scholarly journals (357) GIS Tools for Documentation and Analysis of Germplasm Collections from a Secondary Center of Diversity: A Case Study for East African Sweetpotatoes

HortScience ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 1028A-1028
Author(s):  
Arthur Villordon ◽  
Wambui Njuguna ◽  
Simon Gichuki ◽  
Heneriko Kulembeka ◽  
Jeremiah Simon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ipomoea Batatas ◽  
Germplasm Collection ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Web Gis ◽  
East African ◽  
African Region ◽  
Germplasm Collections ◽  
Gis Tools ◽  
Collection Data ◽  
Sub Saharan

The East African region in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is widely considered as one of the secondary centers of diversity for sweetpotatoes [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.]. Farmers in the region typically grow landraces, but hybridizations occasionally result in new genotypes. Factors such as regional conflicts, natural disasters, disease, and land pressure continually threaten the SSA sweetpotato gene pool. Despite this threat, very little updated information is easily accessible about SSA germplasm collections. Such information is valuable for purposes of management, exploration, and conservation. Using germplasm collection data from Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, we demonstrate how publicly available GIS-based tools, e.g., DIVA-GIS, can be used to document current collections as well as make this information easily accessible, searchable, and portable. First, collection data from each country were compiled and known collection sites were georeferenced using available gazetteers. Following data cleaning and verification, georeferenced data were then converted into a GIS-compliant format, primarily as shapefiles. All files were then copied into storage media for exchange among stakeholders. To further demonstrate the portability of the GIS database files, available World Wide Web GIS web viewers enabled real-time access to GIS files uploaded to an experimental web site. This work demonstrates that with very little expense, access to extant SSA germplasm information for sweetpotatoes can be improved using publicly available GIS tools.

scholarly journals A WEB-ACCESSIBLE GEO-REFERENCED DATABASE OF SWEETPOTATO ACCESSIONS FOR TANZANIA AND KENYA

HortScience ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 868d-868
Author(s):  
A. Villordon ◽  
S. Gichuki ◽  
H. Kulembeka ◽  
S.C. Jeremiah ◽  
D. Labonte
Keyword(s):  
Ipomoea Batatas ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Public Domain ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Niche Modelling ◽  
Germplasm Collections ◽  
Gis Database ◽  
Raster Maps ◽  
Passport Data ◽  
Sub Saharan

One of the secondary centers of genetic diversity for the sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] is located in Africa. We have developed a geo-referenced database of sweetpotato accessions for Tanzania and Kenya that is accessible by stakeholders and other users. Public domain base maps and other files were used to generate the underlying GIS components. DIVA-GIS was used to convert existing spreadsheet-based accession and passport data into GIS-compliant files. ALOV Map, a public domain Java application for publishing vector and raster maps, was used to provide the framework for a web-accessible GIS database. This demonstrates that the availability of publicly available software requiring minimal or flexible licensing costs provide a cost-effective alternative to institutions that are considering developing GIS databases as well as enabling web accessibility to such resources. DIVA-GIS was also used to predict potential distribution of sweetpotato germplasm in Sub-Saharan Africa using the built-in ecological niche modelling tool. We describe procedures, software, and other applications that we used to develop a publicly accessible web interface to a GIS database of sweetpotato germplasm collections in Kenya and Tanzania.

scholarly journals Climate Change and Young People in Uganda: A Literature Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 107049652110471
Author(s):  
Anthony Mugeere ◽  
Anna Barford ◽  
Paul Magimbi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Young People ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
African Country ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
East African ◽  
African Region ◽  
Economic Resilience ◽  
Livelihood Options ◽  
Sub Saharan

The disruptions of anthropogenic climate change are increasingly severe. People living in sub-Saharan Africa are especially exposed to these risks, and amongst them young people. It is well established that climate disruptions have the potential to halt education, displace populations, and wreck infrastructure. This rigorous literature review focuses on climate change in the landlocked East African country of Uganda, demographically the world’s third youngest country, where young people struggle to get by due to insufficient work opportunities. Extended to other countries in the Eastern and Central African region, the review considers what is known about the intersection of youth livelihoods and climate change; young people’s susceptibility to climate disruption due to limited resources and livelihood options; and the constraints around their responses. The review findings suggest the need for substantial youth informed interventions to bolster young people’s economic resilience and adaptive capacity given the worsening climate change and prolonged population growth.

scholarly journals Using GIS-Based Tools and Distribution Modeling to Determine Sweetpotato Germplasm Exploration and Documentation Priorities in Sub-Saharan Africa

HortScience ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 1377-1381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Villordon ◽  
Wambui Njuguna ◽  
Simon Gichuki ◽  
Philip Ndolo ◽  
Heneriko Kulembeka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ipomoea Batatas ◽  
Central African Republic ◽  
Germplasm Conservation ◽  
Germplasm Collection ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Distribution Model ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Crop Species ◽  
Distribution Modeling ◽  
Sub Saharan

Detailed information on the geographic distribution of a crop is important in planning efficient germplasm conservation strategies but is often not available, particularly for minor crops. Using germplasm collection data from Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, we used distribution modeling to predict the distribution of sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas L. (Lam.)] in sub-Saharan Africa. We used a consensus modeling approach using the following algorithms: genetic algorithm for rule set prediction (GARP), maximum entropy, BIOCLIM, and DOMAIN. The predicted distribution encompasses known sweetpotato production areas as well as additional areas suited for this crop species. New geographic areas where at least three models predicted presence were in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, The Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Rwanda, and the Central African Republic. This information can be used to fill gaps in current sweetpotato germplasm collections as well as to further enhance the current presence-only based distribution model. Our approach demonstrates the usefulness of considering several models in developing distribution maps.

The urgent need for health impact assessment: proposing a transdisciplinary approach to the e-waste crisis in sub-Saharan Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dinah Tetteh ◽  
Lara Lengel
Keyword(s):  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Health Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Concern ◽  
Electronic Waste ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Environmental Communication ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Region ◽  
Sub Saharan

Electronic waste (e-waste) is a growing health and environmental concern in developing countries. In the sub-Saharan African region e-waste is considered a crisis with no end in sight yet; there is lack of structures and regulations to manage the problem. In this article, we discuss the potential of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) in addressing the health, environmental, and social impacts of e-waste in sub-Saharan Africa. We draw from environmental policy, environmental communication, global health policy, and health communication to argue that managing e-waste could be framed as ongoing HIA where all the steps of HIA are performed on a rolling basis with input from local communities. Further, we suggest that HIA should be infused into recycling legislation to help streamline the practice in order to make it safe for health and the environment and to maximize the economic benefits.

scholarly journals First Report of East African Cassava Mosaic Begomovirus in Nigeria

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 ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Central Africa ◽  
Mosaic Disease ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Cassava Mosaic Disease ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
East African ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Manihot Esculenta Crantz ◽  
Cross River State ◽  
Sub Saharan

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.

scholarly journals Volcanic activity and hazard in the East African Rift Zone

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliet Biggs ◽  
Atalay Ayele ◽  
Tobias P. Fischer ◽  
Karen Fontijn ◽  
William Hutchison ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Activity ◽  
East African Rift ◽  
Volcanic Hazards ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Rift System ◽  
East African Rift System ◽  
East African ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
African Rift

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.

Tanzania: Civil–Military Relations and Nationalism

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel G. Zirker
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Military Training ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
East African ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Military

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.

scholarly journals Imported bancroftian filariasis discovered in a patient infected with Plasmodium falciparum: First case of concomitant parasitism in the Al-Buraimi Governorate, Oman

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Muqeet Ullah ◽  
Ahmed Yar Mohammed Dawood Al Balushi ◽  
Nader Rahid Salim Al Aliyani ◽  
Biju Kalarikkal ◽  
Reeher Ian C. Miranda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wuchereria Bancrofti ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Global Burden ◽  
Bancroftian Filariasis ◽  
African Region ◽  
Laboratory Findings ◽  
Anopheles Species ◽  
First Case ◽  
Nigerian Woman ◽  
Sub Saharan

Malaria and lymphatic filariasis (LF) are endemic in tropical and subtropical regions of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Central and South America. Ninety-two percent (200 million) of malaria cases in 2017 were detected in the WHO African Region. This accounts for approximately 30% of the global burden of LF disease and includes 405.9 million people at risk in 39 out of 46 member countries. Anopheles species of mosquitoes transmit Wuchereria bancrofti in most parts of Africa. Our case of a 23-year-old Nigerian woman highlights incidental laboratory findings showing the first malaria/filariasis coinfection in the governorate (province). This coinfection was ascertained during the usual medical screening before recruitment in Oman, which is routinely conducted for every expatriate.

scholarly journals An Analysis of Public-Private Partnerships in East Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 152
Author(s):  
Lukamba Muhiya Tshombe ◽  
Thekiso Molokwane ◽  
Alex Nduhura ◽  
Innocent Nuwagaba
Keyword(s):  
Developed Countries ◽  
Public Private Partnerships ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
East African ◽  
African Region ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Scientific Discussion ◽  
East African Region ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact

The impact of the implementation of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the Sub-Saharan African region on infrastructure and services is becoming increasingly perceptible. A considerable number of African countries have embraced PPPs as a mechanism to finance large projects due to a constrained fiscus. At present, many financial institutions, such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank, which finance some of the projects, have established a department or unit that mainly focuses on infrastructure development in developing countries. The private sector in Africa is equally seen as a significant partner in the development of infrastructure. African governments need to tap into private capital to invest in infrastructure projects. This scientific discussion provides an analysis of PPPs in the East African region. This article selected a number of countries to illustrate PPP projects in the sub-region. The analysis of this study illustrates that the East African region represents unique and valuable public-private partnership lessons in different countries. This study also traces the origins of PPPs to more than a century ago where developed countries completed some of their projects using the same arrangement. This paper further demonstrates that the application of PPPs is always characterised by three factors, namely a country, a sector and a project. Experts in the field often refer to these elements as layers, which usually precede any successful PPP.

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