scholarly journals Food composition tables in resource-poor settings: exploring current limitations and opportunities, with a focus on animal-source foods in sub-Saharan Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 116 (10) ◽  
pp. 1709-1719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia de Bruyn ◽  
Elaine Ferguson ◽  
Margaret Allman-Farinelli ◽  
Ian Darnton-Hill ◽  
Wende Maulaga ◽  
...  

AbstractAnimal-source foods (ASF) have the potential to enhance the nutritional adequacy of cereal-based diets in low- and middle-income countries, through the provision of high-quality protein and bioavailable micronutrients. The development of guidelines for including ASF in local diets requires an understanding of the nutrient content of available resources. This article reviews food composition tables (FCT) used in sub-Saharan Africa, examining the spectrum of ASF reported and exploring data sources for each reference. Compositional data are shown to be derived from a small number of existing data sets from analyses conducted largely in high-income nations, often many decades previously. There are limitations in using such values, which represent the products of intensively raised animals of commercial breeds, as a reference in resource-poor settings where indigenous breed livestock are commonly reared in low-input production systems, on mineral-deficient soils and not receiving nutritionally balanced feed. The FCT examined also revealed a lack of data on the full spectrum of ASF, including offal and wild foods, which correspond to local food preferences and represent valuable dietary resources in food-deficient settings. Using poultry products as an example, comparisons are made between compositional data from three high-income nations, and potential implications of differences in the published values for micronutrients of public health significance, including Fe, folate and vitamin A, are discussed. It is important that those working on nutritional interventions and on developing dietary recommendations for resource-poor settings understand the limitations of current food composition data and that opportunities to improve existing resources are more actively explored and supported.

Author(s):  
Cynthia L. Baldwin

Abstract Animal agriculture and animal-source foods (ASF) play a critical role in food security, childhood nutrient sufficiency, and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa. Here, we consider constraints to production of ASF in Africa with a focus on infectious animal diseases and climate stress and their control, by vaccines and selective breeding, respectively. This is not a meta-analysis but rather is meant to act as an overview or primer for discussing the value of livestock in developing countries, constraints to this, possible solutions, and finally some roadblocks to accomplishing this. The material provided is based on our own knowledge gained through careers in this field as well as discussions with colleagues.


Author(s):  
Alistair G. Tough

Concerns about sensitive content in born-digital records seem to be a major factor in inhibiting the deposit of public records in dedicated digital repositories in Western countries. These concerns are much exacerbated by the changed nature of the process of reviewing records. The University of Glasgow, working in collaboration with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, received funding to investigate the technology-assisted sensitivity reviewing of born-digital records. As part of this research, some preliminary research in a commonwealth country in Sub-Saharan Africa was carried out. The research, reported in this chapter, was carried out in Malawi by the late Dr. Mathews J. Phiri. He found that already there is a real, albeit limited, demand for technology-assisted sensitivity reviewing of born-digital records in Malawi. The available evidence suggests that within the next decade there is likely to be an increase in the need for effective means of assessing sensitivity in born-digital records.


Author(s):  
Anna Bon ◽  
Jaap Gordijn ◽  
Hans Akkermans

E-Services have great potential, even in resource-poor environments such as in sub-Saharan Africa. However, contextual factors pose significant challenges for development, feasibility, deployment and sustainability of e-services. This chapter presents a case of e-service value co-creation in a rural context, with targeted end users in regions characterized by limited electricity infrastructure and poor or absent internet, strong diversity in languages spoken, high illiteracy rates and limited purchasing power. It offers a methodology to upfront analyze business model sustainability for e-service innovation in severely resource-constrained contexts. This is illustrated by an extensive case study in which a voice-based microblogging e-service was developed and deployed with local stakeholders in rural Mali.


Parasitology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 141 (14) ◽  
pp. 1819-1825 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. RUSSELL STOTHARD ◽  
BETTY NABATTE ◽  
JOSE C. SOUSA-FIGUEIREDO ◽  
NARCIS B. KABATEREINE

SUMMARYMalaria microscopy in sub-Saharan Africa is often restricted by access to light microscopes. To address this gap, a novel portable inverted monocular microscope, the Newton Nm1, was designed and is now commercially available. Its diagnostic performance was assessed in a blinded-slide trial at ×1000 (oil) of Giemsa-stained thick blood films against a conventional microscope as undertaken by four Ugandan Ministry of Health technicians. With the Newton Nm1, diagnostic performance was: sensitivity 93·5% (95% confidence interval (CI) 78·6–99·2%), specificity 100·0% (95% CI 82·4–100·0%), positive predictive value 100·0% (95% CI 88·1–100·0%) and negative predictive value 90·5% (95% CI 69·6–98·8%). Discordance was due to a systematic error underestimating parasitaemia by ~45%; when counting Plasmodium parasites against 200 white blood cells, blood films with low parasitaemia (i.e. <100 μL−1 of blood) could be overlooked and misclassified. By contrast, specificity was excellent with no false positives encountered. Whilst proven useful, especially in resource-poor environments, it is still unclear how we can ensure the uptake of the Newton Nm1 within sub-Saharan Africa.


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