Search Results (2,419)

Buildings in Lagos require mechanical cooling year-round, with air conditioning accounting for up to 80% of residential electricity consumption. Despite this, the Nigerian Building Code (NB 485:2017) still references 1990s thermal design data, creating a growing mismatch between design assumptions and actual thermal conditions. Compounding background warming and an intensifying urban heat island have widened this gap considerably, yet no study has linked long-term cooling demand trends to quantified engineering design shortfalls for any Nigerian city. This study presents a 35-year cooling degree day (CDD) trend analysis for Lagos (1990–2024), derived from 12,784 daily temperature records at four engineering base temperatures (22 °C, 23.3 °C, 26 °C, and 28 °C) respectively. Trends are detected using the Mann–Kendall test with Trend-Free Pre-Whitening and Sen’s slope as the magnitude estimator. Significantly increasing CDD trends are confirmed at three base temperatures, with a Sen’s slope of +4.55 °C·days yr⁻¹ at the primary design reference of 23.3 °C (p < 0.01). Structural break analysis identifies 2015 as the transition into a persistently above-baseline thermal regime, with mean CDD in the most recent sub-period exceeding the 1990–2001 design baseline by up to 50% at higher base temperatures. The detected trends are translated into three engineering gap analyses: required envelope U-value trajectories, an HVAC capacity undersizing index, and annual thermal cycling frequency as a structural fatigue proxy. Results show that the dominant uninsulated sandcrete typology fails ASHRAE 90.1-2019 Zone 1A prescriptive limits throughout the study horizon, installed HVAC systems are already operating in the engineering caution zone, and façade fatigue loading has intensified markedly since 2015. To the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to couple a statistically robust long-period CDD record for Lagos with code-referenced design gap figures, providing a replicable framework for climate-adaptive building code revision across similar hot–humid climates in sub-Saharan Africa. Full article

Background: HIV-HBV co-infection remains a major public health challenge, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. HBV co-infection worsens clinical outcomes among people living with HIV by accelerating liver disease and complicating treatment. Although antiretroviral therapy can effectively suppress both viruses, achieving optimal HIV viral suppression remains critical for reducing morbidity and transmission. While several factors influencing viral suppression among PLHIV are well documented, evidence on HIV viral suppression among HIV-HBV co-infected individuals is limited, especially in resource-limited settings like Ethiopia. Furthermore, data on the magnitude of viral suppression and its associated factors in this population are scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the magnitude of HIV viral suppression and identify its associated factors among adult HIV-HBV co-infected patients in Northwest Ethiopia. Objective: This study aimed to assess the magnitude and factors associated with HIV viral suppression among adult people living with HIV-HBV Co-infection in Northwest Ethiopia. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Northwest Ethiopia among adults with HIV-HBV co-infection on antiretroviral therapy. A simple random sample of 402 participants was selected. Data were collected using a pretested structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and medical record review, covering sociodemographic, clinical, behavioral, treatment, follow-up, and adherence factors. HIV viral suppression was defined as a plasma viral load < 1000 copies/mL. Data were coded in EpiData 4.6 and analyzed using STATA 18. Descriptive statistics estimated suppression rates. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression identified factors associated with suppression; variables with p < 0.25 in bivariable analysis were included in the multivariable model. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05 with adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals reported. Model fit was assessed using the Hosmer–Lemeshow test, and multicollinearity was checked using variance inflation factors. Results: There were 423 participants in all. Among the 423 HIV-HBV co-infected adults on antiretroviral therapy included in this study, 138 (34, CI, 30–39%) achieved HIV viral suppression, while 264 (66%) had an unsuppressed viral load at the time of assessment. Viral suppression was found to be independently correlated with the ART TDF-3TC-LPV/r regimen, first-line medication adherence, bedridden functional level, missed clinic appointments, and length of therapy. While TDF-3TC-LPV/r usage (AOR 2.34; 95% CI: 1.40–3.90) and longer treatment duration (AOR 2.09; 95% CI: 1.30–3.34) were advantageous, good adherence significantly improved the likelihood of suppression (AOR 5.54; 95% CI: 3.27–9.38). Missed appointments and a bedridden state decreased the likelihood of suppression. Conclusions: HIV viral suppression was achieved in only 34% of participants. Adherence, ART regimen, treatment duration, functional status, and retention in care were significant predictors. Strengthening adherence support, patient retention, optimized ART regimens, routine viral load monitoring, and targeted care for high-risk patients could improve treatment outcomes and help Ethiopia achieve UNAIDS viral suppression targets. Full article

In protracted humanitarian crises, solid waste management (SWM) becomes a major challenge due to limited resources, inadequate infrastructure, and competing response priorities. Waste generated in humanitarian settings typically consist of heterogeneous streams, where plastics, biodegradable fractions, and packaging materials represent the dominant components. Proper management of this waste is essential to reduce health risks and environmental impacts on local communities. Within this framework, sustainable bio-based alternatives and compostable solutions represent promising alternatives. The EU-funded Bio4HUMAN project promotes the integration of innovative bio-based solutions aligned with humanitarian and sustainability goals. An exploratory assessment focused on analyzing waste production, material composition, and handling practices in two case study locations in Sub-Saharan Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan (SS)). The results indicate that humanitarian waste cannot be clearly distinguished from household or commercial waste, as streams are typically mixed. Waste composition is dominated by organic matter (43–65%), followed by plastics (15–33%), while other fractions such as paper, glass, metals, and textiles are less significant. Further insights into challenges and opportunities were obtained through a combination of quantitative surveys (n = 29), qualitative interviews with key informants (KIIs) (44) and group discussions sessions (FDG) (9), direct observations, and literature review. Subsequently, a scoping approach was applied to map and classify suitable sustainable solutions into two main categories: bio-based products (BBPs) and organic waste valorization technologies. These were assessed through life cycle assessment (LCA) in accordance with ISO 14040 and 14044, applying SimaPro v.10.2.0.3 software and the Ecoinvent 3.10 database, and compared against fossil-based alternatives. This study compares two case scenarios: a HDPE oil bottle versus PLA alternative (functional unit 6 L), and PE water container versus PLA alternative (functional unit 10 L). For the oil bottle, PLA shows a lower carbon footprint (1.33 kg CO₂-eq) than HDPE (2.37 kg CO₂-eq). In contrast, for the water container, PLA performs worse (2.22 kg CO₂-eq) compared to PE (1.59 kg CO₂-eq), due to higher material demand. The results suggest that benefits are context-dependent and most evident for lightweight products with high leakage risks, particularly when composting infrastructure is accessible. This study advances previous work on humanitarian SWM by integrating field-based waste flow characterization with context-specific screening and life cycle assessment of bio-based alternatives, providing quantitative evidence on the conditions under which these solutions can effectively reduce environmental burdens in protracted crisis settings. Full article

Cassava is a critical staple crop for food security and rural livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa, yet high-resolution maps of its distribution remain scarce, particularly for smallholder systems. In this study, we generated a 10 m resolution cassava presence map for Uganda (CM24) by fine-tuning a Random Forest classifier on TESSERA foundation model embeddings derived from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 time series. Using field survey data from the Copernicus4GEOGLAM campaign for training and validation, the model achieved excellent discriminative ability (validation AUC = 0.9532, test AUC = 0.9524). Visual validation against high-resolution satellite imagery confirmed good spatial agreement, capturing both large contiguous fields and small fragmented plots. Comparison with two existing global products (CassavaMap and SPAM2020) and two seasons of national survey data conducted by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics showed that CM24 produced national harvested area estimates that fell between the two survey totals, whereas CassavaMap and SPAM2020 systematically overestimated harvested area by factors of two to three. Our results demonstrate that foundation-model embeddings offer a robust and scalable approach for mapping cassava in heterogeneous smallholder landscapes. The resulting CM24 map provides a spatially explicit tool to support disease surveillance, agricultural monitoring, and food security planning in Uganda and beyond. Full article

Global economic policy uncertainty has emerged as a significant challenge for developing regions, with Sub-Saharan Africa particularly vulnerable due to its fragile economies and social systems that rely on external support. This study examines the effect of global economic policy uncertainty on social sustainability and how this relationship is moderated by governance effectiveness and natural resource rents. These relationships were examined using 27 years of panel data from 45 Sub-Saharan African countries, spanning 1997 to 2023. The Augmented Mean Group (AMG), Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (CCMG), and the two-step difference Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimators are advanced methods for analyzing data and estimating relationships among variables. The study found that global economic policy uncertainty had a significant negative effect on social sustainability. Furthermore, the study revealed that governance effectiveness and natural resource rents positively and significantly moderate the relationship between global economic policy uncertainty and social sustainability. These findings have significant implications for policy and governance, highlighting the critical need for governments, especially in developing and resource-dependent regions, to strengthen institutional capacity and fiscal frameworks in order to manage the adverse effects of global economic policy uncertainty. They underscore the importance of developing responsive, transparent, and accountable governance structures that can effectively allocate resources toward social priorities even during periods of external economic volatility. Full article

Road infrastructure accounts for a substantial and systematically under-reported fraction of construction-related embodied carbon globally. Despite rapid network expansion across sub-Saharan Africa, no peer-reviewed study identified in the databases searched has established a quantified embodied-carbon baseline for Ghanaian road construction, creating a notable gap in national carbon accounting and low-carbon procurement policy. This study addresses that gap through two integrated components: a PRISMA 2020-guided systematic review of road-LCA and embodied-carbon literature, and a first-pass scenario model for Ghanaian low-volume paved roads (LVRs) bounded at A1–A3 (cradle-to-gate). Database searches of Scopus and Web of Science (14 March 2026) returned 3193 records; following deduplication and two-stage screening, 574 studies were included in the review. A staged harmonisation procedure converted 211 benchmark-shortlisted studies to comparable units, yielding a harmonisation subset of 29 studies and a final benchmark pool of 10 studies expressed as kgCO₂e per lane-kilometre (3.5 m lane width). The scenario model applies emission factors from the ICE Database (Educational V4.1, 2025) to three pavement configurations drawn from the Ghana Manual for Low Volume Roads (Parts B and D), all surfaced with double bituminous surface treatment (DBST); Otta seal is evaluated as a sensitivity case. Results show A1–A3 embodied carbon of 14,165 kgCO₂e/lane-km for Scenarios S1 and S3 (SC2/TLC 0.01 and SC4/TLC 1.0, respectively) and 12,564 kgCO₂e/lane-km for Scenario S2 (SC3/TLC 0.3). Bituminous binder accounts for 30–34% of A1–A3 emissions despite representing less than 1% of pavement mass, identifying binder supply as the primary carbon lever. The two most structurally comparable benchmark studies, chip-seal treatments in the USA, bracket the Ghana values at 12,687–16,400 kgCO₂e/lane-km, providing external plausibility validation. To the best of our knowledge, this study delivers a peer-reviewed, reproducible A1–A3 (cradle-to-gate) carbon baseline for Ghanaian LVR construction, a PRISMA-compliant synthesis of road embodied-carbon evidence, and a documented framework for early-stage carbon benchmarking in West African road infrastructure planning. Full article

In sub-Saharan Africa, the sustainability of smallholder farming systems is threatened by climate change. Women farmers are often disproportionately affected. These disproportionate impacts are linked to gender-based inequities like limited decision-making power and resource constraints, which limit women’s adaptive capacity. Previous research has examined inequities in agriculture generally, as well as women farmers’ adaptation to climate change. However, relatively few studies have explicitly focused on the experiences of women who are the primary farmers. Intersectional research is also limited. This paper presents the results of a scoping review to identify how climate change affects women smallholder farmers and how they adapt. The review identified 41 studies between 2014 and 2024. The most frequently identified vulnerability factors were access to credit, social and cultural norms, and land issues (e.g., tenure issues). Few studies took an explicitly intersectional approach. The findings suggest the need for support that targets the challenges faced by women smallholders. More intersectional research is needed to examine how gendered impacts are shaped by other forms of inequality and inhibit sustainable livelihood options. The review revealed a pervasive patriarchal assumption in which dual-headed households are often described as “male-headed”. Revising such discourses can support women’s adaptive agency in the face of future climate challenges. These findings have direct implications for the sustainability of smallholder farming systems and rural livelihoods in the region, emphasizing the need for gender-responsive approaches to sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa. Full article

Tungiasis is a cutaneous ectoparasitosis caused by the penetration of gravid female Tunga penetrans fleas into the epidermis. Although endemic in tropical and subtropical regions, it remains rare in Europe, where most cases are travel-associated and secondary household transmission is seldom documented. This study describes imported tungiasis in Greece and investigates possible secondary household transmission in a non-endemic setting. Seven Greek men residing in Attica developed tungiasis following occupational exposure in Tanzania, together with one secondary case in a non-travelling household contact who had never travelled outside Greece. Diagnosis was based on clinical and dermoscopic findings and confirmed by amplification and sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene. Household investigations were also performed. Eight male patients presented with painful plantar and/or subungual nodular lesions. Sequence analysis of COI demonstrated 657/662 bp (99%) identity with the Tunga penetrans reference sequence, and identical sequences were identified in all samples. A representative sequence was deposited in GenBank (accession no. PZ336383). All patients exhibited mild-to-moderate elevations of hepatocellular and cholestatic liver enzymes, which resolved within two weeks following treatment. One probable secondary household case was identified, and no infestation was detected among additional cohabitants or companion animals. This report documents imported tungiasis with probable secondary household transmission in Greece and highlights the importance of clinical awareness and environmental assessment in non-endemic settings. Full article

Rural electrification in Sub-Saharan Africa faces a trilemma: cutting carbon emissions, making it economically viable, and achieving fair access to energy for all. This paper develops a multi-objective framework that optimises carbon revenue, net present value (NPV), total energy supply, cooking fuel (firewood and LPG), health costs, and benefit to society. The model uses continuous decision variables: daily energy allocation among four sources (solar, generator, firewood, LPG) to three population groups (men, women, children). The case study is a rural community of 7000 people in Nigeria (Tier 1 energy consumers). Six policy scenarios are considered: baseline, high carbon price, low carbon price, microfinance, government subsidy and community cooperative. This study compared algorithms and identified a hybrid Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm and Particle Swarm Optimisation II as the most suitable algorithm for solving the formulated optimisation problem. It was found that NPV and unit cost of energy would increase to $175,500 and 26.4 ¢/kWh, respectively, by increasing the price of carbon from $8/ton to $12/ton. Firewood generates health savings and carbon revenue in the range of $4100–$12,270/year. Prices below $8/ton do not induce optimal reconfigurations in the system. The best energy supply (2825 kWh/day) and the lowest unsatisfied demand occur in the government subsidy scenario with the greatest disparity index, displaying an equity-efficiency trade-off. The framework shows that sustainable access to energy can be unlocked using strategic integration of carbon finance, valuation of health benefits and equity constraints. Full article

Floods remain among the most devastating natural disasters globally, disproportionately impacting low-resource regions where real-time flood forecasting is constrained by limited computational infrastructure and the scarcity of fine-resolution predictive models. Although state-of-the-art global climate models achieve high predictive accuracy, their scale and computational complexity restrict their applicability in localized and resource-constrained settings. This study proposes a deep climate model distillation framework that transfers knowledge from a high-capacity Fourier Neural Operator (FNO)-based global climate model inspired by FourCastNet into lightweight, regionally adaptive student networks suitable for edge deployment. The framework combines climate variables, satellite observations, and hydrological measurements to improve localized flood prediction. Knowledge transfer is achieved through a multi-objective distillation strategy that combines supervised learning, soft-target alignment, and intermediate feature matching. Experimental evaluation across multiple flood-prone regions in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia shows that the distilled student model achieves an average classification accuracy of 0.89, an AUC of 0.91, and an F1-score of 0.88, retaining approximately 96.7% of the teacher model’s predictive performance. In continuous discharge estimation, the model attains a mean absolute error of 0.17, RMSE of 0.24, and an R² score of 0.85. The proposed distillation approach yields an 8× reduction in inference latency and over a 20× reduction in model size, enabling real-time execution on low-power edge devices such as the Raspberry Pi 4 and NVIDIA Jetson Nano. The student model further demonstrates robust regional and temporal generalization, with limited performance degradation in unseen geographic areas and during extreme flood years. Full article

Reliable air pollution monitoring remains a major challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), limiting the assessment of population exposure and the development of effective mitigation strategies. Recent advances in low-cost (LC) sensors offer promising opportunities, but their deployment in low-infrastructure settings still faces significant technical and logistical challenges. This study presents the experience gained from deploying LC sensor networks in Burkina Faso, Niger, and the Republic of Guinea, focusing on the practical challenges of installing and maintaining these systems under demanding conditions. In Burkina Faso, an LC station was co-located with a reference-grade instrument, enabling field calibration. In Niger, factory-calibrated LC sensors were deployed across urban, semi-urban, and rural settings, while in Guinea they were installed in a remote area. Several practical issues and challenges emerged, including unstable power supplies, limited internet connectivity, safety, and logistical constraints. Careful planning and involvement of local expertise proved essential for the long-term sustainability of LC sensors. Knowledge transfer to local partners supported ongoing maintenance and strengthened data ownership. Overall, this study demonstrated that the reliability of LC air quality networks in SSA depends not only on technology, but also on adaptive strategies, robust calibration, and strong local engagement, offering practical guidance for future scalable and sustainable implementations in resource-limited settings. Full article

O’nyong-nyong virus (ONNV) is a mosquito-borne alphavirus responsible for large-scale epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa. As the closest evolutionary relative of Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), ONNV shares substantial genetic similarity and overlapping clinical manifestations with CHIKV. Mechanistic understanding of ONNV infection has therefore largely been extrapolated from CHIKV rather than directly established. However, ONNV exhibits distinct biological features, including predominant transmission by Anopheles mosquitoes and a clinical presentation characterized by prominent lymphadenopathy with limited acute joint edema. These distinctions underscore the need for an integrated synthesis of experimentally validated determinants of ONNV infection. In this review, we summarize current evidence on molecular and immunological factors regulating ONNV infection in mammalian hosts and mosquito vectors. We first discuss species-specific viral clearance, host dependency factors, intrinsic antiviral restriction mechanisms, protective innate immunity, inflammatory pathology, and mechanism-informed therapeutic strategies in mammalian hosts. We then examine stage-specific immune regulation in Anopheles mosquitoes, emphasizing mechanisms that constrain viral replication while permitting persistent infection and transmission. Finally, we discuss nsP3-dependent vector specificity and the potential contribution of alternative mosquito species to ONNV ecology. Together, this review provides an integrated framework for understanding how host factors, immune responses, and vector-specific adaptations shape ONNV infection, pathogenesis, and transmission. Full article

Endemic human coronaviruses (HCoVs) are important contributors to respiratory infections, yet genomic data from sub-Saharan Africa remain limited. We analyzed 13,530 nasopharyngeal samples collected through the national influenza sentinel surveillance network in Côte d’Ivoire between 2022 and 2024 to characterize the circulation and genomic diversity of endemic HCoVs. A subset of 52 RT-qPCR-positive samples with Ct values ≤ 28 was selected for targeted hybrid-capture sequencing using the Twist Bioscience Respiratory Virus Research Panel. Genome recovery metrics were available for 28 samples, including HCoV-NL63 (n = 9), HCoV-229E (n = 8), HCoV-OC43 (n = 9), and HCoV-HKU1 (n = 2). Endemic HCoVs circulated throughout the study period, with temporal variation across species and increased detections during several rainy-season months. No co-presence of multiple endemic HCoV species was identified in the final analytical dataset. Genome recovery differed by species, with broader and more consistent coverage for HCoV-OC43 and HCoV-NL63 than for HCoV-229E and HCoV-HKU1. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all recovered HCoV-229E genomes clustered within genotype L6 and all recovered HCoV-HKU1 genomes within genotype A, whereas HCoV-OC43 and HCoV-NL63 were distributed across multiple genotypes among recovered genomes. To our knowledge, these findings provide the first genomic data on endemic HCoVs from Côte d’Ivoire and support the feasibility and further targeted integration of targeted hybrid-capture sequencing into routine genomic surveillance of respiratory viruses. Full article

Across sub-Saharan Africa, Deaf congregants often remain excluded from worship, leadership, and theological formation because church practices privilege spoken communication and underinvest in sign-language access. This article develops a hearing-mediated, contextual artificial intelligence (AI) theology of disability for the African church through qualitative document analysis of the published literature on disability, Ubuntu, African ecclesiology, and emerging AI accessibility tools. This article does not report primary empirical data, but offers a conceptual synthesis requiring Deaf-led validation. Using the Contextual Disability Paradigm and Ubuntu philosophy as interpretive lenses, the article argues that AI can expand access through offline-first translation and captioning tools, but it can also weaken embodied, cross-ability relationship if technology becomes a substitute for relational labour, sign-language learning, and Deaf leadership. The article’s central contribution is the concept of the efficiency-relationality paradox: the more efficiently AI removes communicative barriers, the less incentive may remain for embodied mutuality. Because the analysis is based entirely on secondary sources and includes no Deaf-produced materials, the findings are provisional and structurally limited. The article concludes that any credible AI theology of disability in Africa must be offline-first, data-just, denominationally adaptable, and directed toward Deaf-led co-research and co-theology. Full article

In sub-Saharan Africa, where approximately 75% of newborns with sickle cell disease (SCD) are born, under-five mortality remains high, partly due to the absence of newborn screening (NBS) and delayed linkage to comprehensive care. We conducted a prospective, quasi-experimental study involving two sequential newborn screening cohorts at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano, Nigeria (December 2022–December 2025), to evaluate the feasibility of integrating newborn screening (NBS) with early comprehensive SCD care and to identify barriers to enrollment before 3 months of age. Following an initial implementation period with suboptimal follow-up, a structured family-centered enrollment and communication strategy was introduced to improve early linkage to comprehensive care. During the pre-intervention period, 277 newborns were enrolled (33 with SCD and 244 without SCD [NSCD]), with early enrollment (≤3 months) occurring in 46.5% overall, higher among SCD than NSCD infants (72.8% vs. 43.0%). Delayed enrollment (>6 months) was more frequent among SCD infants. Following the implementation of family-centered communication strategies, 60 additional newborns were enrolled (16 SCD, 44 NSCD), and early enrollment increased to 91.7%. These findings demonstrate that low-cost, family-centered communication and tracking strategies can substantially improve early linkage to comprehensive SCD care following newborn screening in low-resource settings. Early enrollment is a critical step toward reducing morbidity and mortality among children with SCD in low-resource settings. Full article