Regions Of sub-Saharan Africa Research Articles

Predictors and number of antenatal care visits among reproductive age women in Sub-Saharan Africa further analysis of recent demographic and health survey from 2017-2023: Zero-inflated negative binomial regression.

Antenatal care (ANC) is an important component of maternal and child health care. To reduce perinatal mortality and improve women's experience of care, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends pregnant women should attend at least eight ANC visits. However, in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the mean number of ANC visits among reproductive-age women using Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) data following the new WHO recommendation is so far limited. Therefore, the study aimed to determine the mean number of ANC visits and its predictors among reproductive-age women in SSA. Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 188,880 weighted reproductive-age women in SSA using a recent round of DHS data from 2017-2023. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression (ZINB) was conducted and statistical significance was declared at p-value <0.05 and adjusted incidence rate ratio(AIRR) for count model part and adjusted odds ratio for logit model inflated part of ZINBR with 95% confidence interval (CI) were reported. The mean number of ANC visits among reproductive-age women in SSA was 4.08 with 95%CI [4.07, 4.09]. Among reproductive-age women who gave birth in the last five years before the survey, 7.3% had eight or more ANC visits during pregnancy. Age of women, maternal and husband educational status, types of pregnancy, birth order, household size, number of under-five children, and wealth index were associated with the numbers of ANC visits among reproductive-age women in Sub-Saharan. The mean number of ANC visits among reproductive-age women in SSA is too lower than the new WHO recommendation of ANC visits for a positive pregnancy experience. This study also highlights that the proportion of at least eight ANC visits is low and there are still disparities in the mean of ANC visits across different regions of SSA. The increasing maternal age, higher maternal and husband educational status, wanted pregnancy, the number of household members, the number of under-five children, and higher wealth index increase the number of ANC visits. Unwanted pregnancy, no more fertility desire, and rural residences were contributed for zero ANC visits in SSA. Therefore, efforts should be geared towards improving maternal and husband's educational status. We strongly recommend that the governments of SSA countries should empower women economically and educationally to achieve the goals of ANC as recommended by the WHO.

Presence of Plasmodium falciparum strains with artemisinin-resistant K13 mutation C469Y in Busia County, Western Kenya

Malaria remains a key health and economic problem, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The emergence of artemisinin drug resistance (ART-R) parasite strains poses a serious threat to the control and elimination of this scourge. This is because artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) remain the first-line treatment in the majority of malaria-endemic regions in Sub-Saharan Africa. Certain single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the propeller domains of Plasmodium falciparum Kelch 13 protein (K13) have been associated with delayed parasite clearance in vivo and in vitro. These mutations serve as vital molecular markers for tracking the emergence and dispersion of resistance. Recently, there have been increasing reports of the emergence and spread of P. falciparum ART-R parasites in the Eastern Africa region. This necessitates continued surveillance to best inform mitigation efforts. This study investigated the presence of all reported mutations of K13 propeller domains in the parasite population in Busia County, Kenya, a known malaria-endemic region. Two hundred twenty-six participants with microscopically confirmed uncomplicated malaria were recruited for this study. They were treated with artemether–lumefantrine under observation for the first dose, and microscopic examination was repeated 1 day later after ensuring the participants had taken the second and third doses. P. falciparum DNA from all samples underwent targeted amplification of the K13 gene using a semi-nested PCR approach, followed by Sanger sequencing. The recently validated ART-R K13 mutation C469Y was identified in three samples. These three samples were among 63 samples with a low reduction in parasitemia on day 1, suggesting day 1 parasitemia reduction rate is a useful parameter to enrich the ART-R parasites for further analysis. Our findings highlight the need for continuous surveillance of ART-R in western Kenya and the region to determine the spread of ART-R and inform containment.

PMVd/PPDd model for predicting thermal comfort in air-conditioned buildings in hot and humid regions of Sub-Saharan Africa

The model for predicting thermal comfort conditions established by Fanger remains widely used in scientific work, as a default means of in situ measurements. However, the use of Fanger data leads to dissatisfaction among users of air-conditioned buildings in humid tropical areas. This conclusion emerges from the work of Kemajou and al. (Cameroon) and Olissan and al. (Benin) in 2012, after survey studies on the judgments of thermal sensations of people occupying various air-conditioned spaces. This article develops a correction model for the Fanger model, by coupling the latter to models for predicting skin temperature and heat loss by evaporation of sweat through the skin, as well as to the skin thermal sensitivity of people active in a humid tropical climate. The model thus determined shows that the predicted optimal comfort temperatures are located in the range of 26.1 °C to 27.5 °C and better meets the expectations of the populations in this region. The respective differences with the investigations of Kemajou and al. and those of Olissan and al. are 0.40 °C and 0.55 °C. It also appears that the comfort humidity range is 30% to 80%, apart from any other safety measures.

Healthcare-seeking behavior for diarrhea in under-five children and associated factors in sub-Saharan Africa: a multilevel robust Poisson regression model.

Diarrhea is one of the leading causes of child death in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Children with diarrhea who do not receive medical advice or treatment are at high risk of poor health outcomes and increased mortality. Prompt and adequate treatment is essential to mitigate these risks. However, studies that have been conducted on the factors influencing healthcare-seeking behavior (HSB) for diarrhea in under-five children in SSA are scarce. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to determine the variables related to HSB for diarrhea in children under the age of five. A secondary data analysis was conducted on the most recent data from the Demographic and Health Surveys in 35 SSA countries. The study included a total weighted sample of 51,791 children under the age of five with diarrhea. We presented the adjusted prevalence ratio and the 95% confidence interval in the multivariable multilevel robust Poisson regression analysis to show the statistical significance and strength of the association between HSB and its determinants. The pooled prevalence of HSB for diarrhea in under-five children was 58.71% (95%CI: 55.39 to 62.04). Factors found to be associated with HSB included maternal age, education and working status, antenatal care visits, postnatal checkups for the child, wasting, distance to a health facility, SSA region, and country income level. More than 40% of under-five children with diarrhea in SSA did not receive medical advice or treatment. To improve healthcare-seeking behavior, effective health policy interventions are necessary. These include enhancing the education and employment status of mothers, promoting regular antenatal and postnatal care visits, building health facilities in close proximity, and raising awareness in the community about the importance of seeking healthcare services for malnourished children.

Efficacy of prebiotic, probiotic, and synbiotics in improving growth in children under age five years in Africa: A protocol for a systematic review.

Background: Stunting is among the main obstacles to human development affecting millions of children worldwide, particularly in the sub-Saharan Africa region. Randomized clinical trials have shown the positive effects of prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics in improving growth in children and toddlers. However, although the global mobilization to tackle its challenges in their different aspects is visible, it remains to define effective large-scale up interventions and strategies to obtain long-lasting impacts. Objective: The objective of this review is to re-evaluate the efficacy of prebiotics, probiotics, and/or synbiotics on growth in children 0 to 5 years in Africa including recently published studies. Methods: Systematic search will be carried out in Pubmed, Science Direct, clinicaltrial.org, and Google Scholar. Both randomized and observational studies that assess the association between prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics, and health benefits and growth in children under 5 years of age will be included in the review. PRISMA-P (preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols) will be used used for this protocol, and PRISMA will be used for the systematic review. The Cochrane Risk Assessment Tool will be used to assess the quality of eligible studies. If the compiled data are appropriate and sufficient enough, we will perform a meta-analysis using RevMan software. Conclusion: This review will provide up-to-date and reliable information on the efficacy of prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics on the growth of children under 5 years of age especially in developing countries. PROSPERO registration number CRD42022343138.

Agroforestry stand age influence physical and chemical soil parameters

The role of agroforestry in improving soil parameters is well known. However, there is debate as to how age of agroforestry practice affects physical and chemical parameters especially in the tropical region of Sub-Saharan Africa where adoption of the practice is fairly recent. To understand those effects, a study was conducted using soil samples taken in farms adopting/non adopting agroforestry practises, selected using a stratified, random sampling strategy. Soil was sampled from adopters and non-adopters using soil auger. At least five sub-samples were collected from each location and the soil mixed to get an integrated soil sample for analysis. The physical (sand, clay, silt and bulk density), chemical properties (pH, total nitrogen [TN], total phosphorus [TP], total organic carbon [TOC], carbon nitrogen ratio [C/N] and carbon to phosphorus ratio [C/P]) were analyzed in the soil. The exchangeable bases (K, Ca, Mg and Na) as well as micronutrients (Mn, Cu, Fe and Zn) were also analyzed. The results indicated that sand was significantly (P < 0.05) higher among non-adopters compared to adopters while silt and bulk density was significantly (P < 0.05) higher among the adopters compared to the non-adopters. Sand levels decreased while silt and bulk density significantly increased with increasing agroforestry stand age. The TN, TOC and C/P ratio were significantly (P < 0.05) higher among adopters and increased consistently with age of adoption, while C/N was higher among non-adopters and decreased with increasing age of agroforestry stand. The trend in exchangeable bases and micro-nutrients in the soil were similar, where higher concentrations occurred among adopters and displayed an increase with regard to age of agroforestry stand. Our results support the hypothesis that age of agroforestry practice affects soil in parameter-specific patterns.

A century of medical records reveal earlier onset of the malaria season in Haut-Katanga induced by climate change

BackgroundDespite worldwide efforts to eradicate malaria over the past century, the disease remains a significant challenge in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today. Climate change is even anticipated...

Climate smart agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa: Role of arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi

Climate change affects many areas of human lives, including agriculture. Interestingly, agriculture contributes to climate change, necessitating climate smart approaches to ensure a win-win situation; wherein agricultural production is sustainable and meets current and future needs. Climate smart agriculture is a collection of agricultural practices that increase productivity, adaptation, and mitigation of climate change contribution to agriculture. While many global regions depend on agriculture directly and indirectly, the sub-Saharan Africa region is directly dependent on agriculture. Existing “climate smart” activities in this region must be better defined and strengthened to achieve its objectives – increasing agricultural productivity, adapting agricultural systems, and mitigating emissions from agricultural activities. Among these climate smart activities are the significance of soil microorganisms, particularly arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in sustainable agricultural systems, where they provide limited plant nutrients, control pests and diseases, aid drought adaptation, improve soil structure, reduce nutrient loss during leaching, leading to sustainable soil management.

Co-occurrence of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia and pasteurellosis in goats of sub-Saharan region: systematic review.

The reported incidences of co-participation of Mycoplasma capricolum capripneumoniae (Mccp) and Pasteurella multocida in increased severity and pathogenesis of goats with Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) in sub-Saharan Africa elicited the study's purpose. Using the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA) guideline, two search engines, namely Google Scholar and PubMed, were queried to systematically review all the available literature on the current epidemiological status of CCPP and Pneumonic Pasteurellosis co-concurrently detected in goats and assess the available treatment and control measures and their challenges in the Sub-Saharan region. The search was limited to papers published between 1998 and 2024, whereby only peer-reviewed English articles were included in the study. Review papers, papers displaying abstracts only, duplicated information, papers beyond the sub-Saharan Africa region and papers published in other languages were excluded from the study. Only articles with full text and focused on goats were included for further screening process and review. A total of 3311 articles were retrieved from both databases, whereas only 58 articles met the inclusion criteria and hence were included in the data analysis. Only eight countries namely, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Sudan, Eritrea, Zambia and Tanzania reported the occurrence of CCPP and or Pasteurellosis: Ethiopia 23/58(39%), Tanzania 18/58 (31%), 1/58(2%) Nigeria, 1/58(2%) Zambia, 1/58(2%) Eritrea, Uganda 2/58 (3%), 2/58(3%) Sudan and Kenya 10/58(16%). Only 5/58 (9%) reported the occurrence of pneumonic pasteurellosis in Nigeria and Ethiopia. Only Tanzania (75%) and Ethiopia (33%) reported Mccp and Pasteurella multocida co-isolation and/ or detection in CCPP cases. Information on the antimicrobial susceptibility profile of Mccp and Pasteurella multocida from Sub-Saharan Africa was unavailable. One vaccine against CCPP, namely F-38 inactivated, and one vaccine against pneumonic pasteurellosis were identified to be developed and used in Sub-Saharan Africa. Developing bivalent candidate vaccines for both etiological agents is highly recommended.

Clinical profile and outcome of kidney transplantation at Muhimbili National Hospital, Tanzania

BackgroundKidney transplantation is the definitive treatment option for chronic kidney failure, offering improved quality of life and extended survival. Access to kidney transplantation is limited in the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region, with only a few countries with established services. Tanzania started its program five years ago, for the sustainability of the program it is important to understand the outcome. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the clinical outcomes and survival rates of kidney transplant recipients at Muhimbili National Hospital in Tanzania, in the absence of a national transplant registry, since the inception of the program.MethodsThis was a retrospective study conducted among kidney transplant recipients from live donors at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) between November 2017 and February 2022. Analyses were performed to assess baseline characteristics, post-transplant complications, and patient and graft survival.ResultsIn our study of 68 kidney transplant recipients, the majority of recipients were male (63.2%) with a mean age of 45.8 years and under medical insurance (88.2%). The predominant cause of CKD was hypertension (58.2%) with recipients undergoing dialysis for a mean duration of 14.4 months, and basiliximab being the most commonly used induction medication (57.3%). The majority of donors were males (64.7%) and had first-degree relationships with recipients (76.5%). Haploid HLA mismatch was observed in 36.8% of cases. One-year patient and graft survival rates were 91.2% and 96.7%, respectively, with infection being the primary cause of death (n = 5), and more than half of deceased patients died with a functioning graft (n = 4).ConclusionOur study underscores favorable one-year patient and graft outcomes among kidney transplant recipients at Muhimbili National Hospital, Tanzania. However, challenges persist, notably with infections posing ongoing difficulties for this cohort.

Perspectives of Food Safety Challenges of Selected Food Commodities in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review

This paper gives some perspectives on the food safety challenges of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) on health, trade and the economy as well as food safety issues associated with selected food commodities. Sector-specific challenges affecting the horticulture, cereals and grain legumes, poultry, dairy and aquaculture in the SSA region are highlighted. It is well understood that SSA countries suffer enormous losses in trade and ultimately overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as well as disease burden due to unsafe food. In summarising the overall narration on these aspects, the paper finally argues that in addressing these challenges to facilitate trade and improve public health, a multi-sectoral and integrated approach involving all the relevant stakeholders is required.

“If you don't go to site, they call you a lazy person”: Drivers of women's participation in artisanal and small-scale mining: The case of rural northern Ghana

In recent years, women's involvement in informal artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) activities in sub-Saharan African countries have surged. While many studies have attributed the increased involvement of women in ASM to the rising economic hardship in rural landscapes, a deeper interrogation of the socioeconomic and sociocultural drivers of the surge in women in ASM remains underexplored. This study inquires as follows: has women's increased participation in ASM anything to do with socioeconomic factors, or sociocultural factors, or to both? The study draws on a qualitive case study research design involving in-depth interviews with 67 women miners in northern Ghana, one of the emerging ASM hotspots. It answers the question by analyzing (1) the socioeconomic drivers of women's participation in ASM, and (2) the sociocultural drivers of women's participation in ASM. This helps in identifying the contextual constraints to women's participation in ASM in Ghana and other regions in sub-Saharan Africa. Findings show that the socioeconomic drivers of women's participation in ASM are unemployment, increasing household needs, climate change effect on agriculture, and the quest to acquire physical assets. A key contribution of the study relates to how the local communities' sub-culture, social recognition for women who made it in ASM and marital challenges drive women's participation in ASM. Participation in ASM inures to women's empowerment in the long-run provided the sociocultural, financial, and technological barriers facing women miners are addressed. The findings underscore the urgent need for a robust policy on gender mainstreaming and the creation of a gender-sensitive mining environment alongside formalization of ASM activities in developing countries.

Digital Transformation for Educational Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

Digital transformation holds significant promise for revolutionizing education in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This paper examines the challenges of digital transformation in education in the SSA region. We observed that the challenges are multifaced, including infrastructure deficits, access and equity barriers, digital literacy gaps, financial constraints, policy challenges, and regulatory barriers. To overcome these challenges, the paper offers some recommendations that can help the SSA countries to unlock the transformative power of digital technologies to advance education, empower learners, and build a brighter future. Amongst other, the paper suggests that stakeholders must adopt an integrated approach to infrastructure development, promote equitable access and inclusion, invest in capacity building and skills development, localize educational content, mobilize financial resources, enact policy and regulatory reforms, and foster collaborative partnerships.

From non‐renewables to renewables and high‐tech production: The impact of natural wealth and technology on ecological load capacity in sub‐Saharan Africa

AbstractIn the face of growing sustainability challenges, this study examines the ecological impacts of natural wealth (NR) and tech‐driven industrial diversification (TID) in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). It employs the load capacity factor (LCF), utilizing a panel dataset spanning from 1991 to 2020. The findings reveal that renewable (forest) resources exert a positive and significant influence on LCF, primarily at lower quantiles. When the resource basket is adjusted to include mineral resources, this impact turns negative across all quantiles, with statistical significance evident at the upper quantiles. Further modifications to the resource basket, including energy extraction such as oil, coal, and natural gas, yield a statistically significant negative impact on LCF across the lower, median, and upper quantiles. Additionally, TID has a positive impact on LCF in the upper quantiles. Robustness analysis confirms that the covariates indeed Granger‐cause LCF. This finding also indicates that the causal equation is significantly influenced by past values of NR and TID. The Half‐Panel Jackknife estimator reaffirms that, on average, TID has a positive effect on LCF in the region. These findings suggest enhancing growth through renewables and industrial capacity in medium‐ and high‐tech industries as part of broader sustainability strategies in the SSA region.

Mapping local green hydrogen cost-potentials by a multidisciplinary approach

For fast-tracking climate change response, green hydrogen is key for achieving greenhouse gas neutral energy systems. Especially Sub-Saharan Africa can benefit from it enabling an increased access to clean energy through utilizing its beneficial conditions for renewable energies. However, developing green hydrogen strategies for Sub-Saharan Africa requires highly detailed and consistent information ranging from technical, environmental, economic, and social dimensions, which is currently lacking in literature. Therefore, this paper provides a comprehensive novel approach embedding the required range of disciplines to analyze green hydrogen cost-potentials in Sub-Saharan Africa. This approach stretches from a dedicated land eligibility based on local preferences, a location specific renewable energy simulation, locally derived sustainable groundwater limitations under climate change, an optimization of local hydrogen energy systems, and a socio-economic indicator-based impact analysis. The capability of the approach is shown for case study regions in Sub-Saharan Africa highlighting the need for a unified, interdisciplinary approach.

PAM50 breast cancer subtypes and survival of patients in rural Ethiopia without adjuvant treatment: a prospective observational study

PurposeSurvival rates of breast cancer (BC) patients are particularly low in rural regions in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) which is due to limited access to therapy. In recent years, gene expression profiling (GEP) of BC showed a strong prognostic value in patients with local tumour surgery and (neo)adjuvant treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of intrinsic subtypes on survival of patients in rural Ethiopia without any (neo)adjuvant therapy.MethodsIn total, 113 female patients from Aira Hospital with histologically proven BC and treated only with surgery were included in this study. All samples were analysed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) for estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, HER2 and Ki67, as well as RNA-expression analysis for PAM50 subtyping.ResultsA positive hormone receptor status was found in 69.0% of the tumours and intrinsic subtyping demonstrated Luminal B to be the most common subtype (34.5%). Follow-up data was available for 79 of 113 patients. Two-year overall survival (OS) was 57.3% and a considerably worse OS was observed in patients with Basal-like BC compared to Luminal A BC. Moreover, advanced tumours showed an increased risk of mortality.ConclusionThe OS was very low in the patient cohort that received no (neo)adjuvant treatment. Immunohistochemistry and GEP confirmed endocrine-sensitive tumours in more than half of the patients, with a large proportion of Luminal B, HER2-enriched and Basal-like tumours so that adjuvant chemotherapy should be recommended.

Glutathione peroxidase 3 is a potential biomarker for konzo

Konzo is a neglected paralytic neurological disease associated with food (cassava) poisoning that affects the world’s poorest children and women of childbearing ages across regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Despite understanding the dietary factors that lead to konzo, the molecular markers and mechanisms that trigger this disease remain unknown. To identify potential protein biomarkers associated with a disease status, plasma was collected from two independent Congolese cohorts, a discovery cohort (n = 60) and validation cohort (n = 204), sampled 10 years apart and subjected to multiple high-throughput assays. We identified that Glutathione Peroxidase 3 (GPx3), a critical plasma-based antioxidant enzyme, was the sole protein examined that was both significantly and differentially abundant between affected and non-affected participants in both cohorts, with large reductions observed in those affected with konzo. Our findings raise the notion that reductions in key antioxidant mechanisms may be the biological risk factor for the development of konzo, particularly those mediated through pathways involving the glutathione peroxidase family.

Endogenous Growth and Environmental Kuznets Curve: Lessons from FDI Impact on Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

Purpose: This study aims to determine the influence of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) on economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It examines the endogenous growth theory and the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) theory, and how they relate to the regional data.Method: Using panel quantile autoregression models, this study explores the relationship between FDI inflows into SSA with energy consumption, carbon emissions, and economic growth. The study is based on data from 1975 to 2018.Result: The study findings conclusively demonstrate that foreign direct investment has a significant impact on the economic growth of the SSA region. Furthermore, the study reveals that energy consumption and carbon emissions in the SSA have consistently increased throughout the study period, with foreign direct investment being identified as the primary driver of this trend. These findings are consistent with the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, as well as the endogenous growth theory, which suggests that FDI operations can have negative consequences on the host environment.Practical Implications for Economic Growth and Development: The study suggests that Sub-Saharan Africa should manage FDI carefully to balance economic growth with environmental sustainability by promoting green investments and creating an investment-friendly environment.

Design, development and preclinical assessment of MENAVip-ICP, a new snake antivenom with potential coverage of species in the Middle East and North Africa regions

Snakebite in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is a public health problem whose magnitude is not fully known. Several antivenoms are available in these regions, but these formulations are designed for restricted geographical settings. Many countries do not have local production of antivenoms and must access products whose clinical performance has not been demonstrated. We hypothesize that it is possible to unify the treatment for viperid snakebites of MENA in a single antivenom formulation. Hereby we describe the design, development and preclinical evaluation of an antivenom of broad geographical coverage for this region (MENAVip-ICP). We produced this antivenom from the plasma of horses immunized with eight medically important venoms of viperid snake species from MENA. For this, we used a strategy based on two stages: first, immunization of horses with North African (NA) venoms, followed by a second immunization stage, on the same horses, with MENA venoms. We purified antivenoms from both stages: the Anti-NA and the final product Anti-MENA (MENAVip-ICP). Anti-NA was considered as intermediate formulation and was purified with the intention to study the progression of the immunoglobulin immune response of the horses. Antivenoms from both stages neutralized lethal, hemorrhagic, and procoagulant activities of homologous venoms. Compared to Anti-NA, MENAVip-ICP improved the neutralization profile of intravenous lethality and in vitro procoagulant activities of venoms. A notable finding was the difference in the neutralization of lethality when MENAVip-ICP was assessed intraperitoneally versus intravenously in the murine model. Intraperitoneally, MENAVip-ICP appears more effective in neutralizing the lethality of all venoms. Furthermore, MENAVip-ICP neutralized the lethal activity of venoms of species from other regions of MENA, Central/East Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa that were not included in the immunization protocol. Our results showed that MENAVip-ICP neutralizes the main toxic activities induced by viperid MENA venoms at the preclinical level. Consequently, it is a promising product that could be clinically assessed for the treatment of snakebite envenomings in this region.

Unveiling the effects of energy poverty on mental health of children in energy-poor countries

While existing literature extensively investigates the adverse effects of energy poverty on physical health, exploring its impacts on the mental well-being of school-aged children (5–14 years old) remain underexplored, particularly in the energy-deprived regions of South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. This research aims to bridge this gap by delving into the indirect pathways through which energy poverty influences the mental health of these children, explicitly examining anxiety and depression, with a particular focus on child abuse as a potential mediating factor. This study employs comprehensive data at both the country level, covering 52 energy-poor nations from 2000 to 2019, and the household level, covering 18 energy-poor nations. This study utilizes a two-step system generalized method of moment approach to unveil the significant relationships between energy poverty and heightened levels of anxiety and depression. Furthermore, the study employs advanced statistical methods to analyze household-level data, including multilevel logistic regression, Probit instrumental regression models, and mediation analysis. These analyses confirm a robust association between energy poverty and an increased likelihood of anxiety and depression among school-aged children. The study also uncovers a concerning link between energy poverty and child abuse, emphasizing its role as a contributing factor to adverse mental health outcomes in children. The findings of this study offer critical insights for policymakers, highlighting the urgent need for targeted interventions and policies aimed at alleviating the adverse mental health effects of energy poverty on children. By addressing this issue, policymakers can contribute to fostering children's overall well-being and development in energy-poor regions.