Trade liberalisation, openness and economic growth in less-developed countries.

A number of studies, including those in the World Bank and the IMF, would suggest that trade liberalisation is an integral part of economic reform in developing countries. Although trade liberalisation is a well researched area, there are still some remaining issues that need to be addressed. Most of the earlier studies focus on establishing a link between trade policies and long-term economic performance, measured in terms of productivity or per capita GDP growth. Although theories promoting inward-oriented policies emerged in the fifties and sixties, the unsustainable and often destructive effects of importsubstitution policies have, by and large, been discredited with the realisation that potential benefits of an open trade regime may outweigh its costs. In the early 20th century, openness was not a popular policy while protectionism dominated, and during the fifties a majority of developing countries followed it as a genuine path to industrialisation

The Relative Importance of Female Education on Fertility Desires in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Multi-Level Analysis

Scholars suggest that in high fertility settings where there is high wanted fertility, lowering the desired family size is a necessary precondition for fertility declines. Though accumulated evidence has linked socio-economic developments to changes in fertility desires, little efforts have taken to disentangle the relative importance of key socio-economic determinants such as education, income, and area of residence in a multi-level context. Combining individual and community-level data from Demographic and Health Surveys of 34 African countries to aggregate level indicators, we have quantified and compared the relative role of female education on fertility desire at the individual, community, and country levels. Results show that at the individual level, female education has a stronger effect compared to household wealth, and area of residence. The high levels of reported desired family size in the rural parts of SSA are mainly a consequence of their relatively lower levels of educational attainment compared to their urban counterparts. At the community level, the relative impact of female education is even more striking. The simulation results revealed that moving the most economically disadvantaged and illiterate woman from a low educated to a high-educated community would reduce her desired family size by about 20 percent. On the other hand, lifting the same woman from the poorest to the wealthiest community would reduce her family size desire only by 6 percent. Our findings are robust to alternative measures of fertility preferences. This study, thus, confirmed the findings of previous studies that have looked at the relationship and causal link between actual fertility and women’s level of educational attainment

Epidemiological study on manage mite, lice and sheep keds of small ruminants in Tigray region, northern Ethiopia

Tigray Region used to be an important source of hides and skins in Ethiopia. However, today the quality and quantity have significantly declined, for which external parasites are incriminated as major causes. Epidemiological study on mange mite, lice and sheep keds of small ruminants was conducted, from Feb.-Aug./2003, with the objectives of determining the distribution and the major risk factors associated with the external parasites. A total of 43,325 animals (22,337 sheep and 20,988 goats), from lowland, medium and high altitudes, were clinically inspected, for the parasites during the dry and wet seasons. The prevalence rate of mange mite was 8.11% (95% CI 4.2284-4.6179) and 0.95% (95% CI 0.8303-1.0898) for goat and sheep, respectively. Goats were 9.17 (OR=9.17, 95% 7.92-10.61) times at higher risk of acquiring mange mite infestation than sheep. Statistically significant difference (X2=121, P=0.0000) was observed during the dry (5.68%) and wet (3.48%) seasons which was associated with seasonal feed shortage and other stress factors. Animals in lowland were 2.63 (OR=2.6, 95% 2.15-3.20) times more exposed to mange mite infestation than the highland. The prevalence of lice infestation in goats was 11.98% (95% CI 11.5466 -12.4301). During the dry season, animals were exposed to lice infestation 2 times (OR=2.18, 95% 1.51-1.77) more than in the in wet season. Statistically significant difference (P2 years (5.53%) and male (8.3%) and female (5.28%). The Overall prevalence of sheep keds was 11.67%. (95% CI 13.8833-16.0302) Statistically significant difference (

Changes in land cover, rainfall and stream flow in Upper Gilgel Abbay catchment, Blue Nile basin – Ethiopia

In this study we evaluated changes in land cover and rainfall in the Upper Gilgel Abbay catchment in the Upper Blue Nile basin and how changes affected stream flow in terms of annual flow, high flows and low flows. Land cover change assessment was through classification analysis of remote sensing based land cover data while assessments on rainfall and stream flow data are by statistical analysis. Results of the supervised land cover classification analysis indicated that 50.9 % and 16.7 % of the catchment area was covered by forest in 1973 and 2001, respectively. This significant decrease in forest cover is mainly due to expansion of agricultural land. \ud \ud By use of a change detection procedure, three periods were identified for which changes in rainfall and stream flow were analyzed. Rainfall was analyzed at monthly base by use of the Mann-Kendall test statistic and results indicated a statistically significant, decreasing trend for most months of the year. However, for the wet season months of June, July and August rainfall has increased. In the period 1973–2005, the annual flow of the catchment decreased by 12.1 %. Low flow and high flow at daily base were analyzed by a low flow and a high flow index that is based on a 95 % and 5 % exceedance probability. Results of the low flow index indicated decreases of 18.1 % and 66.6 % for the periods 1982–2000 and 2001–2005 respectively. Results of high flows indicated an increase of 7.6 % and 46.6 % for the same periods. In this study it is concluded that over the period 1973–2005 stream flow has changed in the Gilgel Abbay catchment by changes in land cover and changes in rainfall

Prevalence of syphilis in pregnancy in Addis Ababa

Objective: To assess the extent of syphilis seropositivity in pregnant women, identify the risk factors associated with it and re-evaluate the need for routine antenatal care screening for syphilis.Design: Prospective cross-sectional study.Setting: Three teaching hospitals of Addis Ababa University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Subjects: A total of 410 pregnant women attending antenatal care from April 1997 to September 1997 were included in the study. Subjects were excluded from the study if they were registered prior to the study period.Main outcome measures: Seropositivity for syphilis, and socio-demographic factors related to it.Results: Among the study population, twelve women (2.9%) were positive for Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL). The study showed that the seropositive women were more likely to be those with lesser income

Tillage Effect on Soil Moisture Storage and Wheat Yield on the Vertisols of North Central Highlands of Ethiopia

Vertisols are one of the agriculturally important soils in Delanta Dawunt, north central highlands of Ethiopia, for peasant farmers as almost all the cereal, soil and forage crops are grown on them. However, waterlogging during the growing season impedes the performances of cereal crops. It is crucial to seek for cost effective means to mitigate waterlogging for increased production. Hence, a field experiment was conducted to observe effectiveness of tillage on draining excess soil water. To this effect treatments, i.e., ‘flat seedbed, ‘traditional drainage system' (Shurube), ‘broadbed and furrow with 100 cm (BBF-100 cm)' and ‘broadbed and furrow with 80cm'(BBF 80 cm) were arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications on 6 m by 4 m plot. The study revealed that BBF-100 cm, BBF-80 cm and traditional drainage system significantly increased the grain yield of wheat by 51.4 %, 41.6 % and 11.2 % compared to the control, respectively. Therefore, this study recommends ‘BBF-100 cm followed by BBF-80 cm to fight against seasonal waterlogging and to boost wheat production in the North central highlands of Ethiopia. Keywords: Broadbed and furrow with 100 cm, Broadbed and furrow with 80 cm, Flat seedbed; Traditional drainage System; Tillage, Vertisols; WheatEthiopian Journal of Environmental Studies of Management Vol. 1 (2) 2008: pp.49-5

Assessment of skin-to-skin contact (SSC) during the postpartum stay and its determinant factors among mothers at public health institutions in Ethiopia.

ObjectiveThe study aimed at assessing skin-to-skin contact (SSC) during the postpartum stay and its determinant factors among mothers at public health institutions in Ethiopia.ResultA total of 384 mothers-indexed newborns admitted in postnatal wards were interviewed. The prevalence of mothers' SSC practice to their newborns with in the first 1 h during the postpartum stay was 28.1%. Mothers education (AOR = 18.23 [95% CI 5.26, 63.52]), and number of ANC visits (AOR = 8.55 [95% CI 1.05, 69.54]) were independently associated with SSC practice of mothers to their infants

Physiochemical characteristics of honey obtained from traditional and modern hive production systems in Tigray region, northern Ethiopia

This study was conducted with the objective to determine the  physiochemical characteristics of Tigray honey (n= 38) and to compare the quality honey of Tigray with those described in the Quality Standard Authority of Ethiopia, Codex Standard and European Honey Directive. Honey samples were collected from traditional hives (n =19) and modern hives (n=19) production systems. Physiochemical characteristics evaluated were: color, moisture, reducing sugar, sucrose, acidity, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), mineral content, pH, water insoluble solids and specific gravity. All parameters were analyzed following the techniques proposed by the Codex Standard for Honey. A statistical analysis using GMP5 soft ware was utilized to determine the differences in quality between honey from traditional and modern hive production systems. The average content of mineral, moisture, acidity, invert sugar, pH, sucrose, specific gravity and water insoluble solids in traditional hive honey samples were 22%, 18.25%, 29.89 meq kg-1, 70.95%, 4.13, 2.37%, 1.41 and 0.07%, respectively. On the other hand, the corresponding values for honey samples from modern hive production system were 0.18%, 18.60%, 29.12meqkg-1, 71.42 %, 4.04, 2.71%, 1.40, and 0.03%, respectively. Consequently, no significant differences (p> 0.05) were found in all the quality parameters except for water insoluble solids. The mean value for HMF was 11.18 mgkg-1 for the processed honey and the color of the honey varied from white to amber with light amber (55.26%) being the predominant color of the honey in Tigray. All the honey samples met the Codex Standard, QSAE and EU physiochemical quality Standard limits for honey except water insoluble solids in traditional hive production system. Water insoluble solids were found in 26.32% of the samples examined which will have to be improved through intensive training and experience sharing.Key word: Honey, Quality, Physiochemical characteristics, Tigra

Structure and Regeneration Status of Gedo Dry Evergreen Montane Forest, West Shewa Zone of Oromia National Regional State, Central Ethiopia

This study was conducted on Gedo Dry Evergreen Montane Forest in West Shewa Zone of Oromia National Regional State, 182-196 km west of Addis Ababa (Finfinne). The objective of the study was to determine structure and regeneration status of Gedo Forest. All trees and shrubs with Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) ≥ 2 cm were measured for height and diameter. The density of tree species in Gedo Forest decreases with increasing height and DBH classes. The forest is characterized by high density of trees in the lower class than in the higher. Three layers (lower, middle and upper) of tree were identified from the study of vertical stratification of Gedo Forest following the International Union for Forestry Research Organization (IUFRO) classification scheme. The regeneration status of selected woody species was assessed as well as the forest was compared with five dry evergreen forests of Ethiopia. Based on the result of the study, research on the soil seed bank, population dynamics and ecology of endemic species were recommended.Keywords: Dry evergreen montane forest; Gedo Forest; Phytogeographical; Compariso

Study on the assessment of drug resistance on Trypanosoma vivax in Tselemti woreda , Tigray, Ethiopia

The study was conducted at Tselemti Woreda, Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia, some 1200 kms away from the capital, from November 2002 to April 2003. In the first phase of this study, questionnaire survey was carried out to assess livestock production constraints. Subsequently, a study on the occurrence of drug resistance to diminazene aceturate and isomethamidum chloride of Trypanosoma vivax isolate in artificially infected goats were conducted. Results of the questionnaire survey revealed that 95.7% of the interviewees replied that trypanosomosis is a series problem in their areas. Apart from this, under dosing of trypanocidal drugs appeared a common practice in the areas surveyed. Drug sensitivity test conducted on 18 artificially infected goats revealed that T. vivax developed resistance to the curative doses of diminazene aceturate (3.5 mg/kg b.wt) and isomethamidum chloride (0.25 mg/kg b.wt). No relapses were seen for those animals treated with diminazen aceturate at a dose of 7 mg/kg b.wt and 0.5 mg/kg b.wt of isomethamidum chloride. Sanative pair between diminazene aceturate and isometamidum chloride was also confirmed by the occurrence of no relapses after first treatment with diminazene aceturate (at 3.5 mg/kg) and isomethamidum chloride (0.25 mg/kg) and a second treatment with 0.25 mg/kg isomethamidum chloride and 3.5 mg/kg diminazene aceturate, respectively. During the 90 days of trial period there was no statistical significant difference (P>0.05) in mean PCV of the five groups before and after treatment: (26+1.23), (27.5+1.33), (26.5+2.03), (29.8+2.12) and (25.5+ 3.06) for groups I, II, III, IV and V respectively. Generally diminazene aceturate at dose of 7 mg/kg and isomethamidum chloride at dose of 0.5 mg/kg b.wt were most effective in terms of curing infections as well as improving PCV and body weight. It was concluded that where there are indications for drug resistance against isomethamidum and diminazene aceturate the use of trypanocidal drugs should be supervised, the principle of sanative pairs has to be applied and chemotherapy needs to be integrated with other methods like vector (tsetse and biting flies) control. Keywords: Diminazene-aceturate, drug-resistance, goats, isomethamidumchloride, trypanosomosis, Tselemti