Urban Areas Of Africa Research Articles

Dog ecology and demography in Antananarivo, 2007.

BackgroundRabies is a widespread disease in African domestic dogs and a serious public health problem in developing countries. Canine rabies became established in Africa during the 20th century, coinciding with ecologic changes that favored its emergence in canids.This paper reports the results of a cross-sectional study of dog ecology in the Antananarivo urban community in Madagascar.A questionnaire survey of 1541 households was conducted in Antananarivo from October 2007 to January 2008. The study addressed both owned and unowned dogs. Various aspects of dog ecology were determined, including size of dog population, relationship between dogs and humans, rabies vaccination.ResultsDog ownership was common, with 79.6 to 94.1% (mean 88.9%) of households in the six arrondissements owning dogs. The mean owned dog to person ratio was 1 dog per 4.5 persons and differed between arrondissements (administrative districts), with ratios of 1:6.0 in the first arrondissement, 1:3.2 persons in the 2nd, 1:4.8 in the 3rd, 1:5.2 in the 4th, 1:5.6 in the 5th and 1:4.4 in the 6th arrondissement. Overall, there were more male dogs (61.3%) and the male/female sex ratio was estimated to be 1.52; however, mature females were more likely than males to be unowned (OR: 1.93, CI 95%; 1.39<OR<2.69). Most (79.1%) owned dogs were never restricted and roamed freely to forage for food and mix with other dogs. Only a small proportion of dogs (11.7%) were fed with commercial dog food. Only 7.2% of owned dogs had certificates confirming vaccination against rabies. The proportion of vaccinated dogs varied widely between arrondissements (3.3% to 17.5%).ConclusionAntananarivo has a higher density of dogs than many other urban areas in Africa. The dog population is unrestricted and inadequately vaccinated against rabies. This analysis of the dog population will enable targeted planning of rabies control efforts.

Identification and Initial Characterization of Prominent Air Pollution Sources and Respiratory Health at Secondary Schools in Ibadan, Nigeria

Objective. Research on air quality in and around schools, and the associated vulnerability of school-age children, is limited in less developed countries (LDCs), particularly Africa. The main objective of this study was to conduct an initial assessment of sources of air pollution in and around schools as a surrogate for air quality and report adverse health effects among students at selected secondary schools in urban Ibadan, Nigeria. Methods. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey involving eight secondary schools selected purposively, defined with eight acronyms (listed alphabetically): ABHS, AGS, BOHS, CDSS, IGS, LC, MGS, and OAHS. We used pre-tested, self-administered questionnaires, observational checklists to assess certain environmental health indicators, and interviews. The questionnaire was divided into five sections including environmental and health conditions. A total of 400 students from senior secondary classes, 50 from each school, were selected through stratified random sampling. Results. The school's location, especially if close to high traffic roadways, contributed to reported perceived poor air quality of school environments. The majority of students believed air pollution sources in the school environment were mainly refuse burning and car emissions from nearby roadways. Cough and asthma were the most frequently reported adverse health outcomes. The highest prevalence of reported recent asthma episodes (symptoms) were recorded at BOHS (84%) and at CDSS (62%); furthermore, at ABHS it was nearly 1-in-2 students and at OAHS about 1-in-5 students. BOHS and OAHS each reported over 10% for prevalence of bronchitis. Conclusions. Proximity of study schools to certain sources and activities such as refuse burning and major roadways seemed to present substantial risk factors for reported respiratory morbidity among secondary students in urban Ibadan, Nigeria. Future research should quantify source emissions and exposure and further characterize frequency and severity of respiratory symptoms, among other parameters, at schools in Nigeria and other sprawling urban areas of Africa.

Factors Determining the Heterogeneity of Malaria Incidence in Children in Kampala, Uganda

Malaria risk may be heterogeneous in urban areas of Africa. Identifying those at highest risk for malaria may lead to more targeted approaches to malaria control. A representative sample of 558 children aged 1-10 years were recruited from a census population in a single parish of Kampala and followed up for 2 years. Malaria was diagnosed when a child presented with a new episode of fever and a thick blood smear positive for parasites. Multivariate analysis was used to identify independent predictors of malaria incidence. A total of 695 episodes of uncomplicated malaria were diagnosed after 901 person years of follow-up. Sickle cell trait (relative risk [RR], 0.68 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 0.52-0.90]), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in female children (RR, 0.48 [95% CI, 0.31-0.75]), and use of an insecticide-treated bed net (RR, 0.52 [95% CI, 0.32-0.83]) were associated with a lower risk of malaria. The distance of the subject's residence from a swamp bordering the parish showed a strong "dose-response" relationship; living in the swamp was the strongest predictor of malaria risk (RR, 3.94 [95% CI, 2.61-5.97]). Malaria incidence was highly heterogeneous in this urban cohort of children. Malaria control interventions in urban areas should target populations living in pockets of high malaria risk.

DAGMAR DUEBER, Nigerian Pidgin English: Language contact, variation and change in an African urban setting

Dagmar Dueber , Nigerian Pidgin English: Language contact, variation and change in an African urban setting . London: Battlebridge, 2005. Pp. xiii, 273. Pb £25. This is a corpus-based study of Nigerian Pidgin English (NPE) among the educated in the urban center of Lagos. Deuber's report on the use of NPE in Lagos makes for interesting comparison with the spread and use of other contact varieties in urban areas in Africa (e.g., Sheng in Nairobi; see Fink 2005 and references therein) and its impact on indigenous languages. It is also comparable with the discussions of urban varieties of creoles reported in Patrick's ( 1999 ) work and more recently in Hackert 2004 . One of the obvious issues is the functioning of the variety in new public formal domains. Issues related to both corpus and status planning are discussed (cf. Devonish 1986 ). To help the reader navigate the vast amount of data, there are several maps, sample questionnaires, and complete transcriptions from elicitations and interviews. The included CD contains sociodemographic data for all the informants and background information on the texts, translations, and sound samples. The book should prove beneficial to sociolinguists of varying persuasions, especially creolists, variationists, and discourse analysts.

New African Urban Risk Analysis Network

With many disasters taking place in urban areas of Africa on a regular basis, affecting millions of people each year, there is an increasing need to understand the processes by which the risks from potential disasters develop in urban areas. To address this, the African Urban Risk Analysis Network (AURAN) has been formed in January 2003 by six African institutions, with support from UNDP and ProVention Consortium. Work is underway in Accra, Algiers, Cape Town, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi and Saint Louis (Senegal) to identify

Chronic Poverty in Urban Areas

FOR MANY YEARS, poverty in urban areas of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean has been identified by spatial area (e.g. settlement, neighbourhood, inner city) as often as it has been referred to by social group (e.g. low-income women, the homeless). This has perhaps given inadequate recognition to poverty differentiation within urban poor groups or, to put it another way, it has contributed to an assumption that the poor share similar characteristics and face the same difficulties. The focus on chronic poverty that has been of growing interest in recent years is particularly relevant to our understanding of urban poverty because it recognizes differences within “the poor”. Chronic poverty is a concept that takes into account the length of time that an individual or household experiences poverty, as well as the depth of poverty. Conceptually, it challenges us to differentiate between those who are poor at any specific point in time and those who are poor over a long period of time, and between the always (chronically) poor and those for whom poverty is transitory. While in the work of the Chronic Poverty Research Centre, the suggested period for “chronic poverty” is five years, it should be recognized that such specificity is somewhat arbitrary, and other definitions have also been used. As illustrated in recent papers, this often reflects the periods for which data are available. For example, Kedir and McKay use three surveys (1994, 1995, 1997) in their analysis of urban Ethiopia, and suggest that the chronically poor are those who are poor in all three surveys over a four-year period. While much of the analysis has been on incomes and the period of time without adequate income, the concept can also be applied to inadequate access to basic services such as water and education. While, conceptually, the addition of a time dimension is easy to understand, methodological approaches vary. Kedir (in this volume) explores a number of different methodologies for the study of chronic urban poverty in Ethiopia. He argues that in analyzing quantitative income and expenditure data, the use of precise differentiated price indices is significant, with different price indices producing different movements in poverty trends. (For example, in one case, an apparent reduction in poverty became an increase through the use of a different aggregate price measurement.) Hence, the use of a single set of prices, or even the use of different prices for urban and rural areas, may produce misleading indications of relative levels of poverty and the permanence (or not) of poverty. However, while such details matter with respect to specific estimates, the significance of the concept lies in the questions it raises for the analysis of poverty and poverty reduction. A consideration of the length of time that individuals and households have incomes that fall below the poverty line (by poverty line, we mean an income level that is established as necessary to

Development of Sampling Procedures Based Upon Satellite Derived Land Cover History for the NSF Digital African Cities Project

This article discusses the sampling scheme employed by the Six Cities project to ensure that all areas of habitation have a chance of being selected, that we know what that chance is, and that we are able to critically evaluate the sampling strategy after it has been carried out. A weighting strategy that is slightly different from one used only to do research is therefore employed. The article describes a procedure for generating two kinds of random sample points for areas of change and of no change. Finally, a few simple rules for incorporating socioeconomic, demographic, and other relevant information into the sampling frame without introducing bias into the sample are discussed.Key words: sampling strategies; random sampling; sampling bias; local knowledge; Six Cities project; remote sensing; urban areas in Africa

The Links between Poverty and the Environment in Urban Areas of Africa, Asia, and Latin America

This article suggests that there is little evidence of urban poverty being a significant contributor to environmental degradation but strong evidence that urban environmental hazards are major contributors to urban poverty. The article considers the link between poverty and different categories of environmental hazards (biological pathogens, chemical pollutants, and physical hazards). It then considers the links between poverty and high use of nonrenewable resources, degradation of renewable resources such as soil and fresh water, and high levels of biodegradable and nonbiodegradable waste generation. This shows how environmental degradation is more associated with the consumption patterns of middle-and upper-income groups and the failure of governments to implement effective environmental policies than with urban poverty. The article also highlights how good governance is at the core of poverty reduction and how meeting the environmental health needs of poorer groups need not imply greater environmental degradation.

The health impact of environmental pollutants: a special focus on lead exposure in South Africa

Studies have shown blood lead levels of some children in South Africa at levels of health concern. New studies show even relatively low lead levels to have detrimental effects on cognitive function in young children. Large numbers of South African inner-city and other children have been shown to have unacceptably high blood lead levels. Studies indicate that blood lead levels of children living in South Africa's urban areas are higher than those of children in most developed countries, including Great Britain, Europe, and the United States.Although data and reported studies are very sparse, mean blood lead levels of approximately 15 μg/dl have been reported in children. Elevated blood lead levels were associated with socioeconomic status and housing conditions. Key environmental risk factors for elevated blood levels were contaminated soil and dust in the urban environment, and the still large number of automobiles using leaded gasoline.In view of emerging evidence linking lead at increasingly lower levels to adverse effects in children, the South African government is taking actions to reduce lead exposure among vulnerable groups. Currently, South Africa has no national lead surveillance program. The government, therefore, has developed international and regional partnerships to prevent and address the problem of lead exposure.

National Language Departments in the Era of Transnational Studies

Common though it may be in most of the United States today, monolingualism is an aberration in most of the world. In western Europe, for example, primary schools teach foreign languages to young children; in urban areas of Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean, switching between local, vernacular languages and national tongues is a common daily occurrence among all citizens, even those who may not be literate in the traditional Western sense. In a speech for the formal inauguration of the University of California, Irvine's new International Center for Writing and Translation on 5 April 2002, the 1986 Nigerian Nobel Prize laureate for literature, Wole Soyinka, asserted that the United States is “one of the most insular, mono-linguistic communities [he has] ever encountered in [his] life.” Along with the French philosopher Jacques Derrida, author of The Monolingualism of the Other, and Bei Ling, a dissident Chinese poet, translator, and editor, Soyinka is on the executive board of Irvine's new center, an initiative funded by a large endowment from Glenn Schaeffer, a successful Las Vegas casino executive (Johnson E1, E3).

Small-scale entrepreneurs in the urban water and sanitation market

This paper describes the importance of small-scale private sector or NGO providers of water and sanitation in a great range of urban areas in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It includes many examples of where - contrary to conventional wisdom - they provide good quality, low-cost services. Without these operations, large sections of the South’s urban populations, including tens of millions of low-income households, would be worse off. Yet these generally operate with no subsidy and have to recover their costs. This paper discusses how public policy can support (or at least not seriously constrain) small-scale entrepreneurs in water and sanitation provision while ensuring checks on the quality and price of the services they provide.

Prevalence of asthma and respiratory symptoms in south-central Durban, South Africa.

The prevalence of asthma and respiratory symptoms in south-central Durban, one of the most heavily polluted areas of South Africa, has been determined using a cross-sectional survey of 213 households in the communities of Merewent (97% Indians) and Austerville (98% coloreds). The study population consisted of 367 children (less than 17 years old) and 693 adults. About 10% of the children and 12% of adults reported doctor diagnosed asthma. The self-reported prevalence rates for wheezing (3740%) and attacks of shortness of breath with wheeze (16-28%) were much higher than that for doctor diagnosed asthma and common co-occurrence of the three symptoms is found. The prevalence rates for other respiratory symptoms include 33-35% for chronic cough, 31-32% for chronic phlegm, 44-50% for frequent blocked-runny nose, and 16-27% for sinusitis. Factors in the community that were associated with asthma, wheeze and shortness of breath with wheeze among the adult population included cigarette smoking, use of insecticides (coils and pump spray) and home ownership. An association between asthma among children and a number of household risk factors including dampness, carpet, pets or use of pesticides was not apparent in the community. Asthma prevalence was strongly correlated with missing of school by children (odds ratio (OR): 44; 95% confidence interval (CI): 13-141). The study serves to draw attention to a growing but neglected public health problem in urban areas of Africa.

Nutrient balance patterns in African livestock systems

This paper presents an overview of the current status, problems and prospects for achieving a better nutrient balance to support varying levels of productivity from the three major livestock systems in Africa. In free range grazing systems, livestock nutrient deficiencies are mainly overcome by moving the animals to better grazing areas. This makes monitoring and managing of nutrients within a system very difficult. Nutrient recovery, cycling and synchronization of manure with other recycled or purchased sources are greater in mixed crop–livestock systems. In these systems, inclusion of nitrogen-fixing leguminous forage/tree crops as companions or rotation crops with cereals further improves the nutrient use efficiency and balance. With more favourable market and policies, commercialized dairy systems are developing around the urban areas of Africa. Such systems heavily depend on purchased feeds and nutrients, and have serious implications for the nutrient balance and sustainability of land use systems in the rural areas which supply the feeds, and for the urban areas because of the risk of pollution from the accumulating animal wastes.

The geopolitics of South African cities: States, citizens, territory

Much of the research concerning the stark spatiality of South African cities has focused upon the empirical history of segregation and apartheid. this paper offers a theoretical interpretation of the historical meaning of the racially segregated residential spaces that have made up South Africa's urban areas and then considers their changing significance within the transitional post-apartheid urban order. The focus is specifically on the state and the reasons why the racial organization of space was crucial to the exercise of apartheid state power and how this heritage of racial segretation is shaping post-apartheid local government. Exploring the work of michel foucault and making use of an expanded concept of citizenship, I argue that the spatial arrangement of (in this case) african residential areas, and of the form of the apartheid city, was crucially related to the exercise of state power and to the domination of subjects excluded from democratic citizenship rights. Like citizens elsewhere, african people in South Africa's urban areas were bound up in the surveillance networks of the state. These networks operated effectively, i argue, because of the spatial organization of both state apparatuses and residential environments. while much of south african historiography is blind to the importance of spatiality in the construction of state power, this paper makes a strong case that the survival of the apartheid state was centrally dependent upon the geographies that it created. And far from erasing the significance of these racialized spaces, the present transition to democracy has witnessed the emergence of a power-sharing arrangement in local government which has ensured the continued political significance of urban racial segregation. In addition, the relationships between the state, citizenship and space are shown to be as important in the emerging post-apartheid city as they were under apartheid—albeit in a quite different form.

Lead poisoning of children in Africa, III. Kaduna, Nigeria

This study investigated the prevalence of elevated blood lead (PbB) levels in children 1–6 years old in Kaduna, a medium size city in northern Nigeria. Mean PbB was found to be 10.6 μg/dl, and 2% of the children had PbB levels greater than 30 μg/dl. Highest average PbB levels were found in children 5 years old and was attributed to the tendency for this age group to play longer in contaminated outdoor environments. The strongest associations were found between PbB and whether the family owned a car or lived in a house on a tarred road. Potential sources of lead in the city as well as household and behavior risk factors likely to result in exposure of children to lead are discussed. This study provides additional data pointing to childhood lead poisoning as being a major public health problem in urban areas of Africa.

How to sustain a living? Urban households and poverty in the Sahelian town of Mopti

Increasingly, the poor are to be found in the urban areas of developing countries. Many urban households, not only the very poor, face economic insecurity and deprivation. Despite the steady growth of low-income groups in the urban areas of Africa, the mechanisms for coping with urban poverty were not studied to any great extent until the end of the 1980s. Most research into the strategies developed by households to cope with poverty had centred on the rural household. This article focuses on the inhabitants of the town of Mopti, situated in the Sahelian zone of Mali on the border of the inland delta of the river Niger. It deals with the subsistence strategies of different types of urban households and their adjustments to uncertain and deteriorating economic circumstances. In analysing these coping mechanisms account is taken of the various factors affecting households' ability to cope with reduced earnings or lack of income, such as their socio-economic position, migration status, composition and size, and ethnic background. A pertinent question in the analysis is whether urban households, in deteriorating circumstances, diversify their sources of income or specialise in one activity.

Changes in male sexual behaviour in response to the AIDS epidemic: evidence from a cohort study in urban Tanzania.

To examine changes in sexual behaviour among men in urban Tanzania. An observational cohort study among factory workers during 1991-1994. Data from five follow-up visits with structured questionnaire-guided interviews and biomedical data were analysed to examine trends in sexual behaviour and sexually transmitted disease/HIV among 752 men. In-depth interviews were conducted to evaluate the magnitude of reporting bias. During the 2 years of observation, the proportion of men with more than one sexual partner during the month preceding the interview declined from 22.3 to 12.2%. The proportion of men reporting casual sex partners during the last month was almost halved: from 9.8 to 5.2%. The decline in the reporting of extramarital partners was gradual and pronounced. There were only minor changes in reported condom use, notably an increase in use with casual partners, and no changes in coital frequency. Data from in-depth interviews confirmed that reduction in sexual partners was the predominant change. This study documents that, in response to the AIDS epidemic, changes in male sexual behaviour are taking place in urban areas in Africa. The predominant change among these men, who are predominantly married and aged over 25 years, is a reduction of the number of sexual partners, although condom use remains low.

Urban inequalities in mental health: the case of São Paulo, Brazil

This paper describes how the number of people suffering from mental ill-health has been under-estimated in urban areas in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It also explains how the complex range of factors that contribute to mental ill-health, and the ways in which they interact, remain poorly understood. It then describes the findings from research on mental health in three sub-districts of São Paulo City: one with relatively poor quality housing and low-income households, one predominantly middle-class with better housing and one with high-class housing and high average incomes.

STREET CHILDREN IN KENYA

Abstract African cities are experiencing a rapid growth of street children and people (currently estimated at five million). These are either “children on the street”, who are engaged in economic activities, but who mostly still go home, or “children of the street”, who live on the streets, but still have occasional contact with their parents. In addition, there is a growing number of homeless adults and families living on the pavements of African cities. In Kenya street children were first identified in the early 60s and their number has increased ever since. Some 350 000 children are estimated to ply the streets daily, 30 000 of which can be found in Nairobi alone; and in Ethiopia, some 100 000 children roam the streets. This phenomenon calls for an urgent initiative to bring together the different actors, multilateral agencies (UNCHS, UNICEF UNESCO, ILO), NGOs, CBOs and municipal and national authorities, in a bid to urgently address the issue of improving the living conditions of street children and develop preventive measures against the underlying factors forcing children onto the streets. This presentation, based on practical work in the field, outlines the underlying causes which push children onto the streets, giving special attention to the girl child. This is followed by a critical examination of interventions as they have been developed and applied in Kenya over the last 20 years. The presentation closes with suggestions for a practical strategy aimed at improving the living conditions of children in difficult circumstances in urban areas of Africa.

Race and hypertension. What is clinically relevant?

Hypertension, once considered rare in Africa, occurs frequently in most Black populations outside of the continent as well as within more urban areas of Africa. The frequency of hypertension in Black citizens of the US is among the highest in the world. Pathophysiological mechanisms suggest the frequency of salt-sensitive blood pressure is more common in Black patients. More Black than White patients initially present with volume expansion. However, in Black patients there appears to be no significant relationship between plasma renin activity, plasma volume and blood pressure. The syndrome of insulin resistance has also been reported in African Americans. Future studies should address this issue, both because it relates to identifying individuals at risk for development of high blood pressure and because it has implications for initial selection of antihypertensive therapy. Hypertensive kidney disease is prevalent in Black people. Lowering the blood pressure with diuretic-based therapies has not been shown to delay or prevent the loss of kidney function in patients with this condition, suggesting that this treatment approach may not be optimal. Lifestyle modifications remain the initial therapeutic regimen. Because diuretics and beta-blockers have been shown to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in controlled clinical trials, they are preferred therapies. The Hypertension Detection and Follow-up Program showed significant reductions in morbidity and mortality in Black patients using primarily diuretic-based therapies. However, controversy persists regarding use of diuretics since some investigators believe that greater reductions in overall cardiovascular risk may be achieved in Black patients using other agents. These agents may eventually be able to exert a beneficial cardiovascular effect in addition to and independent of their blood pressure-lowering effect. Long term data documenting reduced morbidity and mortality rates with other agents are needed for all populations, particularly in Black hypertensive patients.