daily labor, sale of livestock and  household  equipment,  begging,  withdrawing  children  from  school  and  seasonal migration were found to be common practices prevailed in the region. Thus, Distribution of moisture  stress  tolerant  crop  varieties  and  improved  technologies  that  increase  the productivity of land and livestock should be given higher priority to enhance sustainable food security in the region.  It is also crucial to promote intensive agriculture   and non-farm activities, as well as strengthening credit institutions   to boost agricultural production and income, and thereby attain   improved   food security. Keywords: Food security, food insecurity, livelihood, coping mechanis

Evidence for Active Rhyolitic dike Intrusion in the Northern Main Ethiopian Rift from the 2015 Fentale Seismic Swarm

Abstract Magmatic intrusions play a vital role not only in accommodating extensional stresses in continental rifts but also in feeding volcanic systems. The location, orientation, and timescale of dike intrusions are dictated by the interaction of regional and local stresses, the effect of pre‐existing weaknesses, and the composition of magma. Observing active intrusions can provide important information regarding the interaction between magmatic processes and the tectonic stress field during continental rifting. We focus on a seismic swarm that occurred in 2015 to the northeast of Fentale volcano, in the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER), and use radar interferometry to study surface deformation associated with the seismic swarm. Interferograms show a pattern of dike‐induced deformation, with a model estimate of volume change of 33×106±0.6×106m3 at a depth range of 5.4 to 8 km. We use a small baseline subset algorithm to calculate line of sight time series and find that the displacements decay exponentially with a decay constant of ∼83 days. Coupled source‐sink models suggest that such slow dike intrusions require a high viscosity rhyolitic magma. The difference in behavior between Fentale and other caldera systems in the MER, which show multi‐year cycles of inflation and deflation, suggests fundamental differences in magma composition and architecture of the plumbing system. This is the first direct observation of a dike intrusion in the MER and provides new constraints on the temporal‐spatial patterns of stress and strain that occur during continental rifting. Whether this activity is transient or a long‐term feature associated with rift evolution is an open question

Sellar tuberculoma: a rare presentation in a 30-year-old Ethiopian woman: case report

Background: Tuberculosis rarely involves the hypothalamo-pitutary axis. Only 1% of CNS Tuberculoma involves sellar and suprasellar structures. It mainly presents with symptoms of chiasmal compression, hypopituitarism and diabetes insipidus due to destruction of pituitary itself. Definitive diagnosis is made by tissue analysis collected by trans-sphenoidal biopsy.Case presentation: We report a 30-year-old female patient from Addis Ababa, who presented with a global headache, blurring of vision, excessive polyuria, constitutional symptoms of tuberculosis and multiple axillary lymph node enlargement. Biopsy from the axillary lymph node showed caseous granulomatous lesions and brain MRI showed mild thickening of the pituitary stalk and mildly enlarged posterior piturary lobe with hypo-sellar extension and mild communicating hydrocephalus.Conclusion: Considering the available evidence a diagnosis of systemic tuberculosis involving pituitary, lung and lymph node was made and a patient was started on anti-tuberculosis medication together with dexamethasone and carbamazepine. Following treatment initiation patient showed significant clinical improvement. After nine months of anti-tuberculosis treatment all brain MRI findings were resolved and patient become symptom free and discharged from care after one year completion of anti-tuberculosis medication.Keywords: Tuberculoma, Polyuria, Pituitary gland, Diabetes Insipidu

Enabling equitable collective action and policy change for poverty reduction and improved natural resource management in the Eastern African highlands:

"The role of local and external institutions in natural resource management (NRM) is gaining attention in the literature, fostering greater understanding of the relationship between collective action and poverty, collective action and equity, and the conditions under which collective action institutions take root. It has also led to increased understanding of how uncritical practices by external development institutions can propagate social inequities in NRM. Yet little research has been conducted to understand how to foster local collective action institutions where they are absent, or to improve institutional practice. This research integrates empirical and action research in an effort to generate ‘working solutions' to problems facing rural communities in their efforts to manage their natural resources in the highlands of Ethiopia and Uganda. Following a brief introduction to the literature and the research, findings are presented according to two distinct phases of research. Data are first presented on existing forms of collective action, the influence of local and external institutions on economic development, and NRM problems that persist despite their negative livelihood consequences. Action research themes selected from a list of identified problems are then presented in greater detail, with lessons learnt thus far in attempting to overcome institutional barriers to improved NRM. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of findings for research, institutional practice, and policy." authors' abstractNatural resource management, Collective action, Equity, Livelihoods, East African highlands, Gender, Environmental management,

The COVID-19 pandemic and healthcare systems in Africa:A scoping review of preparedness, impact and response

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed health systems in both developed and developing nations alike. Africa has one of the weakest health systems globally, but there is limited evidence on how the region is prepared for, impacted by and responded to the pandemic. METHODS: We conducted a scoping review of PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL to search peer-reviewed articles and Google, Google Scholar and preprint sites for grey literature. The scoping review captured studies on either preparedness or impacts or responses associated with COVID-19 or covering one or more of the three topics and guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s methodological framework. The extracted information was documented following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension checklist for scoping reviews. Finally, the resulting data were thematically analysed. RESULTS: Twenty-two eligible studies, of which 6 reported on health system preparedness, 19 described the impacts of COVID-19 on access to general and essential health services and 7 focused on responses taken by the healthcare systems were included. The main setbacks in health system preparation included lack of available health services needed for the pandemic, inadequate resources and equipment, and limited testing ability and surge capacity for COVID-19. Reduced flow of patients and missing scheduled appointments were among the most common impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Health system responses identified in this review included the availability of telephone consultations, re-purposing of available services and establishment of isolation centres, and provisions of COVID-19 guidelines in some settings. CONCLUSIONS: The health systems in Africa were inadequately prepared for the pandemic, and its impact was substantial. Responses were slow and did not match the magnitude of the problem. Interventions that will improve and strengthen health system resilience and financing through local, national and global engagement should be prioritised

The COVID-19 pandemic and healthcare systems in Africa : a scoping review of preparedness, impact and response

Funding Information: Funding GAT was supported with funding from the Australia National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Grant #1195716.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Prevalence of bovine tuberculosis and its associated risk factors in the emerging dairy belts of regional cities in Ethiopia

Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) has become an economically important disease in dairy herds found in and around Addis Ababa City and is emerging in regional cities like Gondar, Hawassa and Mekelle because of the establishment of dairy farms in the milk sheds of these cities. A cross-sectional study to estimate the prevalence of BTB and identify associated risk factors was conducted between February 2016 and March 2017. A total of 174 herds comprising of 2,754 dairy cattle in the cities of Gondar, Hawassa and Mekelle were tested using the Single Intradermal Comparative Cervical Tuberculin (SICCT) test. Data on herd structure, animal origin, body condition, housing condition, farm hygiene, management and biosecurity practices were collected using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Generalized Linear Models (GLM) and Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMM) were used to analyze the herd and animal level risk factors, respectively. The herd prevalence was 22.4% (95% CI: 17–29%) while the animal prevalence was 5.2% (95% CI: 4–6%) at the cut-off >4 mm. The herd prevalence rose to 65.5% (95% CI: 58–72%) and the animal prevalence rose to 9% (95% CI: 8–10%) when the severe interpretation of >2 mm cut-off was applied. The mean within-herd prevalence in positive farms at the cut-off >4 mm was 22.7% (95% CI: 15–31%). At the herd level, the analysis showed that herd size, farm hygiene, feeding condition and biosecurity were significantly associated with BTB status, while new cattle introductions showed only borderline significance and that age of farm, housing condition, farmers’ educational status and animal health care practice were not significant. At the animal level, the results showed that age and animal origin were identified as significant predictors for BTB positivity but sex and body condition score were not related to BTB status. Descriptive analysis revealed that herds having ‘BTB history’ showed slightly higher likelihood of being BTB positive compared to farms having no previous BTB exposure. In conclusion, this study showed relatively lower average prevalence in the emerging dairy regions as compared to the prevalence observed in and around Addis Ababa City, warranting for implementation of control program at this stage to reduce or possibly stop further transmission of BTB

The impact of dietary risk factors on the burden of non-communicable diseases in Ethiopia: findings from the Global Burden of Disease study 2013

Background: The burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has increased in sub-Saharan countries, including Ethiopia. The contribution of dietary behaviours to the NCD burden in Ethiopia has not been evaluated. This study, therefore, aimed to assess diet-related burden of disease in Ethiopia between 1990 and 2013. Method: We used the 2013 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data to estimate deaths, years of life lost (YLLs) and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) related to eight food types, five nutrients and fibre intake. Dietary exposure was estimated using a Bayesian hierarchical meta-regression. The effect size of each diet-disease pair was obtained based on meta-analyses of prospective observational studies and randomized controlled trials. A comparative risk assessment approach was used to quantify the proportion of NCD burden associated with dietary risk factors. Results: In 2013, dietary factors were responsible for 60,402 deaths (95% Uncertainty Interval [UI]: 44,943-74,898) in Ethiopia—almost a quarter (23.0%) of all NCD deaths. Nearly nine in every ten diet-related deaths (88.0%) were from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and 44.0% of all CVD deaths were related to poor diet. Suboptimal diet accounted for 1,353,407 DALYs (95% UI: 1,010,433-1,672,828) and 1,291,703 YLLs (95% UI: 961,915-1,599,985). Low intake of fruits and vegetables and high intake of sodium were the most important dietary factors. The proportion of NCD deaths associated with low fruit consumption slightly increased (11.3% in 1990 and 11.9% in 2013). In these years, the rate of burden of disease related to poor diet slightly decreased; however, their contribution to NCDs remained stable. Conclusions: Dietary behaviour contributes significantly to the NCD burden in Ethiopia. Intakes of diet low in fruits and vegetables and high in sodium are the leading dietary risks. To effectively mitigate the oncoming NCD burden in Ethiopia, multisectoral interventions are required; and nutrition policies and dietary guidelines should be developed