Continental Level Research Articles

African Continental Integration - A New Step towards a Multipolar World

The global economy continues to suffer the consequences of the 2020 global recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the dramatic shifts in international relations in 2022 triggered by severe sanctions imposed by Western nations against Russia. Many countries have been affected by the restrictions. African economies were no exception, experiencing a strong negative impact of these sanctions because of rising global prices on cereal crops, oil, natural gas, and mineral fertilizers, which caused a decrease in their imports felt primarily by the most vulnerable population groups. In addition, the region has seen a retreat from basic gains in living standards and social problems. This situation has once again made it clear to African countries that they should pool efforts in order to minimize damage and facilitate economic recovery. In this regard, the issues of developing economic integration, such as the transition from the subregional to regional (continental) level of economic integration, which is the subject of this paper, have become more relevant. The African Continental Free Trade Area, launched on January 1, 2021, is the largest in the world in terms of the number of participating countries with a total population of 1.3 billion USD and GDP of 3.4 trillion USD, and is expected to more than double by 2050. An important achievement of economic integration in Africa is the creation in 2018 of the African Single Market for Air Transport and plans for the introduction of a single passport, which are designed to ensure the free movement of Africans across the continent. Thus, continental integration is an extremely important and necessary tool for Africa to strengthen intra-regional ties, increase labor productivity and enhance the competitiveness of African goods. In addition, the promotion of integration helps to strengthen Africa’s economic and political positions in the world, which objectively contributes to the movement towards a multipolar world.

A detailed view of the Adaptive-Comfort-Control-Implementation Script (ACCIS): The capabilities of the automation system for adaptive setpoint temperatures in building energy models

Recent research has looked into the potential for energy savings from adopting setpoint temperatures based on adaptive comfort. The recently suggested Adaptive-Comfort-Control-Implementation Script (ACCIS), a computational method that expands the use of air conditioning to adaptive comfort, can be used to accomplish this. The user's setup and an Input Data File (IDF) are used by ACCIS to convert PMV-based EnergyPlus models into adaptive setpoint models. The Adaptive Comfort Control Implemented Model (“accim”) Python module has been used to nest ACCIS, which was originally an Energy Management System (EMS) script. This research focuses on the creation of ACCIS and offers a more in-depth understanding of how the computational method functions based on the connections between the objects that compose it. Since all weather file quantity constraints have been overcome and studies can now be generated based on millions of simulations, ACCIS opens up new opportunities for performing energy simulations on a worldwide scale rather than only on a national or continental level. This potential is increased considering that, until recently only international models ASHRAE Standard 55 and European standard EN16798-1 were considered in ACCIS, but now a recent update allows to select local comfort models developed for specific areas. As a result, this potential is firstly demonstrated by means of the study of the 3 arguments that have the most important impact on the setpoint temperatures: the thermal comfort model, the acceptability levels and the behaviour of setpoint temperatures when adaptive comfort models are not applicable; and secondly by means of an actual example of use of accim.

Stable isotope and trace element analyses with non-linear machine-learning data analysis improved coffee origin classification and marker selection.

This study investigated the geographical origin classification of green coffee beans from continental to country and regional levels. An innovative approach combined stable isotope and trace element analyses with non-linear machine learning data analysis to improve coffee origin classification and marker selection. Specialty green coffee beans sourced from three continents, eight countries, and 22 regions were analyzed by measuring five isotope ratios (δ13 C, δ15 N, δ18 O, δ2 H, and δ34 S) and 41 trace elements. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was applied to the integrated dataset for origin classification. Origins were predicted well at the country level and showed promise at the regional level, with discriminating marker selection at all levels. However, PLS-DA predicted origin poorly at the continental and Central American regional levels. Non-linear machine learning techniques improved predictions and enabled the identification of a higher number of origin markers, and those that were identified were more relevant. The best predictive accuracy was found using ensemble decision trees, random forest and extreme gradient boost, with accuracies of up to 0.94 and 0.89 for continental and Central American regional models, respectively. The potential for advanced machine learning models to improve origin classification and the identification of relevant origin markers was demonstrated. The decision-tree-based models were superior with their embedded variable identification features and visual interpretation. © 2023 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Did lockdown influence bystanders’ willingness to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation? A worldwide registry-based perspective

AimBystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) significantly increases the survival rate after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Using population-based registries, we investigated the impact of lockdown due to Covid-19 on the provision of bystander CPR, taking background changes over time into consideration. MethodsUsing a registry network, we invited all registries capable of delivering data from 1. January 2017 to 31. December 2020 to participate in this study. We used negative binominal regression for the analysis of the overall results. We also calculated the rates for bystander CPR. For every participating registry, we analysed the incidence per 100000 inhabitants of bystander CPR and EMS-treated patients using Poisson regression, including time trends. ResultsTwenty-six established OHCA registries reported 742 923 cardiac arrest patients over a four-year period covering 1.3 billion person-years. We found large variations in the reported incidence between and within continents. There was an increase in the incidence of bystander CPR of almost 5% per year. The lockdown in March/April 2020 did not impact this trend. The increase in the rate of bystander CPR was also seen when analysing data on a continental level. We found large variations in incidence of bystander CPR before and after lockdown when analysing data on a registry level. ConclusionThere was a steady increase in bystander CPR from 2017 to 2020, not associated with an increase in the number of ambulance-treated cardiac arrest patients. We did not find an association between lockdown and bystanders’ willingness to start CPR before ambulance arrival, but we found inconsistent patterns of changes between registries.

Evaluation of perennial reference evapotranspiration (ETo) over a typical dryland using satellite images: A case study from Uzbekistan

Evapotranspiration (ET) is one of the most significant compartments in the energy and water balance between the atmosphere and the Earth's surface. Global climate change has an impact on the water cycle and can result in an increase in ET from the land surface; nevertheless, an increase in ET can destabilize the macro- and micro-climate at the local and continental levels. In line with this, the purpose of this article is to learn more about the factors that contribute to the high and current reference ET (ETo) rate of Karakalpakstan (Uzbekistan). MODIS Terra images was used to analyze long-term land cover change. The Google Earth Engine code editor, Erdas Imagine 2020, and ArcMap 10.8 were used to map land cover change and the leaf area index (LAI). Though the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and the Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index were used because of their past performance as affirmative measurement techniques for vegetation monitoring. The Hargreaves-Samani equation was utilized to ETo in this study. Increased crop density in agriculture and the conversion of barren soil to grasslands to rehabilitate the seashore ecosystem of the Aral Sea influenced LAI significantly, according to multifactorial analyses of perennial air temperature, land cover change, solar irradiance, and ETo in a typical dryland of Uzbekistan. However, the extension of LAI in the agricultural area of Karakalpakstan substantially accelerated the ETo rate, which was a key contributor of an increase in crop water demand. We can see that measured solar radiation and ETo were consistent across time by looking at the nearly same quantities for both. As a result, we assume that global climatic changes have no effect in the uncertainty of solar radiation and ET rate.

Rye: genetic ancestry inference at biobank scale.

Biobank projects are generating genomic data for many thousands of individuals. Computational methods are needed to handle these massive data sets, including genetic ancestry (GA) inference tools. Current methods for GA inference do not scale to biobank-size genomic datasets. We present Rye-a new algorithm for GA inference at biobank scale. We compared the accuracy and runtime performance of Rye to the widely used RFMix, ADMIXTUREand iAdmix programs and applied it to a dataset of 488221 genome-wide variant samples from the UK Biobank. Rye infers GA based on principal component analysis of genomic variant samples from ancestral reference populations and query individuals. The algorithm's accuracy is powered by Metropolis-Hastings optimization and its speed is provided by non-negative least squares regression. Rye produces highly accurate GA estimates for three-way admixed populations-African, Europeanand Native American-compared to RFMix and ADMIXTURE (${R}^2 = \ 0.998 - 1.00$), and shows 50×runtime improvement compared to ADMIXTURE on the UK Biobank dataset. Rye analysis of UK Biobank samples demonstrates how it can be used to infer GA at both continental and subcontinental levels. We discuss user consideration and options for the use of Rye; the program and its documentation are distributed on the GitHub repository: https://github.com/healthdisparities/rye.

The use of a loose seton as a definitive surgical treatment for anorectal abscesses and complex anal fistulas.

There is no consensus regarding the standard treatment method for anorectal abscesses accompanied by anal fistulas and complex anal fistulas. Simultaneous surgical treatment of the underlying anal fistula with anorectal abscess drainage is controversial due to incontinence problems. We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the loose seton method for the treatment of chronic anal fistulas and acute anorectal abscesses accompanied by anal fistula. In this retrospective study, 114 patients who were operated on in our clinic due to chronic anal fistulas and anorectal abscesses with an applied loose seton between 2020 and 2022 were included in the study. The patients were divided into 2 groups: those with chronic complex anal fistula and those with anorectal abscess accompanied by anal fistula. The groups were compared in terms of their continence status, rate of recurrence, recurrent abscess formation, postoperative pain scores, duration of operation, and demographic characteristics. Of the patients included in the study, 78 had a complex chronic anal fistula, and 36 had an anorectal abscess accompanied by an anal fistula. There were no differences between the demographic characteristics of the 2 groups. The mean seton dissociation time was 6.8 (3-19) months. Gas or stool leakage was not observed in patients during the mean follow-up period of 18 (6-30) months. There was no difference in postoperative continence levels between the 2 groups. No recurrent fistulas were observed in patients during the follow-up period. Recurrent abscesses were observed in 5 (13.9%) patients in the anorectal abscess group. Abscesses due to insufficient drainage were observed in 2 (2.6%) patients in the chronic fistula group. There was no significant difference in operation time between the 2 groups. A loose seton can be a safe and effective method for the treatment of abscesses. It is a painless surgical method that produces good results in the treatment of all types of abscesses.

THE RELATION BETWEEN PHYSICAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM TIME ALLOCATION AND OBESITY IN 6-10 YEARS OLD CHILDREN: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Overweight and obesity are major problems in our society, because it’s prevalence “among children and adolescents aged 5-19 has risen dramatically from just 4% in 1975 to just over 18% in 2016. The rise has occurred similarly among both boys and girls: in 2016 18% of girls and 19% of boys were overweight. While just under 1% of children and adolescents aged 5-19 were obese in 1975, more 124 million children and adolescents (6% of girls and 8% of boys) were obese in 2016” (WHO, 2021). Objectives: The aim of our research is to examine the relationship between the time allocated to physical education at school and overweight/obesity in 6-10 year old children on a global and continental level. Methods: Our study is a cross-sectional, population-based descriptive study. We used the data from the World-wide Survey of School Physical Education report published by UNESCO in 2013. We used BMI for the age group 6-10 years from the database published by the Global Burden of Disease Collaborative Network. The GDP data for the countries was taken from the database of the United Nations Economic Commissions for Europe. Results: In our study, we analyze data from 145 countries on six continents. The average time devoted to physical education in these countries is 95.6±35.0 minutes per week. The minimum is 30 minutes and the maximum is 225 minutes. The 90 minutes occurs with the highest frequency, 26 times. The median also shows the 90-minute value. Examining the results by continent, it is revealed that significantly more time is devoted to school physical education in Europe than in Africa (p=0.020) and Asia (p=0.022), but there is no significant difference between the average of the other three continents and Europe. A Spearman's rank-order correlation was run to assess the relationship between GDP and physical education time allocation. One hundred forty states were included in the analysis. There was a weak positive statistically significant correlation between GDP and physical education time allocation, rs(128) = .298, p < .001. Conclusions: The amount of time devoted to physical education at school shows a wide variation from state to state. The time allocated to physical education at school is 95.6 minutes on average. Europe and Australia/Oceania are the two continents where the most time (about 110 minutes) is devoted to physical education per week. We did not find a relationship between the time devoted to physical education at school and the frequency of obesity or overweight.

The effect of the informal economy on bilateral exports from sub‐Saharan African countries

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of the informal economy on bilateral exports in sub‐Saharan African countries. We use a gravity model, to which we add indicators of the informal economy and indicator variables for different economic regions. The study used Pseudo‐Poisson Maximum Likelihood (PPML) and Heckman estimation techniques on data from the period 2002–2018. The results show that the informal economy has a negative impact on bilateral inter‐community exports and a positive impact on bilateral intra‐community exports. These results thus support the idea that the informal economy can accelerate the integration of regional economic communities and ultimately facilitate the establishment of bilateral export free trade areas at the continental level.

Probity or performance? 150 years of public expenditure reform, UK Defence 1850-2000

PurposeThis paper analyses public sector accounting and organisation reforms, focusing on the departments in charge of defence, military procurement and war between 1850 and 2000 in Britain. Over this period, three parliamentary acts, resulting from a power struggle between the Treasury and Parliament, produced the shift between two institutional logics: probity (spending properly) and performance (spending well). The purpose of this paper is to describe how the acts produced a shift between two institutional logics.Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopt Quattrone’s (2015) procedural notion of institutional logics and the consequent concept of “unfolding rationality”. Using documents from the National Archives, the authors analyse three reforms: The Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866 (towards probity), The Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1921 (towards performance) and the National Audit Office Act of 1983 (towards performance and probity).FindingsFor a long time, the actors narrated in this story argued and acted as if probity and performance were incompatible. The two are now treated as compatible and equally important. Before that, the “incompatibility” was a rhetorical, or “procedural”, device. The authors argue that a procedural rather than substantive notion of institutional logics is more suitable to explain the trajectory that was the result of constant negotiation among actors.Practical implicationsThe study might contribute to the understanding of the increase in national defence-spending at continental level and the call for a common European Union (EU) military procurement strategy that followed the invasion of Ukraine. The war could produce changes in what is a traditional tension between two logics: sovereignty or efficiency.Originality/valueThe originality of this paper stands in highlighting the link between the institutional logic of public-administration accounting and military history. This link emerges also thanks to a very long time-horizon. Additionally, from a theoretical viewpoint, the authors have put Quattrone’s approach to the test in a context very different from the original one (the Jesuit order).

Thematic Comparison between ESA WorldCover 2020 Land Cover Product and a National Land Use Land Cover Map

This work presents a comparison between a global and a national land cover map, namely the ESA WorldCover 2020 (WC20) and the Portuguese use/land cover map (Carta de Uso e Ocupação do Solo 2018) (COS18). Such a comparison is relevant given the current amount of publicly available LULC products (either national or global) where such comparative studies enable a better understanding regarding different sets of LULC information and their production, focus and characteristics, especially when comparing authoritative maps built by national mapping agencies and global land cover focused products. Moreover, this comparison is also aimed at complementing the global validation report released with the WC20 product, which focused on global and continental level accuracy assessments, with no additional information for specific countries. The maps were compared by following a framework composed by four steps: (1) class nomenclature harmonization, (2) computing cross-tabulation matrices between WC20 and the Portuguese map, (3) determining the area occupied by each harmonized class in each data source, and (4) visual comparison between the maps to illustrate their differences focusing on Portuguese landscape details. Some of the differences were due to the different minimum mapping unit ofCOS18 and WC20, different nomenclatures and focuses on either land use or land cover. Overall, the results show that while WC20 detail is able to distinguish small occurrences of artificial surfaces and grasslands within an urban environment, WC20 is often not able to distinguish sparse/individual trees from the neighboring cover, which is a common occurrence in the Portuguese landscape. While selecting a map, users should be aware that differences between maps can have a range of causes, such as scale, temporal reference, nomenclature and errors.

Elucidation of spatial disparities of factors that affect air pollutant concentrations in industrial regions at a continental level

Industrial regions and relevant infrastructures are known to contribute to air pollutant emissions; thus, a detailed investigation of the air pollutant concentrations of a region based on specific land uses, with spatial reasoning, can support smart regional planning. However, the current knowledge about the spatial patterns that indicate the relationship between the anthropological or environmental features and the air pollutant concentrations in industrial regions is limited. Thus, in this study, we aimed to identify the factors that affect air-pollutant concentrations due to local spatial impacts in industrial regions across Australia. Considering the large spatial scale, the impact of a global factor can be overwhelmed by another factor due to local spatial impacts, and the phenomenon is a kind of spatial disparity. We developed a novel set of methods, including a point-of-interests-based spatial identification method and geographically weighted regression (with standardised coefficients), to: (i) identify the industrial regions in the study area, (ii) collect the remote sensing factors, and (iii) identify the factors that affect the spatial disparity of air-pollutant concentrations in industrial regions. The results indicated a significant spatial disparity in the air pollutant concentrations in the industrial region, at a continental scale. Anthropogenic factors significantly affected the spatial patterns of air pollutant concentrations in the industrial regions that were remote to cities, whereas meteorological and topographical factors had significant impacts on the air pollutant distributions in urban industrial regions. Furthermore, within the nationwide industrial lands, drives of the relatively high concentrations of ozone and sulphur dioxide, the drivers of the air pollutant concentrations were environmental factors; high concentrations of nitrogen dioxide were more associated with the topographical features of the region. The methods proposed in this study can serve as a reliable framework for analysing the air quality of industrial regions and can also, supplement future studies on emissions reduction in industrial parks.

Supranational or cooperative? Rethinking the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement Competition Protocol institutional design

Abstract African countries are currently negotiating the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Competition Protocol (CP) to regulate competition in the created continental market. However, the most daunting task for the negotiators and African countries is which institutional design to adopt at the continental level, pitying against a supranational or cooperative institutional model. Drawing from a dearth of literature on institutional designs, I propose two factors that African countries should consider when deciding on the most appropriate institutional design for the AfCFTA CP. First are the benefits and costs of each institution design building on the experiences of existing regional competition regimes. Second is the institutional context in which the AfCFTA Continental Competition Regime (CCR) will be established, which constitutes African countries’ attitudes towards supranational institutions, preference heterogeneity, and power distributions. The findings of this article show that African countries should establish a less ambitious institution design that will attract business and political acceptance.

Thirty Years of Migration and Winter Count Data Indicate Regional Differences in Population Trajectories for American Kestrels in North America

ABSTRACT Using fall migration trend data from the Raptor Population Index analyses (n = 59 count sites) paired with winter Christmas Bird Count trend data at the USA state and Canadian province level, we evaluated continental and regional patterns in trends of American Kestrels (Falco sparverius) over the last 30 yr. Long-term trends at the continental and regional level showed widespread declines in the number of kestrels counted during both fall migration and winter. The lone exception was in western North America where declining migration counts were evident, but could at least partly be explained by increasing winter counts. These results suggest that western kestrels are shifting migratory tendencies, migrating shorter distances (short-stopping), or are not migrating at all. This contrasts with patterns in central and eastern North America where kestrel counts declined in both fall and winter over the last 20- and 30-yr periods. Recent trends (2009–2019) showed less widespread declines in both fall and winter across North America and for most regions, suggesting kestrel declines might have moderated in the past decade. However, the species remains at significantly reduced abundance levels compared to the recent past and has not rebounded.

Microhabitat modeling of the invasive Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis) in New Jersey, USA

The Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis) is a vector of multiple arboviral and bacterial pathogens in its native East Asia and expanded distribution in Australasia. This species has both bisexual and parthenogenetic populations that can reach high population densities under favorable conditions. Established populations of parthenogenetic H. longicornis were detected in the eastern United States in 2017 and the possible range of this species at the continental level (North America) based on climatic conditions has been modeled. However, little is known about factors influencing the distribution of H. longicornis at geographic scales relevant to local surveillance and control. To examine the importance of local physiogeographic conditions such as geology, soil characteristics, and land cover on the distribution of H. longicornis we employed ecological niche modeling using three machine learning algorithms - Maxent, Random Forest (RF), and Generalized Boosting Method (GBM) to estimate probability of finding H. longicornis in a particular location in New Jersey (USA), based on environmental predictors. The presence of H. longicornis in New Jersey was positively associated with Piedmont physiogeographic province and two soil types - Alfisols and Inceptisols. Soil hydraulic conductivity was the most important predictor explaining H. longicornis habitat suitability, with more permeable sandy soils with higher hydraulic conductivity being less suitable than clay or loam soils. The models were projected over the state of New Jersey creating a probabilistic map of H. longicornis habitat suitability at a high spatial resolution of 90×90 meters. The model's sensitivity was 87% for locations sampled in 2017-2019 adding to the growing evidence of the importance of soil characteristics to the survival of ticks. For the 2020-2022 dataset the model fit was 57%, suggestive of spillover to less optimal habitats or, alternatively, heterogeneity in soil characteristics at the edges of broad physiographic zones. Further modeling should incorporate abundance and life-stage information as well as detailed characterization of the soil at collection sites. Once critical parameters that drive the survival and abundance of H. longicornis are identified they can be used to guide surveillance and control strategies for this invasive species.

NIGERIA: DECOLONIAL CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND CONFLICT. EVIDENCE FROM COASTAL COMMUNITIES OF THE NIGER DELTA

The paper proceeds on the assumption that decoloniality matters in tackling the global climate crisis, conflict, and development at the community level across countries with high vulnerabilities. Africa remains one of the most vulnerable regions in the world. By examining what decolonisation means in climate adaptation and the experience of six communities in three states in the Niger Delta of Nigeria, this article contributes to the conceptualization of the decolonial discourse of climate adaptation, development and conflict understood as conditions favourable to the crisis. I analysed qualitative data obtained from the coastal communities through observation, focus group discussions, and interviews. The results showed a reinforcement of positions in a segment of the literature on decolonial climate adaptation in communities in some parts of the world. Migration, alternative sources of livelihood, embarkment of shorelines, skills development, vocations, and infrastructure development are among legitimate adaptive measures local communities are adopting. At the same time, maladaptive measures such as piracy, kidnapping, illegal oil refining, and gangsterism are common. These antisocial behaviours lead to conflict and contribute to making climate change a very complex problem. Decolonial climate adaptation requires collaborative interventions at the level of the community, sub-national, national, and multilateral fronts. The fact that climate change is a global problem with unequal impact means that the capacity to respond well to it at the community, sub-national, national, regional, continental, and international levels is crucial in addressing the crisis. The role of decoloniality in the handling of the effects of climate change in the community may take the form of integration of local and western knowledge. The decolonial framework would appear to be elastic with a potential conceptual role of critical assessment of existing frameworks, outcomes, impact, and power relations. One of the striking messages in this analysis is the likely role of local knowledge in reducing the risk of social tension and criminal conflict, and the need to strengthen it to increase the resilience and well-being of people. Keywords: Decolonisation, climate, adaptation, development, Africa, Nigeria, coastal communities

Mapping and evaluating global urban entities (2000–2020): A novel perspective to delineate urban entities based on consistent nighttime light data

ABSTRACT The differences in the definition of urban areas lead to our contrasting or inconsistent understanding of global urban development and their corresponding socioeconomic and environmental impacts. The existing urban areas were widely identified by the boundaries of built-environment or social-connections, rather than urban entities that are essentially the spatial extents of human activity agglomerations. Thus, this study has attempted to map and evaluate global urban entities (2000–2020) from a perspective of an updated urban concept of urban entities based on the consistent remotely sensed nighttime light data. First, a K-means algorithm was developed to cluster urban and non-urban pixels automatically in consideration of global region division. Then, a post-processing was conducted to enhance the temporal and logical consistency of urban entities during the study period. Rationality assessment indicates that urban entities derived from remotely sensed nighttime light data more effectively reflect the spatial agglomeration extents of human activities than those of physical urban areas. Global urban entities increased from 157,733 km2 in 2000 to 470,632 km2 in 2020 accompanied by a differentiated urban expansion at global, continental, and national levels. Our study provides long-time series and fine-resolution datasets (500 m) and new research avenues for spatiotemporal analysis of global urban entity expansion with the improvement of the understanding of urbanization and the emergence of effective urban mapping theories and approaches.

African Union's data policy framework and data protection in Africa

The African Union (AU) has in recent years launched a number of initiatives with the goal of enabling member states to benefit from the emerging digital economy. One such initiative is the AU Data Policy Framework endorsed by the Executive Council in February 2022. This paper considers what value the Data Policy Framework adds to the protection of data privacy in Africa. It finds that the Data Policy Framework offers little that would further data protection systems at the continental, subcontinental and national levels. With far more progressive international best practices already available, member states are likely to ignore the Policy as they ignored preceding standards like the Malabo Convention.

Current Status of Antimicrobial Use in Animals

Antimicrobials are used for preventing and treating infectious diseases in animals and humans. In animals they are also commonly used to improve productivity and welfare. The overuse or misuse of antimicrobials can contribute to the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which can have serious implications on both human and animal health. It is important to increase AMR awareness and coordinated surveillance at the global, continental, and national levels to quantify antimicrobial usage and monitor AMR spread. This will help to formulate better and effective strategies and policies for the judicious use of antimicrobials and combat AMR.

The Implementation of the International Health Regulations on Vector-Borne Diseases: A Scoping Review of the Qualitative Evidence Performed Worldwide

Introduction: The International Health Regulations were created by the World Health Organization with the purpose of preventing the international spread of diseases. The 196 signatory countries are bound by this international agreement. In this article, we conducted a scoping review of the literature concerning the implementation and operationalization of measures at both the continental and national levels to prevent the spread of vector-borne diseases. The purpose was to understand the main strategies and policies adopted, as well as how they have been operating. Methods: Out of an initial search on PubMed™, SCOPUS™, and Web of Science™ using combinations of “International Health Regulations” and “vector-borne diseases”, 75 references were obtained, of which 27 were included after careful qualitative analysis. Results: Publication dates of included articles ranged from 1996 to 2022. Four major categories of measures were identified: (a) surveillance and epidemic intelligence; (b) Declaration of Public Health Emergency of International Concern; (c) measures in Points of Entry; and (d) vaccination status. Implemented measures were found in all continents: Africa, Oceania (Australia), Asia (China, India, Taiwan), Europe (Ireland, the Netherlands, and Mediterranean countries), North America (USA), and South America (Brazil). Yellow fever, Zika, Dengue, and Chikungunya were the most cited vector-borne diseases but Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Japanese encephalitis, Lyme disease, Malaria, Leishmaniasis, Tick-borne encephalitis, and West Nile fever were also mentioned. Conclusion: There are severe asymmetries across countries on the implementation of international regulations with regards to vector-borne diseases, particularly on the issue of surveillance systems. State Parties should consider the lessons learned from the pandemic and perfect their core capacities to prevent future outbreaks of infectious diseases.