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Household Welfare Impact of Saving In Microfinance Program: Empirical Evidence from Amhara Credit and Saving Institution, Ethiopia
Get PDFEthiopia has a favorable macro policy environment and regulatory framework to promote local and national development. Accordingly, Amhara credit and Saving Institution (ACSI) which is one of the big MFIs in Ethiopia which has been established with the purpose of targeting to rural and urban poor people so as to reduce poverty throughout the region and the nation as well. So the prime purpose of this study is to examine the welfare impact of microfinance program in reference to ACSI. The study reports a survey of 270 clients of ACSI in urban areas of south wollo zone specific to clients of four branches residing in Dessie, Kombolcha and Haik towns. The Heckman selection model is used to analyze the impact of microfinance program on saving mobilization and hence household welfare. Results in the present study revealed that The significant and positive coefficient of the Inverse Mills ratio signifies that OLS would produce upwardly biased estimate which explains by how much the welfare in terms of expenditure is shifted up due to the selection effect. The estimated value of rho also suggests that there is a positive correlation between the unobservable of the choice participation equation and the expenditure equation, which may mean that those factors which increase the likelihood of participating in saving scheme tend to raise the welfare of the households through increasing their expenditure. In conclusion, microcredit program is positively influencing saving mobilization directly or indirectly. This means, there is a compulsory saving program which directly influencing the clients as a rule to save while receiving loan from MFI and also after the clients engage in different business activities they try to save voluntarily because they think that savings would be their future hope to improve their financial status as well as improve their living standard. Although the contributions from participation in the microfinance program particular ACSI is on good position, it is possible to say that the MF intervention could not fully bring about needed change in terms of household welfare for the majority of the clients. Therefore, one of the duties of Microfinance program intervention should be to work hard to enhance the impact of the program on client’s economic and social wellbeing.  
A pilot survey on factors limiting veterinary service delivery systems at animal health facilities in Hawassa, Shashemene, and Negele Arsi, Ethiopia
No full textA pilot questionnaire survey was carried out from December 2021 to June 2022 at animal health facilities in Hawassa city and Shashemene and Negele Arsi towns in Ethiopia. The objective of the survey was to determine what factors in the study area limited the provision of veterinary services at animal health facilities like veterinary clinics, veterinary pharmacies, and veterinary administrative offices. Government veterinary staff, clinical veterinarians, and private veterinary pharmacists were purposefully chosen based on their availability at each study area, whereas livestock owners (clients) were chosen at random at the point of service. A semi-structured questionnaire with multiple-choice and open-ended questions was administered to 100 study participants. It was discovered that the public sector was generally preferred by 74% of livestock owners and the private sector was preferred by 26%. In terms of infrastructurecoverage, the current animal health service delivery system was found to be deficient (35.7%). Drug shortages were a major problem for most public veterinary service providers (66.7%), while expensive drug prices were a problem for private veterinary service providers (34.0%). Additionally, it was determined that poor management (57.1%), a lack of funding (14.3%), a lack of commitment (28.6%), and a lack of attention to the veterinary sector (78.6%) were among the factors that hindered the provision of proper veterinary services in these areas. To carry out efficient veterinary clinical activities, the existing public veterinary institutions should be given sufficient financial resources,qualified personnel, and physical resources
The Influence of Parental Attitude on Children’s Music Education: A Case Study of Basic Schools in Obio Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State
No full textThis study centred on the influence of parental attitude on children’s music education in basic schools of Obio Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. Three research questions and three null hypotheses were formulated and tested. Out of a population of 203, a sample size of 125 was used through a random sampling technique. The data collection instruments included a questionnaire, interview, and observation. Statistically weighted mean and percentages were used to answer the research questions while one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to test the null hypotheses. The analysis revealed that there is a significant difference in the effects of parental attitudes towards children's music learning in the study area. It was further deduced that there is a significant relationship between parents' attitudes and pupils' music learning in basic schools in Obio Akpor Local Government Area. This further proved that there was a significant relationship between parents' attitudes towards music learning and their children’s performance in music in the study area. Another strong negative factor was peer group influence and quality of teaching and learning on the children's music performance in basic schools in Obio Akpor. It was also observed that there is a significant relationship between the academic qualification of music teachers and children's music performance in the study area. Based on these findings, the study concluded that improvement in music education in Obio Akpor Basic Schools is a necessity
Decision to Delivery Interval, Perinatal Outcome and Factors Following Emergency Cesarean Section in Southern Ethiopia
No full textBACKGROUND: The interval between the decision for an emergency cesarean section and the delivery of the fetus should be made within 30 minutes. In a setting like Ethiopia, the recommendation of 30 minutes is unrealistic. Decision to delivery interval should, therefore, be considered as vital in improving perinatal outcomes. This study aimed to assess the decision to delivery interval, its perinatal outcomes, and associated factors.
METHODS: A facility-based cross-sectional study was employed, and a consecutive sampling technique was used. Both the questionnaire and the data extraction sheet were used, and data analysis was done using a statistical package for social science version 25 software. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the factors associated with decision to delivery interval. P-value < 0.05 level of significance with a 95% Confidence interval was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS: Decision-to-delivery interval below 30 minutes was observed in 21.3% of emergency cesarean sections. Category one (AOR=8.45, 95% CI, 4.66, 15.35), the presence of additional OR table (AOR=3.31, 95% CI, 1.42, 7.70), availability of materials and drugs (AOR=4.08, 95% CI, 1.3, 12.62) and night time (AOR=3.08, 95% CI, 1.04, 9.07) were factors significantly associated. The finding revealed that there was no statistically significant association between prolonged decisions to delivery interval with adverse perinatal outcomes.
CONCLUSION: Decision-to-delivery intervals were not achieved within the recommended time interval. The prolonged decision to delivery interval and adverse perinatal outcomes had no significant association. Providers and facilities should be better equipped in advance and ready for a rapid emergency cesarean section
The Effect of Community Health Information System on Health Care Services Utilization in Rural Ethiopia
No full textBACKGROUND: In Ethiopia, the community health information system (CHIS) is implemented at the health post (hp) level with the aim of improving service delivery and use. We conducted a national level assessment of CHIS utilization and explored the associations of CHIS utilization with use of antenatal care (ANC), postnatal care (PNC), institutional delivery and child immunization in rural Ethiopia. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study measuring community-based health service use and HP based CHIS assessment from March to May 2019. Data were collected from 343 HPs and 2,864 women who delivered in the last five years, and multistage sampling was used to select the study subjects. We used descriptive statistics for CHIS implementation and service utilization and multilevel logistic regression to investigate the association of CHIS implementation with maternal and child health care services use.
RESULTS: Fifty five percent of the HPs were implementing CHIS. These HPs were using a paper-based household data collection tool called family folder (FF). Of the HPs, one third implemented lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) based data quality check and 60.4% documented and followed execution of decisions. Overall, among the eligible women, 40% used ANC, close to 50% of currently married women used ANC services; 28% of women that fall in the high wealth index category used PNC within 48 hours after delivery; and 86.1% of women who had at least a high school education delivered at a health facility. Implementation of CHIS and family folder utilization and conducting LQAS based data quality check in the HPs were significantly associated with increased odds of ANC, delivery, and vaccination services use.
CONCLUSION: We found that better implementation of CHIS was associated with better maternal and child health service use which implies that increasing utilization of CHIS at HPs will improve mother and child health service use. 
The 1998 “‘mini-Constitution’ for local government”: A review of the assumptions of the White Paper on Local Government
No full textMany South African municipalities suffer servicedelivery problems that can usually be ascribed to inadequate management, skills, and budgets. The reasons for these, in turn, invariably include weak economic base, unwise spending of available funds, and difficulty in recruiting and retaining skilled staff. The White Paper on Local Government of 1998, to which Valli Moosa, the then Minister for Provincial Affairs and Constitutional Development, referred as “almost [being] regarded as a ‘mini-Constitution’ for local government”, together with the Municipal Demarcation Act of the same year, spelled out the framework in terms of which the local government system would be transformed. Municipalities, covering the entire country “wall-towall”, were thereafter established and powers and functions were assigned to them. After more than two decades, there can no longer be any doubt that many municipalities are, to a significant extent, failing in their primary duty of delivering services. The author sought to investigate to what extent this failing is due to flaws in the ‘mini-Constitution’. By examining aspects of the performance of municipalities, the article assesses key assumptions made by the drafters of the White Paper in respect of a number of key attributes for service delivery. These attributes include sufficient skills and funding, prudent budgeting and effective spending, good leadership, adequate systems and data, stability of the senior leadership, and the presence of trust and credibility. The article finds that many of the assumptions were flawed, with severe consequences for service delivery
Penile gangrene following penile bandaging for uncontrollable bleeding benign prostatic hyperplasia: Case report and review of literature
No full textBackground: Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the commonestailmentsaffecting many elderly men. Frequently, affected patients present with lower urinary tract symptoms and complications such as urinary retentionand haematuria. Haematuria complicating BPH can be very daunting and challenging to manage, making the surgeon to sometimes employ some unconventional and unorthodox methods when all management protocols in his armamentarium are exhausted. The complications resulting from these unconventional methods of managing bleeding BPH may be costly with high morbidity and mortality. Penile gangrene a generally rare entity has not been reported as a complication of these unorthodox methods of managing bleeding BPH.
Case report: Here, we present the case of a 62-year-old man who had his penis bandaged and suspended for two years following an episode of uncontrollable haematuria following a two-day penile bandage for uncontrollable bleeding BPH in the accident and emergency unit of a tertiary health facility. He subsequently developed penile gangrene necessitating his presentation to our facility after discharging against medical advice. He eventually had suprapubic cystostomy and control of haematuria. Subsequently, he had prostatectomy and penile skin grafting.
Conclusion:This case report emphasizes the challenges of managing bleeding BPHand the dangers of employing unconventional and unorthodox treatment protocol in the management of bleeding BPH. 
Association between haemostatic parameters at diagnosis and pregnancy outcome in women with pre-eclampsia in south-east Nigeria
No full textBackground: Pre-eclampsia complicates 3-5% of pregnancies and is a global cause of perinatal and maternal death. In pre-eclampsia, activated maternal inflammatory response and immune dysfunction culminate in serious derangement in the coagulation and fibrinolytic systems. We aimed to determine if changes in the coagulation system predict severity and outcome of preeclampsia.
Methodology: This was a prospective self-controlled study of pre-eclamptic pregnant women recruited from 28 weeks and followed till delivery. At the point of diagnosis, blood sample for platelet count, prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time was collected. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20 and p-value was set at ≤0.05.
Results: Thirty women with preeclampsia were followed up to delivery in this study. Their mean gestational ages were 33.87± 3.93 and 37.50±2.77 weeks at recruitment and delivery respectively. Of the complications seen in these women, maternal death 11(36.7%) was the most frequent maternal complication while prematurity 23 (76.7%) was the most frequent fetal complication. Ten (33.3%) subjects had thrombocytopenia, 7(23.3%) had isolated prolonged PT, 17(56.7%) had isolated prolonged APTT while 18(60.0%) had both prolonged PT and APTT. Maternal and fetal complications had no significant association with the PT and APTT of the study subjects.
Conclusion: The existence of thrombocytopenia and derangement in PT and APTT is common in preeclampsia. The prevalence of feto-maternal complications is high in preeclampsia. However, the coagulation derangement showed no associations with these complications and likely not predictors of poor pregnancy outcome
Knowledge and practice of birth preparedness and complication readiness among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in a secondary health institution in Edo State
No full textBackground: Maternal mortality is a universal cause of concern and public health burden in developing countries. Birth preparedness and complication readiness are strong contributors in mitigating maternal and newborn morbidities and mortalities. This study assessed the knowledge and practice of birth preparedness and complication readiness among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in a tertiary health institution in Benin City, Edo State.Method: This was a cross-sectional study carried among 263 pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in Central Hospital, Benin City, Edo State. Data was collected with a well-structured researchers developed questionnaire. Data collected was analyzed with SPSS version 21. Descriptive and inferential statistics was used to analyse the data. Level of significance was set at P-value <0.05.Result: A majority 128(60.4%) had good knowledge while 84(39.6%) had poor knowledge. A majority 129(60.8%) had poor practice while 83(39.2%) had good practice. Hypothesis revealed significant association between preparedness and complication readiness and parity.Conclusion: Our study findings showed an overall good knowledge of birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPCR) and a poor level of practice of BPCR. There was a significant association between birth preparedness and complication readiness and parity