Factors Affecting Drinking Water Quality from Source to Home in Tehuledere Woreda, Northeast Ethiopia

BACK GROUND: Water becomes contaminated with faecal material due to inadequate protection of the source, unhygienic practices of the community at the source and poor household handling practices. The objective of this study was to identify the risks associated with the protected source, to determine the water quality of the source and household drinking water and to assess the water handling practices of the community. METHODS: A cross-sectional study on the quality of protected springs and household drinking water by testing for bacterial contamination was carried out in Tehuledere woreda in January 2002. Data were collected using sanitary survey, interviewing of households and bacteriological analysis of water. The study included five protected springs and 192 selected household users of the springs as sole sources of all purpose water supplies. RESULTS: It was found that a spring with high sanitary risk score had an inferior quality bacteriological tests (Hitecha spring) while those springs with low sanitary risk score found had excellent quality (Gobeya and Pasomile). Among a total of 192 households, 123(64.1%) washed their hands during collection of water, 141(73.4%) rinsed their collection containers. In addition, 178(92.7%) had cover for their storage vessels and 138 (72.0%) drew water from container by dipping. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study indicated that spring protection was found to be necessary condition but not a sufficient condition for the provision of safe water supply. Training of local people to look after the water supply system, expansion of hygiene, health education on sanitation could have a notable impact for the provision of safe water supply. [Ethiop J Health Sci 2003; 13(2): 95-106].Ethiop J Health Sci Vol. 13, No 2 July 200

Choice of initial antiretroviral drugs and treatment outcomes among HIV-infected patients in sub-Saharan Africa: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

Background: The effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy (ART) depends on the choice of regimens during initiation. Most evidences from developed countries indicated that there is difference between efavirenz (EFV) and nevirapine (NVP). However, the evidences are limited in resource poor countries particularly in Africa. Thus, this systematic review and meta-analysis was carried out to summarize reported long-term treatment outcomes among people on first line therapy in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: Observational studies that reported odds ratio, relative risk, hazard ratio, or standardized incidence ratio to compare risk of treatment failure among HIV/AIDS patients who initiated ART with EFV versus NVP were systematically searched. Searches were conducted using the MEDLINE database within PubMed, Google Scholar, HINARI, and Research Gates between 2007 and 2016. Information was extracted using standardized form. Pooled risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using random-effect, generic inverse variance method. Result: A total of 6394 articles were identified, of which, 29 were eligible for review and abstraction in sub-Saharan Africa. Seventeen articles were used for the meta-analysis. Of a total of 121,092 independent study participants, 76,719 (63.36%) were females. Of these, 40,480 (33.43%) initiated with NVP containing regimen. Two studies did not report the median CD4 cell counts at initiation. Patients who have low CD4 cell counts initiated with EFV containing regimen. The pooled effect size indicated that treatment failure was reduced by 15%, 0.85 (95%CI: 0.75–0.98), and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) switch was reduced by 43%, 0.57 (95%CI: 0.37–0.89). Conclusion: The risk of treatment failure and NNRTI switch were lower in patients who initiated with EFV than NVP-containing regimen. The review suggests that initiation of patients with EFV-containing regimen will reduce treatment failure and NNRTI switch

Exclusive breast feeding is the strongest predictor of infant survival in Northwest Ethiopia: a longitudinal study

Despite the overall national success in reducing infant mortality rate in Ethiopia, infant mortality rate is still high in northwest Amhara region. This study is conducted in one of the high mortality areas with the aim of identifying risk factors that are associated with infant mortality in Northwest Amhara Region, Ethiopia. A prospective open cohort study involving 1752 infants (1472.4518 person years of follow-up) was undertaken from November 2009 to August 2011. Kaplan-Meier Survival analysis was used to estimate infant mortality rate. Risk factors associated with infant mortality were assessed using multivariate Poisson regression. The overall infant mortality rate was 88 per 1000 person-years (95% CI: 74.3, 104.9). After controlling other important predictors in multivariate Poisson regression, infants not exclusively breastfed [IRR = 7.86, 95% CI: (5.11, 12.10), )], breast milk initiated after 24 hours of birth [IRR = 4.84,95% CI: (2.94,7.99)], mothers not washing hands with soap after visiting toilet and before feeding child [IRR = 4.61, 95% CI: (2.24, 9.48)], being rural residents [IRR = 2.33, 95% CI: (1.12, 4.88)], infants born within 24 months for the previous birth [IRR = 2.79, 95%CI: (1.88, 4.15)], have increased the risk of infant mortality. In conclusion, exclusive breast feeding is the strongest predictor of infant survival in this predominantly rural setting where hygienic standards are poor. Supporting mothers to exclusively breast feeding which is cost effective, safe and feasible strategy, can help reduce infant mortality in the study setting

Analyzing efforts to synergize the global health agenda of universal health coverage, health security and health promotion: a case-study from Ethiopia

Abstract Background Evidence exists about synergies among universal health coverage, health security and health promotion. Uniting these three global agendas has brought success to the country’s health sector. This study aimed to document the efforts Ethiopia has made to apply nationally synergistic approaches uniting these three global health agendas. Our study is part of the Lancet Commission on synergies between these global agendas. Methods We employed a case study design to describe the synergistic process in the Ethiopian health system based on a review of national strategies and policy documents, and key informant interviews with current and former policymakers, and academics. We analyzed the “hardware” (using the World Health Organization’s building blocks) and the “software” (ideas, interests, and power relations) of the Ethiopian health system according to the aforementioned three global agendas. Results Fragmentation of health system primarily manifested as inequities in access to health services, low health workforce and limited capacity to implementation guidelines. Donor driven vertical programs, multiple modalities of health financing, and inadequate multisectoral collaborations were also found to be key features of fragmentation. Several approaches were found to be instrumental in fostering synergies within the global health agenda. These included strong political and technical leadership within the government, transparent coordination, and engagement of stakeholders in the process of priority setting and annual resource mapping. Furthermore, harmonization and alignment of the national strategic plan with international commitments, joint financial arrangements with stakeholders and standing partnership platforms facilitated efforts for synergy. Conclusions Ethiopia has implemented multiple approaches to overcome fragmentation. Such synergistic efforts of the primary global health agendas have made significant contributions to the improvement of the country’s health indicators and may promote sustained functionality of the health system. </jats:sec

Tef (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter) Variety ‘Felagot’

አህፅሮት &nbsp;ጤፍ በኢትዮጵያ ከሚመረቱ የብርዕና አገዳ ሰብሎች ዋነኛው ሲሆን ከ65 በመቶ &nbsp;&nbsp;ለማያንስ ህዝብ ዋና የምግብ ሰብል በመሆን ያገለግላል፡፡ የጤፍ የዘር ቀለም ተለያይነት ያለው ሲሆን በአብዛኛው ነጭና ቡናማ/ቀይ አንዳንዴም ድብልቅ እና መካከለኛ የዘር ቀለም በየዓመቱ ከሶሰት ሚሊዮን ማሳ በላይ በመሸፈን ይመረታል፡፡ ይሁን እንጂ ከሌሎች ሰብሎች ጋር ሲወዳደር &nbsp;ምርትና ምርታማነቱ ዝቅተኛ ነው፡፡ ለዚህም ዋና ዋና ምክንያት በመሆን የሚጠቀሰው የተሻሻሉ ዝርያዎች በበቂ ሁኔታ አለመኖር ነው፡፡ የዚህ ጥናት ዋና ዓላማ እየጨመረ የመጣውን የቡናማ/ቀይ ጤፍ ፍላጎት ለማሟላት በተለያየ የምርምር አሰራርና ሂደት የተገኘ የጤፍ ዝርያን በመፈተሽ የተሻለ ምርት የሚሰጥና በአርሶ አደሩና በተጠቃሚው ተመራጭ የሆነ ዝርያ ማፍለቅ ነበር፡፡ በጥናቱም አስራ ሁለት የተለያዩ የጤፍ ዓይነቶችን ጨምሮ&nbsp; አንድ በቅርቡ የተለቀቀ እና አንድ የአካባቢ ዝርያን በማካተት በስድስት ወካይ ጤፍ አብቃይ ቦታዎች ላይ ተፈትሸው ፍላጎት (ደዘ-ክሮስ-442) የተባለው ቡናማ/ቀይ ዘር ቀለም ያለው ዝርያ ከሌሎች ማወዳደሪያ ዝርያዎች የተሻለ ውጤት በማስመዝገቡ በብሄራዊ የዝርያ አፅዳቂ ኮሚቴ ተገምግሞ ለምርት እንዲውል ተወስኗል፡፡ በተጨማሪም ይህ ዝርያ ቡናማ/ቀይ ዘር ቀለም ያለው ዝርያ ከተለቀቀ ከአስራ አምስት አመታት በኃላ የተገኘና የወደፊት የውጭ ገበያ ፍላጎትን ለሟሟላት ከፍተኛ አስተዋፅኦ ሊያበረክት የሚችል ነው፡፡ Abstract Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is the major cultivated cereal crop in Ethiopia and serves as staple food grain for over 65% of the population. The area under tef cultivation is over three million hectares of land each year. Depending on the type of seed color, tef grains are categorized into white and brown, while some admixtures and intermediate seed colors also exist. However, the productivity of tef is very low as compared to other cereals due, among others, to lack of high yielding varieties. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of released brown seeded tef variety called Felagot and to provide unique morphological and agronomic descriptions of this new variety. Twelve genotypes resulting from two independent crossesnd breed for at least seven generations plus local and standard check varieties were tested over two years (2014 and 2015 main season) at six tef growing locations namely: Debre Zeit light soil, Debre Zeit Black soil, Minjar, Adet, Bichena and Holetta using randomized complete block design with four replications. The study found that Felagot (DZ-Cr-442/ RIL-77C) which was obtained from a cross between Quncho (the popular variety) and Gea Lammie (local cultivar) exceled the other genotypes and it was approved for release by the Ethiopian National Variety Release Committee in March 2017. The main advantages of Felagot over the other tested lines were its higher grain yield together with high straw yield and brown seed color. In addition, it was released under the brown seed category after one and half decades. Furthermore, it is anticipated that because of the brown seed color Felagot will command high external market preferences and prices, and thereby contribute for future tef export market

Protocol optimization for elimination of sugarcane bacilliform virus and rapid propagation of virus-free sugarcane using meristem tip culture

DATA AVAILABILITY : The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author up on request.Tissue culture protocol was optimized for the propagation of virus-free sugarcane from infected plants using meristem tips as an explant source for the elimination of sugarcane bacilliform virus (SCBV).Virus identification on the mother (source) plant and virus indexing to monitor elimination in the tissue culture-derived plants were done by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using degenerate SCBV primers. Murashige and Skoog (MS) media supplemented with 0.5 mg/l BAP + 0.25 mg/l kinetin and 0.1 mg/l GA3 + 0.5 mg/l NAA were the best hormone combination for shoot multiplication and root induction, respectively. Two explant size categories (< 1 mm and 1–2 mm) were used to assess the effect of explant size on shoot regeneration and virus elimination. The results showed that explant size affects shoot regeneration. Smaller sized (< 1 mm) explants showed higher virus elimination efficiency; however, the survival frequency of explants during initiation of shoot cultures was higher in larger (1–2 mm) meristems (64.3%) in comparison to the smaller ones (35.7%). In conclusion, in vitro meristem tip culture alone is not a satisfactory approach for the generation of SCBV-free plant from infected mother plant. The virus elimination efficiency could be enhanced by using the combination of meristem tip culture with other therapies.The Addis Ababa Science and Technology University.https://link.springer.com/journal/40858hj2023Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI)Plant Production and Soil ScienceSDG-15:Life on lan

Time to death and its predictors among neonates who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit at tertiary hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia:Retrospective follow up study

Backgrounds: Neonatal death is the major problem in developing world. Burden and predictors of neonatal mortality vary across countries and even among regions of a country, so understanding the problem concerning these factors is essential to overcome the problem. Therefore, this study aimed to determine time to death and its predictors of neonatal mortality among neonates who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of Tertiary Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: A hospital-based retrospective cohort study was employed among 434 neonates admitted in Tertiary hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A Kaplan Meier curve and a log-rank test were used to estimate the survival time and compare survival curves between variables. The cox proportional hazard model was also fitted to identify predictors. Results: A total of 434 neonates included in the study, 11.1% of which were died, and the incidence rate was 19.2 per 1000 live births. The time to death of neonates was 17 days. Independent predictors of neonatal mortality were incomplete maternal antenatal follow up[AHR: 3.7 (95% CI:1.86,7.60)], low(Appearance, Pulse, Grimily, Activity, and Respiration(APGAR)score[AHR:5.0 (95%CI:1.51–15.04)], perinatal asphyxia [AHR:5.2 (95%CI:1.92–14.30)], preterm 4.2 (95%CI: 1.32–8.83)]. Moreover, small for gestational age [AHR:4.8 (95%CI:2.33–9.72)], respiratory distress[AHR: 2.5 (95%CI: 1.24–5.09)], sepsis [AHR: 3.4 (95%CI: 1.71–4.01)], low birth weight[AHR: 7.3 (95%CI:2.69,1.91)], and tracheoesophageal fistula [AHR: 2.2 (95%CI: 1.13–4.32)]. Conclusion: The overall incidence rate was 19.2 deaths per 1,000 live births. Emphasis should be given to incomplete Antenatal care follow up, small for gestation, preterm, low birth weight, low 5th min APGAR score, neonatal sepsis, respiratory distress, perinatal asphyxia, and tracheoesophageal fistula

Seed-Business Oriented Demonstration Trials: An Efficient Option to Promote Tef (Eragrostis tef ) Varieties

አህፅሮት ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ጤፍ (Eragrostis tef) ከ6.5 ሚሊዮን በሚበልጡ አነስተኛ አርሶ አደሮች ይመረታል፡፡ ሆኖም ግን የተሻሻሉ ቴክኖሎጂዎችና የምርጥ ዘር ተጠቃሚነት ውስን በመሆኑ የሰብሉ ምርታማነት ዝቅተኛ እንደሆነ ቀጥሏል፡፡ ስለሆነም አነስተኛ አርሶ አደሮች ጥራቱን ለጠበቀ የጤፍ አራቢ ዘር ያላቸውን ተደራሽነት ለመጨመር ዓላማ ያደረገ ጥናት በ254 መሪ አርሶ አደሮች ማሳ ላይ ተካሂዷል፡፡ በጥናቱም በቅርብ ጊዜ የተለቀቁ ሦስት አዳዲስ ዝርያዎች እና አንድ ቀደም ብሎ የተለቀቀ ዝርያ (ቦሰት) ተካተው ተገምግመዋል፡፡ ለእያንዳንዱ መሪ-አርሶ አደር የአራቱም ዝርያዎች ማለትም የኮራ፣ የተስፋ፣ የዳግም እና የቦሰት አራቢ ዘር&nbsp; ተሰጥቷል፡፡ የአራቱ ዝርያዎች የዘር ምርት ተቀራራቢ (ኮራ = 1.94፣ ተስፋ = 2.31፣ ዳግም = 2.24 እና ቦሰት = 2.36 ቶን በሄክታር) ነበር፡፡ ጥናቱ በተካሄደባቸው ወረዳዎች ያለውን የግብዓት ዋጋ እና የምርት ዋጋ እሳቤ ውስጥ ሲገባ የተገኘው አማካይ ያልተጣራ ገቢ 65,355.90 ብር በሄክታር ሲሆን አማካይ የማምረቻ ወጪው ደግሞ 26,355.52 ብር በሄክታር ነበር፡፡ ከማምረቻ ወጪዎች መካከል ለጉልበት የወጣው ወጪ ትልቁን ድርሻ ሲይዝ ከጠቅላላው ወጪ 58 በመቶ ድርሻ ነበረው፡፡ በአጠቃላይ የገቢ-ወጪ ምጣኔ 1.5 በመሆኑ የተሻሻለ የጤፍ ዝርያ ቴክኖሎጂ መጠቀም በጣም ትርፋማ እንደሆነ ጥናቱ ያመልክታል፡፡ ይህም በመሆኑ አዳዲስ የሚወጡ የጤፍ ዝርያዎችን ዘር አባዝቶ ለገብያ ማቅረብን ትኩረት ያደረገ የሰርቶ ማሳያ ስራ ቢሰራ ለአርሶ አደሮች ሳቢና አዋጭ ሆኖ ተገኝትዋል፡፡ &nbsp; ጠቋሚ ቃላት፡ መሪ አርሶ አደሮች፤ የጤፍ ዝርያዎች፤ የምርጥ ዘር ምርት፤ የጤፍ ጭድ፤ የምርት ዋጋ &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Abstract Tef (Eragrostis tef) is extensively cultivated by over 6.5 million smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. However, the productivity of the crop remains low mainly due to the limited use of improved technologies including seeds. In this study, three recently released and one old (as a check) tef varieties were evaluated on 254 lead farmers’ fields with the main aim of increasing farmers’ access to quality breed seeds.Each lead farmer was provided with breeder seeds of four improved tef varieties, namely Kora, Tesfa, Dagim, and Boset.The seed yield from the four tef varieties were comparable (Kora = 1.94, Tesfa = 2.31, Dagim =2.24 and Boset = 2.36 t ha-1). Given the input and output prices that prevail in the selected districts, the mean revenue was 65,355.90 Birr ha-1 while the mean production cost was 26,355.52 Birr ha-1. Among production costs, labor took for the lion’s share as it contributed to 58% of the total cost.&nbsp;&nbsp; In general, with a benefit-cost ratio of 1.5, our technology is highly profitable and attractive to farmers if newly released tef varieties are disseminated in the seed-business-oriented method. &nbsp

Evaluation of selected semi-dwarf Tef (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter) genotypes for yield and yield related traits

Tef is the major staple food crop for Ethiopia which is cultivated by more than 6.7 million smallholder farmers. As an indigenous cereal, it is well adapted to diverse climatic and soil conditions; however, its productivity is very low mainly due to susceptibility to lodging. The objective of this study was to identify stable, high yielding and lodging tolerant tef genotypes for moisture stress areas of the country. A total of twenty genotypes including standard and local checks were tested. The field experiment was conducted using a 2m x 2m area with a completely randomized block design at six locations (Debre Zeit, Minjar, Alemtena, Melkassa, Sirinka and Axum) during the 2019 and 2020 main cropping seasons. Data were taken on plot and individual plant basis on eight pheno-agro-morphological characters including days to heading, days to maturity, grain filling period, plant height, panicle length, lodging index, above-ground shoot biomass and grain yield. The combined analysis of variance showed that the mean squares due to genotypes, locations and genotype interactions were highly significant (P&lt;0.01) for the tested eight agronomical and morphological traits evaluated. Based on the current result, 39% of the tested genotypes had a higher yield advantage over the standard check Boset variety. On the other hand, 44% of the genotypes showed higher yields than the local check. Therefore, the promising genotype for lodging tolerance needs further testing in the variety verification trial and those genotypes are used as representative materials to develop varieties, especially for lodging tolerance