scholarly journals Student-perceived criteria for assessing university relevance in community development

2016 ◽  
Vol Volume 112 (Number 11/12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Francis ◽  
Beata Kilonzo ◽  
Pertina Nyamukondiwa ◽  
◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Development ◽  
Rural Area ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Sustainable Solutions ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Perceptions Of Students ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract In sub-Saharan Africa, universities are increasingly being called upon to contribute more towards combating poverty and promoting development in rural areas. Yet, it is still argued that universities are ivory towers, and as a result, their contribution to finding sustainable solutions to issues hampering the realisation of improved quality of life of people in rural areas remains unsatisfactory. This perception emanates from the universities’ apparent failure to articulate and demonstrate how they can achieve the desired goal stated above. Moreover, there are no universally embraced criteria for assessing the relevance of a rural area based university to the community it serves. This study was therefore carried out to determine the perceptions of University of Venda undergraduate students on what they believed were appropriate criteria for assessing the relevance of a rural area based university in community development in South Africa. Reflection circles, anchored on participatory research techniques, were used to engage the students. The results of the engagement were organised into sub-themes. The most prominent perceptions were: ‘A university has active long-term community-based development initiatives’; ‘A university is continuously addressing the real needs of the communities in question’; ‘University initiatives are creating jobs for its graduates and community members’; and ‘Continuous community requests for university assistance in solving the challenges militating against development’. The wide range of perceptions of students observed in this study is a useful input into initiatives seeking to develop an objective tool for assessing the relevance of a rural area based university in community development.

scholarly journals Addressing Pediatric HIV Pretreatment Drug Resistance and Virologic Failure in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Diagnostic-Based Strategies in Children ≥3 Years Old

Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 567
Author(s):  
Mutita Siriruchatanon ◽  
Shan Liu ◽  
James G. Carlucci ◽  
Eva A. Enns ◽  
Horacio A. Duarte
Keyword(s):  
Drug Resistance ◽  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Virologic Failure ◽  
Pediatric Hiv ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Financial Investment ◽  
Switching Strategy ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Living With Hiv

Improvement of antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimen switching practices and implementation of pretreatment drug resistance (PDR) testing are two potential approaches to improve health outcomes for children living with HIV. We developed a microsimulation model of disease progression and treatment focused on children with perinatally acquired HIV in sub-Saharan Africa who initiate ART at 3 years of age. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of diagnostic-based strategies (improved switching and PDR testing), over a 10-year time horizon, in settings without and with pediatric dolutegravir (DTG) availability as first-line ART. The improved switching strategy increases the probability of switching to second-line ART when virologic failure is diagnosed through viral load testing. The PDR testing strategy involves a one-time PDR test prior to ART initiation to guide choice of initial regimen. When DTG is not available, PDR testing is dominated by the improved switching strategy, which has an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of USD 579/life-year gained (LY), relative to the status quo. If DTG is available, improved switching has a similar ICER (USD 591/LY) relative to the DTGstatus quo. Even when substantial financial investment is needed to achieve improved regimen switching practices, the improved switching strategy still has the potential to be cost-effective in a wide range of sub-Saharan African countries. Our analysis highlights the importance of strengthening existing laboratory monitoring systems to improve the health of children living with HIV.

scholarly journals Building sustainable research capacity at higher learning institutions in Tanzania through mentoring of the Young Research Peers

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Balandya ◽  
Bruno Sunguya ◽  
Daniel W. Gunda ◽  
Benson Kidenya ◽  
Tumaini Nyamhanga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Research Training ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Scientific Presentation ◽  
Resource Limited ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Young Researchers

Abstract Background Sustainability of research culture in Sub-Saharan Africa is threatened in part by the lack of a critical mass of young researchers with the requisite skills and interest to undertake research careers. This paper describes an intensive mentorship programme combining hierarchical (vertical) and peer-to-peer (horizontal) mentoring strategies among young researchers in a resource limited setting in Sub-Saharan Africa. Methods A consortium of three partnering large Tanzanian health training institutions (MUHAS, CUHAS and KCMUCo) and two collaborating US institutions (UCSF and Duke University) was formed as part of the five-year Transforming Health Professions Education in Tanzania (THET) project, funded by the NIH through Health Professional Education Partnership Initiative (HEPI). Within THET, the Community of Young Research Peers (CYRP) was formed, comprising of inter-professional and cross-institutional team of 12 Master-level Young Research Peers and 10 co-opted fellows from the former MEPI-Junior Faculty (MEPI-JF) project. The Young Peers received mentorship from senior researchers from the consortium through mentored research awards and research training, and in turn provided reciprocal peer-to-peer mentorship as well as mentorship to undergraduate students. Results At the end of the first 2 years of the project, all 12 Young Peers were proceeding well with mentored research awards, and some were at more advanced stages. For example, three articles were already published in peer reviewed journals and two other manuscripts were in final stages of preparation. All 12 Young Peers participated in CYRP-wide thematic training workshops on mentoring and secondary data analysis; 11 had undertaken at least three research training short courses in identified areas of need; 9 joined at least one other ongoing research project; 5 made at least one scientific presentation, and 5 participated in at least one submitted grant application. Half of the Young Peers have enrolled in PhD programmes. A collective total of 41 undergraduate students were actively mentored by the Young Peers in research. Conclusion The CYRP has demonstrated to be an effective model for dual vertical and horizontal mentorship in research to young investigators in resource-limited settings. This model is recommended to educators working on developing research competence of early career researchers, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

scholarly journals Malarial Infection in HIV Infected Pregnant Women Attending a Rural Antenatal Clinic in Nigeria

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. S. Houmsou ◽  
B. E. Wama ◽  
S. O. Elkanah ◽  
L. C. Garba ◽  
T. D. Hile ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Haemoglobin Level ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
First Trimester ◽  
Antenatal Clinic ◽  
Severe Anaemia ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Malarial Infection ◽  
Sub Saharan

Malaria still remains a challenging infection affecting the lives of several HIV infected pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa. This study was undertaken to determine malarial infection in HIV infected pregnant women in relation to sociodemographic and obstetrical factors. The study also assessed relationship between malarial infection and haemoglobin level, CD4+ counts, and ART regimen, as well as predisposing risk factors that influenced occurrence of malarial infection in the women. Thick and thin blood smears were prepared and stained with Giemsa. Haemoglobin level was determined using a hematology analyzer, while the flow cytometry was used to measure CD4+ counts. Sociodemographic and obstetrical parameters were obtained through the administration of questionnaires. Of the 159 HIV infected pregnant women examined, 33.3% (59/159) had malarial infection. Malarial infection was significantly higher in pregnant women who were divorced, 40.24% (33/82) (χ2=5.72; P=0.05), were at their first trimester (4–12 weeks), 54.8% (17/31) (χ2=14.85; P=0.01), had CD4+ = [201–500 cells/μL], 42.42% (42/99) (χ2=10.13; P=0.00), and those that had severe anaemia (<8 dg/L), 100.00% (χ2= 45.75; P=0.00). However, risk factors that influenced the occurrence of malarial infection in the pregnant women were occupation (farming) (AOR=0.226; P=0.03), marital status (divorced) (AOR=2.80; P=0.02), gestation (first trimester) (AOR=0.33; P=0.00), haemoglobin level (Hb < 8 dg/L) (AOR=0.02; P=0.00), and CD4+ counts (low CD4+) (OR=0.40; P=0.05). The study reported endemicity of malaria in HIV infected pregnant women living in rural areas of Benue State, Nigeria. Malarial infection was higher in women that were divorced, and at their first trimester, had low CD4+ count, and had severe anaemia. Farming, divorce, gestation, severe anaemia, and low CD4+ counts were predisposing risk factors that influenced malaria occurrence in the HIV infected pregnant women. It is advocated that HIV infected pregnant women should be properly and thoroughly educated on malaria preventive measures in rural areas so as to avoid unpleasant effect of malaria during their pregnancies.

Cassava Processing in Sub-Saharan Africa: the Implications for Expanding Cassava Production

1994 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 197-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Izu Nweke
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Intensive Use ◽  
Cassava Production ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Processing Techniques ◽  
Technical Solutions ◽  
Poor Soil

Cassava makes an important contribution to improving food security and rural incomes in sub-Saharan Africa, as it is tolerant of drought and poor soil and its cultivation does not require much labour. However, the fresh roots are bulky and perishable and need to be processed before they can be marketed; processing also removes the cyanogens which make many varieties poisonous in their raw form. Cassava roots are turned into granules, flours, pastes and chips, with a wide range of flavours and appearances for different areas and markets. Many different processing techniques are used, some of which make intensive use of fuelwood while others require a plentiful water supply. These requirements, as well as the need for a good transport and marketing infrastructure, limit the expansion of cassava production in sub-Saharan Africa, but technical solutions are being found.

scholarly journals Mitigation of the Water Crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa: Construction of Delocalized Water Collection and Retention Systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1673
Author(s):  
Adolfo F. L. Baratta ◽  
Laura Calcagnini ◽  
Abdoulaye Deyoko ◽  
Fabrizio Finucci ◽  
Antonio Magarò ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Water Shortage ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Emilia Romagna Region ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Surrounding Areas

This paper presents the results of a three-year research project aimed at addressing the issue of water shortage and retention/collection in drought-affected rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. The project consisted in the design, construction, and the upgrade of existing barrages near Kita, the regional capital of Kayes in Mali. The effort was led by the Department of Architecture of Roma Tre University in partnership with the Onlus Gente d’Africa (who handled the on-the-ground logistics), the Department of Architecture of the University of Florence and the École Supérieure d’Ingénierie, d’Architecture et d’Urbanisme of Bamako, Mali. The practical realization of the project was made possible by Romagna Acque Società delle Fonti Ltd., a water utility supplying drinking water in the Emilia-Romagna region (Italy) that provided the financing as well as the operational contribution of AES Architettura Emergenza Sviluppo, a nonprofit association operating in the depressed areas of the world. The completion of the research project resulted in the replenishment of reservoirs and renewed presence of water in the subsoil of the surrounding areas. Several economic activities such as fishing and rice cultivation have spawned from the availability of water. The monitoring of these results is still ongoing; however, it is already possible to assess some critical issues highlighted, especially with the progress of the COVID-19 pandemic in the research areas.

scholarly journals Comparative Area Studies and the Study of the Global South

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-287
Author(s):  
Rudra Sil ◽  
Ariel I. Ahram
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Science Inquiry ◽  
Global South ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Area Studies ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Range Theory ◽  
Sub Saharan

Comparative Area Studies (CAS) offers a template to bring the Global South back into the foreground of social science inquiry. CAS urges researchers to grapple directly with empirical variations derived from across the seemingly different global regions. CAS offers three comparative modes: intra-regional, cross-regional, and trans-regional. A number of scholars have used CAS’s comparative rubrics, even without knowing about the wider CAS agenda and program. CAS unsettles assumptions about discrete, fixed “regional” or civilizational blocks as well as about nomothetic theory-building aimed at universal or general laws. At the same time, CAS engages in the idea of medium-range theory-building, focusing empirical rigor and induction in order to create concepts and analyses that are portable yet contextualized. These macro-historical theories must be attentive to spatial and temporal variation in the social world. Claims of universalism are suspect. For the study of the Global South, in particular, CAS provides a path for aggregating and leveraging the wide range of observations and interpretations area specialists have to offer on regions as diverse as South Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and sub-Saharan Africa. CAS thus changes the division of labor within social science to allow greater input for scholarship derived from and originating in the developing world.

scholarly journals Prevalence and antibiotic resistance of bacterial pathogens isolated from childhood diarrhoea in four provinces of Kenya

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (07) ◽  
pp. 572-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Willie Kipkemboi Sang ◽  
Valerie Oundo ◽  
David Schnabel
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Vibrio Cholera ◽  
Antimicrobial Drug Resistance ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Shigella Isolate ◽  
Stool Samples ◽  
Sub Saharan

Introduction: Diarrhoea is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality among children in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of the main causes of hospital admissions in rural areas of Kenya. In Kenya, antimicrobial resistance surveillance has been conducted only at the institutional levels, with limited sharing of information and analysis of data. As a result, the actual scale of regional or national antimicrobial drug resistance is not well defined. Methodology: Stool samples were collected between 1 October 2007 and 30 September 2008 from a total of 651 outpatients with diarrhoea who were under five years of age in four provinces of Kenya.  Conventional, biochemical methods, multiplex PCR and antimicrobial susceptibility were conducted to identify the bacterial causes and virulence factors in the isolates, respectively.  Results: Of the 651 patients screened, we identified the causes of 115 cases (17.7%) as follows: Pathogenic E. coli (11.2%) [enteroaggregative (8.9%), enterotoxigenic (1.2%), enteroinvasive (0.6%), shigatoxigenic (0.5%)], Salmonella (3.5%), Shigella (2%) and Vibrio cholera O1 (0.7%). The highest levels of resistance among the E. coli isolates were observed in ampicillin and trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole each at 95% followed by tetracycline at 81%. Shigella isolate levels of resistance ranged from 80% to 100% for ampicillin, tetracycline and trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole. Conclusion: The highest prevalence of antimicrobial resistance was to ampicillin followed by trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole and tetracycline. Though still at low levels, the major concern from our findings is the emerging resistance of enteric pathogens that was observed to quinolones (ciprofloxacin, nalidixic acid, norfloxacin) and gentamycin.

scholarly journals Proposing a Paradigm Shift in Rural Electrification Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa through Agriculture

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 3096 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Kyriakarakos ◽  
Athanasios T. Balafoutis ◽  
Dionysis Bochtis
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Rural Electrification ◽  
Agricultural Cooperatives ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Cross Subsidization

Almost one billion people in the world still do not have access to electricity. Most of them live in rural areas of the developing world. Access to electricity in the rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa is only 28%, roughly 600 million people. The financing of rural electrification is challenging and, in order to accomplish higher private sector investments, new innovative business models have to be developed. In this paper, a new approach in the financing of microgrid electrification activities is proposed and investigated. In this approach, agriculture related businesses take the lead in the electrification activities of the surrounding communities. It is shown that the high cost of rural electrification can be met through the increased value of locally produced products, and cross-subsidization can take place in order to decrease the cost of household electrification. The approach is implemented in a case study in Rwanda, through which the possibility of local agricultural cooperatives leading electrification activities is demonstrated.

Land and poverty: the role of soil fertility and vegetation quality in poverty reduction

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 315-333
Author(s):  
Martin Philipp Heger ◽  
Gregor Zens ◽  
Mook Bangalore
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Vegetation Growth ◽  
Variable Approach ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Negative Impacts

AbstractThe debate on the land–poverty nexus is inconclusive, with past research unable to identify the causal dynamics. We use a unique global panel dataset that links survey and census derived poverty data with measures of land ecosystems at the subnational level. Rainfall is used to overcome the endogeneity in the land–poverty relationship in an instrumental variable approach. This is the first global study using quasi-experimental methods to uncover the degree to which land improvements matter for poverty reduction. We draw three main conclusions. First, land improvements are important for poverty reduction in rural areas and particularly so for Sub-Saharan Africa. Second, land improvements are pro-poor: poorer areas see larger poverty alleviation effects due to improvements in land. Finally, irrigation plays a major role in breaking the link between bad weather and negative impacts on the poor through reduced vegetation growth and soil fertility.

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