Gondar Zuria District Research Articles

Rotavirus Vaccine Coverage and Associated Factors Among a Rural Population: Findings from a Primary Health-Care Project in Two Northwest Ethiopia Districts.

ObjectiveRotavirus vaccines reduced severe rotavirus disease by more than 60% during the first year of life. In Ethiopia, however, about 28% and 6% of diarrheal disease hospitalizations and deaths among under-five children are associated with rotavirus, respectively. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate rotavirus coverage and associated factors in a rural population of the northwest, Ethiopia.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from May to June 2019, in Dabat and Gondar Zuria districts, northwest Ethiopia. Data from 603 mothers paired with children aged 12–36 months were collected through house-to-house visits. Variables having a p-value <0.05 were considered to have a significant association with the outcome. Odds ratio (OR) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) was used as a measure of association.ResultsThe prevalence of rotavirus vaccine coverage among children was 76.60% (95% CI; 69.98, 83.22). The dropout rate for rotavirus vaccine dose 2 out of rotavirus vaccine dose 1 was 1.99%. Mothers with formal education [AOR = 3.04; 95% CI: 1.63, 5.67] and received postnatal care [AOR = 4.37; 95% CI: 2.62, 7.27] had higher odds of rotavirus vaccine completion versus those without formal education and had not received postnatal care, respectively. Similarly, mothers who took <1 hour to reach the vaccination center ([AOR = 2.38; 95% CI: 1.34, 4.2]) were positive predictors of rotavirus vaccine completion.ConclusionRotavirus vaccine coverage in our study area was lower than the expected WHO target. Formal education, postnatal care, and time taken to reach vaccination centers were predictors to achieving full rotavirus vaccine coverage of children. Health-care services utilization after delivery should be intensified to improved child rotavirus vaccine completion in the districts. The long travel time should be dealt with by strengthening outreach services and increasing the number of new vaccination centers in the districts.

A randomized controlled field trial assessing foot and mouth disease vaccine effectiveness in Gondar Zuria district, Northwest Ethiopia

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a highly transmissible viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals, which is endemic in many developing countries. Vaccination is the main tool for FMD control in resource limited endemic countries like Ethiopia. Vaccine quality, which is often questionable in developing countries, is a critical element for effective disease control. The present study was aimed at evaluating the field effectiveness of a trivalent FMD vaccine (containing serotypes O, A and SAT 2), produced and widely used in Ethiopia, in terms of preventing clinical infection and severe disease. A randomized controlled field trial design was employed in the study in which the attack rate of clinical FMD infection in vaccinated cattle was compared with the attack rate in unvaccinated controls in cattle population of 16 villages in Gondar Zuria district, Northwest Ethiopia. The vaccine was administered as a single dose course in the face of an impending FMD outbreak and the trial groups were monitored for clinical infection until the end of the outbreak. The attack rate of clinical FMD 20 days post vaccination in the vaccinated cattle (34 %) was significantly lower than the attack rate in the unvaccinated controls (49 %) (p < 0.001). However, the effectiveness of the vaccine was only 31 % (95 %CI: 20–40 %). This vaccine effectiveness increased to 52 % ((95 %CI: 33–66 %) 42 days post vaccination. The proportion of severely affected cattle in the vaccinated group (5.7 %) was significantly lower than in the unvaccinated group (9.4 %) (p < 0.001), resulting in 39 % (95 %CI: 18–55 %) vaccine effectiveness against severe disease. Generally, the observed level of vaccine effectiveness was lower than the internationally recommended 75 % plus expected percentage of protection for a standard potency 3PD50/dose FMD vaccine. Moreover, the level of effectiveness was insufficient to provide herd immunity to control the disease at the population level. Nevertheless, given the significant difference in the incidence of clinical disease and severity between vaccinated and unvaccinated cattle, it might still be worth using the current vaccine to reduce production losses associated with the disease provided it is cost effective and affordable for the farmers. Factors that cause low effectiveness of the vaccine need to be identified and addressed for effective control of the disease at population level.

Prevalence and determinants of modern contraceptive utilization among rural lactating mothers: findings from the primary health care project in two northwest Ethiopian districts

BackgroundContraceptive utilization is a guarantee to avert unwanted pregnancies. In Ethiopia however, more than half of the rural women have shorter birth intervals. Consequently, 17 and 8% of the births have been either mistimed (wanted at later date) or unwanted, respectively. Therefore, this study investigated modern contraceptive utilization and its predictors among rural lactating women.MethodsA community based-cross-sectional study was conducted from May 01 to June 29, 2019, in Dabat and Gondar zuria districts, northwest Ethiopia. Data from 603 lactating mother were collected through face to face interviews using a structured questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were fitted to identify the independent predictors of modern contraceptive utilization.ResultsThe overall prevalence of modern contraceptive (MC) utilization rate was 45.8% [95% CI: 38.01, 53.59]. The contraceptive method mix was dominated by Depo-Provera (39.8%) followed by implants (4.8%). The odds of utilization of contraceptive were 5.58 times higher among mothers of children with fully immunized [AOR = 5.58, 95% CI: 3.45, 9.01] compared to mothers whose children were vaccinated partially or not at all. Mothers who received antenatal [AOR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.13, 4.43] and postnatal care [AOR = 2.02, 95%CI: 1.24, 2.91) were 1.74 and 2.02 folds more likely to utilize modern contraceptives than mothers who did not receive such care, respectively.ConclusionThe prevalence of modern contraceptive utilization in this study area was lower than the planed national target. In the region, child immunization service is one of the promising platforms for reaching lactating mothers with modern contraceptive utilization. Our findings suggest that antenatal and postnatal care visits are the other key determinants of modern contraceptive utilization. Thus, in low-resource settings like ours, the health system approaches to improved antenatal and, postnatal care and child immunization services should be intensified with more effective advice on modern contraceptive utilization to reduce unwanted pregnancies.

Farmers' choices and factors affecting adoption of climate change adaptation strategies: evidence from northwestern Ethiopia

Climate change is a major environmental and socioeconomic challenge in Ethiopia in recent decades. The study site is one of the climate change prone areas affected by climate variability and extreme events. Therefore, a better understanding of area-specific and adaptation is crucial to develop and implement proper adaptation strategies that can alleviate the adverse effects of climate change. Therefore, this work was aimed to identify determinants of farmers' adoption of climate change adaptation strategies in Gondar Zuria District of northwestern Ethiopia. Primary data were collected through semi-structured questionnaires, observation, and interviews. Besides, the secondary data were also obtained from journal articles, reports, governmental offices, and the internet. The Multinomial and Binary logistic regression models with the help of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) (21th edition) were used to analyze the data. The multinomial logistic regression model was used to estimate the influence of the socioeconomic characteristics of sample households on the farmer's decision to choose climate change adaptation strategies. The result showed that age, gender, family size, farm income, and farm size had a significant influence on the farmers' choice of climate change adaptation strategies. The result also revealed that crop failure, severe soil erosion and shortages of water are major climate change-related problems than others. In order to alleviate these problems, farmers have implemented mixed farming, mixed cropping, early and late planting (changing sowing period), use of drought-resistant crop varieties, application of soil and water conservation techniques, shifting to non-farm income activities and use of irrigation. In contrast, access to climate information, total annual farm income, and market access variables are significant adoption determinants of climate change adaptation strategies by farmers' in the study site. Therefore, we recommend future adaptation-related plans should focus on improving climate change information access, improving market access and enhancing research on the use of rainwater harvesting technology.

Assessment of Honeybee Diseases, Enemies and Their Control Mechanisms in Gondar Zuria District, North Gondar, Ethiopia

The study was conducted in Gondar Zuria District, North Gondar to assess honeybee disease, enemies and their control mechanisms. For this study three peasant associations were selected through purposive sampling. From each peasant association 20 respondents were selected by systematic random sampling and data collected using semi-structured questioner, observation; and were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The result revealed that disease like Nosema (43.3%), Chalk brood (30.0%), Varroa mites (8.3%) and bee paralysis (18.3%) and from enemies such as ant (43.3%), bird (16.7%), termites (28.3%) and wildcat (11.7%) were found in the study area, However, farmers use different control mechanism like cleaning the hive, keeping the colony strong, putting of ash on their nest and regular inspection of the hive the apiary site should be free from those chemical’s like insecticide and herbicide sprayed on foraging flowers and beekeepers should take some measures or negotiate with scrap growers and problem is observed poor traditional system of management like watering feeding and health care management most of the beekeepers is traditionally. There are three types of beekeeping systems; traditional (80.0%), transitional (16.7%) and modern (3.3%), but traditional hive is more affected by disease than other. All of the respondent in the study area there are number of challenges for honeybee. In general honey bee production potential of farmers in the area is constrained by various challenges especially by bee diseases and enemies. The most important bee disease in the area was found Nosema and the prime enemies are ant those impede productivity of honey bee in the area. There should be given good extension service and sustainable awareness creation through various means of incentives to empower beekeepers for controlling of bee diseases and enemies by coordinating their indigenous knowledge with the scientific methods.

Determinants to Performance of Multipurpose Agricultural Cooperatives (MPACs): A Case of Gondar Zuria District, North Gondar, Ethiopia

Cooperatives enable people to improve their social and economic conditions by pooling their resource and efforts together in ways that are more productive than working individually. The aim of this study was to identify determinants to performance of MPACs. Multistage sampling was employed to select study area and sample households. Study area selected purposively because of its accessibility and relatively large numbers of functional cooperatives. Primary data were collected from 122 members of sample cooperatives those were selected using simple random sampling proportional to size of members in the cooperative through semi-structured interview schedule and key informant interview and focus discussion. Moreover, secondary data were obtained from audit reports of sample cooperatives. The collected data entered to SPSS version 20. Descriptive analysis such as mean, percentage and frequency were analyzed along with probit model. However, their moderate involvement in service provision of agricultural input distribution cooperatives output marketing service in the study area was found as it was not outstanding that majority of the cooperatives did not carry out purchasing of farmers output. The model result revealed that from thirteen explanatory variables included in the model for analysis numbers of shareholding in cooperative, membership to union and working relationship in cooperative were found to be significantly and positively related to members’ satisfaction to overall performance of MPACs. On the other hand, family size of household, cooperative age and degree of corruption in cooperative were found to be significantly influence degree of member’s satisfaction to their cooperative overall performance negatively. Therefore, cooperative management and staff members should strive to render valuable services to its members.

English

Gray leaf spot is one of the major constraints of maize production in Ethiopia where warm humid environmental condition is prevailing. A field experiment was conducted in Gondar zuria district of western Ethiopia during 2016/17 and 2017/18 cropping season with the aim to evaluate effective maize varieties for the management of maize gray leaf spot disease. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in three replications. Nine improved varieties, that is, SBRH, Gibie 2, Gibie 3, Argene, Jibat, BH-546, SPRH, Wonji, AMR-852 with one local maize were tested for GLS resistance. The genotype significantly varied and there were significant differences (P<0.05) in the overall mean of GLS incidence, severity, AUDPC%/day, yield and yield component among varieties. Data were analyzed using SAS version 9.2. The result indicated that the maximum disease incidence and area under disease progress curve (AUDPC), 58.8 and 214.83% per day respectively were recorded from local maize while the minimum incidence and AUDPC value, 22.7 and 150.49% per day, respectively were recorded from Gibie 2 maize variety. The maximum grain yield of 8611.7 kg/ha was recorded from Gibie 2 variety while the minimum grain yield of 4542.3 kg/ha was recorded from local maize. The study suggested that variety of Gibie 2 showed minimum grain yield loss which result to negligible loss of 1.47%, respectively and showed significant reduction of maize GLS incidence, with a corresponding increased grain yield of maize. Key words: Cercospora zeae maydis, Maize varieties, area under disease progress curve (AUDPC), disease incidence, disease progress rate.

Determinants to Performance of Multipurpose Agricultural Cooperatives: A Case of Gondar Zuria District, North Gondar, Ethiopia

Cooperatives enable people to improve their social and economic conditions by pooling their resource and efforts together in ways that are more productive than working individually. The aim of this study was to identify determinants to performance of MPACs. Multistage sampling was employed to select study area and sample households. Study area selected purposively because of its accessibility and relatively large numbers of functional cooperatives. Primary data were collected from 122 members of sample cooperatives those were selected using simple random sampling proportional to size of members in the cooperative through semi-structured interview schedule and key informant interview and focus discussion. Moreover, secondary data were obtained from audit reports of sample cooperatives. The collected data entered to SPSS version 16. Descriptive analysis such as mean, percentage and frequency were analyzed along with probit model. However, their moderate involvement in service provision of agricultural input distribution cooperatives output marketing service in the study area was found as it was not outstanding majority of the cooperatives did not carry out purchasing of farmers output. The model result revealed that from thirteen explanatory variables included n the model for analysis numbers of shareholding in cooperative, membership to union and working relationship in cooperative were found to be significantly and positively related to members’ satisfaction to overall performance of MPACs. On the other hand, family size of household, cooperative age and degree of corruption in cooperative were found to be significantly influence degree of member’s satisfaction to their cooperative overall performance negatively. Keywords: Cooperative, Determinants, Multipurpose and Performance. DOI : 10.7176/JESD/10-21-03 Publication date: November 30 th 2019

Promotion of Improved Management of Sorghum for Small Scale Farmers in North Gondar, Gondar Zuria District

Promotion of Improved Management of Sorghum for Small Scale Farmers in North Gondar, Gondar Zuria District

Impacts of climate variability on livestock population dynamics and breed distribution patterns in selected districts of Western Amhara, Ethiopia

Summary Climate change affects the livestock populations. As temperature increases, the rainfall distribution patterns shifts. These indirectly change the ecosystems like changes in crop yield, alter the distribution of animal diseases, geographically restriction of rare breed populations and increased competition for resources. Therefore, the objective of the study was to quantify impacts of climate variability on livestock population dynamics and breed distribution patterns. The study was conducted in Gondar Zuria, Farta and Bahir Dar Zuria districts. The sites were selected based on agro-ecology and livestock distribution potential. Data were collected through desk reviews of different documents and studies, focused group discussions, key informants interviews and different projection models. The results revealed that 70 percent of respondents believed that the trends of livestock breed distribution varied from year to year and from agro-ecology to agro-ecology. The number of cattle and equines are decreasing from year to year due to climate variability. Particularly, the crossbred cattle population decreased in 1998, 2002 and 2008 due to shortage of rainfall, increments of temperature and feed shortage. A correlation analysis was used to quantify impacts of temperature and rainfall on livestock population dynamics and breed distribution. The analyses revealed that sheep (r = −0.535, P &amp;lt; 0.05) and cattle (r = −0. 512, P &amp;lt; 0.05) were negatively affected by climate variability. Whereas goats were having positive relationship (r = 0.345, P &amp;lt; 0.001). As the average maximum temperature steadily increases, the population dynamics of ruminant livestock fluctuated after the year 1996. About 92.2, 78 and 83.3 percent respondents in Farta, Gondar Zuria and Bahir Dar Zuria districts, respectively, stated that there is a fluctuation in amount of rainfall distribution during the main rainy seasons. About 84.5 percent of respondent of the three districts also believed that climate change made variation in rainfall distribution. About 52 percent of the respondents also suggested that if livestock is to be protected from climate change and related effects, changing the farming system with appropriate breed is important and can be achieved with the zero-grazing system. The farmers also recommended with stocking climate change adaptive and productive breeds. In conclusion, climate variability affected livestock population dynamics and breed distribution pattern negatively.

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Active Trachoma among Children in Gondar Zuria District North Gondar, Ethiopia

The aim of this study was to investigate prevalence and potential risk factors of active trachoma in Gondar zuria district. Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Gondar Zuria District from December 1 to December 30, 2014. Multi stage random cluster-sampling technique was employed and all children 1-9 years old from selected household were clinically assessed for trachoma based on simplified WHO 1983 classification. A total of 597 children were included in this study. Data were collected by using semi-structured interview, pre-tested questionnaire and observation. EpiInfo 3.5.3 was used for data entry and cleaning, while IBM SPSS Statistics 20 was used for data analysis. A P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant throughout this study. Result: The overall prevalence of active trachoma in this study was found to be 12.1%. The risk factors identified were age 1-5 years, low monthly income, poor perceived economy, infrequent face washing habit, not using soap during washing, absence of clean face, not using latrine, absence of waste disposal, and higher house hold fly density. On the other hand going to school was the only preventive factor identified in this study. Conclusion: The study result has shown the magnitude of active trachoma dropped from 76.5% to 12.1%, by 8 folds. This is dramatic decrement taking in to consideration the very large magnitude of the problem as of the base line data. WHO has leveled a cut of point for active trachoma to decide it is or not major public health problem. Based on this criterion, active trachoma is still a public health problem in the study woreda. So the woreda community at large and other responsible bodies should integrate each other to mobilize AFE strategy interventions by large.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards rabies: questionnaire survey in rural household heads of Gondar Zuria District, Ethiopia.

BackgroundRabies is a fatal animal disease of significant public health importance. Domestic dogs are the main reservoir and transmitter of this disease particularly in developing countries. Even though rabies is a highly fatal disease, it is a preventable disease. Community awareness about rabies is one of the key components for prevention. This study describes the knowledge, attitudes and practices of a rural community in Gondar Zuria District, Ethiopia.MethodsA cross sectional study was conducted from March to June, 2013. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data through face to face interviews among 400 respondents. The data were then analyzed using SPSS statistical software version 20.ResultsThe current study indicated that almost all (99.3 %) of the surveyed individuals were aware of the disease rabies. Rabies is considered to be a fatal disease in humans by 67.8 % of the respondents while 27.8 % believe that it is a treatable disease. Dogs were indicated as source of infection for humans by all respondents followed by equines (27.2 %) and cats (12.1 %). Bite was known as mode of rabies transmission by majority of the respondents (94 %) while other means were given less weight. Aggression was described as a major clinical sign of rabies in animals. Consumption of cooked or boiled meat from rabid animals was considered as safe by 67.0 % of the respondents and about 19 % replied even raw meat is safe for human consumption. The need for immediate treatment after exposure was mentioned by less than half (47.4 %) of the respondents and only 38.8 % of the respondents considered modern medicine as appropriate treatment after exposure to rabid animals. Nearly 42 % of respondents had experienced a dog bite. Following the dog bites, only 30.7 % practiced washing of the wounds with water as first aid.ConclusionRabies was found to be well known in the study area. However, knowledge and practices in prevention of rabies were limited. Education of rabies about possible sources of infection, mode of transmission and measures to be taken after exposure is very important in the study area.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13104-015-1357-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Knowledge, perception and utilization of postnatal care of mothers in Gondar Zuria District, Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study.

Mothers and their newborns are vulnerable to illnesses and deaths during the postnatal period. More than half a million women each year die of causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. The majority of deaths occur in less developed countries. Utilization of postnatal care (PNC) service in Ethiopia is low due to various factors. These problems problem significantly hold back the goal of decreasing maternal and child mortality. To assess mothers’ knowledge, perception and utilization of PNC in the Gondar Zuria District, Ethiopia. Our study is a community-based, cross-sectional study supported by a qualitative study conducted among 15–49 years mothers who gave birth during the last year. A multistage sampling technique was used to selected participants; structured questionnaires and focus group discussions were used to collect data. Data were entered into EPI info version 3.5.1 and exported into SPSS version 16.0 for the quantitative study and thematic framework analysis was applied to the qualitative portion. The majority of the women (84.39 %) were aware and considered PNC necessary (74.27 %); however, only 66.83 % of women obtained PNC. The most frequent reasons for not obtaining PNC were lack of time (30.47 %), long distance to a provider (19.25 %), lack of guardians for children care (16.07 %), and lack of service (8.60 %). Based on the multivariate analysis, place of residence (AOR 2.68; 95 % CI 1.45–4.98), distance from a health institution (AOR 2.21; 95 % CI 1.39–3.51), antenatal care visit (AOR 2.60; 95 % CI 1.40–5.06), and having decision-making authority for utilization (AOR 1.86; 95 % CI 1.30–2.65) were factors found to be significantly associated with PNC utilization. Mothers in the study area had a high level of awareness and perception about the necessity of PNC. Urban women and those who displayed higher levels of autonomy were more likely to use postnatal health services.

Risk factors for active trachoma among children aged 1-9 years in Maksegnit town, Gondar Zuria District, Northwest Ethiopia

Background: Trachoma is a leading preventable infectious eye disease caused by repeated infection with eye strains of the bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis . Developing countries that have poor environmental sanitation, inadequate water supply, and poor socioeconomic status are highly exposed with the disease. Aims of the study: The aim of the research was to assess the risk factors of active trachoma among children 1-9 years old in Maksegnit town. Settings and Design: Cross-sectional community based study was conducted in April 2012; in Maksegnit town located at Gondar Zuria District, North Gondar, northwest Ethiopia. Materials and Methods: A total of 420 children (age 1-9-years-old) from 420 households were included in the study. All children were examined for trachoma by optometrists and ophthalmic officers using the World Health Organization (WHO) simplified clinical grading system. Interviews and observations were used to assess risk factors. Descriptive statistics was carried out for variables in the study and odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to assess the association between the potential risk factors and active trachoma. Result: The prevalence of active trachoma was found to be 100 (23.8 %). Unclean face (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 4.12; 95% CI = 1.92-8.81), flies on face (AOR = 2.310; 95% CI = 1.32-4.05), and using wood and animal dung as a source of energy for cooking (AOR = 2.190; 95% CI = 1.152-4.163) were independent predictors of active trachoma. Conclusion: Trachoma is still a major public health problem in the study area. Trachoma prevention programs that include smoke-free household energy, fly control, sanitation, and hygiene are recommended to lower the burden of trachoma in Maksegnit town.

Traditional use of medicinal plants by the ethnic groups of Gondar Zuria district, North-western Ethiopia.

The aim of the study was to document information on medicinal plants and to describe the traditional health care practices of Gondar Zuria district, North-West Ethiopia. Field trip was made in each village of the district to collect ethnomedicinal information from the traditional healers by using semi-structured questionnaire and field observation. Forty-two plant species representing forty-one genera and thirty-one families were encountered during the study. Results of the study were analysed using two quantitative tools: informant consensus factor for the analysis of general use of medicinal plants and fidelity level for calculating the most frequently occurring diseases for the categories with the highest informant consensus factor. The result of the informant consensus factor showed that the general health category had the greatest agreement followed by the respiratory, malarial, and gastrointestinal categories. The present study has documented curious ethno medicinal facts on the plant therapies currently utilised in Gondar Zuria district. Evaluation of the pharmacological activity for the promising medicinal plant is suggested.

Study on ovine fasciolosis: Prevalence and associated risk factors in North Gondar Zone, Ethiopia

A cross sectional study was conducted from November to April, 2011 in three districts (Gondar town, Gondar Zuria, and Dembia) of North Gondar Administrative Zone (NGAZ). The objectives of the study, were to determine the prevalence ovine fasciolosis and to asses risk factors associated with fasciolosis in sheep. Coprological examinations, was used to collect fresh fecal samples directly from live sheep during the study period. Out of the total 400 fecal samples examined, 173 (43.3%) were positive for Fasciola eggs. There was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05) among age groups (young (45.8%), adult (39.7%), and old (42.4%)) and between sexes (male (42.74%) and female (43.35%)), respectively. However, there was statistically significant variation (P < 0.05) between different body conditions of the animal (good body condition (28.5%), medium (41.7%), and poor body condition (97.8%)). The prevalence of fasciolosis was higher in animals with poor body condition. Also, there was statistically significant difference among the three districts (P < 0.05). The highest prevalence rate was detected in Gondar Zuria districts (34.6%), Dembia (43.7%), and Gondar town (51.9%), correspondingly. This study indicated that, fasciolosis is the major obstacles of sheep production in the study area by inflicting remarkable direct and indirect losses to the animal. Therefore, strategic deworming of sheep with antihelminthics can reduce the prevalence rate of the parasites. Key words: Ethiopia, North Gondar, ovine, coprological, fasciolosis

Domestic violence around Gondar in Northwest Ethiopia

Abstract Background: Domestic violence has largely been unrecognized and underreported in Ethiopia. However, recent reports indicate that it is highly prevalent. Objective: To assess the prevalence of domestic violence and factors associated with domestic violence. Methods: A cross-sectional community-based study was conducted among 1104 women in Gondar Zuria District, Northwest Ethiopia, from March to April 2003. Results: The percentage of women who ever experienced physical, sexual, and/or psychological abuse was 50.8. The prevalence of physical violence was found to be 32.2%, while that of forced sex and physical intimidation amounted to 19.2% and 35.7%, respectively. Exposure to parental domestic violence as a girl was the strongest risk factor for being victim of violence later in life while alcohol consumption was the major attribute of violent partners. Answering to partners was the most important triggering factor for violence. Women prefer the educational approach to minimize violence. Conclusion: Domestic violence is highly prevalent in the study area and multiple factors operate in determining whether a man would behave violently towards his female partner, indicating the need for multi-faceted interventions, such as IEC, women is empowerment and legal reform. [Ethiop.J.Health Dev. 2004;18(3):133-139]

Epidemiology of poliomyelitis in northwestern Ethiopia.

To determine the magnitude of poliomyelitis and assess its epidemiological features. A cross-sectional community based, house-to-house survey. Six urban and ten rural villages in Gondar Zuria district, north-western Ethiopia. Twelve thousand children aged 1-15 years residing in the randomly selected areas were enrolled in the study to identify children with walking abnormality. Paralytic poliomyelitis is considered as flaccid paralysis in one or both legs with normal sensations and acute onset without progression. Out of 12,000 children aged 1-15 years enrolled, 20 were found to have paralytic poliomyelitis. The prevalence of residual poliomyelitis was found to be 2.1 per 1000 children aged 1-15 years with the estimated annual incidence rate of 7.7 per 100,000 population. Sixty percent of the cases were from urban areas and 55% of the cases were males. The magnitude of paralytic poliomyelitis is high in the study area, thus expanding the expanded programme of immunizations with a strong surveillance system is suggested.