Region-wide assessment of the capacity for human nutrition training in West Africa: current situation,challenges, and way forward

Background: There is a dearth of information on existing nutrition training programs in West Africa. A preliminary step in the process of developing a comprehensive framework to strengthen human capacity for nutrition is to conduct an inventory of existing training programs. Objective: This study was conducted to provide baseline data on university-level nutrition training programs that exist in the 16 countries in West Africa. It also aimed to identify existing gaps in nutrition training and propose solutions to address them. Design: Participating institutions were identified based on information provided by in-country key informants, UNICEF offices or through internet searches. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews during on-site visits or through self-administered questionnaires. Simple descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed. Results: In total, 83 nutrition degree programs comprising 32 B.Sc. programs, 34 M.Sc. programs, and 17 Ph.D. programs were identified in the region. More than half of these programs were in Nigeria. Six countries (Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, The Gambia, and Togo) offered no nutrition degree program. The programs in francophone countries were generally established more recently than those in anglophone countries (age: 3.5 years vs. 21.4 years). Programs were predominantly (78%) run by government-supported institutions. They did not provide a comprehensive coverage of all essential aspects of human nutrition. They were heavily oriented to food science (46%), with little emphasis on public health nutrition (24%) or overnutrition (2%). Annual student intakes per program in 2013 ranged from 3 to 262; 7 to 40; and 3 to 10, respectively, for bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs while the number of graduates produced annually per country ranged from 6 to 271; 3 to 64; and 1 to 18, respectively. External collaboration only existed in 15% of the programs. In-service training programs on nutrition existed in less than half of the countries. The most important needs for improving the quality of existing training programs reported were teaching materials, equipment and infrastructures, funding, libraries and access to advanced technology resources. Conclusions: There are critical gaps in nutrition training in the West Africa region. The results of the present study underscore the urgent need to invest in nutrition training in West Africa. An expanded set of knowledge, skills, and competencies must be integrated into existing nutrition training curricula. Our study provides a basis for the development of a regional strategy to strengthen human capacity for nutrition across the region

Impacts sanitaires liés à l’usage des eaux de puits, à l’assainissement et à l’aménagement à Gbôdjê dans l’arrondissement de Godomey au Bénin

Cette étude a pour objectif de faire le point sur les ressources en eau utilisées, l’assainissement et l’estimation de l’impact sanitaire pour les populations riveraines de la ville de Cotonou au Bénin. Une enquête méthodologique basée sur des questionnaires a été réalisée du 21 septembre 2010 au 15 janvier 2011, dans l’arrondissement de Godomey au Bénin. Les résultats indiquent que la gestion des ressources en eau et de l’assainissement de l’environnement constituent un véritable problème dans les 2 quartiers déshérités de Gbôdjê/Womey et Rails, à cause d’une forte croissance démographique qui s’accompagne d’un développement spatial anarchique, échappant au contrôle des pouvoirs publics. Sur un échantillon de 122 concessions, 37,50% sont abonnés au réseau public mais la plupart (98,36%) utilise les eaux de puits à diverses fins. Les ouvrages d’assainissement pour les Water Closers (WC) modernes sont de 2,24% contre 97,76% de latrines ; 12,71% des concessions défèquent dans la nature. Pour le nettoyage, 15,57% des concessions sont malsaines. 82,50% des concessions déversent les eaux usées domestiques et ordures dans la nature. La santé de la population semble être menacée par les maladies hydriques avec 82,25%, 12,28% et 4,78%, respectivement pour le paludisme, maladies diarrhéiques et cutanées.Mots clés: Population riveraine, concessions, gestion des ressources, maladies hydrique

Indigenous food ingredients for complementary food formulations to combat infant malnutrition in Benin : a review

This paper reviews indigenous Beninese food resources as potential ingredients for complementary infant foods with the aim to develop affordable formulations for low-income households in each agro-ecological zone of the country. Potential ingredients were selected on their documented nutritional value. The selected foods encompass 347 food resources, namely 297 plant products from home gardens or collected from natural vegetation and 50 animals, either domesticated or from the wild. The compiled data reveal that the distribution of the available food resources was unbalanced between agro-ecological zones. Only a few animal ingredients are obtainable in northern Benin. Most resources are seasonal, but their availability may be extended. A high variation was observed in energy and nutrient contents. Antinutritional factors were identified in some resources, but processing techniques were reported to reduce their presence in meals. In general, ingredients from local tree foods (Adansonia digitata, Parkia biglobosa) were adequate as sources of nutrients for complementary infant foods. Based on this review, local foods for the development of complementary food formulas for Beninese infants and children may be selected for each agro-ecological zone. The approach used is exemplary for other sub-Saharan African countries in need of complementary infant foods

AS-Path Prepending: There is no rose without a thorn

Inbound traffic engineering (ITE) - -the process of announcing routes to, e.g., maximize revenue or minimize congestion - -is an essential task for Autonomous Systems (ASes). AS Path Prepending (ASPP) is an easy to use and well-known ITE technique that routing manuals show as one of the first alternatives to influence other ASes' routing decisions. We observe that origin ASes currently prepend more than 25% of all IPv4 prefixes. ASPP consists of inflating the BGP AS path. Since the length of the AS path is the second tie-breaker in the BGP best path selection, ASPP can steer traffic to other routes. Despite being simple and easy to use, the appreciation of ASPP among operators and researchers is diverse. Some have questioned its need, effectiveness, and predictability, as well as voiced security concerns. Motivated by these mixed views, we revisit ASPP. Our longitudinal study shows that ASes widely deploy ASPP, and its utilization has slightly increased despite public statements against it. We surprisingly spot roughly 6k ASes originating at least one prefix with prepends that achieve no ITE goal. With active measurements, we show that ASPP effectiveness as an ITE tool depends on the AS location and the number of available upstreams; that ASPP security implications are practical; identify that more than 18% of the prepended prefixes contain unnecessary prepends that achieve no apparent goal other than amplifying existing routing security risks. We validate our findings in interviews with 20 network operators