In Burkina Faso, street food vendors are key in ensuring food safety in urban markets, particularly within the poultry value chain. The sale of high-risk ready-to-eat chicken by these vendors poses ...substantial health hazards, emphasizing the urgency for capacity-building to enhance food safety practices. This study evaluated the effect of a participatory interactive three-day training program coupled with tool supply on self-reported and observed behavior, and knowledge, attitudes, and cognitions of vendors of ready-to-eat chicken meat in Ouagadougou's informal markets. A two-armed RCT was conducted, including pre- and post-training vendor surveys, along with direct outlet observations. Total sample size comprised 162 vendors, with 72 in the treatment group and 90 in the control group. Self-reported behavior - measured on a five-point scale - significantly improved in the treatment group including higher frequency of mask wearing (1.8 ± 0.8 vs 2.5 ± 1.2, p < 0.001) and inspecting nail hygiene (4.3 ± 0.8 vs. 4.7 ± 0.6, p < 0.001). Treatment outlets improved on securing adequate evisceration platforms (1.3 ± 0.6 vs. 1.0 ± 0.5, p = 0.054), regular carcass water renewal (61.8% vs. 36.4%, p = 0.038), and handwashing during carcass management (1.1 ± 0.5 vs. 0.9 ± 0.3, p = 0.008). Better adherence to handwashing (1.1 ± 0.4 vs. 0.9 ± 0.3, p = 0.051), fork use (58.9% vs. 41.8%, p = 0.029), proper handwashing facilities (38.4% vs. 20.9%, p = 0.014), and waste management (64.4% vs. 37.8%, p < 0.001) were observed in treatment outlets. Trained vendors scored significantly higher than controls on knowledge (effect size 0.75, p < 0.001). Vendors rated the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, trust in materials/tools - measured on a five-point scale - as high, and perceived mean increased daily profits (21,242 FCFA) and number of customers (8.3) following training. In conclusion, training combined with a tool package proved effective in fostering significant food safety behavior changes, underscoring its substantial impact beyond just knowledge enhancement. For lasting behavior changes, ongoing training and support, an enabling environment, and strong incentives that prioritize vendor food safety behaviors in informal markets are crucial.
•Impact of a food safety training and tool package for chicken vendors in Ouagadougou.•A two-arm RCT combined surveys with observations with measurements 6 months apart.•Training and tools improved and enabled self-reported and observed behavior.•Trainings significantly raised vendors' food safety knowledge.•Perceived benefits of training included increased profits and number of customers.
Soil erosion is recognized as one main reason for soil degradation in West Africa. However, predictions on the impact of climate change on soil erosion are rare for most West African countries ...including Burkina Faso.
This study assesses the impact of climate change on water resources and soil erosion in a small catchment (126km2) in southwestern Burkina Faso. Climate data from an ensemble of six regional (RCM) and global (GCM) climate models were used to run the physically based spatially distributed hydrological and soil erosion model SHETRAN. The Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5 were selected as future climate scenarios.
Bias corrected precipitation and temperature required for the calculation of potential evapotranspiration were used as input for the SHETRAN model to simulate total discharge and specific suspended sediment yield (SSY). Discharge and SSY from simulations run with climate data were able to reproduce discharge and SSY from a simulation that used observed precipitation and temperature from the historical period (1971–2000).
The impact of climate change on hydrology and soil erosion was assessed by comparing the historical period with the future climate scenarios (2021–2050). Most of the used climate models predict an increase of temperature between 0.9°C and 2.0°C. The bias correction did not alter the climate change signal of temperature. Large uncertainties among the RCMs-GCMs exist regarding the climate change signal of future precipitation. Some climate models predict an increased (5.9%–36.5%) others a decreased (6.4%–10.9%) or mixed signal. The applied bias correction did not reverse the climate change signal in most cases but it influenced magnitude and timing of precipitation. The ensemble mean suggests an increased discharge between 19.5% (RCP 8.5) and 36.5% (RCP4.5) and an increased SSY of the same order. In general, the climate change signal and the corresponding discharge and SSY predictions are afflicted with large uncertainties. These uncertainties impede direct conclusions regarding future development of discharge and erosion. As a consequence of the mixed signals, potential increase and decrease of future discharge and soil erosion have to be incorporated in climate change adaption strategies.
•Bias correction is necessary to enable realistic simulations of discharge and soil erosion.•Almost all climate models predict an increase in temperature.•The future precipitation signal is not consistent.•Three climate models predict an increased discharge and SSY.
Anemia and suboptimal gestational weight gain (GWG) are associated with adverse maternal and birth outcomes. Limited research indicates that balanced energy-protein (BEP) supplements reduce the ...incidence of inadequate GWG.
We assessed the efficacy of a micronutrient-fortified BEP supplement on the secondary outcomes of anemia, GWG, GWG rate, and GWG in relation to the Institute of Medicine (IOM)’s recommendations, as compared with an iron–folic acid (IFA) tablet.
We conducted a randomized controlled trial in Burkina Faso, among pregnant women (15–40 y old) enrolled at <21 weeks of gestation. Women received either BEP and IFA (intervention) or IFA (control). Hemoglobin (g/dL) concentrations were measured at baseline and the third antenatal care visit (ANC), whereas maternal weight was measured at baseline and all subsequent ∼7-weekly ANCs. GWG (kg) was calculated as a woman’s last weight measurement (at ∼36 weeks of gestation) minus weight at enrollment, whereas GWG rate (kg/wk) was GWG divided by the time between the first and last weight measurements. GWG adequacy (%) was computed as GWG divided by the IOM’s recommendation. Binary outcomes included severely inadequate, inadequate, and excessive GWG. Statistical analyses followed the intention-to-treat principle. Linear regression and probability models were fitted for the continuous and binary outcomes, respectively, adjusting for baseline measurements.
Women in the BEP group tended to have higher, but nonsignificantly different, GWG (0.28 kg; 95% CI: −0.05, 0.58 kg; P = 0.099). Furthermore, there were no significant differences in prenatal anemia prevalence, GWG rate, GWG adequacy, or incidence of inadequate or excessive GWG. Findings were robust to model adjustments and complete case and per protocol analyses.
This trial does not provide evidence that fortified BEP supplementation reduces maternal anemia or increases GWG, as compared with IFA. In conjunction with the small, but positive, effects of maternal BEP supplementation on birth outcomes, our findings warrant the investigation of additional biochemical and postnatal outcomes. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03533712.
Objective
To study the contribution of blood transfusion management in the improvement of maternal and perinatal outcomes in pregnant women with sickle cell disease in Ouagadougou.
Methods
A ...cross‐sectional retrospective study with data collected from February 2012 to January 2014 was used. Patients were differentiated into three groups: patients with at least one exchange transfusion, patients who received blood transfusion, and patients who did not receive any transfusion. Data were collected from patients’ patient care documents.
Results
One hundred and sixty‐four patients were included, of whom 53 were in the first group, 32 in the second group, and 79 in the third group. Maternal complications in the last trimester of pregnancy were significantly less important (P=0.000) in the first group (58.5%) than in the second (78.5%) and third group (91.1%). The same trend was observed for postpartum maternal mortality (5.7%; 12.5%; 12.6%; P=0.009). Fetal complications such as preterm birth and early neonatal death were lower in the first group (15.1%; 1.8%) than in the second (40.6%; 23.1%) and third group (32.9%; 7.6%).
Conclusion
Prophylactic blood transfusion is an important part of the management of pregnant patients with sickle cell disease.
Prophylactic blood transfusion is essential in the management of pregnant women with sickle cell disease. It is important that transfusion is targeted but not systematic.
► A new geotectonic model of juvenile crust formation and evolution during the Eburnean orogeny (∼2.2–2.0
Ga). ► Three principal deformation events (D1–D3) can be distinguished in the study area. ► ...Deformation mechanism changed from D1 pure shear dominated compression, to D2 simple shear dominated transpression. ► Regional scale system geometry controlled by coaxial shortening of stiffer volcanic units and coeval magma input. ► The last D3 N–S compression is either late-Eburnean or perhaps even Pan-African.
We have investigated three greenstone belts (Boromo, Houndé, and Banfora) and associated granitoid terrains, which form part of the Eburnean orogen, situated in western Burkina Faso. These belts expose tholeiitic basalts (basal unit) followed by calc-alkaline intermediate predominantly effusive volcanic and sedimentary suites geochemically reminiscent of present-day volcanic island arc environments. The basal mafic unit probably corresponds to a juvenile arc crust or oceanic plateau. It contains unusual megacrystic tholeiitic basalts, allowing us to correlate the western margin of the Boromo belt with the eastern margin of the Houndé belt. These two N–S trending belt-parallel tholeiitic units are interpreted as limbs of a crustal scale anticline, intruded and partially obliterated by tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite (TTG) and granite intrusions.
Three deformation events (D1–D3) can be distinguished in western Burkina Faso. The first deformation phase (D1) operated under an E–W to WNW-oriented compression. Regional greenschist to lower amphibolite facies metamorphism and intense folding characterize early-Eburnean deformation phases, during which time the crust was thickened by lateral shortening of volcanic island arcs and concomitant magma input. The crustal-scale antiform between the Boromo and Houndé belts is attributed to the D1 event. Shallow water detrital Tarkwaian-type sediments were deposited during the late D1 event within the Houndé belt, in a belt-parallel basin extending for 400
km. The subsequent D2 phase overprints the structural grain of the study area, and is best visible in airborne magnetic data. It is characterized by N to NE-trending transcurrent shear zones, which are considered preferred host structures for gold mineralization. We suggest that the newly formed and thickened crust reached the maximum thickness supportable by a weak and hot mantle during the D1 phase, and the pure shear dominated compressional regime switched to simple shear dominated transpression during the subsequent D2 phase. Granitoid diapirism played an important role at all stages of the Eburnean crustal growth processes in particular through early volume addition to the newly formed orogen and through later accommodating part of the lateral shortening. Pluton emplacement contributed to the greenstone belt structuration at local scales; however, the regional scale system geometry was controlled by coaxial shortening of the viscous volcanic units (basalts, gabbros, and andesites) of the greenstone belts, supported by coeval magma input.
The last D3 deformation, which is either late-Eburnean or perhaps even Pan-African in age, is characterized by shallow N or S dipping minor thrust faults or an E-W trending steeply dipping spaced crenulation cleavage and kink folds, occurring mainly in highly anisotropic lithologies across the study region.
Spodoptera frugiperda is an exotic Lepidoptera that causes enormous damage to cereal crops worldwide. The study was conducted at a research station in western Burkina Faso during two consecutive ...rainy seasons in 2020 and 2021. The objective of this work was to estimate crop damage and yield losses by S. frugiperda. Each scenario was tested according to a split-plot design with four randomized replicates. The main plots were the varieties and the secondary plots the levels of insecticide treatments. Three varieties of each cereal crop were tested and the insecticide Lambda-cyhalothrin (15 g/l) + Acetamiprid (10 g) was used in three levels of protection: no insecticide application, 4 insecticide applications and 6 insecticide applications. The results showed that the highest average infestation rate was recorded on maize (50.27% of the plants attacked), followed by sorghum (38.61%) and millet (33.19%) in 2020. In 2021, these rates were 41.38%, 26.80% and 26.38% for maize, sorghum and millet, respectively. The average damage score on the Davis scale associated with maize cobs was 2.13 in 2020 in control plots, 1.74 in plots receiving 4 times the insecticide and 1.54 in those receiving 6 times the insecticide. In 2021, the same trend was observed. S. frugiperda infestation on grain of the three crops studied were only recorded on maize, leading to yield losses of around 22.19% in 2020 and 22.18% in 2021.
These results may help technical and political decision-makers in the management policy of S. frugiperda, in Burkina Faso.
•Maize is the main host plant of Spodoptera frugiperda in Burkina Faso.•As a result, losses due to the insect pest are 2–3 times higher on maize than on other cereals.•These results may help decision-makers in the management policy of Spodoptera frugiperda in Burina Faso.
In an epidemic, individuals can widely differ in the way they spread the infection depending on their age or on the number of days they have been infected for. In the absence of pharmaceutical ...interventions such as a vaccine or treatment, non-pharmaceutical interventions (e.g. physical or social distancing) are essential to mitigate the pandemic. We develop an original approach to identify the optimal age-stratified control strategy to implement as a function of the time since the onset of the epidemic. This is based on a model with a double continuous structure in terms of host age and time since infection. By applying optimal control theory to this model, we identify a solution that minimizes deaths and costs associated with the implementation of the control strategy itself. We also implement this strategy for three countries with contrasted age distributions (Burkina-Faso, France, and Vietnam). Overall, the optimal strategy varies throughout the epidemic, with a more intense control early on, and depending on host age, with a stronger control for the older population, except in the scenario where the cost associated with the control is low. In the latter scenario, we find strong differences across countries because the control extends to the younger population for France and Vietnam 2 to 3 months after the onset of the epidemic, but not for Burkina Faso. Finally, we show that the optimal control strategy strongly outperforms a constant uniform control exerted over the whole population or over its younger fraction. This improved understanding of the effect of age-based control interventions opens new perspectives for the field, especially for age-based contact tracing.
Reduction of natural vegetation cover in the savannah of West Africa constitutes a pressing environmental concern that may lead to soil degradation. With the aim to assess the degradation of natural ...vegetation in the savannah of Burkina Faso, this study combined NDVI trends and fractional Land Use/Cover Change (LULCC). Fractional LULCC maps, derived from the aggregation of a 30 m Landsat LULCC map (1999–2011) to 250 m resolution of MODIS, were used to assess natural vegetation conversions in the small-scale spatial patterns of savannah landscapes. Mann-Kendall's monotonic trend test was applied to 250 m MODIS NDVI time series (2000–2011) to assess modifications of natural vegetation cover. Finally, the Spearman's correlation was employed to determine the relationship of natural vegetation degradation with environmental factors. The study revealed a vast conversion of natural vegetation into agriculture (15.9%) and non-vegetated area (1.8%) between 1999 and 2011. Significant decreasing NDVI trends (p < .05) indicated negative modifications of natural vegetation (2000–2011 period) occurring along the protected areas borders and in fragmented landscapes characterized by disruption of continuity in natural vegetation. Spearman's correlation showed that accessibility, climatic and topographic conditions favored natural vegetation degradation. The results can enable the development of efficient land degradation policies.
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•The study area experienced vast conversion of natural vegetation into agriculture and non-vegetated area.•In the period 2000-2011 significant negative modifications affected natural vegetation cover.•Accessibility, climatic and topographic conditions favored natural vegetation degradation in the study area.
Nutrition-sensitive programs in low- and middle-income countries often aim to improve child nutrition outcomes in part by empowering women. Although previous studies have found cross-sectional ...associations linking women's empowerment and child nutritional status, there is limited empirical evidence supporting the hypothesis that empowering women as part of an intervention will, in turn, improve child nutritional outcomes. We tested this hypothesis using two waves of data from a cluster-randomized controlled trial of a nutrition-sensitive agricultural program in Burkina Faso. With structural equation models, we examined whether four domains of women's empowerment—purchasing decisions, healthcare decisions, family planning decisions, and spousal communication—mediated the program's impact on reducing wasting and increasing hemoglobin among children who were three to 12 months old at the start of the two-year program. We found that improvements in women's empowerment in the domains of spousal communication, purchasing decisions, healthcare decisions, and family planning decisions contributed to the program's impact on reducing wasting with the largest share being attributable to spousal communication. Improvements in women's empowerment did not contribute to the increase in hemoglobin. These findings provide the first evidence from a randomized controlled trial that women's empowerment is a pathway by which a nutrition-sensitive program can improve child wasting. Programs that aim to improve child nutritional status should incorporate interventions designed to empower women.
•A nutrition- and gender-sensitive agriculture program was evaluated in Burkina Faso.•The program reduced child wasting and improved women's empowerment (WE).•Reductions in child wasting were partially mediated by improvements in WE.•This is the first experimental evidence that increasing WE improves child nutrition.•Programs to reduce wasting can be more effective if they also target WE.
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