A Blockchain-Based Framework for Secure and Immutable Diploma Verification in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the object-based approach (OBA) still remains mainstream in the basic nursing education program, despite the intention of the Ministry of Public Health to expand the competency-based approach (CBA) nationwide. This study aimed to compare the clinical competency of nurses trained with CBA and OBA. A cross-sectional, mixed study was conducted. We developed a self-assessment questionnaire consisting of an individual demographic information, a clinical competency assessment scale and the General Self-efficacy Scale. Nurses trained with CBA or OBA and currently working in health facilities with two to five years of clinical experience were purposively selected from ten cities across nine provinces in the DRC. We also conducted key informant interviews with the clinical supervisors at health facilities. In a comparison of 160 nurses trained with CBA and 153 with OBA, 3 competency domains ("establishing professional communication", "making decisions about health problems", and "performing nursing interventions") of the 5 domains required for nurses had significantly higher scores in the CBA group. The key informant interviews supported these results while revealing various issues in the basic nursing education program. The results support the strategic direction of the Ministry of Public Health in the DRC to expand CBA. Collaboration among education institutions, health facilities, and administrative bodies is crucial for clinical nurses to fully engage their competencies for the population. Other low- and middle-income countries with scarce resources can refer to the developed and implemented competency assessment method applied in this study.

This paper deals with the implementation of algorithms and tools for the security of academic data protection in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It consists principally in implementing two algorithms and two distinct tools to secure data and in this particular case, academic data of higher and university education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The design of algorithms meets the approach that any researcher in data encryption must use during the development of a computer system. Briefly, these algorithms are steps to follow to encrypt information in any programming language. These algorithms are based on symmetric and asymmetric encryption, the first one uses Christopher Hill’s algorithm, which uses texts in the form of matrices before they are encrypted and RSA as one of the asymmetric algorithms, it uses the prime numbers that we have encoded on more than 512 bits. As for tools, we have developed them in php which is only a programming language taken as an example because it is impossible to use all of them. The tools implemented are based on the algorithms of Caesar, Christopher Hill, and RSA showing how the encryption operations are carried out thanks to graphical interfaces. They are only tools for pedagogical reasons to help students and other researchers learn how to use developed algorithms. We have not developed them for pleasure but rather to be used in any information system, which would prevent and limit unauthorized access to computer systems. They will not be used only for the management of academic fees but for any other information system, which explains and shows the complexity of the tools developed. We have not been able to solve the problems of versions for the developed prototype, because if there is a new version later some functions may be obsolete, which would constitute the limitation of these tools. This work targets primarily the Ministry of Higher Education and Universities, which will make these results its own and implement them in order to solve the problem of intrusions, and unauthorized access to developers and researchers who will use tools already made instead of thinking about their development. We are trying to demonstrate the steps and the methodology that allowed us to reach our results, in the following lines.

IntroductionDuring the 2014–2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa and the Ebola outbreaks between 2018 and 2020 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, vaccines and other tools for prevention and treatment had to be taken through trials in exceptional circumstances using accelerated processes.Materials and methodsWe interviewed members of ethics committees, health authorities, health professionals, and political authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2021 and held a workshop with ethics committee members and regulatory authorities from Sierra Leone and Guinea in 2022 in order to document their experiences of reviewing, approving, and regulating current and new studies during epidemics and outbreaks, and to document lessons learnt and their recommendations for the rapid review of clinical trial protocols during public health emergencies.ResultsSimilar barriers were identified in the three countries. These were related to weak legal frameworks and partnerships between ethics committees and regulatory bodies. Inadequate human resources, outdated standard operating procedures and guidelines, and lack of finance to support timely reviews were identified. We also noted a lack of awareness from politicians, scientists, and communities about the existence and functions of regulatory bodies/ethics committees, a lack of independence, and low interest in research. Opportunities identified by the institutions in the countries concerned included training ethics committee members and networking with experienced international platforms like the African Vaccine Regulatory Forum. Laws on regulating research have been updated in Sierra Leone and in Guinea, but not yet in the Democratic Republic of Congo.ConclusionRegulatory bodies have been facing many challenges in terms of a lack of a legal framework, a lack of finance, and a lack of support from politicians, scientists, and communities. Networking has been an opportunity for these regulators to mitigate these impediments.

The United Nations' Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism is charged with documenting six grave violations against children in a time of conflict, including attacks on schools. Many of these incidents, however, remain unreported across the globe. This study explores whether or not a local knowledge base of education and child protection actors in North and South Kivu Provinces, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in Mogadishu, Somalia, could contribute to a more complete record of attacks on education in those areas. Hundreds of semi-structured interviews were conducted with key informants across the three settings, and in total 432 attacks on education were documented. Purposive samples of these reports were verified and a large majority was confirmed. Local non-governmental organisations and education institutions were most knowledgeable about these incidents, but most never reported them to a monitoring authority. The study concludes that attack surveillance and response were largely insufficient, and recommends investing in mechanisms that utilise local knowledge to address these shortcomings.

BackgroundIn the Democratic Republic of Congo, the education of midwives at a higher education level has recently been introduced as a strategy to improve maternal and neonatal health. However, little is known about the preconditions for such an education. AimTo explore the barriers to delivering high-quality midwifery education programmes in the DRC and reflect on potential areas for improvement. MethodData was collected through 14 focus group discussions with 85 midwifery educators and clinical preceptors, at four higher education institutions delivering midwifery education programmes. Transcribed discussions were inductively analysed using content analysis. FindingsOverall, the teaching environment was insufficient. Most midwifery educators and clinical preceptors had deficient competencies, and there was a shortage of didactic resources and equipment as well as poor communication routines between the education institutions and clinical education sites. The barriers varied between locations; for instance, the institution in the country’s capital was overall well equipped. ConclusionThe identified barriers constitute major risks undermining the quality of future midwives in the DRC. Reforming the education of midwives, together with general higher education reform, will be critical for achieving the Sustainable Development Goal on health in the country. We therefore suggest that (i) midwifery educators have at least one academic level above the programme in which they teach, (ii) continuing education be available for midwifery educators and clinical preceptors, (iii) education institutes and clinical sites are fit for purpose, and (vi) routines for clear communication links between education and clinical sites be used.

The crisis in which the Higher Education and University Sector is mired threatens the future of the nation; it is therefore necessary to put things in order. In a context where ignorance and non-respect of academic, regulatory and legal norms are manifest, where the attitude of managers in the conduct of academic affairs is subject to doubts and sometimes challenges, even questioning their profile as managers, The Vade Mecum as a reference document or guide for managers of higher education and university establishments (both public and private) is timely in indicating to the managers of establishments the line of conduct to follow in order to respect and ensure respect for the various texts and laws conceived, elaborated and published within the framework of higher education and university in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This study on the rule of law in the Higher Education and University Establishments in DR Congo is therefore an analysis of the realities observed in the administrative management of the scientific, administrative, technical and working personnel recruited, appointed and assigned in these Establishments who, it is believed, only have duties to fulfill while they also have rights to preserve and to assert. The case under examination is that of an Assistant of the University of Gbado-Lite (UNIGBA), recruited and appointed regularly by a decision of the Rector whose dismissal by the Head of School has seriously violated the legal and regulatory provisions on disciplinary procedure; the latter having introduced a hierarchical appeal, was rehabilitated in his functions and in his rights without other forms of trial.

Letter: Addressing Neurosurgery Research and Data Access Gaps in War-Inflicted Nations.

Africa is considered to be the second driest continent in the world after Australia. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the whole of Africa except North Africa; SSA covers around 80% of Africa’s total land area with a population of around 0.9 billion people. The continued population growth poses a challenge to systems that supply services in SSA; for example, in 1950, less than 200 million people lived in Sub-Saharan Africa, but in 2016 the population in SSA has increased to around 1 billion. Since the beginning of the 21st century, there has been a rising sense of urgency about the need to address migration; movement of refugees and their displacement (Cross et al., 2006). There are many factors that influence the movement of people. This thesis examines some of these factors in depth to understand the tendency for migration both to urban from rural and from rural to urban – the latter being more important. Presently, 14 African countries (including 9 from SSA) are experiencing water stress, and it is predicted that the number of water stressed countries in SSA will increase to 25 countries by the year 2025 (Mejia et al., 2012; UN, 2008). SSA experiences rainfall fluctuations and rising temperatures that have been impacting the agricultural production over time. It is predicted that SSA may experience extreme rainfall events and such extreme precipitation may become more frequent and intense over time. Local rural water availability conditions may also face more challenges; for example, Nigeria water supply systems have failed to cope with the rapid population growth over time. In 1991, 79% (25 million) of Nigerian people living in urban areas had access to clean water, yet 17 years later it has fallen to 75%, but now 55 million people have access to fresh water. The literature reviewed showed a number of gaps in research with regards to water security. Essentially, this thesis investigates how water security, climate change and population growth are related to the people movement in and around SSA. This study uses quantitative type univariate and multivariate time series methodologies to investigate the links among the abovementioned variables. The main research aim of this major study as stated led to the examination, study and analysis of long term time series data concerning rainfall, temperature, populations; including their relationships to rural-urban and urban to rural migration time series data. The study developed univariate and multivariate time series models that are appropriate for trend studies, and prediction of the changes that may occur to the climatic and people movement variables in the future. The study identified associations and correlations between climatic and people movement variables. The findings of this study indicate that rainfall and temperature variabilities do indeed impact the movement of people in SSA in Somalia, Ethiopia and Democratic Republic of Congo in particular. The results of the time series analyses suggest that rainfall has a greater impact on rural-urban migration in Somalia, Ethiopia and Democratic Republic of Congo compared to that of the temperature; although a combined effect is also noted. The people movement in these countries responded to the unit shocks in rainfall or temperature. More importantly, the study notes that number of people leaving from rural areas outnumber those relocating to rural areas. This means that migration in selected countries and in SSA in general has net flows towards the cities. Due to limitations of the migration data availability, author used vital statistical method to indirectly measure net migration in selected countries. The study provides an essential breakthrough of the area of the climate change impact on rural urban migration in SSA. The findings can aid different levels of decision making authorities, research and educational institutions in the regions as well as regional and international organization in terms of what may be done to stem the flow away from rural areas. Hence, there is a need for more site specific research projects to further examine interactions and associations between climate change and human migration within SSA and member counties. Higher level studies in the future should seek funding from agencies to collect primary data from relevant government departments as well as climate related research institutions in SSA.

This paper deals with the implementation of Algorithms and tools for the security of academic data protection in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It consists principally in implementing two algorithms and two distinct tools to secure data and in this particular case, academic data of higher and university education in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The design of algorithms meets the approach that any researcher in data encryption must use during the development of a computer system. Briefly, these algorithms are steps to follow to encrypt information in any programming language. These algorithms are based on symmetric and asymmetric encryptions, the first one uses Christopher Hill's algorithm, which uses texts in the form of matrices before they are encrypted and RSA as one of the asymmetric algorithms, which uses the prime numbers that we have encoded on more than 512 bits. As for tools, we have developed them in php which is only a programming language taken as an example because it is impossible to use all of them. The tools implemented are based on the algorithms of Caesar, Christopher Hill and RSA showing how the encryption operations are carried out thanks to graphical interfaces. They are only tools for pedagogical reasons to help students and other researchers learn how to use developed algorithms. We have not developed them for pleasure but rather used them in any information system, which would prevent and limit unauthorized access to computer systems. They will not be used only for the management of academic fees but for any other information system, which explains and shows the complexity of the tools developed. We have not been able to solve the problems of versions for the developed prototype, because if there is a new version later, some functions may be obsolete, which would constitute the limitation of these tools. This work targets primarily the Ministry of Higher Education and Universities, which will make these results their own and implement them in order to solve the problem of intrusions, unauthorized access to developers and researchers who will use tools already made instead of thinking about their development. We are trying to demonstrate the steps and the methodology that allowed us to reach our results, in the following lines.

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is one of the innovative approaches for sustainably increasing the agricultural productivity, improving livelihoods and incomes of farmers, while at the same time improving resilience and contributing to climate change mitigation. In spite of the fact that there is neither explicit policy nor practices branded as CSA in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), farmers are utilizing an array of farming practices whose attributes meet the CSA criteria. However, the intensity, distribution, efficiency, and dynamics of use as well as the sources of these technologies are not sufficiently documented. Therefore, this review paper provides a comprehensive evidence of CSA-associated farming practices in DRC, public and private efforts to promote CSA practices, and the associated benefits accruing from the practices as deployed by farmers in the DRC. We find evidence of progress among farming communities in the use of practices that can be classified as CSA. Communities using these practices are building on the traditional knowledge systems and adaptation of introduced technologies to suit the local conditions. Reported returns on use of these practices are promising, pointing to their potential continued use into the future. While progressive returns on investment are reported, they are relatively lower than those reported from other areas in sub-Saharan Africa deploying similar approaches. We recommend for strategic support for capacity building at various levels, including public institutions for policy development and guidance, extension and community level to support uptake of technologies and higher education institutions for mainstreaming CSA into curricula and training a generation of CSA sensitive human resources.

Labor market trajectories of migrants are seldom explored in a longitudinal and comparative perspective. However, a longitudinal approach is crucial for a better understanding of migrants’ long-term occupational attainments, while comparative research is useful to disentangle specificities and general processes across destination and origin countries. This article explores the labor market outcomes of migrants from Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ghana in different European countries, using the MAFE data to compare their occupational attainments before migration, upon arrival and during the first 10 years of stay in Europe in a longitudinal perspective. Results highlight different pattern of migrants’ selection across destinations, influenced by prior employment status and education, gender and colonial legacies, and which impact subsequent trajectories into the European labor markets. Our analyses also show a severe worsening of migrants’ occupational status in Europe compared to their situation prior to migration, which is the resultant of a dramatic downgrading upon entry and of a slow occupational recovering during the first 10 years of stay in Europe. Results suggest that the educational–occupational mismatch of skilled workers might represent a long-lasting “price” for migrants, unless (further) educational credentials are achieved in destination countries.

BackgroundGlobally, increasing numbers of higher education institutions (HEIs) in non-English-speaking countries have adopted English as a medium of instruction (EMI), because of the perception that this provides opportunities to attract high-calibre students and academic staff, and engage with the international research community. We report an evaluation of a North–South-South collaboration to develop health research capacity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by establishing a postgraduate programme in nutritional epidemiology at the Kinshasa School of Public Health (KSPH), where EMI was adopted. We report experiences and perceptions of stakeholders, facilitators and students about using EMI.MethodsIn-depth qualitative interviews were conducted between October and December 2019 among convenience sampled stakeholders (8), facilitators (11) and students (12) involved in the programme from all three partner institutions (University of Kinshasa; University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; University of Bergen, Norway). Interviews were conducted in participants’ language of preference (English or French), audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and translated into English when required. Analysis employed a thematic approach.ResultsMost participants viewed EMI positively, reporting that studying in English created opportunities to access relevant literature, improve interactions with the scientific community and advance their careers. As a result of adopting EMI, some students had opportunities to present research findings at international conferences and publish their research in English. English-speaking researchers from partner institutions were able to participate in supervision of students’ research. However, inadequate English competency, particularly among students, was challenging, with some students reporting being unable to understand or interact in class, which negatively affected their academic performance. Further, EMI created barriers at KSPH among academic staff who were not proficient in English, leading to poor participation among non-English-speaking staff and lack of integration with other postgraduate programmes. Participants suggested additional English language support for EMI.ConclusionPartnerships between HEIs could be a powerful tool to develop research capacity in low-income countries in line with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. EMI could be a solution to language barriers faced by many such partnerships, but wide-ranging support to develop English proficiency among staff and students is essential to ensure that the challenges do not outweigh the benefits.

The nursing and midwifery workforce is key to improving the performance of the health system overall. Health workforce shortages are significantly influenced by the productive capacity of health professions education institutions. Long-standing underinvestment in preservice nursing and midwifery education severely limits the capacity of institutions to educate nurses and midwives in sufficient numbers, and with the necessary clinical skills, for current and anticipated population health needs. The Nursing Education Partnership Initiative (NEPI) was established in 2011 by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in response to key capacity-building challenges facing preservice nursing and midwifery education in Sub-Saharan Africa. NEPI has formed partnerships with governments and key stakeholders in Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, and Zambia and supports 19 nursing and midwifery education institutions and 1 nursing council. NEPI has been informed by activities that strengthen education systems, institutions, and organizations as well as faculty capacity building. Ministry of health-led advisory groups were established to provide strategic direction and oversight for the work, fostering intersectoral dialogue and ensuring country ownership and sustainability. Three illustrative examples of innovations at the system, institution, and workforce levels describe approaches for country ownership, for addressing the shortage of highly qualified faculty, and for remedying the inadequate teaching and learning infrastructure.

The Erasmus+ project (2017-2020) entitled Societal Challenges and Governance of African Universities: the case of ALIments in Morocco, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Senegal (DAfrAli) seeks to strengthen the governance capacity of African Higher Education Institutions to mobilize their resources in order to respond to major societal challenges in relation to external stakeholders. A work package consisted of organizing three workshops to use Collective Expertise as a tool for the identification of societal risks, in the area of food safety. These three workshops were conducted in Morocco, in Senegal and in Democratic Republic of Congo. The exercise was performed by country academics with the contribution of the European project partners. 
 
 Collective Expertise gave results that demonstrated that, with a careful and diversified selection of experts, this methodology can have a deep importance to list the food hazards in a country. The results obtained can induce changes in university curricula, showed the social impacts of food safety, unveiled research needs and training needs for different agents in the food sector and above all the impact in food policy in a country. The collective expertise approach of the determination of hazards also permitted to discuss possible organization models for food risk management in the 3 countries.

This paper presents a case study to stimulate debate and action concerning the lack of capacity to plan and manage development sustainably in the Equateur province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The case study examines environmental literacy of higher education students enrolled in programs focused on rural sustainable development in the context of human resource needs to effectively implement complex sustainable development programs financed through international climate change initiatives. Written surveys of students and teachers and semi structured interviews with key informants in a higher institute of education’s administration revealed low comprehension of key environmental issues in the region (climate change, deforestation impacts), low French literacy, and limited access to teaching and learning materials as well as the Internet. Overall, this case study illustrates those immediate interventions which are needed to avert a current crisis in the ability of the DRC to scale up planned sustainable development programs. Curriculum revisions and improved access to current information and training methods are especially needed in order to create a foundation for sustainable development within the country.