Effect of Community Health Support Systems and Technology Obsolescence on Utilization of mHealth Information by Teenagers Living with HIV/AIDS in Island Communities of Lake Victoria, Kenya

The emergence of mHealth as an alternative access point for care and treatment is lauded by development agencies as ingenious innovation for bridging health care access for teenagers living with HIV/AIDS among detached communities like the islands of Lake Victoria. It is also presumed that mHealth transcends beyond teenagers’ concerns with location and unfriendly hours of operation of health facilities. mHealth is alleged to increase privacy and confidentiality, reduce the cost of service delivery, and loops over retrogressive cultural beliefs and attitudes exhibited by health care providers and caregivers, consequently increasing access to health information, care, and treatment. Specifically, the study sought to determine the technology obsolescence and explore community-based health support systems that facilitate suitable utilization of mHealth by teenagers living with HIV from the island communities of Lake Victoria and its effect on treatment access. To support this study, two philosophies: The theory of Reasoned Action and the Technology Adoption Lifecycle Model were applied. Anchored on cross-sectional study design, stratified sampling identified the psychosocial support groups of teenagers living with HIV. The probit model was applied to the study. With a study population of approximately 409 in Ringiti, Remba, Rusinga, Mfangano, and Mageta Islands, questionnaires were administered to 173 sampled teenagers living with HIV as a unit of analysis, and a control group made up of 30 percent of the sample ascertained effect of mHealth on treatment access. Five focus group discussions and key informant interviews of 10 and 3 were held on each Island. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to estimate the effect of the independent variables on the dependent variable. Further, the results showed that technology obsolescence and community-based health support systems had a significant effect on access to treatment by teenagers living with HIV/AIDS in the Island communities of Lake Victoria. Consequently, this study provides organizations promoting access to access to treatment by teenagers living with HIV/AIDS through mHealth. The study recommended that government and organizations involved in HIV/AIDS related activities should adopt a culture of enhancing mHealth by focusing on technology obsolescence and community-based health support systems. This could go a long way in ensuring there is improved access to treatment by teenagers living with HIV/AIDS in Island communities of Lake Victoria.

Challenges of Emergency Management in Nigeria: A Case Study of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) (FEMA)

The study examined the challenges of emergency management and response in Nigeria; a case study of FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), FCT Nigeria. The study assesses the nature and trend of disasters and emergency situations prevalent in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the effectiveness of FEMA’s response to emergency situations in the FCT, and highlights the challenges of the Federal Environmental Management Agency of FCT. Both primary and secondary methods of data collection were used. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The findings of the study revealed that road crashes and flooding are the highest emergency situations recorded in the area. The trend shows that in 2014, 40 emergency situations were recorded, 26 in 2016, and 49 the highest in 2019. In terms of the effectiveness of FEMA’s response to emergencies, the study findings revealed that from 2014 to 2019, 215 emergency situations were recorded, 740 lives were saved as a result of FEMA’s response time of 3 to 15 minutes. The study also revealed that FCT FEMA synergies with other emergency stakeholders in emergency management and response. Training of staffs was periodically carried out to improve productivity and level of alertness of the staff. Some of the humanitarian services of FCT FEMA include the distribution of relief materials and school enrolment for internally displaced persons (IDPs). These notwithstanding, the activities of the agency have been constrained by inadequate funding, poor logistics, wrong address from callers, lack of proper maintenance of infrastructure and equipment, improper vulnerability assessment, and inadequate and ineffective legal and regulatory framework. Based on the findings, the study recommends adequate funding, use of other means of transportation, public enlightenment, and increase synergies among emergency management stakeholders.

Implications of Illicit Financial Flows on Zimbabwe's Development

Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) is a major challenge to Zimbabwe's development. They have a direct impact on the country’s stability to raise, retain and mobilize its own resources to finance sustainable economic development. The study finds that Zimbabwe lost over US$32.179 billion during the period 2000 to 2020. The study relies on normative and legal arguments to justify the effects of illicit financial flows. The problems with IFFs are that they are not only illicit but that their effect spreads far beyond their immediate area of occurrence. Zimbabwe has suffered irreparable damage because of illicit financial flows. IFFs are mainly driven by the desire to hide wealth and to evade taxes; perpetrators clearly do not respect the obligations of citizenship. Financial flows are crucial for poor countries and have played an important role in Zimbabwe. Since not all financial flows are good for development, the integration of poor countries into the global financial system poses opportunities as well as risks.

Health Implications of Air Quality Index of Fine and Coarse Particulates During Outdoor Combustion of Biomass in the Niger Delta, Nigeria

Rural dwellers in the Niger Delta commonly use biomass for cooking and other activities. This study investigated the air quality index of fine particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) and coarse particulate matter 10 (PM10) and its health implications during outdoor combustion of fuelwood in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. A mini-volume air sampler (model: AEROCET 531) was used to measure PM2.5, PM10, and total suspended particulate (TSP) in the study area. A bimonthly triplicate sampling was carried out at 3 distances in 4 different states spanning one Calendar year. The results showed that PM2.5, PM10, and TSP ranged from 19.85 – 27.95µg/m3, 55.66 – 80.59µg/m3, and 74.29 – 140.44µg/m3, respectively. There was statistical variation across the different months, locations and distances, and their interactions. The concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 occasionally exceeds the World Health Organization limits of 25µg/m3 and 50µg/m3 for 24-hourly average, respectively. The air quality index showed no contamination to slight contamination in both seasons. The air quality index indicates that the air is slightly contaminated at the emission source which decreased as distance away increased. Therefore, there is a need for the regulatory agencies to consider PM2.5 and PM10 in the monitoring of ambient air quality to forestall potential hazards associated with human exposure.

Identifying Local Realities and Anticipating Challenges in Building Capacity of Ontario Municipal Wastewater Systems in Tracking for SARS-CoV-2

One of the biggest challenges that public health experts have ever faced is detecting and mitigating the community spread of COVID-19. Current clinical testing of COVID-19 patients is limited in terms of testing kits available, cost logistics, and detecting individuals that are mildly symptomatic and asymptomatic. False positives and false negatives also cloud the true picture of the pandemic. Ontario municipalities’ wastewater systems can provide new testing opportunities for a non-invasive approach in tracking and monitoring the community spread of COVID-19 through sampling raw sludge or untreated wastewater to test for SAR-CoV-2 RNA fragments. Current global and domestic research confirms the effectiveness of wastewater epidemiology surveillance of SAR-CoV-2 and can be detected even before individuals experience symptoms providing a real-time indicator for appropriate public health interventions. In collaboration with the COVID-19 Wastewater Consortium of Ontario (CWCO), an initiative of McMaster University, the objective of this research is to determine the means to optimize the current infrastructure capacity of municipal wastewater systems as an opportunity to monitor and track COVID-19 spread in the community by identifying local realities and risks. To identify local challenges, we distributed a survey amongst Ontario municipalities regarding wastewater treatment plants’ characteristics, held focus group discussions, and implemented an eight-week sampling program with CWCO’s partners. This report focuses on municipal wastewater treatment plants with in-house laboratory facilities to analyze the current capacity and limitations associated with their sampling and analysis programs. Drawing from survey responses and focus group discussions, we revealed gaps for municipalities to move forward with sample testing and data processing as well as governance challenges.

Studying the Rise and Fall of Powers: Insights From Neo-Khaldunian Thought

This paper sheds the lights on the ideas of Ibn Khaldūn in conjunction with the thoughts of Malik ibn Nabi on the rise and fall of powers and posits that the psycho-sociological analysis of Ibn Khaldūn can be applied to the rise and fall of the contemporary political powers. the paper argues that this validity stems from the comprehensiveness of the Ibn Khaldūn analysis which explains how the political power generates from the stage of the idea, flowing to the stage of states, reaching ultimately to the civilization which is the most progress status sought by any power. by combing the ideas of these two scholars, this paper proposes what can be called the “Neo-Khaldūnian” approach to study the rise and fall of the powers in the modern world.

From Growth Poles and Clusters to Business Ecosystems Dynamics: The ILDI Counterproposal

The study of spatial socio-economic development constitutes a significant field of analysis of innovation creation and diffusion. Understanding the spatial evolution of the different socio-economic systems in the age of globalization requires a synthesizing and integrated theoretical approach to how innovation is generated and replicated. This article aims to study three significant spatial socio-economic development theories –the growth poles, the clusters, and the business ecosystems. A literature review reveals that (a) the concept of growth poles concerns mostly the analysis of spatial polarization between specific territories and regions, (b) the clusters concept addresses the issue of developed inter-industrial competition and co-operation from a meso-level perspective, and (c) the analytical field of business ecosystems provides an evolutionary approach that can be valorized for all co-evolving spatial socio-economic organizations. In this context, an eclectically interventional mechanism to strengthen innovation is suggested. The Institutes of Local Development and Innovation (ILDI) policy is proposed for all firms and business ecosystems, of every size, level of spatial development, prior knowledge, specialization, and competitive ability. The ILDI is presented as an intermediate organization capable of diagnosing and enhancing the firm’s physiology in structural Stra.Tech.Man terms (strategy-technology-management synthesis).

Challenges of Participatory Development in West Africa: A Study of Nigeria’s Vision 20:2020 Economic Blueprint

The formulation and implementation of development plans serve as the benchmark for evaluating economic progress in different sectors of an economy. Since independence, successive administrations in Nigeria have paraded different economic development plans. At the continental level also, several development programmes have been articulated for driving development in the countries of Africa. Many times, supposed laudable economic programmes have failed to identify with the interest of citizens, largely due to poor communication of such programmes. This study investigated citizens’ participation in the implementation of Nigeria’s Vision 20:2020. Among others, the study asked the following questions: to what extent are Nigerian citizens aware goals of Vision 20:2020 economic blueprint? What were the media used in popularising Nigeria’s Vision 20:2020 economic blue print? The study was anchored on the Participatory Development theory. The survey research design was used to study a population of 84, 004, 084 from which a sample size of 384 respondents was drawn. The sample was based on Keyton’s sampling system. Findings of the study showed that many citizens of Nigeria do not understand the goals of Vision 20:2020. It was also found out that many citizens of Nigeria cannot identify development projects executed in line with the goals of Vision 20:2020. Based on these findings, the study recommended, among other things, that Nigerian government should partner with civil society organisations to popularise the goals of Vision 20:2020. It was also recommended that citizens of Nigeria should be encouraged to participate in the formulation and implementation of development programmes.

Evaluating the Programs and Procedures of Project Planning and Management: the Case of Ethiopia Red Cross Society

The central purpose of the study is to evaluate the programs, project planning and management in Ethiopian Red Cross society and its comparison with procedures of project planning and management system. The study found that Ethiopian Red Cross society has been working on a lot of community development projects in Ethiopia for several decades. Most projects were principally emphasized on disaster and risk reduction. Different organizations use diverse project procedures to achieve the anticipated objectives. This also true for the Ethiopian Red Cross society projects. The Ethiopian Red Cross society had integrated some unique style of project planning and management system in its project. Thus, there was no total departure in the whole system of project development phases. Every cycle of the project life spans are used beginning from the point of concept initiation to final implementation and closure phases.

Conservation Agriculture: An Agroecological Approach to Adapting and Mitigating Climate Change Impacts on Malawi’s Agriculture

Although Africa’s contribution to the world’s greenhouse gas emission is the smallest compared to other continents, yet they tend to be affected most by the variability in Climate. Malawi is not an exception to this climate change, as they are not just faced with rising temperatures and variable rainfall patterns, but with reoccurring droughts and severe flooding. Agriculture has been noted to contribute significantly to not only climate change but also has significant impacts on global warming through its greenhouse gas emissions. Nevertheless, not all farming systems impact negatively on climate change. Conservation Agriculture is a farming system that encourages no or minimum soil disturbance, maintenance of a permanent soil cover, and diversification of crop species. These three interlinked principles combined with good agricultural practices promote biodiversity and normal biotic processes, both on and under the ground surface, thereby increasing the productivity and nutrient use efficiency of water, into a more resilient farming system which will help sustain and improve agricultural production. This review looks at Conservation Agriculture practices in the Machinga Agricultural Development Division of Malawi and its role in climate change mitigation and adaptation. This paper shows that Conservation Agriculture has played an active role in the adaptation and mitigation of climate change effect by reducing atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions but suggested there is a need for the government to formulate a CA framework that is founded on the three interlinked principles and not just based on soil and water conservation principles which are currently being advocated and practised.