Titel Deelnemers "Korte inhoud" "Cost of a new method of active screening for human African trypanosomiasis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo" "Rian Snijders, Alain Fukinsia, Yves Claeys, Alain Mpanya, Epco Hasker, Filip Meheus, Erick Mwamba Miaka, Marleen Boelaert" "Author summaryHuman African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) used to be a major public health problem in Sub-Saharan Africa, but the disease is becoming less frequent as a result of sustained control efforts. Currently, the elimination of sleeping sickness as a public health problem is targeted for 2020 and eradication or interruption of transmission for 2030. To achieve these targets, a commitment of at least 10 years towards HAT control activities will be necessary with innovative disease control approaches accompanied by economic evaluations to assess their cost and cost-effectiveness in the changing context. Today, active case finding via mass outreach campaigns accounts for approximately half of all identified cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, this strategy has become less efficient, with a dwindling ""yield"" in terms of the number of identified cases, translating to a higher cost per diagnosed HAT case. Therefore, different approaches to outreach campaigns need to be evaluated with a focus on reaching populations at risk for HAT.This article presents the costs and outcomes of two approaches to active screening: traditional mobile teams and mini mobile teams.This study shows that mini mobile teams could be a cost-effective alternative for active screening with a cost-per-person screened of US$1.86 compared to US$2.08. Improved efficiency could increase the screening coverage of populations at risk for HAT that are currently not being reached through the traditional approach. Future research is needed to evaluate the difference in HAT cases identified and treated by both approaches.BackgroundHuman African trypanosomiases caused by the Trypanosoma brucei gambiense parasite is a lethal disease targeted for eradication. One of the main disease control strategies is active case-finding through outreach campaigns. In 2014, a new method for active screening was developed with mini, motorcycle-based, teams. This study compares the cost of two active case-finding approaches, namely the traditional mobile teams and mini mobile teams, in the two health districts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.MethodsThe financial and economic costs of both approaches were estimated from a health care provider perspective. Cost and operational data were collected for 12 months for 1 traditional team and 3 mini teams. The cost per person screened and diagnosed was calculated and univariate sensitivity analysis was conducted to identify the main cost drivers.ResultsDuring the study period in total 264,630 people were screened, and 23 HAT cases detected. The cost per person screened was lower for a mini team than for a traditional team in the study setting (US$1.86 versus US$2.08). A comparable result was found in a scenario analysis, assuming both teams would operate in a similar setting, with the cost per person screened by a mini team 15% lower than the cost per person screened by a traditional team (1.86 $ vs 2.14$). The main explanations for this lower cost are that mini teams work with fewer human resources, cheaper means of transportation and do not perform the Capillary Tube Centrifugation test or card agglutination test dilutions.DiscussionActive HAT screening with mini mobile teams has a lower cost and could be a cost-effective alternative for active case-finding. Further research is needed to determine if mini mobile teams have similar or better yields than traditional mobile teams in terms of detections and cases successfully treated." "Detection and spatial analysis of recent land use and land cover changes in Southwest Ethiopia" "Kefelegn Cherenet" "Summary Tropical deforestation has strong impacts on many ecosystem services such as global climate regulation, preservation of biodiversity and regulation of sediment and water fluxes. Not surprisingly, the monitoring of tropical deforestation processes has received a lot of attention from both policy makers and scientists during the last decades. Recent reports show that several tropical South American and Asian countries were, during the last decades, able to slow down and even reverse the deforestation trend and enter a phase of net reforestation. However, in most tropical African countries this so called forest transition was not observed. Despite an extensive body of literature on the causes of tropical deforestation the mechanisms that steer a region towards the path of sustainable agricultural intensification (with a forest transition) or towards the path of unsustainable expansion of marginal farming land are not yet fully understood because of two reasons: (1) many studies focus on individual cases which are not necessarily representative at a regional scale level, (2) regional scale studies are often based on statistical relations between proxy-data thereby neglecting characteristics and motivations of individual households that take certain decisions in specific socio-economic contexts. The overall objective of this thesis was to contribute to a better understanding of the causes of tropical deforestation by (1) evaluating land use decisions made by individual households and by (2) up scaling and extrapolating the findings to a regional scale level. Southwest Ethiopia was selected as a case study area because: (1) this region still holds an important reserve of natural or semi-natural forest resources, (2) the region has been characterized by an exponential population growth both by high birth rates and by (forced) resettlement programs, (3) the area provides food for its local population but has also the potential to produce coffee as cash crop of global significance. In order to address the overall objective of this thesis, the following specific research questions were formulated: What are the livelihoods of households in southwest Ethiopia and to what extent can they be correlated with observed deforestation patterns? To what extent are rural-rural migrations and resettlement programs responsible for accelerated deforestation? To what extent is deforestation at regional scale steered by the competition between subsistence farmers and cash crop farmers? Is it possible to develop optimal scenarios? The first research question was addressed by developing a livelihood typology on the basis of household interviews in 9 villages in Mana district, Jimma zone of the Oromia regional state. A spatial analysis of observed deforestation patterns (1957-2007) showed that both livelihood type and the accessibility to markets has controlled to a large extent the spatial pattern of deforestation during the past 50 years. Forest was lost mainly at remote locations away from the main roads where market integration is difficult. Farmers in these locations are relatively poor and self-subsistent which implies that population increase automatically led to new deforestation. Places very near to market places were spared from deforestation because of the presence of off-farm jobs in the towns. Significantly less deforestation was observed in areas that are suitable for the growth of shaded coffee. The areas above 2000 m.a.s.l that are not suited for shaded coffee are typically inhabited by relatively poor households who are living far from roadsides and thus are less integrated to the surrounding major markets. As a result, they depend more on subsistence farming causing more deforestation than other households. In order to address the second research question, the location of recent immigrants was mapped in 8 rural villages and a single town in Dedo district, Jimma zone. Land use practices of both the indigenous and new immigrants were characterized by means household interviews and focus group discussions. By means of a buffer analyses it was evaluated to what extent more deforestation occurred in the surroundings of immigrant households. The analysis showed that the study area lost 80% of its forest cover over the past five decades (1957-2007). Demographic growth due to resettlement programs and a shift in livelihood system introduced by settlers were identified as key drivers of deforestation. Moreover, lack of awareness, habitat destruction to deter crop-damaging wild pests, wood extraction for fuel, charcoal, and construction material aggravated deforestation. The third research question was addressed by mapping forest cover change at regional scale (ca. 40,000 km²) through interpretation of Landsat images of 1986 and 2006. Secondly, the physical land suitability for maize and coffee cultivation was evaluated for all land units in the study area on the basis of land characteristics and crop requirements. This allowed to assess potential crop yields. By evaluation of location-specific production and transportation costs, potential profits for both coffee and maize were assessednbsp;the different land units. On the basis of this information land use optimization scenariosnbsp;2030 were developed focusing on either food security (FS) or profit maximization (PM) with or without protection of the existing forest areas. Results of the regional forest cover change analysis showed that the forest cover in the study area has declined by 18% between 1986 and 2006 which was mainly driven by expansion of subsistence and commercial farms. The high demand for agricultural land by smallholder farmers was fueled by increasing population pressure caused bynbsp;natural increase asnbsp;as immigration from 1970 onwards. Results from land evaluation revealed that the spatial patterns of land suitability (except for some overlaps in few localities) reflect the real situation on the ground whereby coffee and maize cultivation are ideally suitable in the eastern and southwestern parts of the study area respectively. Crop yield assessments showed that at present farmers in the study area reach an average coffee yield of ca. 0.56 ton ha-1 and an average maize yield of 2.47 ton ha-1 Because of high transportation costs in comparison with the market prices, in most cases it is not profitable to bring maize to the market. Coffee on the other hand has a higher market price and can be sold with profits on the market places. Results from FS scenarios showed that food security can’t be guaranteed through an increasing market price for maize. It isnbsp;through enhancing land productivity that it is possible to produce sufficient amount of maize yield to feed the growing population. However, all the non-forest protection FS-scenarios showed the possibility of meeting the future food demand by extending maize cultivation into the existing forest area. However, a future increase of the maize yield by 50% would result in a landscape with a higher forest cover by 2030. In all the profit maximization (PM) scenarios, maize can never compete with coffee not even with an increase in maize price (+30%) or an increase of the maize productivity (+50%). This would imply that all maize farmers should convert to coffee growing resulting in a forested landscape. The fact that at present maize is still grown by the majority of the farmers can be considered as a result of an economic lock-in. It is obvious that both farmers and the environment would benefit from an increase of the coffee forest whereby the area is no longer producing its own food for consumption but cash incomes are generated via the sale of coffee. But the opposite evolution was detected: over the last decades an increasing population resulted in an ongoing deforestation mainly for maize production. Reasons for this evolution are the fact that most farmers can’t make the necessary initial investments for the cultivation of coffee. Since it takes a minimum of three years before coffee plants can be harvested, financial reserves are necessary to bridge this gap. Since very few farmers can afford such reserves they are stuck in self-subsistence and low productive maize production. Moreover, the lack of local capital makes the area also very vulnerable for land grabbing by (foreign) investors outside of the study area whereby potential profits would leave the study area. A way out of this lock-in could be an increase of the maize yield and an improvement of the accessibility of remote locations thereby lowering transportation costs to market places. This would allow farmers to generate a food surplusnbsp;could then be invested in coffee cultivation." "Household costs associated with seeking malaria treatment during pregnancy: evidence from Burkina Faso and The Gambia" "Laetitia Duval, Elisa Sicuri, Susana Scott, Maminata Traore, Bunja Daabo, Halidou Tinto, Koen Peeters, Umberto D'Alessando, Henk Schallig, Petra F Mens, Lesong Conteh" "Background Malaria in pregnancy remains a major health threat in sub-Saharan Africa to both expectant mothers and their unborn children. To date, there have been very few studies focused on the out of pocket costs associated with seeking treatment for malaria during pregnancy. Methods A cross-sectional survey was undertaken in Burkina Faso and The Gambia to estimate the direct and indirect costs associated with outpatient consultations (OP) and inpatient admissions (IP). Direct costs were broken down into medical (admission fees, drug charges, and laboratory fees), and non-medical (transportation and food). Indirect costs reflected time lost due to illness. In total, 220 pregnant women in Burkina Faso and 263 in The Gambia were interviewed about their treatment seeking decisions, expenditure, time use and financial support associated with each malaria episode. Results In Burkina Faso 6.7% sought treatment elsewhere before their OP visits, and 27.1% before their IP visits. This compares to 1.3% for OP and 25.92% for IP in The Gambia. Once at the facility, the average direct costs (out of pocket) were 3.91US$ for an OP visit and 15.38US$ of an IP visit in Burkina Faso, and 0.80US$ for an OP visit and 9.19US$ for an IP visit in The Gambia. Inpatient direct costs were driven by drug costs (9.27US$) and transportation costs (2.72US$) in Burkina Faso and drug costs (3.44 US$) and food costs (3.44 US$) in The Gambia. Indirect costs of IP visits, valued as the opportunity cost of time lost due to the illness, were estimated at 11.85US$ in Burkina Faso and 4.07US$ in The Gambia. The difference across the two countries was mainly due to the longer time of hospitalization in Burkina Faso compared to The Gambia. In The Gambia, the vast majority of pregnant women reported receiving financial support from family members living abroad, most commonly siblings (65%). Conclusions High malaria treatment costs are incurred by pregnant women in Burkina Faso and The Gambia. Beyond the medical costs of fees and drugs, costs in terms of transport, food and time are significant drivers. The role of remittances, particularly their effect on accessing health care, needs further investigation." "Behind the fog : forest degradation despite logging bans in an East African cloud forest" "Mike Teucher, Christine B. Schmitt, Anja Wiese, Beate Apfelbeck, Marianne Maghenda, Petri Pellikka, Luc Lens, Jan Christian Habel" "Habitat destruction and deterioration are amongst the main drivers of biodiversity loss. Increasing demand for agricultural products, timber and charcoal has caused the rapid destruction of natural forests, especially in the tropics. The Taita Hills in southern Kenya are part of the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot and represent a highly diverse cloud forest ecosystem. However, the cloud forest suffers extremely from wood and timber exploitation and transformation into exotic tree plantations and agricultural fields. Existing conservation regulations and moratoriums aim to prevent further forest destruction. In this study, we analyzed land cover change and shifts in landscape configuration for a fraction of the Taita Hills, based on satellite imageries for the years 2003, 2011 and 2018. We found that the coverage of natural cloud forest further decreased between 2003 and 2018, despite the effort to conserve the remaining cloud forest patches and to reforest degraded areas by various conservation and management initiatives. In parallel, the proportion of exotic tree plantations and bushland strongly increased. Moreover, mean natural forest patch size decreased and the degree of interspersion with other land cover types increased notably. Logging bans for indigenous trees seem to have resulted in local opposition to the planting of indigenous trees and thereby hindered the recovering of the cloud forest. We suggest to enhance local awareness on the ecological value of the natural forest by community-based Conservation Forest Associations and to encourage the planting of indigenous tree species in farmer-owned woodlots. Besides, bottom-up management systems that allow for local participation in decision-making and benefit-sharing related to forest resources would be a way forward to achieve the sustainable use and conservation of the last remaining natural forest patches in the Taita Hills." "Towards an Integrated Area Development Approach for Nairobi Metropolitan Region: Analyses of Community-Based Organisations and their Development Strategies against Social and Spatial Polarisation" "The PhD research examines social and spatial polarisation in the context of one of Kenyas rapidly urbanising areas: the Nairobi Region. Its overall objective is to analyse how the states development strategies are reinforcing socio-spatial polarisation in the Nairobi Region and also how communities through their community-based organisations are countering urban and regional socio-spatial polarisation. In addition, it focuses on the institutions that govern the actions of the ensemble of actors in the Region, and considers the socio-political as well as spatial relations of the capitalist and non-capitalist forms of economicdevelopment in Nairobis urban core and in the neighbouring southern Kajiado County. Furthermore, it employs an integrated analytical approach to study these inter-related aspects of socio-spatial polarisation. To research socio-spatial polarisation and the transformation which isrealised through the agency of the communities, a theoretical approach has been adopted that links the theory of Africas moral economy/the economy of affection, with the regulationist theory perspective on uneven development and the social innovation theorys perspective on spatial development within an integrated analytical framework. Since African societies display a combination of both capitalist as well as non-capitalist social relations, the research necessitated the adoption of an integratedconceptual approach that incorporates both types of relations. Furthermore, each theory complements the other theories and therefore enriches the overall framework through the analytical tools each provides. The economy of affection conceptualises the non-capitalist relations (indigenous and informal institutions) in African societies from a moral economy perspective, while the regulation approach provides a political economy perspective derived from neo-Marxism which focuses on the dynamics of accumulation and regulation in capitalist societies (formal and informal institutions). The regulationist perspective on uneven regional development draws on the concept of path-dependency to explain how a regions development is significantly dependent on past development strategies. Ultimately, the social innovation perspective on spatial development links the satisfaction of human needs in regions and urban areas, to innovation in the social relationships of governance as they are embedded in the urban area and in the region. The PhD consists of a collection of papers for publication. The first paper, Towards an Enriched Regulationist Perspective of Polarisation in Kenya - The Case of Nairobi combines three approaches deriving from Marxian perspectives, specifically the regulation school, uneven geographical development and Africas economy ofaffection. The combined theoretical perspective is used to empirically examine Kenyas uneven spatial development and the maintenance of inequality, characterised by an indigenous capitalist group and a middle classgroup on the one hand and informal urban labourers on the other. The second paper is a monograph titled Building Inclusive Post-colonial UrbanDynamics in a Context of Informalisation: The Case of Commercial Activities in Nairobis Eastleigh Neighbourhood. It considers the urban context of Nairobis Eastleigh commercial centre in which two urban communities are analysed: i.e. the Somali entrepreneurial and the Non-Somali informal street vending communities. The analysis examines the methods used by the Somali entrepreneurial community for economic empowerment resulting in the social and spatial transformation of Eastleigh neighbourhood. Additionally, it examines the methods used by the non-Somali street vending community in their contestations for access to trading space in Eastleighs commercial centre. The third paper on An Integrated Area Development Strategy for Empowering Communities in Kajiado - Nairobis Southern Metropolitan Region, analyses the specific nature of Kajiados unevendevelopment. The paper combines Africas economy of affection concept, with the regulationist perspective on uneven development, and the socialinnovation perspective on spatial development. The combined theoreticalperspective is used to analyse the social and spatial processes that are enhancing or obstructing the Maasai communitys capacity for empoweredaction to counter the fragmentation arising from conflicting land-use rationalities in Kajiado. The PhD research finds that the highly uneven social and spatial structures which were established through the introduction of capitalist development during Kenyas colonial period have been reproduced in post-colonial Kenya. The research further finds that the emerging empowerment processes being put in place by both the regionaland urban communities through their community-based organisations are geared towards the transformation of governance relations in Nairobis urban and regional development. Consequently, the research argues that Nairobi is in need of a new, urban and regional development framework whichis integrated and also bottom-linked. The relevance of this approach isnot only limited to its ability to provide insights into processes thatmay facilitate the satisfaction of unmet needs; but also includes its ability to provide insights into processes that enhance the development of inclusive governance dynamics between Nairobis diverse urban and regional communities and key development actors." "Emergent Spatialities in Urban Africa: Case Study of Onitsha Markets in Nigeria" "Vincent Chukwuemeka" "Most cities in Africa are urbanizing exponentially, atypically without industrialization, and are confronted with inadequate basic infrastructure, deficient spatial quality, and livability. More than half a century has passed since most of the countries in Africa gained independence and yet, urban poverty, unsustainable urban growth with dystopian inclinations remain abound. The current planning policies and approaches in urban Africa have failed to improve this trend, along with the living conditions of people. They are mostly structured to benefit the political class, segregationist, non-contextual, obsolete, and in most cases, unimplementable, or simply nonexistent. Onitsha in Nigeria is one of these cities, and comprises a conglomeration of markets amidst limited conventional urban infrastructure. On one hand, Onitsha markets drive and define the exponential urban growth processes within the city and its periphery. On the other hand, these markets with associated activities and by-products contribute to the challenges of limited livability in the city. Markets in Onitsha are primordial urban elements, which are emblematic of urban Africa in constant flux, with complex historical dimensions, and function as exchange infrastructures for socio-cultural, socio-economic, and socio-political platforms for the majority of citizens in the city. Markets, as microcosms of the city, provide a lens for new readings and conceptualizations of space production in urban Africa. The market related spatial phenomena in Onitsha are the culmination of urban conditions in the city, shaped by nexus and totalities of contextual forces and material flows, amidst spatial contestations and hybrid relations. Onitsha city has the highest intensities of the urban market phenomenon in Nigeria, with trading happening in almost every corner of the city, positioning the city both as a market and a city. Recent interpretations of the market spatial related phenomena in the city often fall into the informality discourse. However, informality as a conceptual framework is inadequate for Onitsha, and to extension, cities in post-colonial Africa. Informality as currently constituted in the discourse, is ontologically embedded in the colonial logic of extreme Otherness, and is a reductionist reading of a complex urban phenomena, which is manifest in the spatialities of urban Africa. The aim of the doctoral research is to obtain critical insights of constraints and possibilities on the mechanisms and forms of space production in Onitsha through readings on the making, uses, accessibility, and appropriations of urban market spaces in the city, understood as emergent collective infrastructures and part of self-organization processes of urban growth. The research seeks to understand how these markets, and their constituting spatialities are inextricably interwoven with urban transformations, growth, and livability in the city. Case study on two markets, Main-Market and Bridgehead-Market at Onitsha was conducted, using mixed paradigm and mixed methods approaches. These two markets were selected from forty-four markets in the city, under three criteria of growth trajectory, territorial organization, and spatial intensities. Spatial readings on the two case studies within Onitsha context was conducted using analytical frameworks of physicality, material flows, and sociality. Findings show that the modes of production of space in Onitsha reflect emergent behaviors in various ways, as organic responses and survival mechanisms to extreme uncertainties, emanating from the entrenched colonial planning and governance logic of extreme Otherness in Nigeria. Space production in Onitsha is inherently political, and demands an urgency for alternative urbanism approaches in the African city. Through critical reflections on findings, and writing discourse, arguments are put forward for the need to go beyond the current planning concepts and development frameworks in the discourse, while acknowledging the invaluable role markets could play towards livable and sustainable cities in post-colonial Africa. In this case, striving for a positive and harmonious emergence as against the currently seeming negative and chaotic emergence. The research calls for a rethinking of architecture, urban design, and planning disciplines (pedagogy, research, practice) in general, by adopting a paradigm shift, and an epistemological difference for the African city. Architecture in this context is a physical materialization of culture within a given political order. The urban question in the African city is first of all, political. The unsustainable urban conditions (poor spatial quality, squatters, poor infrastructure, uncontrolled growth and slum conditions) are fallouts from extreme Otherness in cities. The doctoral thesis is about understanding the urban dynamics in the African continent through the lens of market spatialities, and using Onitsha in Nigeria as case study. It presents an opportunity to develop alternative frameworks and new tools to address the questions of how to re-read, re-design, re-plan, and re-negotiate the constantly changing and rapidly growing cities in post-colonial African States. It also contributes to discourses on emergent dynamics and self-organization processes of urban growth in low- and middle-income countries, and further suggests potential strategies towards sustainable, livable, equitable, and environment friendly urban futures." "Input, dynamics and loss of reactive nitrogen in a central African tropical mountain forest and Eucalyptus plantation" "Cizungu Ntaboba Landry" "Next to land use change and climate change, nitrogen (N) deposition is another threat for forest ecosystem functioning. Central Africa contains the second largest area of contiguous moist tropical forests of the world. Tropical forests account for one third of primary production contributing significantly to the terrestrial carbon sink. Currently, there is a huge lack of field-based research in tropical (mountain) forests in Central Africa. Hence, the general objective of this thesis was to investigate biogeochemical processes in a central African pristine tropical mountain forest (Nyungwe) and a nearby Eucalyptus plantation. Nyungwe forest is located in southwestern Rwanda (2°15' – 2°55' S, 29°00'– 29°30' E) in a watershed dividing the Congo basin to the west and the Nile basin to the east and covers an area of approximately 970 km2. The topography is entirely mountainous (1,600 – 2,950 m above sea level) while the climate is humid tropical. For this study, two catchments were selected, one inside pristine Nyungwe forest and another one in a nearby Eucalyptus plantation in the buffer zone of the Nyungwe national park. In each forest type, three experimental plots (20 x 30 m) were selected and marked permanently. This study focused on N input, dynamics and losses, and specifically investigated: 1) litterfall dynamics and leaf litter decomposition rates, 2) N and base cation fluxes via throughfall deposition, litter percolation, soil solution and river water, and 3) soil N dynamics via an in situ15N pool dilution experiment. Litterfall was measured in the Nyungwe pristine forest during two consecutive years and in the nearby Eucalyptus plantation during one year. A 361-days litter decomposition experiment with single and mixed-species leaf litter was carried out with single-species litterbags installed in the pristine forest and mixed-species litterbags in both forest stands. Throughfall, humus percolation and soil solution fluxes and composition were investigated in the Nyungwe pristine forest and in the neighboring Eucalyptus plantation. This study was followed by an investigation on the origin of nitrate in throughfall, humus percolation, soil solution and the river water through use of a V-notch (90°) at the outlet of the pristine forest catchment and stable isotope analyses. Finally, an in situ 15N isotope dilution experiment was carried out in the pristine forest stand, using the ‘virtual soil core’ approach to quantify N dynamics and pathways in the Nyungwe pristine forest soil. Total litterfall amounted to ca. 4 and 2 t ha-1 yr-1 in the Nyungwe pristine forest and Eucalyptus plantation, respectively. The contribution of leaf litter in the pristine forest was ca. 70 and 79% inNyungwe and the Eucalyptus plantation, respectively. Litterfall peaked in the major (July - August) and minor (December -January) dry seasons and at the onset of the rainy season (September - October). In the pristine forest, the initial leaf litter decay rate was highest for Cleistanthus polystachyus leaf litter (0.033 day-1), followed by the forest litter mixture (0.016 day-1),and it was lowest for Parinari excelsa (0.0094 day-1). The final decay rates of Cleistanthus polystachyus, Carapa grandiflora and Eucalyptus litter mixture were similar (0.0014, 0.0013 and 0.0017 day-1) and lower than the final decay rate of forest litter mixture (0.0021 day-1). Decay rates could be related to litter properties such as N, lignin, Ca and polyphenol content. Mixing litter species caused a negative additive effect on the initial decay rate, while a positive additive effect was observed on the final decay rate in the pristine forest stand. Taken together, mixed-species litter showed increased mass loss compared to the expected weighed-based mass loss from the individual litter types in the mixture. Finally, stand type only affected the final decay rate of the forest litter mixture (PE+CP+CG) that was lower in the Eucalyptus than in the pristine forest and is suggested to be caused by reduced forest floor humidity. The average incident rainfall over two years was 2520±23 mm yr-1, but the canopy interception was higher in the pristine forest (43%) than in the Eucalyptus plantation (30%). The annual input of NH4+-N, NO3--N, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and Cl- via rainfall was 2.80, 3.61, 3.84, 12.03, 5.66, 2.08 and 5.07 kg ha-1, respectively. Fluxes of NH4+-N and NO3--N were within the range observed for other mountain rain forests; with NH4+ partly retained by the canopy at both sites, and NO3- released by the pristine forest canopy but retained by the Eucalyptus plantation canopy. Cations (Na+, K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+) were released by both canopies but to a larger extent in the pristine forest than in the Eucalyptus plantation except for Na+. In the rooting zone, NH4+, NO3- and other base cations were absorbed while NO3-was leaching from the top soil. NH4+ was preferentially absorbed above NO3-. Inorganic N losses by leaching were 49% of the total thoughfall input in pristine forest while in the Eucalyptus plantation 60% more than the total thoughfall input was lost, for which NO3-and NH4+represented 94 and 6 % of the total loss in the pristine forest, respectively, and 79 and 21% in the Eucalyptus plantation respectively. The total amount of inorganic N leaving the pristine forest catchment by stream water was 20.8 kg N ha-1 yr-1. Isotope composition measurements showed that NO3- in throughfall was mainly from atmospheric deposition while in humus percolation, soil solution and river water it was mainly originated from soil N processes. 18O-NO3- values in the river water ranged between 10.2 and 20.8‰, confirming that the source of NO3- in the river water was mainly soil N and only partly atmospheric NO3-. High N mineralization is followed by high nitrification rates, with the produced NO3- readily lost to the environment. The 15N labeling experiment showed very rapid 15NO3- enrichment following 15N labeling of the NH4+ pool indicating a fast transfer of NH4+ to NO3-. The investigated tropical forest soil showed two distinct NH4+ oxidations pathways: a slow one by autotrophic nitrifiers and a fast one coupled to iron reduction (Feammox). The gross rate of Feammox was of similar magnitude as nitrification, moreover the obtained Feammox rate approximate that obtained in slurry incubation of tropical forests soils after addition of NH4+ and Fe(III). The forest soil showed a high ratio of nitrification to NH4+immobilization characteristic of an open N cycle with high risk of NO3- losses. Nyungwe pristine forest soil is characterized by an open N cycle in which ammonium (NH4+.) produced by Feammox is a major important N transformation pathway and plant N uptake is dominated by NH4+." "Diet transformation in Africa: the case of Ethiopia" "Bart Minten" "© 2017 International Association of Agricultural Economists Africa's food systems are changing fast amid rapid economic growth, emerging urbanization, and structural transformation. In this study, we use four rounds of nationally representative data from Ethiopia to document changes in household food consumption patterns over a period of unprecedented economic growth. We find that while the share of food in the total consumption basket is declining, food quantities and calorie intakes have considerably increased between 1996 and 2011. A decomposition analysis suggests that this was mostly driven by improvements in household incomes—a finding that is consistent across the calorie distribution. Also, the content of the food basket is changing with a gradual shift toward high-value foods such as animal products, fruits and vegetables and processed foods. Overall, this diet transformation has important implications for the food security debate and for agricultural and food policy in the country." "Dynamic seasonal nitrogen cycling in response to anthropogenic N-loading in a tropical catchment, Athi-Galana-Sabaki River, Kenya" "Trent Richard Marwick, Fredrick Tamooh, Cristian Raducu Teodoru, Steven Bouillon" "As part of a broader study on the riverine biogeochemistry in the Athi-Galana-Sabaki (A-G-S) River catchment (Kenya), we present data constraining the sources, transit and transformation of multiple nitrogen (N) species as they flow through the A-G-S catchment (∼47 000 km2). The data set was obtained in August-September 2011, November 2011, and April-May 2012, covering the dry season, short rain season and long rain season respectively. Release of (largely untreated) wastewater from the city of Nairobi had a profound impact on the biogeochemistry of the upper Athi River, leading to low dissolved oxygen (DO) saturation levels (36-67%), high ammonium (NH4+) concentrations (123-1193 μmol L−1), and high dissolved methane (CH4) concentrations (3765-6729 nmol L−1). Riverine dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN; sum of NH4+ and nitrate (NO3−); nitrite was not measured) concentration at the most upstream site on the Athi River was highest during the dry season (1195 μmol L−1), while DIN concentration was an order of magnitude lower during the short and long rain seasons (212 and 193 μmol L-1, respectively). During the rain seasons, low water residence time led to relatively minimal in-stream N cycling prior to discharge to the ocean, whereas during the dry season we speculate that prolonged residence time creates two differences comparative to wet season, where (1) intense N cycling and removal of DIN is possible in the upper to mid-catchment and leads to significantly lower concentrations at the outlet during the dry season, and (2) as a result this leads to the progressive enrichment of 15N in the particulate N (PN) pool, highlighting the dominance of untreated wastewater as the prevailing source of riverine DIN. The rapid removal of NH4+ in the upper reaches during the dry season was accompanied by a quantitatively similar production of NO3− and nitrous oxide (N2O) downstream, pointing towards strong nitrification over this reach during the dry season. Nitrous oxide produced was rapidly degassed downstream, while the elevated NO3− concentrations steadily decreased to levels observed elsewhere in more pristine African river networks. Low pelagic primary production rates over the same reach suggest that benthic denitrification was the dominant process controlling the removal of NO3−, although large cyanobacterial blooms further downstream highlight the significant role of DIN assimilation by primary producers also. Consequently, the intense nitrification and uptake of N by algae leads to significant enrichment of 15N in the PN pool during the dry season (mean: +16.5 ± 8.2‰ but reaching as high as +31.5‰) compared to the short (+7.3 ± 2.6‰) and long (+7.6 ± 5.9‰) rain seasons. A strong correlation between the seasonal N stable isotope ratios of PN (δ15NPN) and oxygen stable isotope ratios of river water (δ18OH2O; as a proxy of freshwater discharge) presents the possibility of employing a combination of proxies - such as δ15NPN of sediments, bivalves and near-shore corals - to reconstruct how historical land use changes have influenced nitrogen cycling within the catchment, whilst potentially providing foresight on the impacts of future land management decisions. © Author(s) 2014." "Changing men or changing health systems? A scoping review of interventions, services and programmes targeting men's health in sub-Saharan Africa" "Thierry Beia, Karina Kielmann, Karin Diaconu" "BACKGROUND: Sex and gender have been shown to influence health literacy, health seeking behaviour, and health outcomes. However, research examining the links between gender and health has mainly focused on women's health, which is a long-standing global health priority. We examine literature focused on the 'missing men' in global health research, in particular empirical studies that document interventions, programmes, and services targeting men's health issues in Sub-Saharan Africa. Within these studies, we identify dominant conceptualisations of men and men's health and how these have influenced the design of men's health interventions and services.METHODS: This is a scoping review of published and grey literature. Following comprehensive searches, we included 56 studies in the review. We conducted a bibliographic analysis of all studies and used inductive methods to analyse textual excerpts referring to conceptualizations of men and service design. An existing framework to categorise services, interventions, or programs according to their gender-responsiveness was adapted and used for the latter analysis.RESULTS: From the included studies, we distinguished four principal ways in which men were conceptualized in programs and interventions: men are variously depicted as 'gatekeepers'; 'masculine' men, 'marginal' men and as 'clients. Additionally, we classified the gender-responsiveness of interventions, services or programmes described in the studies within the following categories: gender-neutral, -partnering, -sensitive and -transformative. Interventions described are predominantly gender-neutral or gender-partnering, with limited data available on transformative interventions. Health systems design features - focused mainly on achieving women's access to, and uptake of services - may contribute to the latter gap leading to poor access and engagement of men with health services.CONCLUSION: This review highlights the need for transformation in sub-Saharan African health systems towards greater consideration of men's health issues and health-seeking patterns."