Private Sector Participation in the Provision of Quality Drinking Water in Ghana's Urban Areas: Are People Willing to Pay?

Access to clean drinking water is not only a fundamental human right, but also claims a big stake in economic growth, poverty reduction and sustainable development. With an increase in population, rapid urbanization and increasing income levels, the demand for water outstrips public water supply in developing countries. As a result, private water production has been promoted in developing countries to achieve greater efficiency and expansion in order to supplement public water supply. This study used the contingent valuation method to survey households in three cities in Ghana to estimate their willingness to pay in a bid to evaluate a policy of better water supply for urban areas in Ghana. It was found that more than 80% of the respondents favour some form of private sector engagement in water quality improvement. Also, the mean willingness to pay for water quality improvement is about GH¢13.42 (US$12) per month. Given the mean household monthly water bill of GH¢10.82, these results indicate that there is demand for water quality improvement and the general view is that private sector engagement is likely to provide these services. However, the same policy measure will marginalize the poor in terms of access to water. Therefore, private sector participation in water delivery, with a corresponding complementary government programme to promote access to water among low income households, would deliver the double dividends of water quality and universal access, which characterize the debate on private sector engagement in water provision in Ghana

Conservation Agriculture as Practised in Ghana

This case study presents the status of conservation agriculture in Ghana. It is one in a series of eight case studies about conservation agriculture in Africa, which were developed within the framework of a collaboration between CIRAD (French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development), FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), RELMA-in-ICRAF (Regional Land Management Unit of the World Agroforestry Centre) and ACT (African Conservation Tillage Network)

Gametocyte carriage in Plasmodium falciparum-infected travellers.

BACKGROUND: Gametocytes are the sexual stage of Plasmodium parasites. The determinants of gametocyte carriage have been studied extensively in endemic areas, but have rarely been explored in travellers with malaria. The incidence of gametocytaemia, and factors associated with gametocyte emergence in adult travellers with Plasmodium falciparum malaria was investigated at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in London. METHODS: Clinical, parasitological and demographic data for all patients presenting with P. falciparum malaria between January 2001 and December 2011 were extracted from a prospective database. These data were supplemented by manual searches of laboratory records and patient case notes. RESULTS: Seven hundred and seventy three adult patients with laboratory-confirmed P. falciparum malaria were identified. Four hundred and sixty five (60%) were born in a country where malaria is endemic. Patients presented to hospital a median of four days into their illness. The median maximum parasite count was 0.4%. One hundred and ninety six patients (25%) had gametocytes; 94 (12%) on admission, and 102 (13%) developing during treatment. Gametocytaemia on admission was associated with anaemia and a lower maximum parasitaemia. Patients with gametocytes at presentation were less likely to have thrombocytopenia or severe malaria. Patients who developed gametocytes during treatment were more likely to have had parasitaemia of long duration, a high maximum parasitaemia and to have had severe malaria. There was no apparent association between the appearance of gametocytes and treatment regimen. CONCLUSIONS: The development of gametocytaemia in travellers with P. falciparum is associated with factors similar to those reported among populations in endemic areas. These data suggest that acquired immunity to malaria is not the only determinant of patterns of gametocyte carriage among patients with the disease

Clinical Features of Imported Loiasis: A Case Series from the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, London.

We retrospectively analyzed the background, clinical features, and treatment response of 50 cases of imported loiasis who presented between 2000 and 2014 to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases (HTD), London, United Kingdom. Of them, 29 were migrants from, and 21 were visitors to, countries where the disease is endemic. Clinical features differed between these groups. Migrants experienced fewer Calabar swellings (odds ratio [OR] = 0.12), more eye worm (OR = 3.4), more microfilaremia (OR = 3.5), lower filarial antibody levels, and lower eosinophil counts (P 3,000 microfilariae/mL and all those with an elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) (≥ 5 mg/L) before treatment had reactions (P = 0.10 and P = 0.01, respectively). These data suggest that monotherapy with DEC may not be the optimal treatment for patients with loiasis, particularly for those with a high microfilarial load

Imaging of 3D tissue-engineered models of oral cancer using 890 and 1300 nm optical coherence tomography

© 2015, Nizhny Novgorod State Medical Academy. All rights reserved. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) generates its primary form of contrast from elastic backscatter. It is now the gold standard technique for retinal screening and is emerging rapidly in cardiovascular research however it remains a research goal to establish it to the same degree in epithelial cancer detection and diagnosis. In this report we compare two different OCT systems: an 890 nm spectrometer-based OCT system with 2.5 µm axial resolution and a 1300 nm swept-source OCT system with 7.5 µm axial resolution to determine the effect of these different OCT parameters on the endogenous backscatter contrast of dysplastic/malignant oral mucosa models relative to normal mucosa models. Tissueengineered oral mucosa models constructed with a dysplastic cell line (DOK), a malignant cell line (Cal27) and normal cell were imaged with both of these OCT platforms and comparisons made with regard to apparent epithelial thickness and the visibility of the epithelium relative to the underlying stroma. For the Cal27’s, hematoxylin and eosin staining confirmed the formation of a keratinized layer superficial to a thickened layer of viable cells on top of the stroma. The keratinized layer presented as a hyperreflective thickened layer superficial to a darker region on both OCT platforms. The keratinized layer caused a steep fall in signal at 890 nm, making it difficult to visualise underlying structures, whereas 1300 nm OCT clearly visualized both the epithelial cells and the stroma lying beneath. For the DOK cells, hematoxylin and eosin staining confirmed the formation of an epithelial layer frequently presenting an abnormal morphology especially at the epidermal/stromal junction, with features such as infiltrating, bulbous rete pegs. These were more clearly visualized under 890 nm OCT. These observations show that 890 nm OCT retains some of its known advantages of higher contrast between anatomical tissue layers when used to observe dysplastic and malignant 3D oral mucosa constructs. However 1300 nm OCT is confirmed to possess a greater ability to image the full thickness of the model epithelia and in particular it is more suited to imaging through the keratinized layer

Remarks on J. H. Nketia’s Funeral Dirges of the Akan People

J. H. Kwabena Nketiah’s Funeral Dirges of the Akan People (1955) is undoubtedly one of the classics among studies devoted to African oral poetry. However, it has received little comment and continues to be inaccessible to students and teachers of oral literature. The purpose of this essay is to introduce the monograph and its subject to college students and lecturers. For purposes of classification, we put the poems in the class of elegies and justify this in the first part of the essay. The second part explores some of the features of the verse form. The final part discusses the theme of life, growth and procreation in the family and the choice of imagery in expressing it

A Logistic Regression Analysis of Life Satisfaction amongst African Immigrants in Hamilton, Canada

Many minority immigrants currently face severe human rights violation through discrimination and racism, influencing how they rate their life satisfaction in their host destinations. This paper examines the factors that affect African immigrants’ life satisfaction in a mid-sized Canadian city. Using a combination of descriptive and multivariate methods applied on a sample survey (n=236) conducted in Hamilton, Ontario, this article investigates socio-demographic and health-related factors that predict life satisfaction amongst African immigrants, specifically, Ghanaians and Somalis. Findings suggest that Ghanaian immigrants reported greater life satisfaction than their Somali counterparts. People with residency in Canada over 10 years are more likely to report higher life satisfaction than those with length of residence from zero to ten years. Older individuals (i.e., age 25-54) are more likely to express higher life satisfaction compared to younger individuals (i.e., 18-24). The findings indicate that socio-demographic conditions matter for immigrants’ life satisfactio

Neighbourhood characteristics and the labour market experience: A qualitative analysis of the second generation Ghanaian-Canadians in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)

Neighbourhood characteristics pose challenge in labour market participation for immigrants and their children in many immigrants receiving countries, including Canada. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods on labour market participation amongst the second generation youth. Grounded in focus groups and in-depth interviews, our analysis underscores the importance of understanding neighbourhood characteristics and implication on labour market participation amongst the second generation Ghanaian-Canadians in the Greater Toronto Area, specifically, Jane-Finch and Brampton. Our findings reveal several areas where neighbourhood characteristics impact on labour market participation of the second generation youth: neighbourhood’s reputation, inefficient transit system and inadequate jobs in neigbourhoods. Based on our findings, we offer recommendations that may be of interest to decision-makers in government, social services and health agencies in urban centres.des Caractéristiques du voisinage présentent des défis liés à la participation au marché du travail pour les immigrants et leurs enfants dans de nombreux immigrants Pays d’accueil, y compris le Canada. Le but de cette étude était d’étudier l’effet de vivant dans les quartiers défavorisés sur la participation au marché du travail parmi les jeunes de deuxième génération. Ancré dans les groupes de discussion et des entrevues en profondeur, notre analyse montre bien l’importance de bien comprendre les caractéristiques du voisinage et l’incidence sur la participation au marché du travail parmi les Ghanaian-Canadians de deuxième génération dans la région du Grand Toronto, plus précisément, Jane-Finch et Brampton. Nos résultats révèlent plusieurs domaines où Neighborhood caractéristiques influeront sur la participation au marché du travail des jeunes de deuxième génération : la réputation du voisinage, l’inefficacité et l’insuffisance transit system emplois dans un voisinage. Sur la base de nos résultats, nous offrons des recommandations qui peuvent être d’intérêt pour les décideurs du gouvernement, les services sociaux et les organismes de santé dans les centres urbains