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Enabling Global Reach And Discoverability Of African Research Data
No full textEnabling global reach and discoverability of African research data - AfricArXiv Open Science Webinar Series 202
Effectiveness of Road Safety Education in Reducing Teenage Traffic Accidents: A Systematic Review
No full textThis manuscript, titled "Effectiveness of Road Safety Education in Reducing Teenage Traffic Accidents: A Systematic Review", presents a comprehensive analysis of existing research on the impact of road safety education programs on teenage traffic accident rates. Through a systematic review of relevant studies, the authors evaluate the effectiveness of various educational interventions aimed at improving road safety awareness among teenagers. The review synthesizes data from multiple sources to assess whether these programs lead to a measurable reduction in traffic accidents involving young drivers. The findings aim to inform policy decisions and guide the development of more effective road safety education strategies for reducing teenage traffic-related injuries and fatalities.Background: This systematic review examined the impact of road safety education (RSE) on reducing teenage traffic accidents and injuries in Southeast Asia on the basis of the literature. We evaluated the effectiveness of road safety education programs, contextual and cultural adaptations, the integration of practical training, implementation challenges, and the long-term impacts on teenage behavior.
Materials and Methods: The study followed the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). This involved counting the number of studies showing a positive, negative, or no effect. A search of the articles in the electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar was conducted. The effectiveness of RSE was assessed by vote counting, tallying the number of studies showing positive, neutral, or negative impacts on teenage driving behaviour among those aged 13–19 years. A total of seventeen studies were selected for inclusion on the basis of predefined criteria.
Results: When a systematic review was conducted, 17 key studies were identified for inclusion, reflecting diverse methodologies and focus areas. Research has shown that teenagers benefit significantly from receiving both theoretical knowledge and practical training. This comprehensive approach enhances their confidence and skills in adhering to traffic safety laws. Moreover, the involvement of parents and communities emerges as a vital factor for the success of educational initiatives.
Conclusion: This study emphasizes the paramount importance of prioritizing long-term behavioural change and sustainability in road safety initiatives, particularly in teenagers. It advocates for a comprehensive approach involving community and parental engagement alongside educational programs. The findings emphasize the necessity for policymakers in Southeast Asia to allocate funding to culturally sensitive and standardized RSE programs, integrating practical training and long-term reinforcement strategies.College of Graduate Studies Walailak Universit
When it is available, will you pay for it? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Willingness to Pay (WTP) for Malaria Vaccines in Africa
No full textWe would like to acknowledge the African Community for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (ACSRM) for facilitating this review through their platform and network. We also thank facilitators from AuthorAID/INASP for their contributions to our understanding of systematic review methodologies.Background: Malaria vaccination holds significant potentials for combating malaria in Africa and its implementation is underway in many endemic countries. However, the economic climate on the continent raises concerns around sustainable financing for the program. Yet, evidence of the willingness to pay (WTP) for the vaccines by Africans in a cost-based provision model is unclear. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aims to summarize the available evidence of the WTP for the malaria vaccines in Africa.
Methods: We conducted a systematic search for relevant literatures in databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and CENTRAL following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines and our inclusion criteria. The primary outcome measures included the WTP proportion, prices, and determinants for any malaria vaccine reported in any African country since the year 2000. We applied the DerSimonian-Laird random-effects meta-analysis for effect estimation, with the pooled results presented alongside 95% confidence intervals (CI) calculated using the Clopper-Pearson method.
Results: Of the 1,398 literature screened, 8 studies reporting WTP data for 6102 adults and primary caregivers from 6 African countries were included in the final analysis. The pooled proportion of the WTP was 85.9% (95% CI: 76.0–92.1), with significant heterogeneity (I2 = 98%, p < 0.01). However, the average prices participants were willing to pay varied across countries. The WTP prices ranged from approximately 8.03 in Nigeria for adults, and from 26.90 in Ethiopia for children. The review identified a host of sociodemographic, vaccine-related, and situational factors influencing African adults and caregivers WTP for the malaria vaccines. Participants' levels of income (ability to pay) and education were frequently reported determinants of WTP.
Conclusion: There is a shortage of studies on the WTP for malaria vaccines in Africa. We found a seemingly high WTP level for the malaria vaccines in Africa, delimited by income and educational levels across households and countries. African health policymakers should consider their local realities to deliver an equitable yet sustainable malaria vaccination program.
Keywords: vaccines; willingness to pay (WTP); malaria; meta-analysisNot applicabl
Exploring the impact of a collaborative, multi-pronged early literacy intervention on 4- and 5-year-olds - Brief 2
No full textYizani Sifunde (isiXhosa for “come, let’s read”) aimed to boost early literacy outcomes at under-resourced early childhood development (ECD) centres in the Eastern Cape. It was implemented in three one-year cycles between 2021 and 2023. The project was initiated and funded by the Liberty Community Trust, and jointly designed and delivered by three literacy nonprofits: Book Dash, Nal’ibali and Wordworks. Local Eastern Cape partners ITEC and Khululeka supported implementation.
More information about Yizani Sifunde is available on the Book Dash website https://bookdash.org/yizani-sifunde/This is the second in a series of learning briefs that explore the design, implementation and impact of Yizani Sifunde, a collaborative multi-pronged intervention designed to boost early
literacy outcomes in 4- and 5-year-olds. The intervention was co-delivered by three leading South African NGOs, with two regional NGOs implementing part of the project locally.
This brief focuses on:
• the experience of the collaboration; and
• the factors and practices that made it successful.
In particular, it highlights the role played by the funder, Liberty Community Trust, the importance of clearly defined roles and collaboration modalities between project partners, and the learning mindset that helped improve the project design and adjust to unforeseen realities especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.Liberty Community Trus
Effect of Covid-19 on Mental Health of Adolescents in Malawi (Policy Brief)
No full textCOVID-19 has profoundly affected life as COVID-19 measures requiring social isolation, movement restrictions, and economic shutdowns change the psychosocial environment worldwide. These measures can significantly threaten the mental health of children and adolescents, especially as the closure of schools meant minimal social contact and out-of-home leisure activities for adolescents. School routines are essential coping mechanisms for young people with mental health issues. When schools are closed, they lose an anchor in life, and their symptoms could relapse. Although others turned to home school with the support of their parents, the challenge was that parents were also required to work from home.
The COVID-19 mitigating measures mean the absence of external support by other family members, and social support systems have fallen away. Besides worry and anxiety related to COVID-19, the economic situation has worsened with high and rising levels of unemployment worldwide. These factors have put much pressure on children, adolescents and their families, resulting in distress, mental health problems and violence. For some children with depression, there will be considerable difficulties adjusting to everyday life when school resumes. (Lancet, 2020).
The Covid-19 and Mental Health in Malawi project conducted a study to assess the effects of Covid-19 on adolescents' mental health in the country. Specifically, the study looked at Covid-19-related depression, anxiety and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The study used quantitative and qualitative methods. It collected quantitative data through a survey (n=320) and qualitative data through focus group discussions (n-4), and key informant interviews (n=12) with guardians and caregivers of adolescents in Malawi. The data were collected from four districts: Blantyre, Mangochi, Lilongwe and Karonga.This study was carried out under the Covid-19 Africa Rapid Grant Fund, supported under the auspices of the Science Granting Councils Initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa (SGCI) and administered by South Africa's National Research Foundation (NRF) in collaboration with Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), South Africa's Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), the Fonds de Recherche du Quebec (FRQ), the United Kingdom's Department of International Development (DFID), United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Newton Fund, and the SGCI participating councils across 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa
Register and Become a Local Network Lead at Your Institution!
No full textRegistration for AREN'S Local Network Lead training progra
STABILIZATION OF HISTORICAL ARCHIVES IN MEKELLE CITY RESCUE OF FIRE AND WATER DAMAGED DOCUMENTS, Report
No full textINTRODUCTION:
The archival materials within the Mekelle Municipality building face severe threats due to poor storage conditions and safety hazards. An exposed electrical panel with open wires presents a significant fire risk, which became a reality in a recent incident likely triggered by compromised wiring or nearby cooking activities. This fire caused substantial damage to numerous documents, necessitating the urgent intervention of the municipal fire brigade. Although their quick response prevented further loss, the water used to extinguish the flames soaked many records, hastening their deterioration. The wet papers quickly morphed into a pulpy, unidentifiable mass, combining soot, dirt, and charred remnants, rendering many documents permanently unreadable. This situation underscores the urgent need for immediate archival preservation efforts, as each document represents a vital piece of Mekelle's history that must be rescued before it is lost forever.Gerda Henkel Stiftun
Rethinking the Evidence on COVID in Africa
No full textThe COVID pandemic was predicted to cause substantial mortality in Africa. However, experiences from many countries in Africa were notable for a striking absence of overwhelmed hospitals, and for low reported mortality. The marked contrast with the overwhelmed hospitals and high mortality seen in Europe and other high income settings was regarded as “puzzling” or a “paradox”. We reflect on possible explanations for this paradox with particular reference to observations made “on the ground” in Kenya.
We identify sufficient evidence to reject many potential explanations for the differing epidemiology in Africa. Longitudinal surveillance using antibody assays suggested that viral transmission was widespread and rapid. These data contradict explanations such as: an impact of climate on virus droplets; enhanced air circulation in rural settings; or stringent and effective public health interventions against infectious spread. We acknowledge resource limitations on surveillance of severe disease in hospitals and registration of deaths, but nevertheless identify sufficient evidence to exclude hidden hospital surges, and to exclude a hidden substantial death rate outside hospital.
Population age structure is an important but incomplete explanation of the epidemiology. The simplistic calculation of multiplying infection-fatality rates by the Kenyan population age structure implies a figure substantially higher than the observed excess deaths, and the calculation is further misleading because the infection fatality rates were derived from settings where the health system capacity mitigated the risk of death. Multiplying infection-hospitalization rates by the age structure of the Kenyan population predicts over a million hospital admissions, which would have been well beyond the surge capacity of the Kenyan healthcare system, and incompatible with the data showing that substantial hospital surges were not seen.
We found a very high prevalence of asymptomatic infection in routine data as well as in longitudinal studies with active surveillance. Taking this together with the lack of hospital surges, the low mortality estimates, and the evidence against reduced viral transmission, we conclude the primary explanation for the “paradox” is reduced susceptibility to symptomatic disease among populations in Africa.
There is an opportunity to further study pre-pandemic immunity and other potential mechanisms for the reduced susceptibility to severe COVID in Africa. Given our incomplete understanding of the mechanisms associated with reduced susceptibility to severe COVID, we should not be complacent about health security in Africa, and should prioritize the rapid acquisition of data on the ground to guide future pandemic responses.Work was supported by a core Wellcome award (203077/Z/16/Z) and drafting the manuscript was clarified by participation in a workshop “COVID-19 and Africa: Equations, Epistemologies, and Experiences” funded by AfOx and organized by Tolulope Osayomi (University of Ibadan, University of Oxford AfOx Visiting Fellow) and Erica Charters (University of Oxford, Faculty of History)
The impact of energy demand on economic growth: A new empirical evidence for Madagascar
Full text linkThis study investigates the impact of energy demand on Madagascar's economic growth from 2007Q1 to 2022Q4. Drawing upon a rich dataset from Malagasy sources, we applied the ARDL bounds testing approach and found cointegration among the series. We found that, in the long run, electricity and petroleum consumption have positive significant effects on economic growth, while energy imports and global prices have negative significant effects. We further applied Granger-causality test based on Error Correction Model to examine causal relationships. The results revealed that in the short run, there are unidirectional causal effects running from electricity consumption, energy imports, and global prices to economic growth. The test also revealed that both energy demand and global prices have a long-run causal effect on economic growth. Our findings confirms that Madagascar is an energy-dependent economy, and provide valuable insights for policymakers to design effective energy policies that promote economic growth and energy security
Algerian Cholecystectomy Outcomes and Determinants Study (AL-CODS): A Research Protocol
Full text linkRésumé :
La cholécystectomie, l'ablation chirurgicale de la vésicule biliaire, est l'une des procédures les plus couramment pratiquées dans le monde en raison de son efficacité pour traiter les calculs biliaires symptomatiques et d'autres affections liées à la vésicule biliaire. Malgré sa nature routinière, les résultats et les facteurs de risques de la cholécystectomie peuvent varier considérablement en fonction du pays, ses ressources, les données démographique de sa population, mais aussi en fonction des pratiques chirurgicales. Les données sur les facteurs de risques spécifiques au contexte algérien sont limités. L'Étude sur les Résultats et Déterminants de la Cholécystectomie vise à combler cette lacune en fournissant une analyse complète des résultats de la cholécystectomie et en identifiant les principaux déterminants influençant ces résultats au sein de la population algérienne.
Mots Clés : Cholecystectomie ; Mortalité ; Morbidité ; Facteurs de risques; résultats
Abstract :
Cholecystectomy, the surgical removal of the gallbladder, is one of the most commonly performed procedures worldwide due to its effectiveness in treating symptomatic gallstones and other gallbladder-related conditions. Despite its routine nature, the outcomes and determinants of cholecystectomy can vary significantly depending on the country, its resources, the demographics of its population, and surgical practices. Data on outcomes and determinants specific to the Algerian context are limited. The Cholecystectomy Outcomes and Determinants Study aims to fill this gap by providing a comprehensive analysis of cholecystectomy outcomes and identifying the key determinants influencing these outcomes within the Algerian population..
Key-words: Cholecystectomy, Mortality, Morbidity, Risk Factors, Outcom