Urethral Stricture and HIV: Unusual Presentations and Treatment Challenge

Objective: The clinico-pathologic features of urethral stricture in patients with HIV/AIDS are not yet clearly described in the literature. HIV/AIDS has changed the natural course and clinical features of most infectious diseases. We describe some of the features of post-inflammatory strictures associated with HIV Infection and assess the treatment challenges and outcomes of other causes of urethral stricture.Patients and Methods: Consecutive men with urethral stricture who presented to the University Hospital of Gondar, North-West Ethiopia were enrolled. The HIV status, cause of the stricture, type of treatment and outcome were recorded.Results: There were 25 post-traumatic and 15 post-gonococcal urethral strictures. All posttraumatic and 5 of the post-gonococcal urethral stricture patients were HIV negative. All 10 HIV positive patients had longer and denser urethral strictures than expected. The time between gonococcal infection and urethral stricture development was 3-5 years in HIV positive patients. The treatment of post-traumatic stricture included progressive perineal anastomotic urethroplasty and a good outcome was seen in more than 95%. However, the surgical treatment of patients with HIV infection was a challenge.Conclusion: If post-inflammatory urethral stricture occurs in a young man where the time between known gonococcal infection and development of stricture is short (less than 5 years), HIV coinfection is most likely. The stricture in these patients will be longer and denser and not amenableto conventional endoscopic urethrotomy.Key Words: Urethral stricture, gonococcal infection, trauma, treatment, HI

Mechanization and automation in Africa’s agroprocessing sector : Implications for jobs and skill needs

A growing demand for higher-value agrifood products in Africa, driven in particular by the rapidly emerging urban middle class, will offer opportunities for the local food and beverage processing industry to generate revenue, create jobs and improve access to food on the continent. To be competitive, the industry will require efficient production methods that can generate a reliable supply of high-quality products. Globally, the food industry, particularly in higher-income countries, employ a myriad of technologies to meet these objectives, including power-driven machinery and more recently automation technologies, i.e. computer-controlled production systems. Little is known about the use and impact of these technologies in African agroprocessing. Based on a survey of firms in four African countries (South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Ethiopia), this policy brief presents insights on the status of mechanization and automation in Africa’s food and beverage manufacturing sector and how these technologies may affect employment and skill requirements

A systematic review and meta-analysis of trypanosome prevalence in tsetse flies

Background: The optimisation of trypanosomosis control programs warrants a good knowledge of the main vector of animal and human trypanosomes in sub-Saharan Africa, the tsetse fly. An important aspect of the tsetse fly population is its trypanosome infection prevalence, as it determines the intensity of the transmission of the parasite by the vector. We therefore conducted a systematic review of published studies documenting trypanosome infection prevalence from field surveys or from laboratory experiments under controlled conditions. Publications were screened in the Web of Science, PubMed and Google Scholar databases. Using the four-stage (identification, screening, eligibility and inclusion) process in the PRISMA statement the initial screened total of 605 studies were reduced to 72 studies. The microscopic examination of dissected flies (dissection method) remains the most used method to detect trypanosomes and thus constituted the main focus of this analysis. Meta-regression was performed to identify factors responsible for high trypanosome prevalence in the vectors and a random effects meta-analysis was used to report the sensitivity of molecular and serological tests using the dissection method as gold standard. Results: The overall pooled prevalence was 10.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 8.1%, 12.4%) and 31.0% (95% CI = 20. 0%, 42.0%) for the field survey and laboratory experiment data respectively. The country and the year of publication were found to be significantly factors associated with the prevalence of trypanosome infection in tsetse flies. The alternative diagnostic tools applied to dissection positive samples were characterised by low sensitivity, and no information on the specificity was available at all. Conclusion: Both temporal and spatial variation in trypanosome infection prevalence of field collected tsetse flies exists, but further investigation on real risk factors is needed how this variation can be explained. Improving the sensitivity and determining the specificity of these alternative diagnostic tools should be a priority and will allow to estimate the prevalence of trypanosome infection in tsetse flies in high-throughput

Dog bite as a public health concern in Addis Ababa

Introduction: Animal bites and scratches represent the most important public health issue related to dogs and cats because of the risk of rabies transmission associated with physical, psychological trauma and wound infection. Objective: The study was aimed at estimating the prevalence of animal bite of human beings in Addis Ababa. Methods: Data on the kind of animal, age of the patients, gender, site of bites and /or scratch were collected from the registry book and analyzed using SPSS version 11.5. Results: A total of 1299 cases of bite and/or scratch were reported for the period September 2008 to August 2009. The majority of bites were made by dogs where stray dogs are much higher (X2 = 0.83, p= 0.36). There is statistically highly significant difference of bites between sex (p = 0.001) and between age group (F = 5.41, p=0.02). The animal bite made by dogs was higher on legs (55.6 %) followed by hands (26.45 %) and multiple bites (7.51 %). Conclusions: The majority of bites were attributed to stray dogs followed by cats, horses, donkeys. To reduce the problem a preventative public education is suggested

Gender gaps in wages and nonmonetary benefits: Evidence from Ethiopia’s manufacturing sector

Using two rounds of panel firm- and worker-level data, this paper studies the gender gap in monetary and non-monetary compensation as well as work-related wellbeing among full-time workers in the agro-processing and leather sectors in Ethiopia. After controlling for year-fixed effects, the research reveals that women earn 35% less income from primary jobs and 40% less total income than men do. Some 40% of this primary job income gap and 43.3% of the income gap from all sources can be attributed to differences in human capital. Controlling for other worker, firm and manager characteristics as well as sector fixed effects do not meaningfully change the estimated coefficients. Child penalty explains part of the earning difference: the gender gap in total income between workers who do not have children is 11.7% while it is 37.6% among workers who have children. This difference is primarily because women who have children are 18.3% less likely to earn income from moonlighting and overtime work than men who have children do. Meanwhile, there is no statistically significant gender difference in moonlighting and overtime work among workers who do not have children. Gender earning differences are highest among medium skilled workers. Moreover, women are less likely to receive housing, discounted or complementary meals, or on-the-job training than men. Despite these discrepancies, women report to be happier and more satisfied, and are more likely to rate working conditions positively than men. This satisfaction and happiness may reduce their aspiration and quest for equal pay and non-monetary benefits. Narrowing human capital differences and providing aspiration building for women may help to reduce the gender earning gap

Can the agroprocessing sector create jobs in Africa? : Evidence from Ethiopia, Ghana and Tunisia

This paper analyzes the potential of the agroprocessing sector to create jobs in Africa, based on the evidence from Ethiopia, Ghana and Tunisia. The analysis uses both primary qualitative data and secondary quantitative data on formal firms and workers in the agroprocessing sector and shows how responsive the sector is to the growing consumer demand and how it translates into employment generation. Agroprocessing sectors in Ethiopia, Ghana and Tunisia differ greatly in terms of the size and structure, and, accordingly, the stages of industry lifecycle, from nascent industry in Ethiopia to a relatively mature sector in Tunisia. Also, the type of jobs and their quality differ between the three countries even though they are generally considered to be good jobs compared to other jobs available to the same workers. So far, the potential of the agroprocessing sector remains largely untapped. Formal sector employs between 60 and 80 thousand people in each of the study countries, and the figure is around five times higher if employment in the informal sector is included. As of now, employment in agroprocessing activities accounts for only around 5% of total employment in the food economy. However, over the last two decades, it has grown rapidly. In Ethiopia, Ghana and Tunisia, the agroprocessing sector exhibits high employment elasticities of output, from 0.55 in Ghana and 0.66 in Tunisia to 0.85 in Ethiopia. This suggests that the agroprocessing sector is labor-intensive and presents high employment generation potential, both in absolute terms and compared to other sectors of manufacturing. On the other hand, if agroprocessing firms shift toward more capital-intensive production structures and use more mechanization and automation, the expected employment effects remain ambiguous

Exploring the relationship between job quality and firm productivity in the manufacturing sector: Panel data evidence from Ethiopia

By leveraging firm-level panel data from 400 agro-processing and leather manufacturing firms in Ethiopia, this paper investigates links between firm productivity and monetary and non-monetary dimensions of job quality. The results point to a positive impact of higher salaries on firm productivity, but limited effects of non-monetary job quality indicators. Specifically, a 10% increase on each of the salaries of tenured medium- and high-skilled workers increase sales per worker by 1.79% and 1.46%, respectively, ceteris paribus. Similarly, increasing the starting salary of medium-skilled workers by 10% increases profit per worker, sales per worker and value-add per worker by 2.27%, 2.43% and 2.44%, respectively. Non-monetary job quality indicators had a weak impact on productivity, however, reducing the incentive of employers to invest in job quality improvements. Impact of productivity increases on monetary and non-monetary job quality indicators follow a similar pattern. An increase in profit per worker was found to increase the salaries of both tenured employees and new hires. For instance, a 10% increase in profit per worker increases tenured salaries of low-and medium-skilled workers by 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively, and starting salaries for low, medium and high-skilled workers by 0.21%, 0.28% and 0.27%, respectively. However, a statistically significant impact of profit per worker and value add per worker on non-monetary aspects of job quality was not

Seroprevalence and participatory epidemiology of camelpox in Afar region of Ethiopia

Camelpox is endemic in most camel rearing regions of the world, causing significant economic losses. However, its epidemiology is not extensively investigated. We conducted a cross sectional seroprevalence study of camelpox in Amibara and Awash Fentale districts in Afar region of Ethiopia from November 2014 to May 2015. In addition, participatory epidemiology (PE) was conducted to identify seasonal occurrence of the disease in the study districts. Blood samples were collected from 384 dromedary camels from 31 herds distributed in five pastoral associations (PAs) in the two districts. Serum samples were separated from the blood samples and tested for the presence of viral antibodies using virus neutralization test. Seroprevalence data were analyzed using multilevel mixed effects logistic regression models accounting for the 4-level hierarchical data structure (camels nested in herds-herds in PA, and PA in district). For the participatory data, Kendall’s coefficient of concordance was used to assess agreements between the informants in identifying seasonal occurrences of the top five camel diseases. Camelpox antibodies were detected in 19.3% of camels (n = 384), 81% of herds (n = 31), and in all five PAs from the two districts in the Gabi Rasu zone of Afar region, Ethiopia. The seroprevalence did not significantly vary between herds, PAs or districts suggesting the widespread occurrence of the disease. Estimated age stratified basic reproduction number (R0) was 1.25 (95% CI: 0.62–2.19). Camelpox was identified as one of the top five common camel diseases in the area. The widespread occurrence of the disease can be attributed mainly to the commingling of camels from many herds during seasonal migration in search of feed and water, a practice very common under pastoral production systems. Although the PE informants indicated the clinical disease to be more common in young animals, seropositivity was higher in older animals. Camelpox commonly occurs during the minor and major rainy seasons. In conclusion, camelpox is found to be endemic in Afar pastoral region with sporadic outbreaks occurring during rainy seasons. Vaccination and improved camel management practices particularly during the high-risk period can be viable strategies to reduce the burden of the disease

Resilience of Africa’s Food and Beverage Manufacturing Sector : Evidence from the Covid-19 Pandemic

Outbreaks of various epidemics or pandemics have been recurrent throughout history. However, a pandemic of such a global scale as the Covid-19 pandemic can be considered as an unprecedented crisis in modern days. To contain the spread of the diseases, governments around the world started putting in pace stringent measures in early 2020, bringing about unusual challenges for populations and businesses alike. The African food and beverage manufacturing sector warrants particular attention in this regard, due to its importance for food security, income generation and employment on the continent. Evidence from four African countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa) shows that the sector has proven to be relatively resilient during the pandemic, but some impacts, for instance on staff and access to raw materials, also worsened over time. This brief presents the result of two rounds of rapid assessments (May and September/October 2020) on how Covid-19 containment measures have affected the performance of the food and beverage manufacturing industry in the four countries and what measures companies need to support them during the pandemic

Can the agroprocessing sector create jobs in Africa? : Evidence from Ethiopia, Ghana and Tunisia

The lack of adequate employment opportunities continues to be one of the principal challenges hindering poverty reduction efforts in Africa. Despite sustained economic growth – at least until the Covid-19 pandemic – the African economy has not been able to absorb sufficient labour: between 2000 and 2014, a 1% increase in GDP was associated with only a 0.41% increase in employment. This low contribution of economic growth to job creation has mainly been explained by the limited role that the manufacturing sector plays in the African economy. In this context, the food sector has the potential to accelerate Africa’s economic transformation and development, and contribute to the much-needed job creation. Food system transformation in Africa has been shaped by the changing patterns of food demand, moving away from staple and unprocessed foods to high-value fresh, processed and convenience foods. By 2030, the African food market is expected to reach US$1 trillion, potentially making agriculture and agribusiness catalysts for job creation, development and poverty reduction. This policy brief offers insights on the potential of the agroprocessing sector to create decent and inclusive jobs in Africa, based on evidence from Ethiopia, Ghana and Tunisia