The state of African cattle genetic resources II. Geographical distribution, characteristics and uses of present-day breeds and strains

1999 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.E.O. Rege ◽  
C.L. Tawah

SummaryThis paper summarises preliminary results of a survey conducted as part of a large effort to systematically collate information aimed at assessing the status of cattle genetic resources of sub-Saharan Africa. The 146 indigenous breeds/strains identified from the survey are classified into nine broad groups (Humpless Longhorns, Humpless Shorthorns, Large East African Zebu, Small East African Zebu, West African Zebu, Sanga, Zenga, Recently Derived Breeds and Commercial Composites) some of which are further subdivided into several groups (based on possible genetic relationships) and clusters (based on eco-geographical locations). Each breed is then described in terms of location, physical characteristics, adaptive attributes, if known, current main uses and status in terms of qualitative or quantitative indication of trends, where available, and presence or absence of programmes for its management or further development.

2014 ◽  
Vol 139 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
African Pathologists' Summit Working Groups

Context This report presents the proceedings of the African Pathologists Summit, held under the auspices of the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer. Objectives To deliberate on the challenges and constraints of the practice of pathology in Sub-Saharan Africa and the avenues for addressing them. Participants Collaborating organizations included the American Society for Clinical Pathology; Association of Pathologists of Nigeria; British Division of the International Academy of Pathology; College of Pathologists of East, Central and Southern Africa; East African Division of the International Academy of Pathology; Friends of Africa–United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology Initiative; International Academy of Pathology; International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research; National Cancer Institute; National Health and Laboratory Service of South Africa; Nigerian Postgraduate Medical College; Royal College of Pathologists; West African Division of the International Academy of Pathology; and Faculty of Laboratory Medicine of the West African College of Physicians. Evidence Information on the status of the practice of pathology was based on the experience of the participants, who are current or past practitioners of pathology or are involved in pathology education and research in Sub-Saharan Africa. Consensus Process The deliberations were carried out through presentations and working discussion groups. Conclusions The significant lack of professional and technical personnel, inadequate infrastructure, limited training opportunities, poor funding of pathology services in Sub-Saharan Africa, and their significant impact on patient care were noted. The urgency of addressing these issues was recognized, and the recommendations that were made are contained in this report.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. e003325
Author(s):  
Christian Kraef ◽  
Pamela A Juma ◽  
Joseph Mucumbitsi ◽  
Kaushik Ramaiya ◽  
Francois Ndikumwenayo ◽  
...  

Sub-Saharan Africa has seen a rapid increase in non-communicable disease (NCD) burden over the last decades. The East African Community (EAC) comprises Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan and Uganda, with a population of 177 million. In those countries, 40% of deaths in 2015 were attributable to NCDs. We review the status of the NCD response in the countries of the EAC based on the available monitoring tools, the WHO NCD progress monitors in 2017 and 2020 and the East African NCD Alliance benchmark survey in 2017. In the EAC, modest progress in governance, prevention of risk factors, monitoring, surveillance and evaluation of health systems can be observed. Many policies exist on paper, implementation and healthcare are weak and there are large regional and subnational differences. Enhanced efforts by regional and national policy-makers, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders are needed to ensure future NCD policies and implementation improvements.


1999 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.E.O. Rege

SummaryA field and literature survey was conducted to determine the status of cattle genetic resources of sub-Saharan Africa and to identify cattle breeds at risk and those which may have become extinct over the last century. This paper - in two parts - summarises preliminary results of the survey. The survey revealed that sub-Saharan Africa is home to a total of 145 cattle breeds/strains comprising two taurine Longhorns, 15 taurine Shorthorns, 75 zebu (Bos indicus), 30 sanga, eight zenga (zebu-sanga), nine breeds derived from interbreeding of indigenous breeds/strains located in close proximity to each other, and six systematically created composite breeds. Out of the 145 breeds identified from the survey, 47 (about 32%) were considered to be at risk of extinction. Risk categories used were: Critical (most severe), Endangered, Vulnerable, and Rare (least severe). Of the breeds identified to be at risk of extinction, six were in the “Rare”category, 10 were “Vulnerable” another 10 were “Endangered”and 15 were in the “Critical”category. A total of 22 breeds (about 13%) previously recognised in the continent have become extinct in the last century. This number excludes some populations which have lost their individual identity due to admixtures involving two or more originally distinct breeds.


Plant Disease ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
pp. 398-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. O. Ogbe ◽  
G. I. Atiri ◽  
D. Robinson ◽  
S. Winter ◽  
A. G. O. Dixon ◽  
...  

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is an important food crop in sub-Saharan Africa. One of the major production constraints is cassava mosaic disease caused by African cassava mosaic (ACMV) and East African cassava mosaic (EACMV) begomoviruses. ACMV is widespread in its distribution, occurring throughout West and Central Africa and in some eastern and southern African countries. In contrast, EACMV has been reported to occur mainly in more easterly areas, particularly in coastal Kenya and Tanzania, Malawi, and Madagascar. In 1997, a survey was conducted in Nigeria to determine the distribution of ACMV and its strains. Samples from 225 cassava plants showing mosaic symptoms were tested with ACMV monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) in triple antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (1). Three samples reacted strongly with MAbs that could detect both ACMV and EACMV. One of them did not react with ACMV-specific MAbs while the other two reacted weakly with such MAbs. With polymerase chain reaction (2), the presence of EACMV and a mixture of EACMV and ACMV in the respective samples was confirmed. These samples were collected from two villages: Ogbena in Kwara State and Akamkpa in Cross River State. Co-infection of some cassava varieties with ACMV and EACMV leads to severe symptoms. More importantly, a strain of mosaic geminivirus known as Uganda variant arose from recombination between the two viruses (2). This report provides evidence for the presence of EACMV in West Africa. References: (1) J. E. Thomas et al. J. Gen. Virol. 67:2739, 1986. (2) X. Zhou et al. J. Gen. Virol. 78:2101, 1997.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliet Biggs ◽  
Atalay Ayele ◽  
Tobias P. Fischer ◽  
Karen Fontijn ◽  
William Hutchison ◽  
...  

AbstractOver the past two decades, multidisciplinary studies have unearthed a rich history of volcanic activity and unrest in the densely-populated East African Rift System, providing new insights into the influence of rift dynamics on magmatism, the characteristics of the volcanic plumbing systems and the foundation for hazard assessments. The raised awareness of volcanic hazards is driving a shift from crisis response to reducing disaster risks, but a lack of institutional and human capacity in sub-Saharan Africa means baseline data are sparse and mitigating geohazards remains challenging.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jurgen Poesche

The objective of this article is to contribute to the development of a common narrative on coloniality in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas. Since scholars tend to focus on either Sub-Saharan Africa or the Americas, a gap between these important regions has emerged in the literature on coloniality. This article seeks to bridge this gap by providing a comparative perspective on coloniality, and this hopefully will enhance Indigenous African nations’ and Indigenous American nations’ understanding of what needs to be done to overcome coloniality. The article explores three key theses. First, in spite of the differences in the extant societal power structures in the postcolonial African states and the former settler colonial states in the Americas, this article argues that the continued dynamics of coloniality are similar in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas. The minority status of Indigenous American nations throughout the Americas renders addressing coloniality more challenging than in Sub-Saharan Africa where Indigenous African nations are in the majority although they generally do not have effective sovereignty. Second, the extant societal power structures associated with both coloniality and occidental modernity have weaponized occidental jurisprudence, natural science and social science to defend and proliferate the status quo assisted by state sovereignty. Addressing coloniality effectively therefore requires a renaissance of Indigenous African and Indigenous American cosmovisions unaffected by modernity. Third, addressing coloniality in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas requires the recognition of the comprehensive and supreme sovereignty of the Indigenous African nations in all of Sub-Saharan Africa, and Indigenous American nations in all of the Americas.


Author(s):  
Daniel G. Zirker

Why have there been no successful military interventions or civil wars in Tanzania’s nearly 60 years of independence? This one historical accomplishment, by itself striking in an African context, distinguishes Tanzania from most of the other post-1960 independent African countries and focuses attention on the possibilities and nature of successful civil–military relations in sub-Saharan Africa. Contrary to most civil–military relations theory, rather than isolating the military in order to achieve civilian oversight, Tanzania integrated the military, the dominant political party, and civil society in what one observer called a combination of “political militancy” and “antimilitarism,” somewhat akin, perhaps, to the Chinese model. China did provide intensive military training for the Tanzanians beginning in the 1960s, although this could in no way have been expected to ensure successful integration of the military with civil society, nor could it ensure peaceful civil–military relations. Eight potentially causal and overlapping conditions have been outlined to explain this unique absence of civil–military strife in an African country. Relevant but admittedly partial explanations are: the largely salutary and national developmental role of the founding president, Julius Nyerere; the caution and long-term fear of military intervention engendered by the 1964 East African mutinies; Tanzania’s radical foreign policy as a Frontline State; its ongoing territorial disputes with Uganda and Malawi; concerted efforts at coup-proofing through the co-opting of senior military commanders; and the country’s striking ethnic heterogeneity, in which none of the 125 plus ethnolinguistic tribes had the capacity to assume a hegemonic dominance. Each factor has a role in explaining Tanzania’s unique civil–military history, and together they may comprise a plausible explanation of the over 50 years of peaceful civil–military relations. They do not, however, provide a hopeful prognosis for future civil–military relations in a system that is increasingly challenging the dominant-party state, nor do they account for Tanzania’s subsequent democratic deficit.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. e46-e48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Lumu

ABSTRACTThe prolongation of the Ebola epidemic may have allowed some countries to prepare and respond to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. In Uganda, the surveillance structure built for Ebola virus disease (EVD) has become a pillar in the COVID-19 response. This testing and tracing apparatus has limited disease spread to clusters with zero mortality compared with the neighboring East African countries. As more sub-Saharan countries implement social distancing to contain the outbreak, the interventions should be phased and balanced with health risk and socioeconomic situation. However, having a decision-making matrix would better guide the response team. These initial lessons from EVD-experienced Uganda may be helpful to other countries in the region.


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