19 research outputs found
Ethiopia’s Human Rights Report to Universal Periodic Review (UPR): A critical overview of its preparation
No full textState reporting is one of the mechanisms established for supervising the implementation of human rights treaties in member states. This mechanism utilizes both Treaty-based and Non-treaty-based supervisory mechanisms: like the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Universal Periodic Review involves a periodic review of the human right record of the UN member states. This mechanism is a unique process, which brings a new forum for UN members to work together on human rights issues. However, how effective this mechanism is in addressing the human rights issues of respective countries is a point of contention. Ethiopia as a member of the UN participated in this mechanism since its first report in 2009. Ethiopia has also presented its second and third cycle UPR report. In this article, the writer tries to explain the stages that Ethiopia goes through in the preparation of the UPR report. Attempt is also made to look into the setback observed in the process of preparing the second cycle UPR report of Ethiopia. The author observes that the report is prepared without meaningful participation of all relevant stakeholders
Classifying Drought in Ethiopia Using Machine Learning
Full text linkAbstractThis study applies machine learning to the rapidly growing societal problem of drought. Severe drought exists in Ethiopia with crop failures affecting about 90 million people. The Ethiopian famine of 1983–85 caused a loss of ∼400,000–1,000,000 lives. The present drought was triggered by low precipitation associated with the current El Niño and long-term warming, enhancing the potential for a catastrophe. In this study, the roles of temperature, precipitation and El Niño are examined to characterize both the current and previous droughts. Variable selection, using genetic algorithms with 10-fold cross-validation, was used to reduce a large number of potential predictors (27) to a manageable set (7). Variables present in ≥ 70% of the folds were retained to classify drought (no drought). Logistic regression and Primal Estimated sub-GrAdient SOlver for SVM (Pegasos) using both hinge and log cost functions, were used to classify drought. Logistic regression (Pegasos) produced correct classifications for 81.14% (83.44%) of the years tested. The variable weights suggest that El Niño plays an important role but, since the region has undergone a steady warming trend of ∼1.6°C since the 1950s, the larger weights associated with positive temperature anomalies are critical for correct classification
Incidence and Associated Factors of Failed First Peripheral Intravenous Catheters among Adult Patients at Medical Surgical Wards in Public Referral Hospitals of West Amhara, Ethiopia, 2021
No full textBackground. Complications of peripheral intravenous catheters cause problems in clinical practice and bring high costs in terms of morbidity and mortality of patients. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the incidence and associated factors of failed first peripheral intravenous catheters among adult patients in selected Public Referral Hospitals of West Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia, 2021. Materials and Methods. An institution-based prospective observational study was conducted among 423 adult patients from January to February 2021. Patients were selected using systematic random sampling techniques. The data were collected using interviewer-based, structured questionnaires and observational checklists. EPI-DATA 3.1 and SPSS version-23 were used for data entry and analysis, respectively. Frequency, percentages, and means were calculated. The outcome variable was determined and graded based on phlebitis and infiltration scales. Binary and multivariable logistics regressions were computed. Results. Four hundred and seventeen first peripheral cannula sites from 418 patients were followed for 2,565 peripheral catheter hours. A failed first peripheral intravenous catheter was observed in 124 (29.7%, CI: 25.6–34) adult patients. Patients who were female (AOR = 0.4, 95% CI: 0.22–0.74) had cannula duration of 49–72 hours (AOR = 0.31, 95% CI: 0.14–0.7) and 73–96 hours (AOR = 0.39, 95% CI: 0.17–0.9), and patients who had been given electrolytes (AOR = 0.31, 95% CI: 0.11–0.86) were more likely to have failed first peripheral intravenous cannula. Conclusions. Failed first peripheral intravenous cannula is much higher as compared to the acceptable rate of ≤5% by the Infusion Nurses Society. Hence, all patients with peripheral intravenous catheters are screened for catheter failure at least once a day. Providing appropriate nursing care and patient education is also required to reduce the risks
Author Correction: A multicentric evaluation of dipstick test for serodiagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Ethiopia and Spain
No full textCorrection to: Scientific Reports https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-46283-9, published online 09 July 2019
The original version of this Article contained an error.
The information in the “Dipstick development and assay” section was incomplete. Therefore, the original text,
“The assay comprises of incubation of the dipstick with diluted serum samples (1:2000) for 30 min which is followed by washing with TBST (twice). Subsequently, it is incubated with HRP conjugated anti-human IgG (1: 2000) for 30 min. Finally, after two washes in TBST and one in TBS, the strips are dipped in a freshly prepared substrate composed of 0.05% 3, 3′-diaminobenzidine tetrahydrochloride (DAB, Sigma, USA) containing 0.05% of H2O2 in 100 mM TBS. The reaction is stopped by dipping in distilled water. The appearance of dark brown coloured bands at both the test and control line indicates VL positivity and a single band at the control line is indicative of VL negativity.”
now reads:
“The general assay consists of incubation of the dipsticks with diluted serum (1:2000) samples for 30 min, followed by washing with TBST (twice). Subsequently, it is incubated with HRP conjugated anti-human IgG (1:2000) for 30 min. Finally, after two washes in TBST and one in TBS, the strips are dipped in a freshly prepared substrate composed of 0.05% 3, 3′-diaminobenzidine tetrahydrochloride (DAB, Sigma, USA), containing 0.05% of H2O2 in 100 mM TBS. The reaction is stopped by dipping in distilled water, and the strips dried at RT. In Spain, there were several modifications to the assay; the dipsticks are incubated in diluted serum (1:100), and HRP conjugated anti-human IgG, for 60 min, followed by a 10 min incubation in substrate composed of 0.07% of DAB and 0.2% of H2O2 in 60 mM TBS, before being dried at RT. The appearance of dark brown coloured bands at both the test and control line indicates VL positivity and a single band at the control line is indicative of VL negativity. Whenever this signal was hard to assess, we classified it as not clear, and therefore grouped it together with those displaying no bands. Dipsticks that did not present with a reactive band, or a control band, were excluded from further consideration.”
These changes do not affect the overall conclusions of the Article. This has now been corrected in the PDF and HTML versions of the Article
Social protection, rural development and the role of public administration in Ethiopia: an examination of the potential for developing employment generation schemes
Full text linkOver fifty per cent of the population of Ethiopia live below the poverty line and are therefore food insecure. Increasingly viewed as an important component of poverty reduction, social protection policies, such as the promotion of labour intensive public works, can serve as a springboard for pro-poor growth and a foundation for social risk management. The research assesses the Ethiopian Employment Generation Scheme (EGS) in the context of Amhara and Tigrai regional states through comparative research into Maharashtran experience. The aim of the research is to assess the implementation of EGS programmes against the objectives of the national policy and to examine the role of public administration in delivering social protection through EGS thereby reducing poverty levels by supporting sustainable rural livelihoods. The national policy seeks to effectively harness a potential 150 million labour days on the basis of existing relief resources alone thereby creating livelihood assets. However, social protection is often considered to be a high cost, low returns component of democratic governance. Experience highlights poor performance in planning and implementation. Reforms must be based on informed and applied study of the areas explored in the research: policy frameworks; implementation; organisational responsibilities; programme efficiency, effectiveness and relevance; short and long term impact; and. sustainability. Such research necessitates a sensitive combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. Research findings show that the national policy provides an appropriate pro-poor framework for employment provision and asset creation while essential supportive measures have been neglected. Grassroots administrations remain incapacitated and central support for reform is often lacking. The research establishes a clear set of conclusions and recommendations for reform acknowledging the requirement for a decentralised, demand driven approach to policy design and expenditure management which promotes the comparative advantage of the poor and mainstreams EGS into other strategies for poverty reduction
Primer and probes used to detect <i>B</i>. <i>anthracis</i> in two outbreaks of anthrax in Amhara region, northern Ethiopia, 2018-2019. Primers were supplied by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
No full textPrimer and probes used to detect B. anthracis in two outbreaks of anthrax in Amhara region, northern Ethiopia, 2018-2019. Primers were supplied by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.</p
Photographs taken during outbreaks of anthrax in Amhara region, northern Ethiopia, 2018–2019.
No full textA, deceased cow displaying typical bleeding from the nose in Sahila village, Wag Hamra zone (Outbreak 1); B, dried (goat) meat that tested qPCR-positive in Farta village, South Gondar zone (Outbreak 2); C, cutanteous lesions (‘black eschars’) on qPCR-positive case in Farta village, South Gondar zone (Outbreak 2).</p
Incidence of cutaneous anthrax in humans, by age and sex, in two outbreaks of Amhara region, northern Ethiopia 2018-2019.
No full textNumbers include two cases in Outbreak 1 and one case in Outbreak 2 that were suspected to have died due to the disease; all fatal cases manifested clinically as cutaneous and ingestion anthrax. OR = odds ratio, CI = confidence interval.</p
Map of Amhara region in northern Ethiopia, showing locations of anthrax outbreaks in Sahila village, Wag Hamra zone (Outbreak 1) and Farta village, South Gondar zone (Outbreak 2).
No full textInset, map showing Ethiopia within continent of Africa. Base layers for the maps are accessible at https://data.humdata.org/dataset/ethiopia-cod-ab and https://public.opendatasoft.com/explore/dataset/world-administrative-boundaries/.</p
First PCR confirmed anthrax outbreaks in Ethiopia–Amhara region, Ethiopia 2018–2019
Full text linkBackground
Anthrax is a disease that affects humans and animals. In Ethiopia, anthrax is a reportable disease and assumed to be endemic, although laboratory confirmation has not been routinely performed until recently. We describe the findings from the investigation of two outbreaks in Amhara region.
Methods
Following reports of suspected outbreaks in Wag Hamra zone (Outbreak 1) and South Gondar zone (Outbreak 2), multi-sectoral teams involving both animal and public health officials were deployed to investigate and establish control programs. A suspect case was defined as: sudden death with rapid bloating or bleeding from orifice(s) with unclotted blood (animals); and signs compatible with cutaneous, ingestion, or inhalation anthrax ≤7 days after exposure to a suspect animal (humans). Suspect human cases were interviewed using a standard questionnaire. Samples were collected from humans with suspected anthrax (Outbreak 1 and Outbreak 2) as well as dried meat of suspect animal cases (Outbreak 2). A case was confirmed if a positive test was returned using real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).
Results
In Outbreak 1, a total of 49 cows died due to suspected anthrax and 22 humans developed symptoms consistent with cutaneous anthrax (40% attack rate), two of whom died due to suspected ingestion anthrax. Three people were confirmed to have anthrax by qPCR. In Outbreak 2, anthrax was suspected to have caused the deaths of two livestock animals and one human. Subsequent investigation revealed 18 suspected cases of cutaneous anthrax in humans (27% attack rate). None of the 12 human samples collected tested positive, however, a swab taken from the dried meat of one animal case (goat) was positive by qPCR.
Conclusion
We report the first qPCR-confirmed outbreaks of anthrax in Ethiopia. Both outbreaks were controlled through active case finding, carcass management, ring vaccination of livestock, training of health professionals and outreach with livestock owners. Human and animal health authorities should work together using a One Health approach to improve case reporting and vaccine coverage
