Rural Councils Research Articles

Colonial Recognition? The Appropriation of Dutch Land and Population Registers as Legal Documents in Eighteenth-Century Sri Lanka

Abstract This paper considers the utilisation, appropriation, and renegotiation of colonial knowledge in the form of land and population registers by local litigants in eighteenth-century Dutch colonial Sri Lanka. Using a database compiled from thirty-three civil court cases held before the Landraad rural council of Colombo, I highlight how Lankan litigants frequently used the colonial thombo registers as evidence to have their property recognised. Moreover, I show that these registers were not just utilised but also altered through this process, particularly through the promotion of alternative knowledge in the form of local witness testimonies and ola palm leaf documents during court cases. I subsequently argue that we should reconsider how we view colonial knowledge. Rather than a static, top-down view from a foreign bureaucracy on a colonised society, this knowledge could be appropriated and even altered through the acts of local agents, in turn changing what was known by the colonial state and thus creating a “looping effect” of knowledge production.

Zoning of the Lower Volga Region and Formation of Territory, Okrug, District and Rural Bodies of Soviet Authority in 1928: First Stage

Introduction. The article examines the process of formation of the Lower Volga region and Soviet authorities at the level of regional, district, and rural administration at the first stage of zoning (before the liquidation of okrugs). Methods and materials. The research was carried out based on traditional methods of historical research (historical-genetic, retrospective, historical-systemic, and historical-comparative). The use of an array of unpublished archival documents stored in the State Archives of the Volgograd Region and the Documentation Center for Contemporary History of the Volgograd Region, and materials from periodicals and legislative sources of government bodies of the USSR and the RSFSR, greatly facilitated the research process. Analysis. The study is aimed at identifying the regional specifics of the zoning process and the accompanying process of formation of Soviet authorities (at the level of councils and executive committees of councils of the Lower Volga region). Results. The zoning of the Lower Volga region already at the first stage revealed a range of problems, the systematic solution of which in the future will make it possible to transform the agricultural region into the industrial center of the Volga region. In the process of reform, along with positive aspects – the reduction in cost of the management apparatus, the bringing closer to the population of Soviet authorities endowed with significant powers (district executive committees and councils) – there were also clearly negative consequences. The distance of rural councils from middle management and the consolidation of individual rural councils, on the one hand, led to the planned reduction of hardware costs but, on the other hand, excluded remote villages from active public life. Districts became the main operational unit of economic and Soviet work in the region. There were several issues to address, including the imbalance between districts with different population sizes, from small ones with just over 2,000 people to large ones with populations approaching 100,000. Additionally, there was a lack of communication between administrative units and personnel problems, which emerged as a significant hurdle in the development of district and rural Soviet administration at the second stage of zoning (in the conditions of the liquidation of okrugs).

The Case for Performance Measurement and Accountability in Sri Lankan Local Government

This paper delves into the challenges and opportunities for improved performance measurement and accountability in the Sri Lankan local government system. Through qualitative analysis, incorporating interviews with local government officials and a review of existing literature, the research identifies significant disparities in governance practices between urban and rural councils. Important issues are those that relate to constraints in resources, inconsistency in performance metrics, and political interference that tarnishes effective accountability. It proposes, among others, ways to improve governance outcomes such as further decentralization, capacity-building initiatives, and boosting enforcement mechanisms. Addressing these concerns would greatly support Sri Lanka in developing a local government system that is more transparent, responsive, and effective and grounded on democratic governance. The useful findings of the study have relevant implications among others for the policy makers and stakeholders in developing countries.

Water consumption in the territory of the Muchkapsky municipal district in Tambov

The article presents the results of calculating the water consumption per year of 75% availability and during the growing season from May to September on the borders of village councils for the Muchkapsky municipal district of the Tambov region. The calculation was carried out over a 60-year period. The current article presents schematic maps for one municipal district, selected as a vivid example of displaying various degrees of water availability. For the first time, river runoff resources were calculated for each month of the growing season for the entire territory of the Tambov region. Maps-schemes of provision of rural areas of the Tambov region with river flow resources will allow water users to estimate the permissible volumes of water for economic use on the territory of each village council. Based on the existing classifications of water availability, the authors have compiled their own classification, which makes it possible to distribute the territories of rural councils in the year of 75% provision by categories of water availability. Thus, in a year 75% of the provision of the Muchkap municipal district has 75% of the territories with very high water availability and only 12.5% of the territories of the Muchkap municipal district belong to the categories with extremely low and low water availability. The conducted research allows us to conclude that, in general, the territory of the Muchkap municipal district for the most part allows for industrial water intake by local enterprises.

Состав сельского населения Якутии в годы Великой Отечественной войны (по материалам отчетов сельсоветов)

In this article, the objective of the author is to introduce into scientific use a brand new historical source, one-time reports of rural councils on the age and sex composition of the rural population. This will allow to investi-gate in detail the dynamics of demographic changes in rural areas of Yakutia in 1941–1945, the structure of the population by sex and age, and further clarify the number of population in rural areas. In general, demographic processes in wartime were similar both in the country and in the republic. Gender asymmetry in the population structure was represented in the following data: while the proportion of women in the Russian village on Janu-ary 1, 1945 ranged from 79.8 % in the age group 18–24 years and up to 80.5 % in the age group 25–49 years, in the Yakut ASSR – 64.4 % and 62.2 % respectively. Therefore, the author concluded that in the Yakut republic as a whole, the sex and age ratio for the most vulnerable categories of the population mobilized during the Great Patriotic War was less severe than for the RSFSR.

Assessment of the Spatial Distribution of Rural Settlements in the Tambov Region

Relevance. With the rapid industrialization and continuous socio-economic progress of Russia, the spatial distribution of rural settlements is undergoing significant changes. The globalization of the economy, regional differences, changes in agriculture and the characteristics of villages, as well as the sustainable recovery of rural social economy are becoming important areas of research around the world. The purpose of the study is to search for opportunities for the development of rural settlements in the Tambov region based on their spatial distribution. Objectives: analysis of the density of rural settlements and population density; calculation of the average nearest neighbor ratio for each district and the Tambov region as a whole; formation of measures for the economic development of rural settlements of the Tambov region. The methodology of the study includes an analysis of the density of rural settlements and population density, determining the type of distribution of rural settlements in the Tambov region through the calculation of the average distance index to the nearest neighbor. Results. A combined grouping of village councils of the Tambov region was carried out according to the density of rural settlements and population density. The vast majority of rural councils belong to the group with an average density of settlements and a low population density (143 units), as well as to the group with two low indicators (69 units). For rural settlements of the Tambov region, the average ratio of nearest neighbors (R) was 0,733, which indicates a clustered type of distribution of settlements in the region. Conclusions. Based on the type of distribution of rural settlements in the Tambov region, the author proposed a model of a territorial production complex (TPC). The model was developed taking into account the categories of the population living in rural areas of the Tambov region. This model is based on a group of manufacturing enterprises, often farms, which are the foundation of the TPC.

Degradation risks and prospects for valley and river landscapes conservation in east Podilsk Transnistria (on the example of the Nemiya river)

Formulation of the problem. The urgency of the problem put forward is associated with the growth of anthropogenic development of the unique valley-river landscapes of the East Podolsk Transnistria is still taking place without a comprehensive geographic justification for the organization of nature management of the territory. These valley-river landscapes are unique in terms of the richness of bio- and landscape diversity. The purpose of the article is to assess the landscape and biotic diversity of the valley-river landscape of the lower reaches of the Nemiya city of the Mogilev-Podolsk-Yampolsky physical-geographical region in order to form priorities for the environmental activities of Transnistria. Materials and methods. To achieve the goal, a visual survey of the territory of the Nemia basin was carried out. The studies were carried out on the basis of: hydrological-geographical, biogeographical, botanical and zoological generalizations of the results of route observations in the Nemia River valley. Materials were used, including remote and field observations carried out in the Dniester basin. Also, data from various organizations and institutions were used (Vinnitsa Regional Department of Forestry and Hunting, Basin Water Resources Management of the city of Southern Bug, etc.). In particular, data from rural councils of settlements of the Mogilev-Podolsky urban territorial society were used. In the course of the study, such traditional methods as: statistical, literary and cartographic methods, the method of analogies, the method of comparisons and the method of generalizations were used. At the same time, such specific methods were used: a system of modeling, analysis, synthesis methods, cartographic and mathematical methods and methods of forecasting, expeditionary, continuous survey of natural areas, geophysical, identification of landscape components, etc.). Results. The study made it possible to study the ecotone of landscape and biotic diversity, including the high vulnerability of anthropogenic valley-river landscape complexes, primarily under the influence of mining and industrial developments. The features of the influence on the formation of these landscape complexes of natural and historical and social conditions were also revealed. At the same time, it was possible to establish the modern anthropogenized structure (landscape, phyto- and zoocenotic) of natural and anthropogenic landscapes within the Nemia River valley. Scientific novelty and practical significance. The conditions for the functioning of the valley-river landscape, the trends and intensity of its changes under the influence of natural and anthropogenic conditions and factors are analysed. The problems of protective belts and water protection zones are considered to assess the possibility of the Nemiya River performing the function of an eco-corridor in the projected regional ecological network. The factors influencing the ecological state of the valley-river landscape are determined. At the same time, microfoci are identified, with which successional, material-energy, transformational and destabilization changes are associated. Based on the studies carried out, proposals were made for the implementation of environmental protection measures for the Nemia River. The results of these researches can become the basis for monitoring the dynamics, development and evolution of landscapes, primarily for the formation of priorities for the environmental activities of Transnistria.

Location of small towns and rural settlements of Ukraine and new realities of the administrative- territorial system: contradictions and perspectives of mutual influences


 
 
 The article reveals the mutual influences of the geography of small towns (mistechka) and rural settlements in Ukraine and the system of administrative-territorial organization at the middle and lowest levels. Based on the statistical analysis, it was concluded that the location of very small cities, urban-type settlements (selyshchа miskoho typu) and villages is significantly differentiated by regions of Ukraine, taking into account the historical-geographical and natural-geographical prerequisites, the level of urbanization and industrialization, as well as differences in the demographic situation. The study proved that before the administrative reform, the small towns of Ukraine played an important role in the organization of the middle link of the administrative territorial system, being the centers of most districts, but as a result of the reform, their administrative importance in the district division became minimal. At the same time, almost half of the small towns became centres of united territorial communities. The author concludes that the loss of the status of medium-sized administrative units by towns could be compensated by transferring a significant part of the functions of regional authorities to new administrative districts, and most of the functions of former district centres to the centres of low-level territorial communities. For this purpose, it is necessary to create appropriate socio-economic conditions for the small towns-centres of new territorial communities to perform all the functions of serving the population of nearby settlements. It was concluded that such changes in administrative powers can ensure, in general, a shift in the weight of socio-economic life deep into the territory, which is necessary to overcome intra-regional disproportions in the development of the economy and the social sphere. The proposition that the structure of rural resettlement also influenced the territorial organization of local self-government in rural areas in different ways at all times was conceptually substantiated. The main socio-geographic parameters that used to determine and currently determine the structure of rural self-government are the density of the rural population, the average population, and the density of rural settlements. The study proved the presence of various regional variants of the combination of these indicators, which were also reflected in the geography of the centres in rural territorial communities. A positive consequence of the administrative reform was the strengthening of the financial base of rural communities, but at the same time, the administrative importance of many rural settlements of Ukraine decreased due to the loss of the status of rural council centres, and the distances between rural settlements and new administrative centres increased. As villages-community centres began to serve larger territories, if their infrastructural potential and economic base were strengthened, they could become new poles of socio-economic development in rural areas.
 
 

Risk Factors Associated with Xerophthalmia in Northern Sudan

The prevalence of eye signs and symptoms of vitamin A deficiency was determined among 29,615 Sudanese children between 6 and 72 mo of age, in five rural areas of Khartoum and Gezira provinces. Of all children, 2.9% were vitamin A deficient, and of these > 90% had Bitot's spots. Bivariate associations were found between xerophthalmia and the rural councils where the children lived, household wealth, consumption of vitamin A-containing foods, child sex, child age and weight-for-height Z-scores. Multivariate analysis showed that the following factors made significant independent contributions to the risk of xerophthalmia: living in remote and arid regions, male gender, age, poverty of the household, and prevalence of diarrhea. On the other hand, less xerophthalmia was observed among children who during the 24 h preceding the survey had consumed dairy products or non-leafy vegetables containing vitamin A. Intervention programs aimed at increasing household income and promoting consumption of foods containing vitamin A should contribute to the reduction of vitamin A deficiency among Sudanese children.

Микродемографические процессы в аграрной области: точки роста и островки устойчивости. Тамбовская область, конец XX – начало XXI века

Importance. In modern conditions of depopulation and migration outflow of rural population it is important to study the facts of sustainable development of rural population and factors of such stability. Materials and methods. The research is based on the published and Internet statistical materials of the settlement level. A sample of several dozens of urban-type settlements and suburban rural councils located in rural areas is created as an object of study. Sociological materials on the issue of marriage of rural population are also involved. Results and Discussion. The research show that the population dynamics in the selected group of settlements at the beginning of the 21st century developed unevenly. Along with the reduction in the number of residents in most settlements and villages there were facts of the indicator growth due to migration inflow. The cases of population growth and decline in some segments of the last decades indicate the non-linearity of demographic processes. The revealed order of figures in the indicators of natural and migratory movement of residents of the studied settlements indicates the absence of extreme values. The study of the problem of economic employment of residents of suburban rural settlements and urban-type settlements show a considerable number of jobs to retain the population in these settlements. Conclusions. Demographic data at the micro-level do not allow us to speak about widespread depopulation and devastation of the rural population of the Tambov Region. But “islands of stability” and “growth points” should be studied more thoroughly, using interdisciplinary approaches of humanitarian, socio-political, natural and other exact sciences.

Attributes of the Ideology of Communism in the Old Believer Village of the Buryat-Mongolian ASSR in 1920s-1930s

The subject of the research in the article is the problem of the real functioning of the elements of communist ideology (after 10 years of Bolshevik power) in rural areas, significantly remote from the capital's proletarian center both in territorial and ideological terms. In this case – in the Old Believer villages of the Buryat-Mongolian ASSR (BMASSR). The object of the study is the main and auxiliary institutions of Soviet power in the Tarbagatai, Mukhorshibir, Bichur aimags of the BMASSR (the turn of the 1920s-1930s). The following aspects of the topic are considered: the ideological viability of party and Komsomol organizations in rural councils, as well as the impact on the life of Old Believers of Soviet holidays, patronage of workers in Verkhneudinsk, the work of friendly courts in collective farms, acting as binding practices of a new in content, but traditional in the form of everyday life. The historical-genetic method necessary for studying the evolutionary changes of the phenomenon was used to characterize the work of the party and Komsomol cells of the Semey in 1925-1935. The historical-comparative method, highlighting the common and special features of various subjects, was necessary when analyzing the activities of rural party members and Komsomol members, as well as to describe the differences in the effects of new household practices. As the main conclusion of the study, it should be highlighted that the functioning of various institutions of Soviet power in the Old Believers' environment of the BMASSR was focused on the external, material side of life (the creation of cultural and educational space, the foundations for a new, collective economic reality). The internal, ideological side of the ongoing changes, for the most part, has not yet found its manifestation in the work of the local ("Old Believers" in terms of personnel) Soviet power. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that archival information is introduced into scientific circulation, showing that the transformation of the Old Believer community of Buryatia is an internal process that does not directly relate (but indirectly related) to the active actions of the Soviet government.

Prospects and Challenges of Water Management Stakeholders in the Rural Communities of the Noun Division, West Region, Cameroon

Seven years after the formulation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), uncertainty looms on whether the 2030 targets would be achieved. In the Noun Division of Cameroon diverse stakeholders have made substantial efforts to meet the 2030 SDG on the provision of portable water to the rural communities. Despite these laudable efforts, access to portable water remains a topical issue in the Division. The focus of this study was to assess the prospects and challenges of water management stakeholders in the provision of portable water to the rural communities of the Noun Division. In order to meet this objective, a total of 400 questionnaires were randomly administered to household heads in rural councils with the help of traditional authorities. International, national, regional and local stakeholders involved in the management of water resources were interviewed. The “17 in 1” and “iQ. BAC” water test kits were respectively used to analyse the chemical properties of drinking water sources in situ and faecal content within 48 hours. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were used to analyse quantitative data while content and narrative analysis were used for qualitative data. Findings revealed that local, national and international portable water management stakeholders prioritised the improvement of portable water sources over other parameters. Whereas the proportion of people who depended on unimproved water sources reduced from 79.92% in 2015 to 57.52% in 2022, that with mean round trip time of over 30 minutes rather increased from 49.62% to 50.38%. Moreover, 50% of the interviewee indicated that portable water is expensive in the area, suggesting why 42.3% of the population still rely on streams today. Five sampled streams analysed with the iQ. BAC test kit tested positive for total coliform while confirmatory laboratory analysis revealed E. coli concentration of 11-100MPN/100ml in Njimom which according to WHO is synonymous to medium risk. The “17 in 1” test kit revealed abnormal concentration of lead (0.03-0.05 ppm) and sulphate (400-800 ppm) mainly in streams and boreholes. PCA identified five main components that account for 72.71% variance in the hydrochemistry of drinking water sources. Though, none of the four scenarios developed revealed complete access to improve drinking water in rural areas of the Noun Division by 2030, Njimom and Foumbot showed remarkable progress under the most probable scenario (50% increase in current effort) considered to be the most realistic. Water governance stakeholders should quadruple their current efforts in improving portable water sources and adopt a holistic approach that engulfs water quality improvement if they wish to make significant progress on SDG 6.1.

Stakeholders’ Contributions to Rural Development in Mezam Division, Cameroon

Rural development is a continuous process facilitated by stakeholders who play complementary roles. In rural Mezam Division notwithstanding, there exists a dearth of information on the stakeholder categories, their spatial distribution and intervention domains in the rural development process. This paper examines the stakeholder categories, their spatial distribution within the various sub-divisions and specific domains of intervention in the rural development process in Mezam Division. Field surveys, focused group discussions, interviews and the administration of 260 questionnaires constituted the main primary data sources while a review of institutional, library and internet sources served as secondary source materials of data gathering for this research. The collected data was analysed using descriptive techniques. The results categorized the rural development stakeholders in Mezam Division into four; state institutions (16%), Community Based Organisations (CBOs) (49%), Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) (27%) and Cooperative Development Agencies (CDAs) (8%). These stakeholders are unevenly concentrated within the four sub-divisions in Mezam Division as follows; Santa (33%), Bafut (28%), Tubah (23%) and Bali (16%).The areas of intervention of the stakeholders include water supply schemes (39%), school construction (20%), agriculture (17%), road maintenance (8%), health (7%), erection of community halls and palaces (5%) and electricity supply schemes (4%). The paper concludes that the rural populations should be fully empowered and their local institutions like the rural councils be made totally autonomous. In this way, the rural councils could easily rally the rural people, raise funds, execute projects, coordinate the activities of other stakeholders and serve as the custodian of rural development.

Effects of Water Scarcity on Rural Household Economy

This study examined the effects of water scarcity on rural household economy in El Fashir Rural Council / North Darfur State- western Sudan. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used as to get a deeper understanding of the impact of water scarcity on the rural house economy in the study area. 174 households out of 2017 were selected from 45 villages which were distributed in eight village councils forming the study area. Statistical methods were used to manipulate the data of the study. The obtained results revealed that water scarcity negatively affected the rural household economy in the study area in many features. These include the followings: much family efforts and time were directed to fetch for water consequently, reducing time on farming activities and off-farm income- generating activities especially in summer season. Also scarcity of water negatively affects the household budget allocation in the sense that considerable portion of family income was devoted to meet human and animal water needs or in medical treatments from water related diseases due to consumption of unfit water. But the biggest impact of water scarcity is its adverse effect on the rural household food security due to the reduction of the stable and cash crops productivity or increasing food prices as a fall in the rural household income due to the declining of the annual rainfalls. Finally, water scarcity has resulted in increasing school dropout rates, especially girls, in order to help their families in fetching water for both human and animal consumption which, in the long-run, affect the household economy by jeopardizing the rural household’s human capital

DOES PERSISTENT COST INEFFICIENCY EXIST? A MUNICIPAL-LEVEL ANALYSIS OF EXPENDITURE IN VICTORIAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT

While a voluminous empirical literature has investigated cost efficiency in local government, until recently no effort has been invested in decomposing municipal performance into its persistent efficiency and transient efficiency components. In this paper, we estimate persistent and transient cost efficiency that might be attributed to managerial and environmental factors in the Victorian state local government system in Australia using stochastic frontier analysis over the period from 2014/2015 to 2018/2019. In addition, we seek to contribute to the empirical literature on local government performance by estimating differences in cost efficiency between urban and rural councils and the relationship between the transient cost efficiency and the overall cost performance of Victorian local councils. We find that the overall cost efficiency (OCE) of local councils is highly correlated with transient (short term) cost efficiency and that urban councils are more cost-efficient than their rural counterparts. Various public policy implications are then considered.

НАСИЛЬСТВЕННАЯ ДЕПОРТАЦИЯ НАСЕЛЕНИЯ ВРЕМЕННО ОККУПИРОВАННЫХ ТЕРРИТОРИЙ ОРЛОВСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ В ГЕРМАНИЮ В 1941–1943 ГГ.

Much attention is given to abduction of the population as one of the components of the policy of genocide. The authors draw attention to the fact that a significant part of the residents of Orel region were forcibly displaced both on the territory of Orel region and beyond its borders within the borders of the Soviet Union – to Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic States, and abroad – to Germany, Italy, France, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania. The conditions of involuntarily deportation and the regime of detention of displaced persons endangered their life and health. The authors cite the testimony of survivors, as well as materials collected by the Extraordinary State Com-missions of inquiry the atrocities of the Nazi invaders and the damage caused to civilians. The Extraordi-nary State Commissions were created immediately after the liberation of the occupied territories of Orel regions in rural councils, districts and the regional center. As a result, the authors draw conclusions that the work of the Extraordinary State Commissions continued for several years. The results of their work on collecting, documenting and making public information are summarized. It stressed that the constant updating of data and the change of figures in the generalized results is not a contradiction.

An empirical analysis of the impact of administrative intensity on the operational efficiency of the Victoria state local government system in Australia

ABSTRACT While a voluminous empirical literature has investigated municipal efficiency, much less attention has focused on the impact of administrative intensity on municipal performance. In this paper we seek to contribute to the empirical literature by examining the relationship between operational efficiency and administrative intensity in the Victorian local government system over the period 2014/15 to 2018/19 using a second stage bootstrapping Data Envelopment Analysis fractional regression model. We find that administrative intensity negatively affects the performance of local councils for the bias-corrected efficiency model. Moreover, administrative intensity exhibits a U-shaped relationship with municipal efficiency. We also find that administrative intensity has a differential impact on the efficiency of rural councils in contrast to urban councils. Various public policy implications are considered.

“I was able to take part in the chamber as if I was there” – women local councillors, remote meeting attendance, and Covid-19: a positive from the pandemic?

ABSTRACT This article explores research findings regarding the possibilities offered by remote attendance at council meetings as implemented during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, and reflects upon how this may improve women local councillors’ experiences, as well as women’s political participation and the accessibility of Welsh local government going forward. Influenced by feminist institutionalist theory, this paper examines how councils’ formal organisational norms and practices pre-pandemic privileged presenteeism, and explores participants’ perceptions and experiences of the accessibility of local councils, especially for younger women with families and/or in other forms of employment. Presenting data from 19 semi-structured interviews with women local councillors in Wales (UK), both in-person and subsequently online during the pandemic, the paper discusses how remote attendance in local council meetings was considered an enabling shift in formal organisational practices, especially for rural councils. Despite some dissenting opinions and voiced dubiousness (mostly concerning future hybrid implementation), through easing the time costs of being a local councillor, particularly for women balancing a gendered ‘triple duty’ of the political, personal, and professional, remote meeting attendance is an organisational solution, albeit somewhat forced in implementation, which presents clear means of improving women’s political participation and representation in local government.

Antimicrobial Resistance in Pneumococcal Carriage Isolates from Children under 2 Years of Age in Rural Pakistan.

ABSTRACTAntimicrobial resistance is an emerging public health concern. Ten-valent pneumococcal vaccine (PCV10) was introduced in Pakistan’s Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in 2012 as a 3 + 0 schedule without catchup. From 2014 to 2018, children <2 years were randomly selected in two rural union councils of Matiari, Pakistan. Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected using standard WHO guidelines by trained staff and processed at Infectious Disease Research Laboratory at The Aga Khan University, Karachi using culture on sheep blood agar and Multiplex PCR methods described by CDC, USA. Pneumococcal isolates were identified by optochin sensitivity and bile solubility tests. Isolates were then tested for antimicrobial susceptibility by standard Kirby-Bauer disk-diffusion method on Mueller-Hinton Agar (MHA) with 5% sheep blood agar as per Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) recommendations. Of 3140 children enrolled, pneumococcal isolates were detected in 2370 (75%). Vaccine coverage improved from 41% to 68.4%. Out of the 2370 isolates, 88.4%, 37.6% and 25% were resistant to cotrimoxazole, tetracycline and erythromycin, respectively. There was no resistance to penicillin, ceftriaxone, and vancomycin. For erythromycin, resistance increased from 20% in 2014/15 to 30.8% in 2017/18 and for tetracycline it increased from 34.9% to 41.8% both of which were explained by an increase in prevalence of serotype 19A. Pneumococcal isolates were susceptible to penicillin, ceftriaxone, and vancomycin. They were largely resistant to cotrimoxazole and tetracycline. There was an increase in erythromycin and tetracycline resistance attributed to increasing prevalence of serotype 19A. Pneumococcal isolates from carriage and invasive disease should be closely monitored for antimicrobial susceptibility.IMPORTANCE Antimicrobial resistance is an emerging public health concern particularly in low- and middle-income countries where there is poor regulation and easy availability of antibiotics. This is the first study from Pakistan to report antimicrobial resistance patterns of pneumococcus after vaccine introduction in the community. Pakistan was the first South-Asian country to introduce PCV10 in its Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in 2012 as a 3 + 0 schedule without catchup. In this study, we describe the PCV10 impact on antimicrobial resistance patterns of pneumococcal nasopharyngeal carriage in children younger than 2 years of age in a rural district in Pakistan after the introduction of the vaccine.

Localization of elite capture in wood charcoal production and trade: Implications for development outcomes of a forest management program in rural Senegal

This paper examines how decentralized forest governance policy led to new patterns of wealth accumulation in villages as a result of economic opportunities created by wood-charcoal production and trade in rural Senegal. In the region studied, the locus for development through decentralized governance was offered through an institution: the democratically elected Rural Council. USAID provided assistance to Rural Communities and their Rural Councils by implementing Wula Nafaa, a project supporting capacity-building and consolidation of institutional infrastructure to encourage wealth creation from forests in a sustainable and inclusive way. This case study was constructed with qualitative data collected during fieldwork and complemented by secondary sources of data. It was observed that a warping of mechanisms meant for promoting equitable access to charcoal-related economic opportunities enabled only a small group of socially and economically advantageously positioned rural elites to grab and dominate the access to forest resources. Elite capture not only excluded less-privileged villagersfrom entering the lucrative charcoal business, creating inequitable access for smaller producers, but had implications for contributing to the existing spatial disparities in development between the remote rural regions and the urban centers of the country.