Promoting equity in immunization coverage through supply chain design in Pakistan.

To improve equity in immunization coverage, potent immunization products must be available in the communities in which low coverage rates persist. Most supply side investments are focused on replacing or establishing new health facilities to improve access to immunization. However, supply chain design must be improved to ensure that potent vaccines are available at all facilities to promote immunization equity. We used the supply chain design process in Pakistan as an opportunity to conceptualize how supply chains could impact equity outcomes. This paper outlines our approach and key considerations for assessing supply chain design as a contributing factor in achieving equitable delivery of immunization services. We conducted a supply chain analysis based on sub-national supply chain and immunization coverage at district level. Supply chain metrics included cold chain coverage and distances between vaccination sites and storage locations. Immunization coverage metrics included the third-dose diphtheria- tetanus-pertussis (DTP3) vaccination rate and the disparity in DTP3 coverage between urban and rural areas. All metrics were analyzed at the district level. Despite data limitations, triangulation across these metrics provided useful insights into the potential contributions of supply chain to equitable program performance at the district level within each province. Overall, our analysis identified supply chain gaps, highlighted supply chain contributions to program performance and informed future health system investments to prioritize children unreached by immunization services

Doğrudan Yabancı Yatırım ve Nijerya Ekonomik Büyümesi

This paper examined the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic growth (GDP) in Nigeria between 1981 and 2020, using Autoregressive Distributed Lag Bound technique (ARDL).   From the findings, there existed a long-run significant relationship among the variables employed.   Foreign direct investment (FDI) and real exchange rates (REXCR) showed positive significant short, and long-run impacts on economic growth (GDP) which is aligned with Abu (2013) and John (2016).  While interest rates and trade openness have insignificant short and long-run impacts on the economic growth.  The Pairwise Granger Causality exhibited bidirectional causality between foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic growth (GDP), demonstrating the influence of these two variables on each other, as supported by Mounir & Atef (2018).   It is therefore recommended that government should introduce new approach to foreign direct investment by supporting with zero-interest loan and credit facilities for it to have better significant impacts on economic growth both in the short and long-run.  Adequate Exportation of Nigerian products should be encouraged by export-promotion decree in order to boost trade openness to have significant impacts on the economic growth.  Real Exchange rates (REXCR) should be properly controlled by monetary authorities for economic stability to maintain its significant impacts in future on Nigerian economy.Bu makale, 1981 ve 2020 yılları arasında Nijerya'da doğrudan yabancı yatırım (DYY) ve ekonomik büyüme (GSYİH) arasındaki ilişkiyi Otoregresif Dağıtılmış Gecikme Sınırı tekniği (ARDL) kullanarak incelemiştir. Elde edilen bulgulara göre, kullanılan değişkenler arasında uzun dönemli anlamlı bir ilişki vardır. Doğrudan yabancı sermaye yatırımı (DYY) ve reel döviz kurları (REXCR), Abu (2013) ve John’un (2016) çalışmaları  ile uyumlu bir şekilde,  ekonomik büyüme (GSYİH) üzerinde kısa ve uzun vadeli olumlu etkiler göstermektedir. Faiz oranları ve ticarete açıklık ekonomik büyüme üzerinde kısa ve uzun vadeli etkileri anlamlı değildir. The Pairwise Granger Causality, Mounir ve Atef (2018) tarafından desteklendiği üzere, doğrudan yabancı yatırım (DYY) ve ekonomik büyüme (GSYİH) arasındaki çift yönlü nedenselliği ortaya koyarak  bu iki değişkenin birbirleri üzerindeki etkisini tespit etmiştir. Bu nedenle, hükümetin hem kısa hem de uzun vadede ekonomik büyüme üzerinde daha önemli etkilere sahip olması için sıfır faizli kredi ve kredi imkanlarıyla destekleyerek doğrudan yabancı yatırıma yeni bir yaklaşım getirmesi tavsiye edilmektedir. Ekonomik büyüme üzerinde önemli etkiler yaratacak ticari açıklığı artırmak için Nijerya ürünlerinin yeterli ihracatı, ihracat teşvik kararnamesi ile teşvik edilmelidir. Reel Döviz kurları (REXCR), Nijerya ekonomisi üzerindeki önemli etkilerini gelecekte de sürdürebilmek ve ekonomik istikrar için para otoriteleri tarafından uygun şekilde kontrol edilmelidir

Immunization supply chain equity metrics for Pakistan

Immunization supply chain equity metrics for Pakistan

Passengers’ satisfaction with the Lagos shuttle train services, Lagos, Nigeria

The study assessed passengers’ satisfaction with the services of the Lagos Shuttle Train Services in Lagos, Nigeria. Two types of train, the Mass Transit Train (MTT) and the Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU), were covered. Using multistage sampling, 246 passengers were surveyed. It was found that the DMU passengers had higher socioeconomic profiles; the overall condition of the DMU was also better. Further analyses reveal that passengers’ satisfaction differed for the train types: the MTT passengers were more particular about the operational environment, while the DMU passengers were concerned with both physical characteristics and the operational environment. Generally, passengers were satisfied with accessibility, coverage, fare, safety at station and onboard, security at station, and security of luggage; however, the Lagos Shuttle Train Services was found wanting on several key indicators. Recommendations are proffered towards enhancing the service quality of the Lagos Shuttle Train Services

Computer-aided drug design in anti-cancer drug discovery: What have we learnt and what is the way forward?

The escalating prevalence of cancer on a global scale, coupled with the inadequacies of present-day therapies and the emergence of drug-resistant cancer strains, has necessitated the development of additional anticancer drugs. The traditional drug discovery process is long and complex, and the high failure rate of new drugs in clinical trials further highlights the need for computational approaches in anticancer drug discovery. Computer-aided drug design (CADD), including molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations, QSAR analysis, and machine learning, are employed to predict the efficacy of potential drug compounds and pinpoint the most auspicious compounds for subsequent testing and advancement. This article provides an overview of contemporary computational approaches employed in the design of anti-cancer drugs. It highlights a range of small molecules that have been identified as capable of impeding cancer growth and migration through various mechanisms, including cell cycle arrest/apoptosis, signal transduction inhibition, angiogenesis, epigenetics, and the hedgehog pathway. It also examines the constraints of computational techniques and presents remedies to surmount these limitations in the development and identification of efficacious anticancer compounds