scholarly journals Nest success and conservation status of the Blue Swallow Hirundo atrocaerulea in Swaziland

2006 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 187-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
ARA MONADJEM ◽  
RICHARD C. BOYCOTT ◽  
KIM ROQUES ◽  
RAY GAMA ◽  
DAVID GARCELON
Keyword(s):  
Total Population ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Double Brooding ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Timber Plantations

The Blue Swallow Hirundo atrocaerulea is a globally threatened species endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. The total population breeding south of the Limpopo River (i.e. in South Africa and Swaziland) probably numbers around 100 pairs. A significant proportion of these birds breed in Swaziland, but to date little has been published on this population. Suitable breeding habitat has been reduced significantly in the country in recent decades, due mostly to afforestation with exotic timber plantations, with urbanization playing a lesser role. In Swaziland, breeding sites are restricted to grasslands above 1,200 m, but mostly above 1,300 m. Timing of egg laying is bimodal indicating double brooding. The number of nests initiated in a season is weakly correlated with rainfall in preceding months. Nests were built predominantly in disused antbear Orycteropus afer burrows, with smaller numbers in natural sinkholes. Mean clutch size was 2.80, and 61% of eggs laid resulted in fledged offspring. Mean productivity was 1.30 fledglings per pair per nest attempt. These figures suggest that breeding success is not currently being reduced in Swaziland. The minimum total population currently thought to be breeding in Swaziland is 10 pairs, but this is based on intensive studies of only part of the suitable range. It is recommended that a complete survey be conducted covering the entire range of the species in Swaziland.

Energy Poverty in India

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Praveen Kumar ◽  
Smitha Rao ◽  
Gautam N. Yadama
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Unified Framework ◽  
Indian Government ◽  
Energy Poverty ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Sub Saharan

Energy poverty is lack of access to adequate, high-quality, clean, and affordable forms of energy or energy systems. It is a prominent risk factor for global burden of disease and has severe environmental, social, and economic implications. Despite recent international attention to address energy for the poor, there is a limited consensus over a unified framework defining energy poverty, which impacts almost 2.8 billion mostly poor people, especially in Asia, Latin America, and sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have the largest number of energy poor. India, in South Asia, comprises a significant proportion of energy-impoverished households. There is a continued effort by the Indian government, non-profit agencies, and private organizations to address the needs of energy poor. Social workers have a significant role to play in these interventions addressing energy poverty in India. Emerging research and practice in the energy poverty field in India calls for transdisciplinary collaboration especially between social work practitioners of community development, environmental health, public health, and social policy.

Shrines, Pilgrimage and Miraculous Powers in Roman Catholic Sri Lanka

1982 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 385-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. L. Stirrat
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
World Religions ◽  
Intellectual Traditions ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Other World ◽  
Roman Catholics

At present, roman catholics number just under 7% of the total population of Sri Lanka. The dominant religious groups in the country are the Sinhalese buddhists and the Tamil hindus with 65% and 25% respectively of the population. The remainder consists of muslims (around 7%) and a few protestants. Here, unlike sub-Saharan Africa, European religions were introduced into a context dominated by other world religions with long literary and intellectual traditions. Furthermore, religion enters so intimately into the culture of various groups in the island that it is difficult to demarcate an area of thought or activity which can be clearly labelled as ‘religious’.

POPULATION GROWTH, EMPLOYMENT, AND LIVELIHOODS: THE TRIPLE CHALLENGE

2017 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-61
Author(s):  
John Cleland
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Age Structure ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Foreign Investors ◽  
The Third ◽  
Family Enterprises ◽  
Favorable Change ◽  
Sub Saharan

AbstractOver the next 35 years, the total population of sub-Saharan Africa is projected to increase by 118%, with a greater rise of of 156% of people in the prime working ages. To cope with population growth and exploit the slowly unfolding, favorable change in age structure, countries face a triple challenge. Agricultural productivity has to improve. Prospects are good, though climate change remains a threat. Manufacturing jobs need to be created on a far larger scale than hitherto. Success is uncertain because much depends on foreign investors and the actions of competing low-wage countries in Asia. The third challenge concerns the non-agricultural informal sector, which, even under optimistic assumptions about manufacturing, will continue to provide livelihoods for a large segment of the population. Entrepreneurship needs to be encouraged so that an increasing proportion of family enterprises evolve into larger businesses. There is no blueprint to achieve this evolution and much will depend on the hard work and ingenuity of individuals.

A new species of Leptonema Guérin (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae) from southeastern Brazil

Zootaxa ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2245 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
LEANDRO LOURENÇO DUMAS ◽  
JORGE LUIZ NESSIMIAN
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New Species ◽  
New World ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
Running Waters ◽  
Northern Chile ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
A New Species

The net-spinning caddisfly genus Leptonema Guérin contains about 120 species, making it the largest genus in the subfamily Macronematinae (Hydropsychidae) and one of the most diverse in the order Trichoptera (Flint et al. 1987; Flint 2008). Most species are large, with wingspans of about 60 mm. They inhabit all types of running waters and generally comprise a significant proportion of invertebrate biomass in these waterways (Flint et al. 1987). In the New World, the genus is extremely diverse, with 106 species widely distributed from the southwestern United States to northern Chile and central Argentina, including the Antilles (Flint 2008). Another 18 species occur in sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar (Munõz-Quesada 1997). Flint, McAlpine & Ross (1987) revised the whole genus, and also considered biogeographic and phylogenetic aspects. Brazil has 26 recorded species (Paprocki et al. 2004; Flint 2008).

scholarly journals Negotiating an ecological barrier: crossing the Sahara in relation to winds by common swifts

2016 ◽  
Vol 371 (1704) ◽  
pp. 20150393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Åkesson ◽  
Giuseppe Bianco ◽  
Anders Hedenström
Keyword(s):  
Arabian Peninsula ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Western Sahara ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Ultimate Explanation ◽  
Wintering Areas ◽  
Central Route ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Alternative Routes

The Sahara Desert is one of the largest land-based barriers on the Earth, crossed twice each year by billions of birds on migration. Here we investigate how common swifts migrating between breeding sites in Sweden and wintering areas in sub-Saharan Africa perform the desert crossing with respect to route choice, winds, timing and speed of migration by analysing 72 geolocator tracks recording migration. The swifts cross western Sahara on a broad front in autumn, while in spring they seem to use three alternative routes across the Sahara, a western, a central and an eastern route across the Arabian Peninsula, with most birds using the western route. The swifts show slower migration and travel speeds, and make longer detours with more stops in autumn compared with spring. In spring, the stopover period in West Africa coincided with mostly favourable winds, but birds remained in the area, suggesting fuelling. The western route provided more tailwind assistance compared with the central route for our tracked swifts in spring, but not in autumn. The ultimate explanation for the evolution of a preferred western route is presumably a combination of matching rich foraging conditions (swarming insects) and favourable winds enabling fast spring migration. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Moving in a moving medium: new perspectives on flight’.

scholarly journals What sub-Saharan African countries can learn from malaria elimination in China

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abubakar Olaitan Badmos ◽  
Aishat Jumoke Alaran ◽  
Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi ◽  
Oumnia Bouaddi ◽  
Zainab Onibon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
World Health ◽  
Western Pacific Region ◽  
African Region ◽  
African Countries ◽  
African Context ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Global Reduction

AbstractMalaria is one of the most devastating diseases plaguing the sub-Saharan African region since time immemorial. In spite of a global reduction in mortality rates, a significant proportion of deaths due to malaria is still accounted for in the region. China recently joined the 40 countries declared malaria free by the World Health Organization and became the first country in the WHO Western Pacific Region to be awarded the certification. We commented on the strategies employed by China to eliminate malaria, address challenges facing malaria control in sub-Saharan Africa, and derive lessons that could be learned in the sub-Saharan African context.

scholarly journals Prevalence of HIV Infection among Adolescents and Young People at a Tertiary Health Facility in Ekiti State, Southwest, Nigeria

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
G. O. Daramola ◽  
O. O. Oni ◽  
H. A. Edogun ◽  
A. O. Ojerinde ◽  
O. D. Ajayi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Health Facility ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Young Person ◽  
The State ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Southwest Nigeria ◽  
Sub Saharan

Background: Nine out of every 10 of the world’s 1.8 billion adolescents and young people (AYP) live in developing nations, Nigeria inclusive. In Nigeria as in the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, 1 out of every 3 persons is an adolescent or a young person. As at 2016, there were about 240, 000 AY) aged 10-19 years in Nigeria, which roughly makes 7% of the total number of people living with HIV (PLWH) in Nigeria. According to 2017 national survey, about 70% of the country’s AYP lack knowledge of how HIV is transmitted or how it can be prevented. Since AYP, aged 10-19 years, constitute a significant proportion of the nation’s burgeoning population, it is very important and critical to fully understand the dynamics of the HIV epidemic among AYP. This study aimed at determining the prevalence of HIV among AYP at a tertiary health facility in Ekiti State, Southwest Nigeria and comparing it with national and regional prevalence among same group. Methodology: The study was a retrospective study of AYP, aged 13-20 years at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Southwest Nigeria. Convenience and consecutive sampling method was used in retrieving subjects’ data. One hundred subjects whose ages were between 13 and 20 years were consecutively sampled over a period of six months, July to December, 2018. Results: Out of the one hundred subjects retrospectively sampled, 46 (46%) were males, while 54 (54%) were females. Four (4%) of the subjects were 13 years of age, while 6(6%), 5(5%), 8(8%), 27(27%), 17(17%), 12(12%) and 21(21%) respectively were aged 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 years. Three (3%) of the subjects were positive to HIV, 1 (%) was male, while 2 (20%) were female, thus giving a sero-prevalence rate of 3%. Disaggregation of the positive subjects reveals that 33.3% were male, while 66.7% were females. Conclusion: Though the general prevalence of HIV in Ekiti State ranks among the lowest in Nigeria, group-specific interventions targeting the AYP should be put in place in the State to address the disproportionately high prevalence among the AYP in the State.

Effects of parental psychiatric and physical illness on child development

2012 ◽  
pp. 1752-1758
Author(s):  
Paul Ramchandani ◽  
Alan Stein ◽  
Lynne Murray
Keyword(s):  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Postnatal Period ◽  
Physical Illness ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Adult Disease ◽  
Psychiatric Illnesses ◽  
Physical Conditions ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Sub Saharan

A broad range of physical and psychiatric illnesses commonly affect adults of parenting age. For example, approximately 13 per cent of women are affected by depression in the postnatal period, and the prevalence of depression in parents of all ages remains high. Many parents will also experience severe physical illness; breast cancer affects approximately 1 in 12 women in the United Kingdom, about a third of whom have children of school age. Worldwide HIV has an enormous impact on adults of parenting age. In some parts of sub-Saharan Africa up to 40 per cent of women attending antenatal clinics are HIV positive. Many of these parental disorders are associated with an increased risk of adverse emotional and social development in their children, and in some cases cognitive development and physical health are also compromized. It must be emphasized that a significant proportion of children at high risk do not develop problems and demonstrate resilience, and, many parents manage to rear their children well despite their own illness. Nonetheless these risks represent a significant additional impact and burden of adult disease (both physical and psychiatric) that is often overlooked. This chapter reviews the current state of evidence regarding selected examples of psychiatric and physical conditions, from which general themes can be extracted to guide clinical practice. Some of the key mechanisms whereby childhood disturbance does or does not develop in conjunction with parental illness are considered, and strategies for management and intervention reviewed.

scholarly journals Validation of a Remote Sensing Model to Identify Simulium damnosum s.l. Breeding Sites in Sub-Saharan Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. e2342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin G. Jacob ◽  
Robert J. Novak ◽  
Laurent D. Toe ◽  
Moussa Sanfo ◽  
Daniel A. Griffith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Remote Sensing Model ◽  
Simulium Damnosum ◽  
Sensing Model ◽  
Sub Saharan

scholarly journals Stability of the effect of silencing genes involved in the midgut homeostasis on Anopheles arabiensis mosquito reared under different breeding site conditions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serkadis Debalke ◽  
Tibebu Habtewold ◽  
George K. Christophides ◽  
Luc Duchateau
Keyword(s):  
Gene Silencing ◽  
Anopheles Arabiensis ◽  
Breeding Site ◽  
Larval Habitat ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Female Adult ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
First Instar ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Stability

Abstract Background: Malaria vector mosquitoes acquire midgut microbiota primarily from their habitat. The homeostasis of these microbial communities plays an essential role in the mosquito longevity, the most essential factor in the mosquito vectorial capacity. Our recent study revealed that silencing genes involved in regulation of the midgut homeostasis including FN3D1, FN3D3, and GPRGr9 reduced the survival of female adult Anopheles arabiensis mosquito. In the present study, we investigate the stability of the gene silencing efficiency of mosquitoes reared in three different breeding conditions representing distinct larval habitat types: town brick pits in Jimma, flood pools in the rural land of Asendabo and roadside pools in Wolkite. Methods: First instar larvae of An. arabiensis mosquitoes were reared separately using water collected from the three breeding sites. The resulting adult females were micro-injected with dsRNA targeting the FN3D1 gene (AARA003032) and their survival was monitored. Control mosquitoes were injected with dsRNA Lacz. In addition, the load of midgut microbiota of these mosquitoes was determined using flow cytometry.Result: Survival of naïve adult female mosquitoes differed between the three sites. Mosquitoes reared using water collected from brick pits and flood pools survived longer than mosquitoes reared using water collected from roadside. However, the FN3D1 gene silencing effect on survival did not differ between the three sites. Conclusion: The present study revealed that the efficacy of FN3D1 gene silencing is not affected by variation in the larval habitat. Thus, silencing this gene using genetic engineering approaches can have a large potential for application throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

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