Preliminary survey on tsetse flies and trypanosomosis at grazing fields and villages in and around the Nech Sar National Park, Southern Ethiopia

Preliminary survey on tsetse flies and trypanosomosis were conducted between July and August 2007 at grazing fields and villages in and around the Nech Sar national park, with the ultimate intention of forwarding baseline information on the extent of the problem and possible control strategies. . Entomological (Tsetse flies) survey was conducted by deploying a total of 16 geo referenced NGU traps on the grazing fields of cattle. Parasitological (Trypanosomosis) survey and PCV (Packed Cell Volume) measurement were done on randomly selected 202 cattle, of the park neighboring villagers. Glossina pallidipes with mean apparent density of 11.46 ftd (flies per trap per day) were found to be the only prevailing tsetse fly species in the study area. However, the mean apparent density of biting flies was found to be 4.54 ftd. Trypanosomosis with population mean estimated 17.33±5.30 were seen to be a serious problem of cattle in the area. Trypanosoma congolense and T. vivax were the two dominant species encountered in the area. However statistically significant proportion of the cattle (

Trends of modern contraceptive use among young married women based on the 2000, 2005, and 2011 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys: a multivariate decomposition analysis

Published: January 30, 2015Introduction: Accessing family planning can reduce a significant proportion of maternal, infant, and childhood deaths. In Ethiopia, use of modern contraceptive methods is low but it is increasing. This study aimed to analyze the trends and determinants of changes in modern contraceptive use over time among young married women in Ethiopia. Methods: The study used data from the three Demographic Health Surveys conducted in Ethiopia, in 2000, 2005, and 2011. Young married women age 15–24 years with sample sizes of 2,157 in 2000, 1,904 in 2005, and 2,146 in 2011 were included. Logit-based decomposition analysis technique was used for analysis of factors contributing to the recent changes. STATA 12 was employed for data management and analyses. All calculations presented in this paper were weighted for the sampling probabilities and non-response. Complex sampling procedures were also considered during testing of statistical significance. Results: Among young married women, modern contraceptive prevalence increased from 6% in 2000 to 16% in 2005 and to 36% in 2011. The decomposition analysis indicated that 34% of the overall change in modern contraceptive use was due to difference in women’s characteristics. Changes in the composition of young women’s characteristics according to age, educational status, religion, couple concordance on family size, and fertility preference were the major sources of this increase. Two-thirds of the increase in modern contraceptive use was due to difference in coefficients. Most importantly, the increase was due to change in contraceptive use behavior among the rural population (33%) and among Orthodox Christians (16%) and Protestants (4%). Conclusions: Modern contraceptive use among young married women has showed a remarkable increase over the last decade in Ethiopia. Programmatic interventions targeting poor, younger (adolescent), illiterate, and Muslim women would help to maintain the increasing trend in modern contraceptive use.Abebaw Gebeyehu Worku, Gizachew Assefa Tessema, Atinkut Alamirrew Zelek

Threats and management options of the green belt natural forest, northwest lowlands of Ethiopia

The natural forest located across central Africa from Gambia (West Africa) to Ethiopia (East Africa) is believed to break the expansion of the great Sahara Desert towards the southern and south eastern Africa, as a green belt. However, natural and anthropogenic factors are challenging the existence of the forest. Thus, this study was conducted to investigate the spatio-temporal dynamics, threats and sustainable management options of the green belt forest (GBF) located in Ethiopia. Satellite imagery was used to assess the GBF cover dynamics between the year 1980 and 2020 using ERDAS IMAGINE software. ArcGIS software was used for spatial analysis and mapping. Field observation, focus group discussions, and questionnaire based interview were used to collect the required data and SPSS software was used for analysis. The result showed that farmland increased from 32% (in 1980) to 52% (in 2020), whereas, the GBF cover decreased from 58% (in 1980) to 39% (in 2020), with the overall classification accuracy and kappa coefficient of 86% and 81%, respectively. Re-settlement, large-scale agricultural investment, charcoal production, fuel wood, and road construction were among the important threats causing the GBF reduction. Investors, settlers, migrants, residents and day-workers are agents of the GBF cover reduction. To minimize deforestation and sustainably use the GBF local bylaws, delineating and keeping the GBF from human interferences, building awareness, enrichment plantation, and alternative firewood sources were identified as management options. Therefore, to maintain the GBF and break the expansion of the Sahara Desert, governmental and non-governmental organization and the local community ought to apply the recommended GBF management options

Effectiveness of a simple lymphoedema treatment regimen in podoconiosis management in southern Ethiopia: one year follow-up

Background: Podoconiosis is a non-filarial elephantiasis caused by long-term barefoot exposure to volcanic soils in endemic areas. Irritant silicate particles penetrate the skin, causing a progressive, debilitating lymphoedema of the lower leg, often starting in the second decade of life. A simple patient-led treatment approach appropriate for resource poor settings has been developed, comprising (1) education on aetiology and prevention of podoconiosis, (2) foot hygiene (daily washing with soap, water and an antiseptic), (3) the regular use of emollient, (4) elevation of the limb at night, and (5) emphasis on the consistent use of shoes and socks. Methodology/Principal Findings: We did a 12-month, non-comparative, longitudinal evaluation of 33 patients newly presenting to one clinic site of a non-government organization (the Mossy Foot Treatment & Prevention Association, MFTPA) in southern Ethiopia. Outcome measures used for the monitoring of disease progress were (1) the clinical staging system for podoconiosis, and (2) the Amharic Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), both of which have been recently validated for use in this setting. Digital photographs were also taken at each visit. Twenty-seven patients completed follow up. Characteristics of patients completing follow-up were not significantly different to those not. Mean clinical stage and lower leg circumference decreased significantly (mean difference -0.67 (95% CI -0.38 to -0.96) and -2.00 (95% CI -1.26 to -2.74), respectively, p<0.001 for both changes). Mean DLQI diminished from 21 (out of a maximum of 30) to 6 (p<0.001). There was a non-significant change in proportion of patients with mossy lesions (p = 0.375). Conclusions/Significance: This simple, resource-appropriate regimen has a considerable impact both on clinical progression and self-reported quality of life of affected individuals. The regimen appears ideal for scaling up to other endemic regions in Ethiopia and internationally. We recommend that further research in the area include analysis of cost-effectiveness of the regimen

Genetic variability and character association for bulb yield and yield related traits in garlic in Ethiopia

Garlic ( Allium sativum ) has for centuries been valued by humans for food, culinary and medicinal purposes world over. The objective of this study was to investigate genetic variability among garlic accessions for yield, yield related and phenology traits in Ethiopia. A field study was conducted at the DebreZeit Agricultural Research Center during 2012, using 49 garlic accessions from the highlands of North Shewa, East and West Arsi, Arsi, Bale and Sidama zones, which are among the major garlic producing areas in Ethiopia. The experiment was arranged in a 7x7 simple Lattice design, with two replications. Accession were highly significant (P &lt; 0.01) for days to maturity, leaf number per plant, neck diameter, yield per plant, biological yield per plant, dry weight above ground, bulb dry weight, dry weight underground, clove number per bulb, and clove weight per bulb. Heritability estimates ranged from 82.48% for clove number, to 6.46% harvest index. High heritability, combined with high genetic advance (as per cent of mean) observed for mean clove number, yield per plant, biological yield per plant and clove weight per plant showed that these characters were controlled by additive gene effects. Thus phenotypic selection for these characters would likely be effective in variety selection and development. Bulb yield per plant had positive and highly significant genotypic and phenotypic correlations, with all characters, except plant height and harvest index. Path analysis at phenotypic level revealed that biological yield and bulb dry weight contributed major positive direct effects to bulb yield per plant. These traits showed positive and highly significant genotypic correlations with bulb yield except harvest indexL\u2019ail ( Allium sativum ) est appr\ue9ci\ue9 depuis des si\ue8cles par les humains \ue0 des fins alimentaires, culinaires et m\ue9dicinales dans le monde entier. L\u2019objectif de cette \ue9tude \ue9tait d\u2019\ue9tudier la variabilit\ue9 g\ue9n\ue9tique entre les accessions d\u2019ail pour le rendement et le rendement li\ue9s traits ph\ue9nologiques en \uc9thiopie. Une \ue9tude de terrain a \ue9t\ue9 men\ue9e au centre de recherche agricole DebreZeit en 2012, en utilisant 49 accessions d\u2019ail des zones montagneuses du Nord de Shewa, de l\u2019Est et de l\u2019Ouest d\u2019Arsi, Arsi, Bale et Sidama, qui sont parmi les principales zones de production d\u2019ail en \uc9thiopie. L\u2019exp\ue9rience a \ue9t\ue9 organis\ue9e dans une conception de treillis simple 7x7, avec deux r\ue9plications. L\u2019accession \ue9tait tr\ue8s significative (P &lt;0,01) pour les jours jusqu\u2019\ue0 la maturit\ue9, le nombre de feuilles par plante, le diam\ue8tre du col, le rendement par plante, le rendement biologique par plante, le poids sec au-dessus du sol, le poids sec du bulbe, le poids sec sous terre, le nombre de clou de girofle par bulbe, et le poids de clou de girofle par bulbe. Les estimations d\u2019h\ue9ritabilit\ue9 variaient de 82,48% pour le nombre de clous de girofle \ue0 6,46% d\u2019indice de r\ue9colte. Une h\ue9ritabilit\ue9 \ue9lev\ue9e, combin\ue9e \ue0 une avanc\ue9e g\ue9n\ue9tique \ue9lev\ue9e (en pourcentage de la moyenne) observ\ue9e pour le nombre moyen de clous de girofle, le rendement par plante, le rendement biologique par plante et le poids de clou de girofle par plante ont montr\ue9 que ces caract\ue8res \ue9taient contr\uf4l\ue9s par des effets g\ue9n\ue9tiques additifs. Ainsi, la s\ue9lection ph\ue9notypique pour ces caract\ue8res serait probablement efficace dans la s\ue9lection et le d\ue9veloppement des vari\ue9t\ue9s. Le rendement en bulbes par plante avait des corr\ue9lations g\ue9notypiques et ph\ue9notypiques positives et tr\ue8s significatives, avec tous les caract\ue8res, \ue0 l\u2019exception de la hauteur de la plante et de l\u2019indice de r\ue9colte. L\u2019analyse des chemins au niveau ph\ue9notypique a r\ue9v\ue9l\ue9 que le rendement biologique et le poids sec du bulbe contribuaient \ue0 des effets directs positifs majeurs sur le rendement en bulbe par plante. Ces caract\ue8res ont montr\ue9 des corr\ue9lations g\ue9notypiques positives et tr\ue8s significatives avec le rendement des bulbes, \ue0 l\u2019exception de l\u2019indice de r\ue9colt

Assessing the impacts of watershed interventions using ground data and remote sensing: a case study in Ethiopia

Quantifying the temporal and spatial changes due to watershed interventions is important for assessing the effectiveness of natural resource management practices on vegetative cover and sediment management. This study assessed the performance of natural resource management in a target site (Aba Gerima) and compared the collateral impacts on neighbouring watersheds in Ethiopia in terms of land-use land-cover change. Changes in the extent of cropland, grassland and shrubland were assessed in the target watershed and the non-treated neighbouring watersheds using temporal satellite imagery. In addition, ground monitoring was applied to quantify the impacts on sediment accumulation, fodder biomass and vegetative cover intensity. The study findings showed substantial changes over the study period: mainly, a change from degraded and barren land to restored vegetation in the target watershed, but a continued trend of land-use change from perennial vegetation to cropland in the neighbouring untreated watersheds. There was a decrease in the rate of conversion of vegetative land cover to cropland in the target watershed, and significant on-site changes in sediment retention, fodder productivity and vegetation intensity. The study findings demonstrate a link between management interventions and improvement in soil and vegetation ecosystem functions. These results not only indicate that watershed-level interventions improve on-site soil and water environmental services but also underline the role of community managed land-use regulations in reducing pressure on natural land-use systems and thereby serve the major goal of up-scaling sustainable land management