Postharvest losses and waste in developed and less developed countries: opportunities to improve resource use

2010 ◽  
Vol 149 (S1) ◽  
pp. 37-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. HODGES ◽  
J. C. BUZBY ◽  
B. BENNETT

SUMMARYThis review compares and contrasts postharvest food losses (PHLs) and waste in developed countries (especially the USA and the UK) with those in less developed countries (LDCs), especially the case of cereals in sub-Saharan Africa. Reducing food losses offers an important way of increasing food availability without requiring additional production resources, and in LDCs it can contribute to rural development and poverty reduction by improving agribusiness livelihoods. The critical factors governing PHLs and food waste are mostly after the farm gate in developed countries but before the farm gate in LDCs. In the foreseeable future (e.g. up to 2030), the main drivers for reducing PHLs differ: in the developed world, they include consumer education campaigns, carefully targeted taxation and private and public sector partnerships sharing the responsibility for loss reduction. The LDCs’ drivers include more widespread education of farmers in the causes of PHLs; better infrastructure to connect smallholders to markets; more effective value chains that provide sufficient financial incentives at the producer level; opportunities to adopt collective marketing and better technologies supported by access to microcredit; and the public and private sectors sharing the investment costs and risks in market-orientated interventions.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toluwase Victor Asubiaro

Abstract Inequality in health research in Sub-Saharan Africa existed before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic because of the dearth of research resources. The onset of COVID-19 has exacerbated inequality because of the changes in workplace settings. This study presents an insight into the extent of inequalities during the first year of COVID-19 using citation data of Sub-Saharan African countries' COVID-19 research. Citation data of all the 46 Sub-Saharan Africa countries was collected from Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed. After data cleaning and removal of duplicate records, collaboration type and publishers' country information was coded. Author processing charges of the Open Access articles were obtained from publishers' websites. CiteScore data was collected using Publish or Perish software and Scopus CiteScore report. Only 13.4% of the publishers are in Sub-Saharan African countries, and 21.14% of the articles were published in Sub-Saharan African journals. USA (20.92%) and the UK (13.73%), and India (6.21%) house the highest number of publishers. Publishers from the Netherlands (30.72%), the UK (24.23%) and the USA (14.81%) published the highest number of journals. The CiteScore of journals and mega journals published outside Sub-Saharan Africa was five and twenty-five times more prestigious than those published in the region, respectively. More equitable research practices that will recognize local authors from Sub-Saharan Africa as lead authors in studies about or in Sub-Saharan Africa and journals that are published in the region as a choice for important research may reduce the imbalances as observed in this study.


Author(s):  
JoAnn Rolle ◽  
◽  
Jacqueline Kisato ◽  
Patricia Rock ◽  
Jacqueline Winstanley ◽  
...  

There have been many definitions of inclusion as it relates to the underserved and economic empowerment through entrepreneurship, but few of these definitions have focused specifically on persons with disabilities. Purpose of Research- Many studies have looked at increasing economic empowerment through entrepreneurship for women, minorities, youth, seniors, immigrants, and rural residents throughout literature. The gap is, however, the lumping of all these categories has led to overlooking of specific challenges faced by persons with disabilities. This oversight on economic inclusivity has been magnified especially during the Coronavirus pandemic. Design/ Methodology- This study reviews literature in search of evidence to document programs, projects, and policies used in both developed and developing countries to address the overall challenges of inclusive entrepreneurship. The paper explores several entrepreneurial studies on the inclusivity of business ecosystems in the UK, USA, Sub-Saharan Africa, and India. It highlights public-private partnerships and impact investment as it relates to challenges in increasing inclusivity in businesses. Results/Findings- It was evident that there are many government policies and programs to support entrepreneurship in the USA, UK, Sub-Saharan Africa, and India, but limited empirical studies have been documented to evaluate the impact of these policies on entrepreneurship for persons with disabilities. Some of the challenges cited in the literature included gender gap, cost of doing business, and the likelihood to be funded to launch a business as common dominant factors reported on the issue of inclusion. Practical implications and Conclusions-The authors find that there are much more empirical research and analyses warranted in the study of entrepreneurship inclusion and empowerment of the underserved, especially for persons with disabilities. A continue reviewing literature and use quantitative and qualitative research such that additional programs, projects, and policies may be developed to serve all inclusively.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e19213-e19213
Author(s):  
Fidel Rubagumya ◽  
Gunita Mitera ◽  
Sidy Ka ◽  
Achille Van Christ Manirakiza ◽  
Phillipa Kibugu-Decuir ◽  
...  

e19213 Background: Choosing Wisely Africa, builds on Choosing Wisely (CW) in the USA, Canada and India, and aims to identify low-value, unnecessary, or harmful cancer practices that are frequently used on the African continent. Methods: The CWA Task Force was convened by African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC) and included representatives in surgical, medical and radiation oncology, the private and public sectors and patient advocacy group. Consensus was built through a modified Delphi process shortening a long list of practices to a short list then to a final list. Results: Of the 10 practices on the final list, one is a new suggestion, 9 are revisions or adaptations of practices from previous CW campaign lists. One item relates to palliative care, 8 concern treatment, and 1 relates to surveillance. Conclusions: The success of this campaign will be measured by how the list is implemented across sub-Saharan Africa and whether it improves the delivery of high-quality cancer care. [Table: see text]


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iván Mejía-Guevara ◽  
Wenyun Zuo ◽  
Laust H. Mortensen ◽  
Shripad Tuljapurkar

Summary paragraphThe epidemiological transition from young to old deaths in high-income countries reduced mortality at all ages, but a major role was played by a decline of infant and child mortality from infectious diseases1,2 that greatly increased life expectancy at birth2,3. Over time, declines in infectious disease continue but chronic and degenerative causes persist4,5, so we might expect under-5 deaths to be concentrated in the first month of life. However, little is known about the age-pattern of this transition in early mortality or its potential limits. Here we first describe the limit using detailed data on Denmark, Japan, France, and the USA— developed countries with low under-5 mortality. The limiting pattern of under-5 deaths concentrates in the first month, but is surprisingly dispersed over later ages: we call this the early rectangularization of mortality. Then we examine the progress towards this limit of 31 developing countries from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)—the region with the highest under-5 mortality6. In these countries, we find that early deaths have large age-heterogeneities; and that the age patterns of death is an important marker of progress in the mortality transition at early ages. But a negative association between national income and under-5 mortality levels, confirmed here, does not help explain reductions in child mortality during the transition.


Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 526
Author(s):  
James Ditai ◽  
Aisling Barry ◽  
Kathy Burgoine ◽  
Anthony K. Mbonye ◽  
Julius N. Wandabwa ◽  
...  

The initial bedside care of premature babies with an intact cord has been shown to reduce mortality; there is evidence that resuscitation of term babies with an intact cord may also improve outcomes. This process has been facilitated by the development of bedside resuscitation surfaces. These new devices are unaffordable, however, in most of sub-Saharan Africa, where 42% of the world’s 2.4 million annual newborn deaths occur. This paper describes the rationale and design of BabySaver, an innovative low-cost mobile resuscitation unit, which was developed iteratively over five years in a collaboration between the Sanyu Africa Research Institute (SAfRI) in Uganda and the University of Liverpool in the UK. The final BabySaver design comprises two compartments; a tray to provide a firm resuscitation surface, and a base to store resuscitation equipment. The design was formed while considering contextual factors, using the views of individual women from the community served by the local hospitals, medical staff, and skilled birth attendants in both Uganda and the UK.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1279.1-1279
Author(s):  
Z. Rutter-Locher ◽  
J. Galloway ◽  
H. Lempp

Background:Rheumatological diseases are common in Sub-Saharan Africa [1] but specialist healthcare is limited and there are less than 150 rheumatologists currently serving 1 billion people in Sub-Saharan Africa [2]. Rheumatologists practising in the UK NHS are likely to be exposed to migrant patients. There is therefore, an unmet need for health care providers to understand the differences in rheumatology healthcare provision between Sub-Saharan Africa and the UK and the barriers which migrants face in their transition of rheumatology care.Objectives:To gain an understanding of the experiences of patients with rheumatological conditions, about their past healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa and their transition of care to the UK.Methods:A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was conducted. Participants were recruited from two rheumatology outpatient clinics in London. Thematic analysis was applied to identify key themes.Results:Seven participants were recruited. Five had rheumatoid arthritis, one had ankylosing spondylitis and one had undifferentiated inflammatory arthritis. Participants described the significant impact their rheumatological conditions had on their physical and emotional wellbeing, including their social and financial implications. Compared to the UK, rheumatology healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa was characterised by higher costs, limited access to specialists, lack of investigations and treatments, the use of traditional medicines and poor communication by clinicians. Barriers to transition of rheumatology care to the UK were: poor understanding of rheumatological conditions by the public and primary care providers, lack of understanding of NHS entitlements by migrants, fear of data sharing with immigration services and delayed referral to specialist care. Patient, doctor and public education were identified by participants as important ways to improve access to healthcare.Conclusion:This study has described, for the first time, patients’ perspectives of rheumatology health care in Sub-Saharan Africa and the transition of their care to the UK. These initial findings allow healthcare providers in the UK to tailor management for this migrant population and suggests that migrants need more information about their NHS entitlements and specific explanations on what non-clinical data will be shared with immigration services. To increase access to appropriate care, a concerted effort by clinicians and public health authorities is necessary to raise awareness and provide better education to patients and migrant populations about rheumatological conditions.References:[1]G. Mody, “Rheumatology in Africa-challenges and opportunities,” Arthritis Res. Ther., vol. 19, no. 1, p. 49, 2017.[2]M. A. M. Elagib et al., “Sudan and Sweden Active Rheumatoid Arthritis in Central Africa: A Comparative Study Between,” J. Rheumatol. J. Rheumatol. January, vol. 43, no. 10, pp. 1777–1786, 2016.Acknowledgments:We are grateful to the patients involved in this study for their time and involvement.Disclosure of Interests:None declared


10.1068/c3p ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 466-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Kessides

In this paper I ask how the ongoing processes of urban and local government development in Sub-Saharan Africa can and should benefit the countries, and what conditions must be met to achieve this favourable outcome. The region faces close to a doubling of the urban population in fifteen years. This urban transition poses an opportunity as well as a management challenge. Urban areas represent underutilised resources that concentrate much of the countries' physical, financial, and intellectual capital. Therefore it is critical to understand how they can better serve the national growth and poverty reduction agendas. The paper challenges several common ‘myths’ that cloud discourse about urban development in Africa. I also take a hard look at what the urban transition can offer national development, and what support cities and local governments require to achieve these results. I argue that, rather than devoting more attention to debating the urban contribution to development in Africa, real energy needs to be spent unblocking it.


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