Soil and water bioengineering: practice and research needs for reconciling natural hazard control and ecological restoration

Soil and water bioengineering is a technology that encourages scientists and practitioners to combine their knowledge and skills in the management of ecosystems with a common goal to maximize benefits to both man and the natural environment. It involves techniques that use plants as living building materials, for: (i) natural hazard control (e.g., soil erosion, torrential floods and landslides) and (ii) ecological restoration or nature-based re-introduction of species on degraded lands, river embankments, and disturbed environments. For a bioengineering project to be successful, engineers are required to highlight all the potential benefits and ecosystem services by documenting the technical, ecological, economic and social values. The novel approaches used by bioengineers raise questions for researchers and necessitate innovation from practitioners to design bioengineering concepts and techniques. Our objective in this paper, therefore, is to highlight the practice and research needs in soil and water bioengineering for reconciling natural hazard control and ecological restoration. Firstly, we review the definition and development of bioengineering technology, while stressing issues concerning the design, implementation, and monitoring of bioengineering actions. Secondly, we highlight the need to reconcile natural hazard control and ecological restoration by posing novel practice and research questions

Investing in life saving vaccines to guarantee life of future generations in Africa

AbstractThe World Health Organization’s Regional Offices for Africa and for the Eastern Mediterranean in conjunction with the African Union and the Government of Ethiopia hosted a ministerial conference on immunization in Africa from 24 to 25 February 2016 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia under the theme “towards universal immunization coverage as a cornerstone for health and development in Africa”. The conference brought together African leaders – including health and finance ministers, and parliamentarians thus creating a powerful platform for governments to demonstrate their commitment to advancing universal access to immunization on the continent in line with the Global Vaccine Action Plan. The event also brought together advocates, technical experts, policymakers, partner agencies, donors and journalists to examine how best to drive forward immunization across Africa, ensuring every child has access to the vaccines they need. Key points highlighted throughout conference were: universal access to immunization is at the forefront of enabling Africa to reach its full potential – by improving health, driving economic growth and empowering future generations; it is one of the most cost-effective solutions in global health, with clear benefits for health and development; and immunization brings economic benefits too, reducing health care costs and increasing productivity. At the close of the conference, 46 African countries signed a historic ministerial declaration on “Universal Access to Immunization as a Cornerstone for Health and Development in Africa” signaling fierce determination among African leaders to secure the health and prosperity of their societies through immunization

Risk factors for the spread of vaccine-derived type 2 polioviruses after global withdrawal of trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine and the effects of outbreak responses with monovalent vaccine: a retrospective analysis of surveillance data for 51 countries in Africa

BACKGROUND: Expanding outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived type 2 poliovirus (cVDPV2) across Africa after the global withdrawal of trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) in 2016 are delaying global polio eradication. We aimed to assess the effect of outbreak response campaigns with monovalent type 2 OPV (mOPV2) and the addition of inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) to routine immunisation. METHODS: We used vaccination history data from children under 5 years old with non-polio acute flaccid paralysis from a routine surveillance database (the Polio Information System) and setting-specific OPV immunogenicity data from the literature to estimate OPV-induced and IPV-induced population immunity against type 2 poliomyelitis between Jan 1, 2015, and June 30, 2020, for 51 countries in Africa. We investigated risk factors for reported cVDPV2 poliomyelitis including population immunity, outbreak response activities, and correlates of poliovirus transmission using logistic regression. We used the model to estimate cVDPV2 risk for each 6-month period between Jan 1, 2016, and June 30, 2020, with different numbers of mOPV2 campaigns and compared the timing and location of actual mOPV2 campaigns and the number of mOPV2 campaigns required to reduce cVDPV2 risk to low levels. FINDINGS: Type 2 OPV immunity among children under 5 years declined from a median of 87% (IQR 81-93) in January-June, 2016 to 14% (9-37) in January-June, 2020. Type 2 immunity from IPV among children under 5 years increased from 3% (<1-6%) in January-June, 2016 to 35% (24-47) in January-June, 2020. The probability of cVDPV2 poliomyelitis among children under 5 years was negatively correlated with OPV-induced and IPV-induced immunity and mOPV2 campaigns (adjusted odds ratio: OPV 0·68 [95% CrI 0·60-0·76], IPV 0·82 [0·68-0·99] per 10% absolute increase in estimated population immunity, mOPV2 0·30 [0·20-0·44] per campaign). Vaccination campaigns in response to cVDPV2 outbreaks have been smaller and slower than our model shows would be necessary to reduce risk to low levels, covering only 11% of children under 5 years who are predicted to be at risk within 6 months and only 56% within 12 months. INTERPRETATION: Our findings suggest that as mucosal immunity declines, larger or faster responses with vaccination campaigns using type 2-containing OPV will be required to stop cVDPV2 transmission. IPV-induced immunity also has an important role in reducing the burden of cVDPV2 poliomyelitis in Africa. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Medical Research Council Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, and WHO. TRANSLATION: For the French translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section

Testing of decision making tools for village land use planning and natural resources management in Kilimanjaro region

Research articleThis paper focuses on participatory testing of decision making tools (DMTs) at village level to assist in development of land use plans (LUPs) for sustainable land management (SLM) in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania. Data were collected using conditional surveys through key informant interviews with the project’s district stakeholders in each district, focused group discussions with selected villagers and participatory mapping of natural resources. Soil health, land degradation, carbon stock, and hydrological conditions were assessed in the seven pilot villages in all seven districts using DMTs as part of testing and validation. Results indicated soils of poor to medium health, and land degradation as portrayed by gullies and wind erosion in lowlands and better in uplands. Carbon and forest disturbance status could not be assessed using one-year data but hydrological analysis revealed that water resources were relatively good in uplands and poor in the lowlands. Challenges with regard to land use include increased gully erosion, decreased stream flow, reduced vegetation cover due to shifting from coffee with tree sheds to annual crops farming, cultivation near water sources, and overgrazing. Empowering the community with decision making tools at village level is essential to ensure that village land uses are planned in a participatory manner for sustainable land and natural resources management in Kilimanjaro and other regions in Tanzania.SAWAFO projec

Testing of decision making tools for village land use planning and natural resources management in Kilimanjaro region

Research articleThis paper focuses on participatory testing of decision making tools (DMTs) at village level to assist in development of land use plans (LUPs) for sustainable land management (SLM) in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania. Data were collected using conditional surveys through key informant interviews with the project’s district stakeholders in each district, focused group discussions with selected villagers and participatory mapping of natural resources. Soil health, land degradation, carbon stock, and hydrological conditions were assessed in the seven pilot villages in all seven districts using DMTs as part of testing and validation. Results indicated soils of poor to medium health, and land degradation as portrayed by gullies and wind erosion in lowlands and better in uplands. Carbon and forest disturbance status could not be assessed using one-year data but hydrological analysis revealed that water resources were relatively good in uplands and poor in the lowlands. Challenges with regard to land use include increased gully erosion, decreased stream flow, reduced vegetation cover due to shifting from coffee with tree sheds to annual crops farming, cultivation near water sources, and overgrazing. Empowering the community with decision making tools at village level is essential to ensure that village land uses are planned in a participatory manner for sustainable land and natural resources management in Kilimanjaro and other regions in Tanzania.SAWAFO projec

Evolving epidemiology of poliovirus serotype 2 following withdrawal of the serotype 2 oral poliovirus vaccine

Although there have been no cases of serotype 2 wild poliovirus for more than 20 years, transmission of serotype 2 vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV2) and associated paralytic cases in several continents represent a threat to eradication. The withdrawal of the serotype 2 component of oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV2) was implemented in April 2016 to stop VDPV2 emergence and secure eradication of all serotype 2 poliovirus. Globally, children born after this date have limited immunity to prevent transmission. Using a statistical model, we estimated the emergence date and source of VDPV2s detected between May 2016 and November 2019. Outbreak response campaigns with monovalent OPV2 are the only available method to induce immunity to prevent transmission. Yet our analysis shows that using monovalent OPV2 is generating more paralytic VDPV2 outbreaks with the potential for establishing endemic transmission. A novel OPV2, for which two candidates are currently in clinical trials, is urgently required, together with a contingency strategy if this vaccine does not materialize or perform as anticipated