Culturally responsive information design in grassroots menstrual health advocacy

The field of migration studies is increasingly widening its scope and research by addressing the complex and converging interactions between migration, internal displacement, livelihoods, and poverty. Within this space, internal migration and displacement are assuming recognition as more contextual and layered processes for vulnerable populations in the global south. A growing body of evidence indicates that regions in East and Southeast Africa and South Asia continue to witness a surge in internal and intra-regional movements of people who are termed as climate or environmental refugees. Resultantly, they are likely to move, are on the move, as also those who are unable to move and are left behind, and those who stay. The paper examines the close and often blurring linkages between environmental migrants, (climate) refugees, aspirational and economic migrants. Engaging with the question of why people move, we observe that the ‘climate-migration’ nexus is intricate and far from a facile, reductionist narrative, as is the ‘migration as adaptation and agency’ nexus –issues that are intertwined when perceiving climate migration in Africa and Asia.

Climate change impacts and potential benefits of drought and heat tolerance in chickpea in South Asia and East Africa

Arabic has a long history of contact with languages outside the Middle East (Lapidus, 2015; Beg, 1979). In Asia, the spread of Arabic began with the trade network that connected the Middle East with South Asia, South-East, East Asia and East Africa from the fifth century. It intensified with the rise of Islam from the seventh century onwards (Morgan & Reid, 2010; Azirah & Leitner, 2016). In this paper we investigate the impact of Arabic on today's English in the context of Asian Englishes. More specifically we ask if the contact of Arabic with English in Asia has led to the creation of an Arabic-Islamic layer of English in countries that have a majority or a significant minority of Muslims. Would such a layer add a new dimension to the texture of English and be integrative across national Englishes? Or would it be divisive inside individual countries? In order to explore such issues we created a corpus of Arabic loanwords in Asian Englishes. Such a database will contribute to a better coverage of the impact of Arabic in dictionaries and to the study of English as a (multiple) national, regional and global language.

Southeast Asia in the Ancient Indian Ocean World BAR International Series S2580 TOM HOOGERVORST pp., 157 including Linguistic Appendix, 60 b&w figures, 8 tables British Archaeological Reports, 122 Banbury Rd, Oxford, OX2 7BP, 2013, £31 (sbk), ISBN 978-140

This research has two main goals: (i) to examine fertility desires (number of children) in sub-Saharan Africa: levels as compared to other major regions and recent trends; and (ii) to assess the extent to which fertility decline in sub-Saharan Africa is contingent on decline in fertility desires (singly and in combination with other reproductive changes).

The purpose of this research is to examine the economic freedom (EF) along with its macroeconomic determinants impact on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow in South Asia, East Asia, Latin America, Middle East, and North Africa, Northern Europe, Southern Europe, Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Sub Saharan Africa. We use Heritage Foundation economic freedom index data over the period of 1999 to 2018 and employ the stepwise multi regression on variables of business freedom, government spending, tax burden, government integrity, property rights, investment freedom, trade freedom and monetary freedom. The results show that EF has a significant positive impact in South Asia, Latin America, East Asia, North Europe and West Europe. However, for the Middle East and North Africa, East European and South European economies EF has an insignificant influence on FDI inflow.

HIV remains a major public health challenge, with 1.4 million new infections and 31.6 million people accessing antiretroviral treatment in 2024. In many countries, HIV services have been provided through vertical programs, which, although highly successful in bringing treatment to people living with HIV since the early 2000s, are unlikely to sustain progress beyond donor dependency. The increasing push towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC), while facing reduction in international assistance, are prompting countries search for innovative strategies to effectively deliver HIV services through national systems, supported by domestic financing. Developing country-tailored HIV financing and service delivery approaches will be critical to reaching the end of AIDS as a public health threat and sustaining gains by and beyond 2030. Our study aims to develop an innovative data-driven approach to identify clusters of countries with similar challenges in defining their HIV response sustainability pathways. These clusters provide a framework for mutual learning, allowing countries to co-develop context-specific solutions to HIV financing and service delivery. We utilized unsupervised machine learning (ML) methods, including partitional, hierarchical, spectral, and density-based algorithms, to identify clusters of countries based on HIV epidemic and response data among 134 LMICs. We pooled open-source data from repositories covering indicators related to HIV epidemic and response, UHC commitment and progress, legislation surrounding human rights and HIV response, wealth and equity. We identified four country clusters, which did not align with conventional global regions but instead cut across them, revealing more nuanced groupings. Clusters were located in (1) South Asia, East Africa, and Oceania; (2) Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean; (3) Eastern Europe, Middle East, Latin and Southern Africa; (4) Latin America, Asia, Middle East, North Africa, Oceania and the Caribbean. Our study is an early example of how ML techniques can be applied to health policy and (public) health performance.

HIV remains a major public health challenge, with 1.4 million new infections and 31.6 million people accessing antiretroviral treatment in 2024. In many countries, HIV services have been provided through vertical programs, which, although highly successful in bringing treatment to people living with HIV since the early 2000s, are unlikely to sustain progress beyond donor dependency. The increasing push towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC), while facing reduction in international assistance, are prompting countries search for innovative strategies to effectively deliver HIV services through national systems, supported by domestic financing. Developing country-tailored HIV financing and service delivery approaches will be critical to reaching the end of AIDS as a public health threat and sustaining gains by and beyond 2030. Our study aims to develop an innovative data-driven approach to identify clusters of countries with similar challenges in defining their HIV response sustainability pathways. These clusters provide a framework for mutual learning, allowing countries to co-develop context-specific solutions to HIV financing and service delivery. We utilized unsupervised machine learning (ML) methods, including partitional, hierarchical, spectral, and density-based algorithms, to identify clusters of countries based on HIV epidemic and response data among 134 LMICs. We pooled open-source data from repositories covering indicators related to HIV epidemic and response, UHC commitment and progress, legislation surrounding human rights and HIV response, wealth and equity. We identified four country clusters, which did not align with conventional global regions but instead cut across them, revealing more nuanced groupings. Clusters were located in (1) South Asia, East Africa, and Oceania; (2) Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean; (3) Eastern Europe, Middle East, Latin and Southern Africa; (4) Latin America, Asia, Middle East, North Africa, Oceania and the Caribbean. Our study is an early example of how ML techniques can be applied to health policy and (public) health performance.

The objective of the study was to evaluate knowledge and attitude regarding immuno-nutrition in Indians residing in different parts of the world and to evaluate practices adopted during lockdown to boost immunity. A rapid assessment survey was conducted using Google Forms which was circulated amongst Indian community residing in different countries using various social media platforms. Data was collected from 325 Indians from 11 different countries. Participants were regrouped into 4 groups: South Asia, Europe, East Africa and Western Asia based on geographical location.About 85% participants identified most factors that either boost or suppress immunity. More than 90% participants reported vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin B12, proteins and iron as the nutrients that boost immunity. Higher percentage of Indians from South and Western Asia reported that holy basil, asafoetida, cardamom, nuts and Chawanprash helped boost immunity as compared to Indians from Europe and East Africa (p<0.05).The overall minimum knowledge score obtained by participants was 45% and maximum was 100%. Highest marks were obtained by Indians from Western Asia followed by Indians from South Asia then Europe and lastly East Africa. However, there was no significant difference marks obtained by participants.

Taking the example of the Ismaʻilis in colonial South Asia and East Africa, this article examines some aspects of the complexities involved in the identity formation of communities seeking gradual redefinitions in a deterritorialised global context, reformulating notions of community membership in the process. The Ismaʻili case illustrates an intertwined history of the development of community identity, and a language of social service that became the hallmark of the community under a religious leadership that virtually redefined its position through a vigorous and increasing emphasis on the idiom of social commitment. At one level, this thrust marks a passage from the translocal to the global context, intelligible in terms of the conceptual rubric of global assemblages. At another level, the article also seeks to evaluate the nature of the community's diasporic experience in Africa. It suggests that the ideational framework and praxis of social service — and in more recent times grander developmental endeavours addressing the needs of both Ismaʻilis and non-Ismaʻilis across the world — both reflect, and are mutually constitutive of, more fundamental experiments with identity and repositioning of religious authority that the Ismaʻilis first witnessed in colonial South Asia and East Africa. This article is thus an effort to retrieve some of the continuities and ruptures in the historical process.

Since tsunamis struck several countries in south Asia and east Africa on 26 December 2004, following an earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, a massive global relief effort has been underway

Microfinance is a key strategy in global development, especially in advancing gender equity. Women constitute approximately 81% of microfinance borrowers because of their repayment reliability and prioritization of household welfare. This scoping review assessed the extent to which microfinance contributes to women’s empowerment by synthesizing empirical evidence, identifying gaps, and proposing directions for future research. The review followed PRISMA guidelines. Searches were conducted across five databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, EconLit, and Business Source Premier) using Boolean logic with thematic and geographic filters. From an initial 500 studies, 300 were retained after title and abstract screening, and 150 underwent full-text review. The inclusion criteria included quantitative and mixed methods with inferential statistics, wholly qualitative were excluded and the final draft yielded 28 articles. The review employed descriptive statistics and thematic coding. Findings show that women’s empowerment was the most researched outcome (n=20), followed by economic empowerment (n=5), focusing on income, assets, and enterprise sustainability. Social empowerment (n=2) and decision-making power (n=1) were the least examined. Geographically, studies were concentrated in South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Nepal) and East Africa, with Kenya accounting for the highest representation, with 60% occurring in East Africa. The most applied theory was Kabeer’s Empowerment Framework, often linked with Feminist Economics for overall empowerment outcomes. Human Capital Theory and the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework were prominent in economic empowerment studies, while Social Capital Theory was used to explain social empowerment. The main target populations were rural and peri-urban low-income women, particularly married women engaged in group-based lending such as Self-Help Groups. For economic empowerment, the population focus was primarily on women microentrepreneurs (60%), with smaller proportions of married women in rural microcredit programs (20%) and women-owned SMEs (20%) . Across all outcomes, the most studied independent variable (IV) was access to microfinance or participation in microcredit programs, while other IVs included group lending participation, education, and financial literacy. The review identified some key gaps. Theoretically, there is overreliance on linear empowerment models with little integration of psychological or institutional frameworks, while contextually West and North Africa, Latin America are underrepresented and marginalized groups such as widows and women with disabilities are underexplored. Methodologically, studies are dominated by cross-sectional, self-reported designs with limited longitudinal or quasi-experimental studies, and empirically, there is weakness in tracking sustainability of empowerment gains, especially in political participation and psychological well-being. Future research should adopt mixed-methods and longitudinal designs, expand theoretical foundations to include intersectional and institutional perspectives, and focus on underrepresented populations. Policy interventions should move beyond credit provision to integrate financial services with training, rights awareness, and market linkages that strengthen women’s long-term empowerment.

BackgroundVisceral leishmaniasis (VL), caused by infection with Leishmania donovani complex, remains a major public health problem in endemic regions of South Asia, East Africa, and Brazil. If untreated, symptomatic VL is usually fatal. Rapid field diagnosis relies principally on demonstration of anti-Leishmania antibodies in clinically suspect cases. The rK39 immunochromatographic rapid diagnostic test (RDT) is based on rK39, encoded by a fragment of a kinesin-related gene derived from a Brazilian L. chagasi, now recognised as L. infantum, originating from Europe. Despite its reliability in South Asia, the rK39 test is reported to have lower sensitivity in East Africa. A reason for this differential response may reside in the molecular diversity of the rK39 homologous sequences among East African L. donovani strains.Methodology/Principal FindingsCoding sequences of rK39 homologues from East African L. donovani strains were amplified from genomic DNA, analysed for diversity from the rK39 sequence, and compared to South Asian sequences. East African sequences were revealed to display significant diversity from rK39. Most coding changes in the 5′ half of repeats were non-conservative, with multiple substitutions involving charge changes, whereas amino acid substitutions in the 3′ half of repeats were conservative. Specific polymorphisms were found between South Asian and East African strains. Diversity of HASPB1 and HASPB2 gene repeat sequences, used to flank sequences of a kinesin homologue in the synthetic antigen rK28 designed to reduce variable RDT performance, was also investigated. Non-canonical combination repeat arrangements were revealed for HASPB1 and HASPB2 gene products in strains producing unpredicted size amplicons.Conclusions/SignificanceWe demonstrate that there is extensive kinesin genetic diversity among strains in East Africa and between East Africa and South Asia, with ample scope for influencing performance of rK39 diagnostic assays. We also show the importance of targeted comparative genomics in guiding optimisation of recombinant/synthetic diagnostic antigens.

Physical inactivity (PIA) is a pressing public health issue globally, contributing significantly to the rise of non-communicable diseases (NCD), such as cardiovascular disease and type2 diabetes. The World Health Organization emphasises the importance of regular physical activity (PA) for preventing and managing NCDs. Initiatives to promote active living have gained momentum, ranging from community programs to workplace wellness campaigns, all focused on reducing sedentary lifestyles in modern society. Structured Physical Activity-Dance, Exercise, and Sports (SPADES) has emerged as an innovative approach to addressing PIA and promoting holistic health. After thoroughly reviewing existing literature from PubMed and Google Scholar databases, a panel of experts developed consensus statements through in-depth discussions, and the strength of concurrence on these statements was voted on using a Likert scale. The panel reached a consensus on the best strategies for PA, dance, exercise, sports, and key factors to consider during PA. This consensus targets individuals with metabolic diseases, particularly in regions like South Asia, East Africa, the Gulf, and Latin America, where these conditions are highly prevalent. The SPADES guidelines emphasise overcoming the barriers people with metabolic disorders face in achieving adequate PA, providing tailored recommendations to improve health outcomes for this population.

<p>The program NEXUS Gains addresses key challenges of transforming water, energy, food and ecosystem (WEFE) systems in transboundary bread-basket basins in East and Southern Africa (Blue Nile and Limpopo basins), Central (Aral Sea basin) and South Asia (Ganges and Indus basin) in a changing world. The program particularly explores water resource management options to understand WEFE system interdependencies, trade-offs and synergies and develop more sustainable development pathways for all members society.</p><p>The presentation will discuss alternative interventions to increase water productivity different sectors (irrigation, forestry, industries) across scales ranging from farm to watershed to river basin scales. Therefore, particular attention will be given to integrated water storage management in human built and natural infrastructure in South Asia and East Africa. The implications for hydrological process and water resources dynamics and wider environmental, social and economic systems are analyzed and related policy implications are discussed considering also climate change.</p>