scholarly journals State-Actor-Society Relations: The Challenges of Development Practices of Hydropower Project in North Western Ethiopia

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-132
Author(s):  
Fasika Gedif Belete

This article examines the effects of state-society relations for the development of hydropower programs in the North Western Ethiopia. The Beles valley is one of the major development corridor recognized in the country of which attempts were made to harness hydropower in the mid 1980s. In this valley, hydropower development program was initiated to enhance sustainable national economy through power production. However, this public investment has been facing challenges shortly after the commencement of the project. Methodologically, the paper is based on qualitative method conducted in cross sectional manner in the Beles upper valley, North Western Ethiopia. Data were collected through interviews, focus group discussions and consultation of secondary documents. The data were analyzed through thematic and content analysis. The major challenge of the hydropower development practice in the Beles valley was associated with state-actor relations. There was security dynamics by the move violence between the state force and insurgent armed group. The situation was further complicated by the society’s negative perception to the project attempted to be implemented in the upper stream by government. Related to these, low linkage between the Beles valley rural communities to the nearby administration and regional economy has also impacted the development of Beles hydroelectric projects. The article shows that how the state, actors and society relations affected the development projects attempted in mid 1980s for implementation in the Beles valley.

2020 ◽  
Vol V (4) ◽  
pp. 214-216
Author(s):  
B. I. Vorotynsky

- The Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Medical Department is included in the State Council with a presentation on borrowing from the capital of public funds the amounts necessary for the construction of District Hospitals for the mentally ill. These sums will also be used to build the District Hospital in Vilnius, designed for the provinces of the north-western region.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francílio Araújo Almeida ◽  
Antonio Augusto Lima Teixeira-Junior ◽  
Jaqueline Diniz Pinho ◽  
Elaine Fiod Costa ◽  
Gyl Eanes Barros Silva

Abstract Background Oculosporidiosis (ocular rhinosporidiosis) accounts for 15% of cases of rhinosporidiosis, which is a chronic granulomatous disease and is endemic in India and Sri Lanka. In Brazil, the climatic and hydrographic similarities to these endemic areas and the presence of riverside populations contributes to an increase in the incidence of rhinosporidiosis particularly in the State of Maranhão. This study, therefore, aimed to identify the number of diagnosed cases of oculosporidiosis and describe its the clinical epidemiology, laboratory, histopathology, and therapeutic characteristics. Methods The study is descriptive, observational, and cross-sectional, and reports the prevalence and clinical epidemiological characteristics of oculosporidiosis in the State of Maranhão, Brazil. A retrospective analysis of the paper and electronic records for a period from 1999 to 2017 was conducted in the University Hospital of Federal University of Maranhão (HU-UFMA), located in the northeastern region of Brazil. Results Thirty patients were diagnosed with rhinosporidiosis, eight of them had oculosporidiosis and seven of these met the criteria to be included in the study. Of the cases (23.3% of all 30), five were men (71.4%) and two women (28.5%), with an average age of 16.4 ± 15.6 years. In terms of race, four patients (57.1%) declared themselves white and three (42.9%) as brown. The north of the state, the mesoregion, had the most diagnosed cases accounting for 57.1% of the total. Left eye was the most affected site, reported in six patients (85.7%), while the conjunctiva was affected in all patients. Rhinosporidiosis and papilloma were the predominant diagnostic hypotheses (28.5 and 28.5%, respectively), followed by chronic scleritis, granuloma, and chalazion (14.25, 14.25, and 14.25%, respectively). All these cases were treated with lesion excision, and only two patients (28.5%) progressed with recurrence. Conclusion It was verified that there was a male predominance, with only one eye reported as an infected site, with no bilateral involvement. The younger age group (between 1 and 2 years of age) was more affected by oculosporidiosis, and histopathological examination was necessary for a conclusive diagnosis.


Author(s):  
Eslam Moradi-Asl ◽  
Hassan Vatandoost ◽  
Davod Adham ◽  
Daryosh Emdadi ◽  
Hassan Moosa-Kazemi

Background: To investigate the diversity of the genus Aedes present in the natural areas of Ardabil Province, north-west of Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out from Apr to Oct 2016 in North-western of Iran. Thirty-three areas of 10 cities which are border areas were selected randomly. The larvae were collected 2 times in each month during the seasonal activities of mosquitoes and the larvae were identified morphologically according to the ap­propriate identification keys.  Results: Overall, 694 larvae were collected from four counties, from which only 7.2% were Aedes larvae. Three species of Aedes were identified which include Ae. caspius, Ae. vexans and Ae. flavescens. Aedes flavescens is reported from Ardabil Province for the first time. Conclusion: Aedes species were a high density in borderline of Iran and Azerbaijan. Therefore, the north parts of Ardabil Province are a suitable habitat for Aedes species mosquitoes. Care should be taken for vector control in the case of occurrence of any arboviruses transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes.


2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 1021-1028 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone de Melo Costa ◽  
Mauro Henrique Nogueira Guimarães Abreu ◽  
Andréa Maria Duarte Vargas ◽  
Mara Vasconcelos ◽  
Efigênia Ferreira e Ferreira ◽  
...  

It is observational, analytical and cross-sectional aimed to evaluate the association between severity and prevalence of fluorosis and dental caries in rural communities with endemic dental fluorosis in the north state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, with fluoride concentrations in water up to 4.8 mg/L. Data were collected by one examiner (intra-examiner kappa, 0.96 to 0,95 for caries and fluorosis) after toothbrushing. The study included 511 individuals aged 7 - 22 years, categorized according to age: 7 - 9 years (n = 227), 10 to 12 years (n = 153), 13 to 15 years (n = 92), 16 to 22 years (n = 39). For the diagnosis of dental caries used the criteria of the World Health Organization to measure indices DMFT. For fluorosis used the index Thylstrup and Fejerskov (TF), dichotomized according to prevalence (TF = 0 and TF > 0) and severity (TF < 4 and TF > 5). In the two younger groups, the DMFT and its decay component were higher in the group with more severe fluorosis (p < 0.001). This association was not found among adolescents and adults (p > 0.05). The association was found between the conditions more severe fluorosis and caries in individuals under 12 years.


Author(s):  
Mohamed Ghaith Al-Kuwari ◽  
Asma Ali Al-Nuaimi ◽  
Jazeel Abdulmajeed ◽  
Sandy Semaan ◽  
Hamad Eid Al-Romaihi ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction COVID-19 transmission was significant amongst Qatar’s working population during the March–July 2020 outbreak. The study aimed to estimate the risk of exposure for COVID-19 across various workplace settings and demographics in the State of Qatar. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted utilizing surveillance data of all workplaces with 10 or more laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19. These workplaces were categorized using a mapping table adapted from the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes, 2017 version. The data was then analyzed to estimate and compare the positivity rate as an indicator of the risk of developing COVID-19 infection across various workplace settings in the State of Qatar. Results The highest positivity rate was reported amongst the Construction & Related (40.0%) and the Retail & Wholesale Trade sectors (40.0%), whereas, the lowest positivity rate was attributed to the healthcare workplace setting (11.0%). The highest incidence of COVID-19 infections occurred in South Asian nationalities and in the male gender. The private funded sector employees have seen higher positivity rate than employees of the governmental funded sector. Conclusion The elevated risk of infection in Construction and Retail & Wholesale Trade is probably due to environmental and educational vulnerabilities. The predominant labor force of those workplace categories is South Asian craft and male manual workers. Alternatively, the better containment of the healthcare workplace setting can be attributed to the enforcement of infection control and occupational safety measures. These findings imply the importance of using preventive and surveillance strategies for high-risk workplace settings appropriately.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seidu A. Bello ◽  
John A. Adeoye ◽  
Ifeoluwa Oketade ◽  
Oladimeji A. Akadiri

ABSTRACTBackgroundNoma is a spreading and devouring disease which is believed to be native to Sub-Saharan Africa over the last decade due to poverty. Within this noma belt, most epidemiological reports regarding the disease have emanated from the north western region of Nigeria. However, our indigenous surgical mission encountered a substantial number of cases noteworthy of epidemiological representation in north central Nigeria.MethodsAll facial cleft and noma cases encountered within the 8 year study period were included into this study. Estimated incidence of the noma in the zone was calculated using the existing statistical model of Fieger et al (2003), which takes into account the expected differences based on age and location of the two patient groups using the multinomial logistic regression analysis. Period prevalence of noma was also calculated by simple division considering the population at risk of the disease in the zone.FindingsA total of 770 subjects were included in this study (orofacial cleft – 692, noma – 78). The incidence estimate of noma in the north central zone was 3.2 per 1000 with a range of 2.6 – 3.7 per 1000. The period prevalence of noma was1:125,000 children. The median age of noma patients was comparatively higher than the median age of facial cleft patients. The mean age of onset of noma was 5.9 ± 8.08 years which was lower than the average age of individuals in the noma group - 29.6 ± 18.84 years.ConclusionAlthough noma may be more prevalent in the north western region of Nigeria; substantial number of cases is still being encountered in the north central zone which calls for urgent attention of relevant health stakeholders regarding the management and rehabilitation of individuals affected.AUTHOR SUMMARYNoma, a devouring facial disease, is commonly associated with poverty and impoverished regions of the world especially Sub-Saharan Africa which is being termed the noma belt region of the world. Although literature established that noma is indeed a neglected disease, the degree of this neglect in north central Nigeria compared to other sub-regions is in fact alarming, as no report on the disease burden have been published till date. In this light, a retrospective, cross-sectional was conducted to provide epidemiological representation to the cases encountered within an eight year period at the Cleft and Facial Deformity Foundation (CFDF), an indigenous surgical mission. The incidence of noma was estimated from the known incidence of orofacial cleft using an existing multinomial logistic regression model while the period prevalence was calculated considering the population living below poverty line in the sub-region. This study extrapolates an incidence of 3.2 per 1000 and a period prevalence of 0.05 per 1000 persons. Notable is the finding that most individuals with noma were above thirty years of age and suffered varying degree of facial disfigurement resulting from the acute phase of the disease which started in their childhood. Therefore, we advocate public awareness on the disease presentation, risk factors and sequelae in the sub-region and identify the need to bolster the efforts of existing health facilities and indigenous surgical missions in the management and rehabilitation of individuals affected.


Author(s):  
G. A. KOSHELENKO

This chapter discusses the result of research on the Gobekly-depe fortifications at the north-western edge of the Merv Oasis conducted by the South Turkmenistan Archaeological Multi-Disciplinary Expedition (YuTAKE) in the late 1940s. The findings suggest that the fortress served as a residence for the state dignitary in charge of the fortress and as a warehouse to which specific commodities were sent from Merv and from which they were then distributed further. The plan of the fortifications involved towers in all four corners and an entrance in the middle of the south wall, and the walls were built with alternate layers of mud bricks and pakhsa.


Author(s):  
V. O. Gorbanyuk

The strategic goal of economic and social policy in the countryside should be to ensure an integrated multifunctional development of communities, which would increase their role not only in the development of agricultural production, but also in other types of labor activities, and also, which is very important, to ensure a favorable environment for their living. Thus, the strategic foundation of this solution is the development of the productive forces of each rural community. Therefore, the orientation of the rural communities, especially the united ones, to its own resources and opportunities is the strategic basis for the revival of the Ukrainian peasantry, and given the amount of unemployed population living in rural areas today, it has a rational content. In this context, state aid could take part in the development of a Comprehensive rural development program and the revival of the peasantry, with regard to possibilities of each community, based on the new economic policy, the basis and strategic base of which should be mass co-operative movement. Due to the association of small rural producers, their contribution to the production of gross agricultural products will be significantly appreciable, so effective assistance to power structures of all levels, especially legal ones, could actually, in a short period of time, affect the increase in the profitability of their management, the creation of acceptable social conditions, improving their social protection, adapting and raising awareness of the latest technological solutions to increase their own production of cheap and quality products, as well as what is extremely important today is the improvement of the well-being of the peasants. A comprehensive, consolidated combination of the concrete efforts of the state and the resources that the rural population still possesses, in the name of its new territorial communities, under certain conditions, could become a major driving force in ensuring the systematic development and revival of the Ukrainian peasantry, which is one of the most important foundations of its existence. The modern village really needs development, and this development – financial, organizational, systemic and other forms of support. That is, there is a need for a coherent and systemic village development policy, or, as they call it European researchers, rural development policy, in our today's sense, as well as united territorial communities. Against the backdrop of a sharp rise in energy prices, agricultural machinery, fertilizers, feed, services, etc., low purchase prices, the lack of stable and reliable sales channels makes its production extremely ineffective. Solving similar issues in Ukraine is possible only with the state support for the development of agricultural servicing cooperatives as an important factor, increasing the competitiveness of private farms and individuals who are engaged in agricultural production, improving their socio-economic status and expanding their employment. The development of cooperation is a logical stage in the development of a market economy system in agriculture and one of the ways of integrated development of rural united communities. In particular, the success of rural cooperatives in Galicia in the first half of the 20th century showed a high level of adaptability of local economic traditions to European culture of agricultural production and successful agricultural business. This, extremely important for today's conditions, the experience of the survival of the Galician village until 1939, as well as the Ukrainian community abroad, showed that only uniting all the patriotic forces of the Ukrainian community and channeling their efforts to revive a solid, highly organized under the state guardianship and protection of the cooperative movement, will enable in the coming years to ensure sustainable development of rural communities and to solve problems of food security of the state.


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