Spatial exploration of non-resilience to food insecurity, its association with COVID-19 and household coping strategies in East Gojjam districts, Northwest Ethiopia, 2020.

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has posed a significant multifaceted threat to the global community. Ethiopia, as a Sub-Saharan African country, is suffering from chronic food insecurity, and the emergence of such a pandemic will exacerbate the situation. As a result, this study investigated the spatial variation of non-resilience to food insecurity, its relationship with COVID-19, and household coping strategies to become resilient in the long run among households in the East Gojjam Zone of Northwest Ethiopia. From September 22 to December 24, 2020, an agro-ecological-based cross-sectional study of 3532 households was conducted to assess the spatial distribution and associated factors of non-resilience to household food insecurity. The enumeration areas (EAs) and households were chosen using a multistage sampling technique. Data were gathered using a semi-structured questionnaire and checklist using an Android device loaded with an Open Data Kit (ODK) template. Binary logistic regression was used to identify the specific factors associated with household non-resilience to food insecurity. A thematic analysis was conducted to investigate the opportunities and challenges of resilience for household food insecurity. Nearly two-thirds (62.5%) of the households were farmers, 67.9% lived in rural areas, and nearly three-quarters (73.8%) earned less than or equal to ETB 2100 per month. Males headed more than four-fifths of the households (81.7%). We found that nearly two-thirds of the households (60.02%), 95% CI 58.40, 61.64) were food insecure. After bivariate logistic regression, we found that households who were divorced (AOR = 2.54 (1.65, 3.87)), daily laborers (AOR = 2.37 (1.15, 4.87)), government employees (AOR = 2.06 (1.05, 4.05)), residents of highland and hot areas (AOR = 11.5 (5.37, 16.77)) and lowland areas (AOR = 1.35 (1.02, 3.15)) were frustrated by COVID-19 (AOR = 1.23 (1.02, 1.50)) and price inflation (1.89 (AOR = 1.42, 2.56))) were at higher odds of being non-resilient to household food insecurity at a 95% confidence level. Geospatial hot spot analysis revealed that Kurar kebele (the lowest government administrative unit) in Dejen District and Debre Markos town were the red-hotspot areas of household non-resilience to food insecurity. Less than a quarter of the households attempted to cope with food insecurity by adjusting their food consumption, while more than 60% of the households chose none of the coping strategies tested. According to the thematic analysis, the degree of poverty (lack of asset ownership), the COVID-19 pandemic, farm decreased variety, and low crop productivity were identified as challenges to coping with the hardship of resilience to food insecurity. During the COVID-19 pandemic and public emergency, the proportion of households that were unprepared for food insecurity reached its peak. It was recognized that a segment of the population with low economic capacity was more vulnerable to food insecurity and less resilient. Tough developmental gains will be undermined in this case. As a result, each responsible body and stakeholder should develop and implement solid corrective plans for the local context.

Prevalence of Neonatal Sepsis in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Neonatal sepsis is a systemic infection occurring in infants during the first 4 weeks of life and is a major cause of mortality and morbidities of newborns due to their age-related weak and immature immune systems. In Ethiopia, despite many studies being conducted on neonatal sepsis, the reported findings are inconsistent. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of neonatal sepsis to enhance the utility and interpretation of the evidence. METHODS: An extensive systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to extract studies on the prevalence of neonatal sepsis in Ethiopia. The PubMed, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were systematically searched. Two independent authors selected and extracted the data from each included article. The heterogeneity of included studies was assessed using the Higgins I 2 test, and a random-effects model was performed in Stata/se Version 14. RESULTS: Eighteen studies with a sample size of 10,495 study subjects were included with a reported range of neonatal sepsis from 17% to 78%. The pooled prevalence of neonatal sepsis was 45% (95% CI: 35, 55; I 2 = 99.3%, p < 0.01). Early onset neonatal sepsis was found to have a prevalence of 75.4% (95% CI: 68.3, 82.6). Subgroup analysis in the study area (i.e., by region) was calculated revealing the highest neonatal sepsis in Amhara region at 64.4% (95% CI: 44.9, 84.0) and the lowest in Southern Nations, Nationality, and People at 28% (95% CI: 16, 40). CONCLUSION: In this review, the prevalence of neonatal sepsis in Ethiopia was found to be high, especially in terms of early onset neonatal sepsis. As a result of the findings, it is important to consider the early and optimal points for interventions to better manage the prevalence and outcomes of neonatal sepsis. Further research is needed to investigate the neonatal sepsis status at different regions and associated factors for neonatal sepsis not yet studied.