scholarly journals The influence of DACCIWA radiosonde data on the quality of ECMWF analyses and forecasts over southern West Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 146 (729) ◽  
pp. 1719-1739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roderick Linden ◽  
Peter Knippertz ◽  
Andreas H. Fink ◽  
Bruce Ingleby ◽  
Marlon Maranan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Radiosonde Data

scholarly journals A qualitative inquiry of access to and quality of primary healthcare in seven communities in East and West Africa (SevenCEWA): perspectives of stakeholders, healthcare providers and users

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Soter Ameh ◽  
Bolarinwa Oladimeji Akeem ◽  
Caleb Ochimana ◽  
Abayomi Olabayo Oluwasanu ◽  
Shukri F. Mohamed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
West Africa ◽  
Primary Healthcare ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Health Coverage ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
East And West ◽  
Universal Health

Abstract Background Universal health coverage is one of the Sustainable Development Goal targets known to improve population health and reduce financial burden. There is little qualitative data on access to and quality of primary healthcare in East and West Africa. The aim of this study was to describe the viewpoints of healthcare users, healthcare providers and other stakeholders on health-seeking behaviour, access to and quality of healthcare in seven communities in East and West Africa. Methods A qualitative study was conducted in four communities in Nigeria and one community each in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in 2018. Purposive sampling was used to recruit: 155 respondents (mostly healthcare users) for 24 focus group discussions, 25 healthcare users, healthcare providers and stakeholders for in-depth interviews and 11 healthcare providers and stakeholders for key informant interviews. The conceptual framework in this study combined elements of the Health Belief Model, Health Care Utilisation Model, four ‘As’ of access to care, and pathway model to better understand the a priori themes on access to and quality of primary healthcare as well as health-seeking behaviours of the study respondents. A content analysis of the data was done using MAXQDA 2018 qualitative software to identify these a priori themes and emerging themes. Results Access to primary healthcare in the seven communities was limited, especially use of health insurance. Quality of care was perceived to be unacceptable in public facilities whereas cost of care was unaffordable in private facilities. Health providers and users as well as stakeholders highlighted shortage of equipment, frequent drug stock-outs and long waiting times as major issues, but had varying opinions on satisfaction with care. Use of herbal medicines and other traditional treatments delayed or deterred seeking modern healthcare in the Nigerian sites. Conclusions There was a substantial gap in primary healthcare coverage and quality in the selected communities in rural and urban East and West Africa. Alternative models of healthcare delivery that address social and health inequities, through affordable health insurance, can be used to fill this gap and facilitate achieving universal health coverage.

scholarly journals Quality of Life in Chronic Hemodialysed Patients: Observational Study in Three Hemodialysis Units in Semi-Urban Areas of Senegal (West Africa)

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaya Kane ◽  
B Biao Hermann ◽  
Moustapha Faye ◽  
Ibrahim Hamat ◽  
Tall Lemrabott A ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Observational Study ◽  
West Africa ◽  
Urban Areas

scholarly journals Validity and reliability of criterion based clinical audit to assess obstetrical quality of care in West Africa

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine M Pirkle ◽  
Alexandre Dumont ◽  
Mamadou Traore ◽  
Maria-Victoria Zunzunegui
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Care ◽  
West Africa ◽  
Clinical Audit ◽  
Validity And Reliability

Quality of Drinking Water in Benin (West Africa): Analysis of the Potential Use of the “Songhaï” Ceramic Filter

2021 ◽  
pp. 92-97
Author(s):  
Roch Christian Johnson ◽  
Gratien Boni ◽  
Cyriaque Degbey ◽  
Karel Togbe ◽  
Hermione Amoukpo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
West Africa ◽  
Ceramic Filter ◽  
Potential Use

scholarly journals Inter-Comparison of AIRS Temperature and Relative Humidity Profiles with AMMA and DACCIWA Radiosonde Observations over West Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 2631
Author(s):  
Marian Amoakowaah Osei ◽  
Leonard Kofitse Amekudzi ◽  
Craig R. Ferguson ◽  
Sylvester Kojo Danuor
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
West Africa ◽  
Water Vapour ◽  
Radiosonde Data ◽  
Weather Information ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
High Impact Weather ◽  
Mean Square Difference ◽  
June July ◽  
Humidity Profiles

The vertical profiles of temperature and water vapour from the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) have been validated across various regions of the globe as an effort to provide a substitute for radiosonde observations. However, there is a paucity of inter-comparisons over West Africa where local convective processes dominate and radiosonde observations (RAOBs) are limited. This study validates AIRS temperature and relative humidity profiles for selected radiosonde stations in West Africa. Radiosonde data were obtained from the AMMA and DACCIWA campaigns which spanned 2006–2008 and June–July 2016 respectively and offered a period of prolonged radiosonde observations in West Africa. AIRS performance was evaluated with the bias and root mean square difference (RMSD) at seven RAOB stations which were grouped into coastal and inland. Evaluation was performed on diurnal and seasonal timescales, cloud screening conditions and derived thunderstorm instability indices. At all timescales, the temperature RMSD was higher than the AIRS accuracy mission goal of ±1 K. Relative humidity RMSD was satisfactory with deviations <20% and <50% for both lower and upper troposphere respectively. AIRS retrieval of water vapour under cloudy and cloud-free conditions had no significant difference whereas cloud-free temperature was found to be more accurate. The seasonal evolution of some thunderstorm convective indices were also found to be comparable for AIRS and RAOB. The ability of AIRS to capture the evolution of these indices imply it will be a useful dataset for the African Science for Weather Information and Forecasting Techniques (SWIFT) high impact weather studies.

scholarly journals Evaluating the effects of storage conditions on dry matter loss and nutritional quality of grain legume fodders in West Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 262 ◽  
pp. 114419
Author(s):  
D.B. Akakpo ◽  
I.J.M de Boer ◽  
S. Adjei-Nsiah ◽  
A.J. Duncan ◽  
K.E. Giller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Nutritional Quality ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Storage Conditions ◽  
Grain Legume ◽  
Dry Matter Loss

The Import of Firearms into West Africa 1750–1807: a quantitative analysis

1977 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. E. Inikori
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
West Africa ◽  
Crop Protection ◽  
Strong Preference ◽  
African History ◽  
Agricultural Commodities

A series of articles on firearms in Africa published in the Journal of African History in 1971 raised a number of questions which have not been given adequate attention since those articles appeared. In the present paper an attempt is therefore made to shed some light on some of these questions in relation to West Africa in the second half of the eighteenth century. On the basis of import figures from England total imports during this period was estimated to be between 283,000 and 394,000 guns per annum, excluding imports into the Congo–Loango area which Phyllis Martin estimated to be about 50,000 yearly at this time. These guns went largely to the major slave exporting regions of West Africa, especially the Bonny trading area. The sellers of slaves showed a very strong preference for firearms, which is an indication of a strong connexion between guns and the acquisition of slaves. This reinforces the gun-slave cycle thesis. The evidence fails to support the idea that firearms were used primarily for crop protection in West Africa in the eighteenth century. If this were so it should have been reflected in the European goods demanded by sellers of agricultural commodities. It is likely, however, that the use to which firearms were put in West Africa changed after 1900. While the quality of firearms imported into West Africa during the period of this study was generally low, it would seem that those firearms largely served the purposes for which the African buyers purchased them.

scholarly journals Constitutional and Succession Crisis in West Africa: The Case of Togo

2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adewale Banjo
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
West Africa ◽  
Human Security ◽  
West African ◽  
Quality Of Democracy ◽  
African Nation ◽  
Coup D'etat ◽  
Ethnic Divide ◽  
The Military

AbstractThe politics of succession in post-independence West Africa has left much to be desired and, by extension, has affected the quality of democracy and human security in the sub-region. This article briefly assesses succession politics in Togo, a small West African nation of approximately 5 million people, following the death of President Gnassingbe Eyadema, one of Africa's longest serving dictators. The author describes the military takeover and subsequent election that legitimized the illegal take over of power by Eyadema's son despite sustained domestic opposition from politicians and civil society, as well as sub-regional, regional and international condemnation of a Constitutional "coup d'etat" in Togo. The article concludes that the succession crisis in Togo is far from over, given the continuing manipulation of what the author calls the geo-ethnic divide in that country.

scholarly journals The Export Competitiveness of Ghana’s Cocoa Industry in West Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 80
Author(s):  
Alhassan Abukari ◽  
Tan Cunfeng
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Comparative Advantage ◽  
West African ◽  
Downward Trend ◽  
Cocoa Beans ◽  
Regression Framework ◽  
The World ◽  
Export Competitiveness ◽  
Cocoa Production

Ghana in the year 1911 became the world&rsquo;s largest exporter of cocoa. However, cocoa export in Ghana nearly came to standstill in the 1970s as a result of the outbreak of swollen shoot disease of cocoa. Ghana since then has not been able to rejuvenate its cocoa export as expected. The years 1999 to 2018 have witnessed a downward trend in the export of cocoa in Ghana. This raises questions of whether the phrase &ldquo;Ghana is cocoa, and cocoa is Ghana&rdquo; is still valid. The study attempts to analyze the competitiveness of Ghana&rsquo;s cocoa sector vis-&agrave;-vis its neighbors. In doing so, the authors calculate the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) and Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage (RSCA) for Ghana to compare with other West African exporters of cocoa and assess the determinants of Ghana&rsquo;s cocoa exports. The authors adopt a regression framework to explore the determinants of cocoa exports. The results revealed that Ghana is highly competitive in the export of cocoa beans. The study attributed this advantage to the quality of the cocoa beans Ghana exports. The results further showed that Ghana&rsquo;s cocoa production volumes and the World consumer price of cocoa beans were the major determinants of the volume of cocoa beans exported in Ghana. The study concluded that although Ghana enjoys a comparative advantage in the export of cocoa beans, Ghana&rsquo;s cocoa production volumes fluctuate thus affecting the volume of cocoa exported. Ghana, therefore, needs to invest in new hybrid climate-smart cocoa cultivation to boost production and export.

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