scholarly journals Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 exposure in Malawian blood donors: a retrospective seroprevalence analysis between January 2020 and February 2021

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Mandolo ◽  
Jacquline Msefula ◽  
Marc YR Henrion ◽  
Comfort Brown ◽  
Brewster Moyo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Donor ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Blood Donors ◽  
Cross Protection ◽  
Prior Exposure ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas ◽  
Second Wave

Background: As at end of July 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic has been less severe in sub-Saharan Africa than elsewhere. In Malawi, there have been two subsequent epidemic waves. We therefore aimed to describe the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 exposure in Malawi. Methods: We measured the seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among randomly selected blood donor sera in Malawi from January 2020 to February 2021. In a subset, we also assesed in vitro neutralisation against the original variant (D614G WT) and the Beta variant. Findings: A total of 3586 samples were selected from the blood donor database, of which 2685 (74.9%) were male and 3132 (87.3%) were aged 20-49 years. Of the total, 469 (13.1%) were seropositive. Seropositivity was highest in October 2020 (15.7%) and February 2021 (49.7%) reflecting the two epidemic waves. Unlike the first wave, both urban and rural areas had high seropositivity by February 2021, Balaka (rural, 37.5%), Blantyre (urban, 54.8%), Lilongwe (urban, 54.5%) and Mzuzu (urban, 57.5%). First wave sera showed potent in vitro neutralisation activity against the original variant (78%[7/9]) but not the Beta variant (22% [2/9]). Second wave sera potently neutralised the Beta variant (73% [8/11]). Interpretation: The findings confirm extensive SARS-CoV-2 exposure in Malawi over two epidemic waves with likely poor cross-protection to reinfection from the first on the second wave. Since prior exposure augments COVID-19 vaccine immunity, prioritising administration of the first dose in high SARS-CoV-2 exposure settings could maximise the benefit of the limited available vaccines in Malawi and the region.

scholarly journals SARS-CoV-2 exposure in Malawian blood donors: an analysis of seroprevalence and variant dynamics between January 2020 and July 2021

BMC Medicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Mandolo ◽  
Jacquline Msefula ◽  
Marc Y. R. Henrion ◽  
Comfort Brown ◽  
Brewster Moyo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas ◽  
Second Wave ◽  
Adequate Sample Size ◽  
Pandemic Wave

Abstract Background By August 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic has been less severe in sub-Saharan Africa than elsewhere. In Malawi, there have been three subsequent epidemic waves. We therefore aimed to describe the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 exposure in Malawi. Methods We measured the seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies amongst randomly selected blood transfusion donor sera in Malawi from January 2020 to July 2021 using a cross-sectional study design. In a subset, we also assessed in vitro neutralisation against the original variant (D614G WT) and the Beta variant. Results A total of 5085 samples were selected from the blood donor database, of which 4075 (80.1%) were aged 20–49 years. Of the total, 1401 were seropositive. After adjustment for assay characteristics and applying population weights, seropositivity reached peaks in October 2020 (18.5%) and May 2021 (64.9%) reflecting the first two epidemic waves. Unlike the first wave, both urban and rural areas had high seropositivity in the second wave, Balaka (rural, 66.2%, April 2021), Blantyre (urban, 75.6%, May 2021), Lilongwe (urban, 78.0%, May 2021), and Mzuzu (urban, 74.6%, April 2021). Blantyre and Mzuzu also show indications of the start of a third pandemic wave with seroprevalence picking up again in July 2021 (Blantyre, 81.7%; Mzuzu, 71.0%). More first wave sera showed in vitro neutralisation activity against the original variant (78% [7/9]) than the beta variant (22% [2/9]), while more second wave sera showed neutralisation activity against the beta variant (75% [12/16]) than the original variant (63% [10/16]). Conclusion The findings confirm extensive SARS-CoV-2 exposure in Malawi over two epidemic waves with likely poor cross-protection to reinfection from the first on the second wave. The dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 exposure will therefore need to be taken into account in the formulation of the COVID-19 vaccination policy in Malawi and across the region. Future studies should use an adequate sample size for the assessment of neutralisation activity across a panel of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern/interest to estimate community immunity.

Second-hand clothing encounters in Zambia: global discourses, Western commodities, and local histories

Africa ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Tranberg Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The West ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas ◽  
The Third World

AbstractThe rapid expansion in commercial exports of second-hand clothing from the West to the Third World and the increase in second-hand clothing consumption in many African countries raise challenging questions about the effects of globalisation and the meanings of the West and the local that consumers attribute to objects at different points of their journey across global space. This article draws on extensive research into the sourcing of second-hand clothing in the West, and its wholesaling, retailing, distribution and consumption in Zambia. Discussing how people in Zambia are deahng with the West's unwanted clothing, the article argues that a cultural economy is at work in local appropriations of this particular commodity that is opening space for local agency in clothing consumption. Clothing has a powerful hold on people's imagination because the self and society articulate through the dressed body. To provide background for this argument, the article briefly sketches recent trends in the global second-hand clothing trade that place the countries of sub-Saharan Africa as the world's largest importing region. There follows a discussion of Zambians' preoccupation with clothing, both new and second-hand, historically and at the present time. It demonstrates that the meanings consumers in Zambia attribute to second-hand clothing are neither uniform nor static but shift across class and gender lines, and between urban and rural areas. Above all, they depend on the cultural politics of their time. In dealing with clothing, people in Zambia are making sense of post-colonial society and their own place within it and in the world at large.

scholarly journals An analysis of the learning performance gap between urban and rural areas in sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Sugata Sumida ◽  
Keisuke Kawata
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Family Characteristics ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
School Characteristics ◽  
Persistent Problem ◽  
Learning Gap ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas ◽  
Over Time

The learning gap between urban and rural areas is a persistent problem in many sub-Saharan African countries. Previous studies have found that the urban-rural learning gap is attributed to the fact that student characteristics and school resources are different in urban and rural areas. Our study updates this finding by using the latest dataset and further examines the changes in the attributed sources over time. Using 15 educational systems in sub-Saharan Africa, we examined 4 potential sources of the gap: student, family, teacher, and school characteristics. Our results reveal that the urban-rural learning gap in recent years is attributed mostly to differences in school and family characteristics. We also found that the attribution remains the same over time from 2004 to 2011 and that the attribution to family characteristics’ differences became slightly greater than the one to school characteristics’ differences.

scholarly journals The Development of the African System of Cities

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 287-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Vernon Henderson ◽  
Sebastian Kriticos
Keyword(s):  
Structural Transformation ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Urban Hierarchy ◽  
Urban Primacy ◽  
Conventional View ◽  
Agricultural Employment ◽  
Large Household ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced high urban population growth over the past half century, dramatically reshaping the economic and spatial profile of the region. Simultaneously, this process has challenged the conventional view that countries urbanize alongside structural transformation, as urbanization in Africa has occurred despite low productivity gains in agriculture and very limited industrialization. While there are large household income gaps between urban and rural areas that induce migration, most cities have very high agricultural employment, blurring the connection between structural transformation and urbanization. Urban income premiums apply equally to farm and nonfarm families. Looking across the urban hierarchy, we discuss how high urban primacy presents problems for economic growth in Africa, how secondary cities are faltering with a lack of industrialization, and how growth of employment in tradable services may signal a different path to structural transformation.

scholarly journals The demographic window of opportunity and economic growth at sub-national level in 91 developing countries

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lamar Gerard Alfons Crombach ◽  
Jeroen Smits
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
National Level ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Dependency Ratios ◽  
Detailed Classification ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

Data for 91 low- and middle- income countries (LMICs) are used to investigate the effect of the demographic transition on economic growth at sub-national level. We introduce a detailed classification of demographic window (DW) phases, determine how these phases are distributed among and within LMICs, and analyze the relationship between the DW and economic growth for 1,921 urban and rural areas of sub-national regions. Many regions in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have entered the window, but most of sub-Saharan Africa is still in the traditional or pre-window phase. Multilevel analyses reveal higher growth rates in areas with lower and decreasing dependency ratios. Demographic effects are stronger in rural, more developed and more educated regions. Findings indicate that, in the coming years, the DW might strengthen economic growth in rural areas of LMICs, and particularly if accompanied by investments in education and rural development.

scholarly journals The Demographic Window of Opportunity and Economic Growth at Sub-National Level in 91 Developing Countries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lamar Crombach ◽  
Jeroen Smits
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
National Level ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Window Of Opportunity ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Detailed Classification ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

AbstractData for low- and middle- income countries (LMICs) are used to investigate the effect of the demographic transition on economic growth at sub-national level. We introduce a detailed classification of demographic window phases, determine how these phases are distributed among and within LMICs, and analyze the relationship between the demographic window of opportunity (DWO) and economic growth for 1921 urban and rural areas of sub-national regions within 91 LMICs. Many areas in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have entered the window, but most of Sub-Saharan Africa is still in the traditional or pre-window phase. Our analyses reveal higher growth rates in areas passing through the DWO. Positive growth effects are particularly strong in rural and more educated regions and in countries with lower levels of corruption. Policy measures aimed at effectively using the DW for achieving growth should combine investments in education and rural development with better governance.

scholarly journals Economic empowerment and intimate partner violence: a secondary data analysis of the cross-sectional Demographic Health Surveys in Sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Stöckl ◽  
Anushé Hassan ◽  
Meghna Ranganathan ◽  
Abigail M. Hatcher
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Household Wealth ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Economic Empowerment ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Education And Employment ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

Abstract Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been recognized as a defining human rights, development and public health issue of our time. Economic empowerment is one of the most promising interventions to reduce IPV in sub-Saharan Africa, yet the evidence around economic factors that are key to ensure a reduction in IPV are still mixed. Furthermore, there is a lack of clarity on what kinds of economic empowerment works for which population group. This paper seeks a more nuanced understanding, by investigating whether the associations between indicators of economic empowerment and physical and/or sexual IPV are similar between the general population of women and among urban versus rural and young, or middle aged women versus older women. Methods Using couples data from 25 DHS surveys across 15 countries (n = 70,993 women and men aged 15 and above at time of survey), we analyse how household wealth, men’s and women’s education and employment status, decision making on women’s income, differences in education and employment of women and their partners and women’s cash income are associated with physical and/or sexual IPV. We also provide sub-analyses for both urban and rural areas and for women aged, 15 to 24 25 to 34 and 35 to 49. Results Across all surveys, 20% of women reported physical and/or sexual IPV in the last 12 months. On the one hand, our findings reinforced certain well-established patterns between women’s economic empowerment and IPV, with women’s and men’s higher levels of education and increased household wealth  associated with a decrease in IPV, and women’s employment, especially if only the woman worked, and women earning more than her partner associated with an increase in IPV. Most patterns did not differ across urban and rural settings and age groups, but notable differences emerged regarding household wealth, women’s and men’s employment in the last 12 months and relative employment and education. Conclusions Factors relating to women’s economic empowerment are  vital in understanding and addressing IPV. Our analysis indicate however that future interventions need to consider the differing needs of urban and rural areas as well as be targeted to different age groups.

scholarly journals Decomposing the urban–rural inequalities in the utilisation of maternal health care services: evidence from 27 selected countries in Sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oduse Samuel ◽  
Temesgen Zewotir ◽  
Delia North
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Health ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Maternal Healthcare ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

Abstract Background There has been a substantial improvement in reducing maternal mortality in the Sub-Saharan African region. The vast rural-urban gap in maternal health outcomes, however, is obscured by this average achievement. This study attempts to measure the contribution of identified risk factors to describe the average rural-urban difference in the use of antenatal care, health facilities for delivery, and health professional assistance at delivery. Method To achieve this objective, we used descriptive analysis and Fairlie non-linear decomposition method to quantify covariates’ contribution in explaining the urban–rural difference in maternal healthcare services utilisation. Result The study’s finding shows much difference between urban and rural areas in the use of maternal healthcare services. Socio-economic factors such as household wealth index, exposure to media, and educational level of women and their husbands/partners contributed the most in explaining the gap between urban and rural areas in healthcare services utilisation. Conclusions Interventions to bridge the gap between urban and rural areas in maternal healthcare services utilisation in Sub-Saharan Africa should be centred towards socio-economic empowerment. Government can enforce targeted awareness campaigns to encourage women in rural communities in Sub-Sharan Africa to take the opportunity and use the available maternal health care services to be at par with their counterparts in urban areas.

scholarly journals Schistosoma mansoni eggs induce Wnt/β-catenin signaling and activate the protooncogene c-Jun in human and hamster colon

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakob Weglage ◽  
Friederike Wolters ◽  
Laura Hehr ◽  
Jakob Lichtenberger ◽  
Celina Wulz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Signaling Pathways ◽  
Colorectal Carcinogenesis ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Interleukin 4 ◽  
Health Burden ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Considerable Morbidity ◽  
First Time

AbstractSchistosomiasis (bilharzia) is a neglected tropical disease caused by parasitic flatworms of the genus Schistosoma, with considerable morbidity in parts of the Middle East, South America, Southeast Asia, in sub-Saharan Africa, and particularly also in Europe. The WHO describes an increasing global health burden with more than 290 million people threatened by the disease and a potential to spread into regions with temperate climates like Corsica, France. The aim of our study was to investigate the influence of S. mansoni infection on colorectal carcinogenic signaling pathways in vivo and in vitro. S. mansoni infection, soluble egg antigens (SEA) and the Interleukin-4-inducing principle from S. mansoni eggs induce Wnt/β-catenin signaling and the protooncogene c-Jun as well as downstream factor Cyclin D1 and markers for DNA-damage, such as Parp1 and γH2a.x in enterocytes. The presence of these characteristic hallmarks of colorectal carcinogenesis was confirmed in colon biopsies from S. mansoni-infected patients demonstrating the clinical relevance of our findings. For the first time it was shown that S. mansoni SEA may be involved in the induction of colorectal carcinoma-associated signaling pathways.

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