Restrictions on Herd Mobility and Its Implications on Pastoral Adaptation to Climate Change: Perspectives from Drylands of Borena in Ethiopia

The paper is based on action research conducted in three districts of Borena zone (Yabello, Negelle and Moyalle) in Ethiopia. Field work was conducted with pastoral elders using key informant interviews, focused group discussion and participatory mapping exercise. Primary data were generated on local perceptions of climate change and traditional coping mechanisms based on herd mobility. Long-term climate data were analyzed for three weather stations and moving averages were plotted. The results provide strong evidence for climate change and its impacts on pastoral livelihoods particularly when herd mobility is restricted due to various reasons (e.g., agri-business projects, establishment of ranches). Analysis of climate data and local perceptions suggest that there has been a serious climatic and ecological deterioration rendering pastoralists vulnerable to shocks and abject poverty. Borena pastoralists have living memories of series of drought and famine episodes of various magnitudes over the past several decades. They claim that this is partly because their traditional mobility patterns have been disrupted and access to important grazing sites has been restricted. The most immediate policy message is the need to protect and promote herd mobility which proved to be the best response and adaptation to changing climatic conditions in the dryland environments. In view of the growing environmental and livelihood concerns subsequent to sedenterization of pastoralists, we tend to challenge the generally held view that pastoral production based on mobility is outmoded, archaic and needs modernization and replacement. Keywords: Climate change, drylands, herd mobility, pastoralis

Environmental rights and Pastorlal livelihoods: The case of Borena and Kaarrayu pastoralists in Ethiopia

Pastoralists in Ethiopia make an immense contribution to the national economy despite living in some of the most inhospitable and drought-prone parts of the country. Their traditional migratory lifestyle and knowledge of dryland resource management has allowed them to generally withstand drought and to maintain a healthy and biodiverse ecosystem in their communally-managed rangelands. However, Policies have favoured externally-imposed development schemes which often alienate and expropriate pastoral lands in favour of large-scale commercial activities. Resource alienation and curtailment of mobility has prevented pastoralists from accessing their traditional grazing and watering areas. Main reasons are commercial plantations, ranches and national parks have made pastoral households vulnerable to frequent droughts, food insecurity and famine. This paper illustrates the extent and forms of land alienation and its impacts on pastoral livelihoods through field research done among the pastoralist and agropastoralist communities of Southern Ethiopia. The research found that livestock numbers are declining dramatically, land degradation is increasing, and people are becoming more vulnerable to food insecurity. The internal responses employed by pastoralists have become inadequate in the face of the pressures and changes that take place too fast to allow for a positive adaptation. The study concludes that support is needed to scale up pastoralists’ efforts to diversify their livelihoods. The recent land registration and certification process has ensured usufruct rights for farmers but these efforts have not been implemented in the pastoral areas. The need for protecting pastoralists’ culture and practice of mobility is highlighted in order ensure effective use of the dispersed dryland resources through giving legal backing to customary institutions.       Key words: pastoralists, mobility, land alienation, dryland, vulnerability, coping, Borena, Karrayu, Ethiopi

Mineralogical and Physicochemical Properties of Nitisols In The Ethiopian Highlands

አህፅሮት ኒቲሶልስ (Nitisols) በአብዛኛዉ ቀይ ወይም ቀይ-ቡናማ ቀለም  ያላቸዉ የአፈር ዓይነቶች ሲሆኑ በኢትዮጵያ ከፍተኛ አካባቢዎች በተለይም በደቡብ ምዕራብ ኢትዮጵያ ሰፊ የእርሻ መሬት ይሸፍናሉ፡፡ ይህ የአሰሳ ጥናት በ250 ሜትር ጥራት (ሪዞልዩሺን) የተወሰኑ የኒቲሶልስ ገፀ አምደ አፈሮችን በማዘጋጀት የሥነ ቅርፀ-አፈር (ሞርፎሎጂካል)፣ ፊዚካዊና ኬሚካዊ ባህሪያትን እንደዚሁም የንጥረነገር ይዘት ያጠቃልላል፡፡ ይህ በ46 የኒቲሶል ገፀ አምደ አፈሮች ላይ የተካሄደ ጥናት የአፈር ልኬተ አሲድጨው፣ የአፈር ዘአካል ካርቦን፣ ዓቢይና ንዑስ ንጥረምግቦች፣ የማዕድንና ጠቅላለ የንጥረነገሮችን ይዘት ምርመራና ትንተና የያዘ ነዉ፡፡ የዚህ ጥናት ዉጤት እንደሚያሳየዉ በኢትዮጵያ ከፍተኛ አካባቢ የሚገኘዉ የኒቲሶል መሰረታዊ የሥነ አፈር ባህርይ ይለያል፡፡ የዚህ አፈር ልኬተ አሲድጨው በ4.8 እና በ6.7 መካከል ሲሆን በጠንከራ እና አነስተኛ የአሲዳማነት ደረጃ ይመደባል፡፡ የዚህ አፈር የካርቦን፣ የናይተሮጅንና የድኝ (ሰልፈር) ይዘት በጣም ዝቅተኛ ሲሆን መጠናቸዉም በቅደም ተከተል 2.05፣ 0.18 እና 0.94 ሚ.ግ. በኪ.ግ. መሆኑን ያሳያል፡፡ ሆኖም በአፈር ዉስጥ የሚገኙ የፎስፎረስ (ከ2.40 እስከ 26.40 ሚ.ግ. በኪ.ግ) እና የፖታሲየም (ከ0.07 እስከ 2.77 ሴንቲሞል በከ.ግ) መጠን ሰፊ የሆነ ልዩነት የታየባቸዉ ሲሆን ይህም በአፈር-ሰር ቁሶችና በመሬት አጠቃቀም ልዩነት ምክንያት የተፈጠረ ሊሆን ይችላል፡፡ የንዑስ ንጥረምግቦችን በተመለከተ ደግሞ ይህ አፈር በብረት (Fe)፣ ማንጋኒዝ (Mn) እና ነሀስ (Zn) ንጥረ ነገሮች መጠን በጣም ከፍተኛ ሲሆን በመዳብ (Cu) እና በቦሮን (B) ይዘት ግን በጣም ዝቅተኛ ነዉ፡፡ በአንጻሩ ግን ይህ የአፈር ዓይነት በመጠነ አሉታ ሙል (CEC፣ አማካይ 41.93 ወይም ከ26 እስከ 57 ሴንቲሞል በኪ.ግ) እና በጨዋማ ንጥረነገር (base saturation፣ አማካይ 73% ወይም ከ50 እስከ 95%) መጠን በጣም ከፍተኛ ሲሆን በኤፒ አድማሰ አፈር (Ap horizon) ዉስጥ አማካይ የሲልት እና ሸክላ አፈር ስብርባሪ (ፍራክሽን) ንፃሬ (ሬሺዮ) 0.38 በመሆኑ ከፍተኛ ነዉ፡፡ ከሌሎች መሰል ኒቲሶል የአፈር ዓይነቶች አንጻር  በቀዳሚ ማዕድናት ይዘት በዋናነት ፊልድስፓር እና 2፡1 ፋይሎሲሊኬት (phyllosilicates) በዋናነት ማይካ በሸክላ አፈር ስብርባሪ ዉስጥ የሚገኙ ሲሆን ይህ አፈር በመካከለኛ ዕድሜ ክልል የሚገን ገና ያላረጀ መሆኑን ያሳያል፡፡ በዚህ አፈር ላይ ዘላቂ እርሻ ለማካሄድ በአፈር ዉስጥ ቅሬተ ዘአካል ማሳደግና እንደዚሁም የተመጣጠነ እና ትክክለኛ የአፈር ማዳበሪያ መጨመር ያስፈልጋል፡፡ በተጨማሪም በአለም አቀፍ የአፈር ሀብት (World Resource Base) ምደባ ዘዴ መሰረት የኒቶሶል ልዩ ገፀ አምደ አፈር ለንዑስ ኒቲሶል ልየታ የሚረዱ ተጨማሪ መመዘኛዎችን አካቷል፡፡    Abstract  Nitisols cover an extensive area of the agricultural landscape in the Ethiopian highlands. This study outlines the morphological and physico-chemical properties, and the mineralogical and total elemental composition of some Nitisol profiles based on soil survey at 250 m resolution. Analytical data of 46 Nitisol profiles were studied for soil pH, organic carbon (OC) and some macro and micronutrients, and mineralogical and total elemental composition. Results showed that Nitisols of the Ethiopian highlands differ in some fundamental ways from the pedogenetic characteristics often referred to in the mainstream soil science literature. The soils in this study are strongly to moderately acidic with pH of 4.8-6.7, and very low in OC, TN and sulfur (S) with mean values of 2.05%, 0.18% and 0.94 mg/kg. But levels of available phosphorus (AP) and exchangeable K showed wide variation (2.40 to 26.40 mg/kg P and 0.07 to 2.77 cmol (+)/kg K), reflecting differences in parent materials and land use. Considering micronutrients, the soils are very high in iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) but severely deficient in copper (Cu) and boron (B). Conversely, the soils are very high in CEC (mean 41.93, range 26-57 cmol (+)/kg) and base saturation (mean 73%, range of 50-95%), and mean silt/clay ratio of 0.38 in the Ap horizon is rated high. Mineralogical composition of primary minerals (chiefly feldspars) and 2:1 phyllosilicates (mainly mica) in the clay fraction, suggests that the soils are still young and cannot be qualified as “highly weathered soils” in contrast with other tropical Nitisols. At a local level, the results suggest that sustainable agricultural production on these soils depends on the replenishment of organic matter and application of fertilizers in proper balance and right amounts. Also, the distinct characteristics of Nitisol profiles described provide additional diagnostic criteria to distinguish subunits of Nitisols (i.e., third level) under the WRB system of classification. &nbsp

Patients Satisfaction on Clinical Laboratory Services at Nekemte Referral Hospital, Oromia, Ethiopia

Background: Satisfaction is the extent to which the clients feel their needs are fulfilled and their expectations are being met by the service provider. Furthermore, understanding the level of client satisfaction and identifying the factors hindering client satisfaction are the most important base lines to improve the quality of service being delivered. Objective: to assess the extent to which patients were satisfied on clinical laboratory services provided at  Nekemte Referral Hospital   (NRH) . Method: A Hospital based cross sectional study was conducted on randomly selected 422 Patients requested for clinical laboratory service at NRH from March to April 2014. Data were collected using structured, pretested, interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using SPSS for windows version 20. Result: Among the 422 patients, 255 (60.4%) were satisfied, 75 (17.8%) were neutral and 92(21.8%) were dissatisfied with the laboratory services given in Nekemte Referral Hospital. There was no significant association between socio-demographic characteristics and level of satisfaction of patients (P- value > 0.05).In Likert Scale, the overall mean rate of satisfaction of patients with laboratory services in Nekemte referral hospital was 3.65 out of the 5 points. The lowest mean rating of satisfaction were given for Cleanness of latrine and location of the laboratory in the hospital with mean rating of 2.15 and 2.17 respectively. Conclusion: The overall degree of patient  customers’ satisfaction with the laboratory services at Nekemte Referral Hospital was 60.4% .patients were dissatisfied in cleanness and location of latrines in the hospital. Therefore; hospital administration and the laboratory department of  Nekemte referral Hospital should strive more to enhance patients’ satisfaction, particularly in sanitation and location of the latrine in the hospital. Key Words: patients’ Satisfaction, Clinical Laboratory Services, Nekemte Referral Hospita

Prevalence and attributable health burden of chronic respiratory diseases, 1990–2017: A systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2017

© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license Background: Previous attempts to characterise the burden of chronic respiratory diseases have focused only on specific disease conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma. In this study, we aimed to characterise the burden of chronic respiratory diseases globally, providing a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis on geographical and time trends from 1990 to 2017. Methods: Using data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017, we estimated the prevalence, morbidity, and mortality attributable to chronic respiratory diseases through an analysis of deaths, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and years of life lost (YLL) by GBD super-region, from 1990 to 2017, stratified by age and sex. Specific diseases analysed included asthma, COPD, interstitial lung disease and pulmonary sarcoidosis, pneumoconiosis, and other chronic respiratory diseases. We also assessed the contribution of risk factors (smoking, second-hand smoke, ambient particulate matter and ozone pollution, household air pollution from solid fuels, and occupational risks) to chronic respiratory disease-attributable DALYs. Findings: In 2017, 544·9 million people (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 506·9–584·8) worldwide had a chronic respiratory disease, representing an increase of 39·8% compared with 1990. Chronic respiratory disease prevalence showed wide variability across GBD super-regions, with the highest prevalence among both males and females in high-income regions, and the lowest prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. The age-sex-specific prevalence of each chronic respiratory disease in 2017 was also highly variable geographically. Chronic respiratory diseases were the third leading cause of death in 2017 (7·0% [95% UI 6·8–7·2] of all deaths), behind cardiovascular diseases and neoplasms. Deaths due to chronic respiratory diseases numbered 3 914 196 (95% UI 3 790 578–4 044 819) in 2017, an increase of 18·0% since 1990, while total DALYs increased by 13·3%. However, when accounting for ageing and population growth, declines were observed in age-standardised prevalence (14·3% decrease), age-standardised death rates (42·6%), and age-standardised DALY rates (38·2%). In males and females, most chronic respiratory disease-attributable deaths and DALYs were due to COPD. In regional analyses, mortality rates from chronic respiratory diseases were greatest in south Asia and lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, also across both sexes. Notably, although absolute prevalence was lower in south Asia than in most other super-regions, YLLs due to chronic respiratory diseases across the subcontinent were the highest in the world. Death rates due to interstitial lung disease and pulmonary sarcoidosis were greater than those due to pneumoconiosis in all super-regions. Smoking was the leading risk factor for chronic respiratory disease-related disability across all regions for men. Among women, household air pollution from solid fuels was the predominant risk factor for chronic respiratory diseases in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, while ambient particulate matter represented the leading risk factor in southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania, and in the Middle East and north Africa super-region. Interpretation: Our study shows that chronic respiratory diseases remain a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, with growth in absolute numbers but sharp declines in several age-standardised estimators since 1990. Premature mortality from chronic respiratory diseases seems to be highest in regions with less-resourced health systems on a per-capita basis. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Global, regional, and national cancer incidence, mortality, years of life lost, years lived with disability, and disability-Adjusted life-years for 29 cancer groups, 1990 to 2017 : A systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study

Importance: Cancer and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are now widely recognized as a threat to global development. The latest United Nations high-level meeting on NCDs reaffirmed this observation and also highlighted the slow progress in meeting the 2011 Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases and the third Sustainable Development Goal. Lack of situational analyses, priority setting, and budgeting have been identified as major obstacles in achieving these goals. All of these have in common that they require information on the local cancer epidemiology. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study is uniquely poised to provide these crucial data. Objective: To describe cancer burden for 29 cancer groups in 195 countries from 1990 through 2017 to provide data needed for cancer control planning. Evidence Review: We used the GBD study estimation methods to describe cancer incidence, mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, and disability-Adjusted life-years (DALYs). Results are presented at the national level as well as by Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income, educational attainment, and total fertility rate. We also analyzed the influence of the epidemiological vs the demographic transition on cancer incidence. Findings: In 2017, there were 24.5 million incident cancer cases worldwide (16.8 million without nonmelanoma skin cancer [NMSC]) and 9.6 million cancer deaths. The majority of cancer DALYs came from years of life lost (97%), and only 3% came from years lived with disability. The odds of developing cancer were the lowest in the low SDI quintile (1 in 7) and the highest in the high SDI quintile (1 in 2) for both sexes. In 2017, the most common incident cancers in men were NMSC (4.3 million incident cases); tracheal, bronchus, and lung (TBL) cancer (1.5 million incident cases); and prostate cancer (1.3 million incident cases). The most common causes of cancer deaths and DALYs for men were TBL cancer (1.3 million deaths and 28.4 million DALYs), liver cancer (572000 deaths and 15.2 million DALYs), and stomach cancer (542000 deaths and 12.2 million DALYs). For women in 2017, the most common incident cancers were NMSC (3.3 million incident cases), breast cancer (1.9 million incident cases), and colorectal cancer (819000 incident cases). The leading causes of cancer deaths and DALYs for women were breast cancer (601000 deaths and 17.4 million DALYs), TBL cancer (596000 deaths and 12.6 million DALYs), and colorectal cancer (414000 deaths and 8.3 million DALYs). Conclusions and Relevance: The national epidemiological profiles of cancer burden in the GBD study show large heterogeneities, which are a reflection of different exposures to risk factors, economic settings, lifestyles, and access to care and screening. The GBD study can be used by policy makers and other stakeholders to develop and improve national and local cancer control in order to achieve the global targets and improve equity in cancer care. © 2019 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific mortality for 282 causes of death in 195 countries and territories, 1980-2017 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Background Global development goals increasingly rely on country-specific estimates for benchmarking a nation's progress. To meet this need, the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2016 estimated global, regional, national, and, for selected locations, subnational cause-specific mortality beginning in the year 1980. Here we report an update to that study, making use of newly available data and improved methods. GBD 2017 provides a comprehensive assessment of cause-specific mortality for 282 causes in 195 countries and territories from 1980 to 2017. Methods The causes of death database is composed of vital registration (VR), verbal autopsy (VA), registry, survey, police, and surveillance data. GBD 2017 added ten VA studies, 127 country-years of VR data, 502 cancer-registry country-years, and an additional surveillance country-year. Expansions of the GBD cause of death hierarchy resulted in 18 additional causes estimated for GBD 2017. Newly available data led to subnational estimates for five additional countries Ethiopia, Iran, New Zealand, Norway, and Russia. Deaths assigned International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes for non-specific, implausible, or intermediate causes of death were reassigned to underlying causes by redistribution algorithms that were incorporated into uncertainty estimation. We used statistical modelling tools developed for GBD, including the Cause of Death Ensemble model (CODErn), to generate cause fractions and cause specific death rates for each location, year, age, and sex. Instead of using UN estimates as in previous versions, GBD 2017 independently estimated population size and fertility rate for all locations. Years of life lost (YLLs) were then calculated as the sum of each death multiplied by the standard life expectancy at each age. All rates reported here are age-standardised. Findings At the broadest grouping of causes of death (Level 1), non-communicable diseases (NC Ds) comprised the greatest fraction of deaths, contributing to 73.4% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 72.5-74.1) of total deaths in 2017, while communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional (CMNN) causes accounted for 186% (17.9-19.6), and injuries 8.0% (7.7-8.2). Total numbers of deaths from NCD causes increased from 2007 to 2017 by 22.7% (21.5-23.9), representing an additional 7.61 million (7. 20-8.01) deaths estimated in 2017 versus 2007. The death rate from NCDs decreased globally by 7.9% (7.08.8). The number of deaths for CMNN causes decreased by 222% (20.0-24.0) and the death rate by 31.8% (30.1-33.3). Total deaths from injuries increased by 2.3% (0-5-4-0) between 2007 and 2017, and the death rate from injuries decreased by 13.7% (12.2-15.1) to 57.9 deaths (55.9-59.2) per 100 000 in 2017. Deaths from substance use disorders also increased, rising from 284 000 deaths (268 000-289 000) globally in 2007 to 352 000 (334 000-363 000) in 2017. Between 2007 and 2017, total deaths from conflict and terrorism increased by 118.0% (88.8-148.6). A greater reduction in total deaths and death rates was observed for some CMNN causes among children younger than 5 years than for older adults, such as a 36.4% (32.2-40.6) reduction in deaths from lower respiratory infections for children younger than 5 years compared with a 33.6% (31.2-36.1) increase in adults older than 70 years. Globally, the number of deaths was greater for men than for women at most ages in 2017, except at ages older than 85 years. Trends in global YLLs reflect an epidemiological transition, with decreases in total YLLs from enteric infections, respirator}, infections and tuberculosis, and maternal and neonatal disorders between 1990 and 2017; these were generally greater in magnitude at the lowest levels of the Socio-demographic Index (SDI). At the same time, there were large increases in YLLs from neoplasms and cardiovascular diseases. YLL rates decreased across the five leading Level 2 causes in all SDI quintiles. The leading causes of YLLs in 1990 neonatal disorders, lower respiratory infections, and diarrhoeal diseases were ranked second, fourth, and fifth, in 2017. Meanwhile, estimated YLLs increased for ischaemic heart disease (ranked first in 2017) and stroke (ranked third), even though YLL rates decreased. Population growth contributed to increased total deaths across the 20 leading Level 2 causes of mortality between 2007 and 2017. Decreases in the cause-specific mortality rate reduced the effect of population growth for all but three causes: substance use disorders, neurological disorders, and skin and subcutaneous diseases. Interpretation Improvements in global health have been unevenly distributed among populations. Deaths due to injuries, substance use disorders, armed conflict and terrorism, neoplasms, and cardiovascular disease are expanding threats to global health. For causes of death such as lower respiratory and enteric infections, more rapid progress occurred for children than for the oldest adults, and there is continuing disparity in mortality rates by sex across age groups. Reductions in the death rate of some common diseases are themselves slowing or have ceased, primarily for NCDs, and the death rate for selected causes has increased in the past decade. Copyright (C) 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe