ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Aflatoxins are various poisonous carcinogens and mutagens produced by Aspergillus species. Exposure to aflatoxins during pregnancy results in adverse birth outcomes. This meta-analysis was carried out to determine the estimates of how much aflatoxin is harmful to the pregnancy and its outcome, including birthweight, birth length, low birthweight (LBW), small for gestational age (SGA), stunting, poverty, food insecurity, income, pesticides and stillbirth, in an African context. METHODS: Both published and unpublished studies in Africa were searched on MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase, SCOPUS, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Stata version 18.2 software was used for cleaning and analysis. The prevalence with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was estimated using the random effects model and a forest plot was used to present the findings. In addition, the heterogeneity of the study was assessed using Cochrane I2 statistics and publication bias was assessed using Egger's intercept and funnel plot. RESULTS: This review included 28 studies with a total of 6283 pregnant women and newborns. The analysis showed the overall level of exposure to aflatoxins was 64% (95% CI 48 to 78, τ2=0.66, I2=99.34%, p=0.001). In the subgroup analysis by publication year, the highest level of exposure to aflatoxins (82% [95% CI 69 to 92]) was observed among studies published from 2020 to 2023. This study also found that exposure to aflatoxins during pregnancy had an association with prematurity, LBW, SGA and stillbirth. CONCLUSIONS: The data analysed in this study indicated that three of every five pregnant women had exposure to aflatoxins in Africa. Moreover, pregnant women exposed to aflatoxins had a higher likelihood of having a LBW and SGA newborn. Thus governments and all stakeholders should initiate policies that mitigate the toxicity of aflatoxins in pregnant women, foetuses and newborns.
ABSTRACT
This data article is a result of research conducted by a multidisciplinary team of researchers with the aim of analyzing agroecological transition and performance of agroecology in Ethiopia. It was conducted in four districts of Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's (SNNP) regional states - Fedis district (East Hararghe Zone) and Miesso district (West Hararghe Zone) from the Oromia region, and Kindo Koysha district (Wolaita Zone) and Meskan district (Gurage Zone) of SNNP region. The rationale behind generating this dataset lies on the fact that there is scanty empirical evidence on the multidimensional performance of agroecology in the country. Available evidence only provides data on limited indicators of sustainability. Hence, there is a lack of comprehensive data on the economic, environmental and social indicators of sustainability and agroecological transition in the context of smallholder farming systems in the country. To fill this gap, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) commissioned a consultancy project that employed the Tool for Agroecological Performance Evaluation (TAPE) to assess several dimensions and indicators of agroecological transitions and generate globally comparable data. A random sample of 619 farms were selected from 12 Kebeles (i.e., the lowest administrative unit), and trained enumerators gathered primary data based on a modified TAPE questionnaire using Kobo Toolbox. Participation of smallholders was on a voluntary basis and informed consent was obtained from the respondents. The survey questionnaire contained information on basic socio-economic and demographic characteristics, access to services and infrastructure, livelihood and Income-Generating Activities (IGAs), social and ecological indicators. Data on the 10 elements of agroecology was also collected. The collected data were entered into a STATA software, cleaned and analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. The outputs were summarized in Tables, Charts and Graphs. Since the data contained in this data article are disaggregated by study district, categories of agroecological transition, production typology and land size groups, this can foster the promotion of specific projects and programs that can address expressed needs of smallholder farmers. It can also facilitate agro-ecological based implementation of development interventions to encourage agroecological transition, sustainable development and food systems. The dataset can also enable researchers, practitioners and other decision-makers to make comparative analysis on the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainability. The analyzed data is provided in this data article. The raw data used to prepare figures is provided as a supplementary material. A copy of the questionnaire, raw dataset, and description of variables are available online on Mendeley Data.
ABSTRACT
Agriculture, and particularly livestock and animal source foods, has been closely linked to improvements in human nutrition. Production, income, and women's empowerment improve household food security and child nutritional outcomes in interacting ways. Khat production in Eastern Ethiopia is changing the economic and livelihood landscape for communities that have traditionally relied upon small-scale mixed agriculture and livestock production. How this shifting livelihood landscape and the empowerment of women in these communities are affecting nutritional outcomes has not been investigated. Using cross-sectional data collected during formative research for the Campylobacter Genomics and Environmental Enteric Dysfunction (CAGED) project, we developed models to examine the roles of livelihood activities, including livestock production, staple crop production, and khat production, and women's empowerment in child nutrition outcomes. Survey participants were randomly selected mothers of children aged 10-15 months from Haramaya district, Eastern Hararghe, Oromia, Ethiopia. Nested logistic regression models were performed for each nutrition outcome: children's animal source food consumption, children's dietary diversity, and child stunting, wasting, and underweight. Explanatory variables included those for livelihood (tropical livestock unit, crop production, and khat production ladder) and women's empowerment (as indicated by domains of the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index), and covariates including child sex, mother's age, mother's education, assets, income, and kebele. Results indicated that khat production and tropical livestock units were not significantly associated with any of the child nutrition outcomes. However, results did indicate that the odds of reporting child animal source food consumption in households where the mother was empowered in the leadership domain was 3.33 times that in households where the mother wasn't (p < 0.05). In addition, the odds of having a stunted child in households where the mother was empowered in the time domain was 2.68 times that in households where the mother wasn't (p < 0.05). The results from this study both support and complicate the existing literature on the associations between women's empowerment in agriculture and child nutrition outcomes, underscoring the important role that livelihood, contextual factors, and location may have on the complex relationship between empowerment domains and nutritional outcomes.
ABSTRACT
The rationale behind generating this dataset lies on the fact that there are limited data on the status of agro-pastoral youth participation in programs, projects and development interventions by the public sector, NGOs and other stakeholders. Moreover, the relationship between youth participation in interventions and changes in their livelihoods has not been properly investigated, documented and shared. Traditionally, field-based research has focused on household heads and excluded male and female youth in many contexts. The unavailability of such data severely limited the capability of various actors to make evidence-based and informed decision. It also hampered the design and implementation of youth-focused development interventions. To this end, a survey was conducted among agro-pastoral youth residing in four Woredas of East and West Hararghe Zones of Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. A total of 398 male and female youth were randomly selected and interviewed using 12 enumerators and 5 supervisors. Participation was on a voluntary basis and informed consent was obtained from the respondents. The survey questionnaire contained information on basic socio-economic and demographic features, access to services and infrastructures, youth livelihood and income-generating activities (IGAs), and youth participation in programs, projects and development interventions, among others. The collected data were entered into a STATA software, cleaned and analysed through descriptive and inferential statistics. The outputs of the analyses were summarized in Tables, Charts and Graphs. Since the youth represent the majority of the working force in Ethiopia, they deserve a special attention. If handled properly, they can be a force for positive change. Therefore, such dataset is needed to help local level planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of youth livelihood transformation projects and programs. Since the data contained in this article are disaggregated by gender, Woreda and Zone, this can foster the promotion of specific projects and programs that can address expressed needs of male and female youth in agro-pastoral areas. It can also facilitate agro-ecological based implementation of development interventions. The dataset can also enable researchers, practitioners and other decision-makers to make comparative analysis on agro-pastoral youth employment, engagement in on-farm and non-/off-farm IGAs, determinants of youth participation in development programs and interventions, and impact of youth participation on livelihood transformation. The summarized dataset is provided in this article. A copy of the questionnaire is provided as a supplementary material.
