Search Results (793)

Although organizational resilience is well established, refining the systematic quantitative evaluation of health systems resilience (HSR) remains an ongoing opportunity for advancement. Research either focuses on individual HSR indicators, such as social welfare policy, public expenditure, health insurance, healthcare quality, and technology, or broadly examines socio-economic factors, highlighting the need for a more comprehensive methodological approach. This study employed the Slacks-Based Measure (SBM) within Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to analyze efficiency by maximizing outputs. It systematically examined key HSR factors across countries, providing insights for improved policymaking and resource allocation. Taking a five-year (2016–2020) dataset that covered 55 to 56 countries and evaluating 17 indicators across governance, health systems, and economic aspects, the paper presents that all sixteen top-ranked countries with a perfect efficiency score of 1 belonged to the high-income group, with ten in Europe, highlighting regional HSR differences. This paper concludes that adequate economic resources form the foundation of HSR and ensure stability and sustained progress. A properly supported healthcare workforce is essential for significantly enhancing health systems and delivering quality care. Last, effective governance and the equitable allocation of resources are crucial for fostering sustainable development and strengthening HSR. Full article

This study presents the scientific and methodological foundation of Spain’s first national framework for the ethical management of community cat populations: the Action Plan for the Management of Community Cat Colonies (PACF), launched in 2025 under the mandate of Law 7/2023. This pioneering legislation introduces a standardized, nationwide obligation for trap–neuter–return (TNR)-based management of free-roaming cats, defined as animals living freely, territorially attached, and with limited socialization toward humans. The PACF aims to support municipalities in implementing this mandate through evidence-based strategies that integrate animal welfare, biodiversity protection, and public health objectives. Using standardized data submitted by 1128 municipalities (13.9% of Spain’s total), we estimated a baseline population of 1.81 million community cats distributed across 125,000 colonies. These data were stratified by municipal population size and applied to national census figures to generate a model-ready demographic structure. We then implemented a stochastic simulation using Vortex software to project long-term population dynamics over a 25-year horizon. The model integrated eight demographic–environmental scenarios defined by a combination of urban–rural classification and ecological reproductive potential based on photoperiod and winter temperature. Parameters included reproductive output, mortality, sterilization coverage, abandonment and adoption rates, stochastic catastrophic events, and territorial carrying capacity. Under current sterilization rates (~20%), our projections indicate that Spain’s community cat population could surpass 5 million individuals by 2050, saturating ecological and social thresholds within a decade. In contrast, a differentiated sterilization strategy aligned with territorial reproductive intensity (50% in most areas, 60–70% in high-pressure zones) achieves population stabilization by 2030 at approximately 1.5 million cats, followed by a gradual long-term decline. This scenario prioritizes feasibility while substantially reducing reproductive output, particularly in rural and high-intensity contexts. The PACF combines stratified demographic modeling with spatial sensitivity, offering a flexible framework adaptable to local conditions. It incorporates One Health principles and introduces tools for adaptive management, including digital monitoring platforms and standardized welfare protocols. While ecological impacts were not directly assessed, the proposed demographic stabilization is designed to mitigate population-driven risks to biodiversity and public health without relying on lethal control. By integrating legal mandates, stratified modeling, and realistic intervention goals, this study outlines a replicable and scalable framework for coordinated action across administrative levels. It exemplifies how national policy can be operationalized through data-driven, territorially sensitive planning tools. The findings support the strategic deployment of TNR-based programs across diverse municipal contexts, providing a model for other countries seeking to align animal welfare policy with ecological planning under a multi-level governance perspective. Full article

Livestock, poultry, and fisheries play an important economic role in Pakistan’s animal industry. The pet industry is also emerging and contributing to the country’s economy and people’s emotional well-being. This review provides insight into the current challenges and future directions of the animal industry in Pakistan. Livestock, poultry, and fisheries provide an economically beneficial source of milk, meat, and eggs; however, they face challenges such as disease outbreaks, antimicrobial resistance, climate change, natural disasters, and a lack of proper policies. Likewise, humans benefit from companion animals that provide emotional attachment. Moreover, the pet food market has also shown potential growth, contributing to the country’s economy. Due to the close association between animals and humans, both are at risk for infectious disease transmission. Challenges such as the lack of strong animal welfare laws and the increasing number of stray dogs and cats threaten human safety and that of other animals. We highlight current problems and additional approaches to the management of livestock, poultry, fisheries, and pets, which need to be addressed to further advance the animal industry in Pakistan. Full article

Climate change mitigation Official Development Assistance (ODA) primarily aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in developing countries while also seeking to enhance human welfare as a fundamental goal of development aid. This study investigates whether climate mitigation ODA contributes to achieving the principles of the doughnut framework—staying within the ecological ceiling (mitigating GHG emissions) while meeting the social foundation (enhancing human development index, HDI). We analyzed data from 77 developing countries between 2010 and 2020, including subgroup analyses by income level (high-, middle-, and low-income groups), using an instrumental variable–fixed effect approach. The results show that climate change mitigation ODA significantly improved the HDI but had no impact on reducing overall GHG emissions, including fossil fuel-based and land use change and forestry-based mitigations. When disaggregated by income level, ODA was found to improve the HDI and reduce fossil fuel-based GHG emission in low-income countries; however, these effects weakened as income levels increased. Across all income groups, there was no significant reduction in GHG emissions resulting from land use change or forestry. These findings suggest that climate change mitigation ODA can yield a greater impact when prioritized for low-income countries and that current ODA strategies for addressing GHG emissions related to land use change and forestry should be reconsidered. Full article

On-farm emergency slaughter (OFES) is employed when cattle are unfit for transport but still suitable for human consumption, thereby ensuring animal welfare and reducing food waste. This study analysed OFES patterns in Northern Italy, where a large cattle population is housed but information on the practice is rarely analysed. A total of 12,052 OFES cases from 2021 to 2023 were analysed. Most involved female cattle (94%) from dairy farms (79%). Locomotor disorders were the leading reason (70%), particularly trauma and fractures, followed by recumbency (13%) and calving-related issues (10%). Post-mortem findings showed limbs and joints as the most frequent condemnation sites (36%), often linked to trauma. A significant reduction in OFES cases occurred over time, mainly due to fewer recumbency and calving issues, likely reflecting stricter eligibility criteria introduced in 2022. Weekly variations, with peaks on Mondays and lows on Saturdays, suggest that logistical constraints may sometimes influence OFES promptness. These findings suggest that on-farm management and animal handling could be improved further to reduce welfare risks and carcass waste. Due to the lack of standardised data collection and regulatory harmonisation, a multi-country investigation could improve our understanding of this topic and inform best practice. Full article

This article examines the relationship between human capital accumulation, household income, and shared prosperity using 2005–2018 household surveys in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda. Human capital is found to be positively and significantly correlated with household wellbeing in all five nations. Health’s indirect benefits in Cameroon, Ethiopia, and Kenya augment its direct benefits. Education has monotonic welfare benefits from primary to tertiary levels in all countries. Human capital and labour market participation are strongly associated with household wellbeing. The equalization of human capital endowments increases income for the 40% of the least well-off groups in three of the sample countries. All countries except Uganda record a decrease in human capital deprivation over the period studied. Redistribution is associated with a reduction in human capital deprivation, although less systematically than in the growth scenario. These results suggest that sizeable reductions in human capital deprivation are more likely to be accomplished by interventions that focus on boosting general human capital outcomes than those that redistribute the human capital formation inputs. In countries with declining human capital deprivation, the within-sector interventions seem to account for this success. Substantial heterogeneity in human capital poverty exists within and across countries and between rural and urban areas. Full article

Agriculture, livestock, and fisheries significantly impact socioeconomic, environmental, and health dimensions at global level, ensuring food supply for growing populations whilst promoting economic welfare through international trade, employment, and income. Considering that bilateral food exchanges between countries represent exchanges of natural resources involved in food production (i.e., food imports are equivalent to savings of natural resources), the purpose of the study is to investigate the evolution of carbon and water footprints corresponding to the global food trade networks between 1986 and 2020. The research aims to identify potential associations between carbon and water footprints embedded in food trade and countries’ economic welfare. Complex network analysis was used to map countries’ positions within annual food trade networks, and countries’ metrics within networks were used to identify connections between participation in global trade of carbon and water footprints and economic welfare. The findings of the study show an increase in carbon and water footprints linked to global food exchanges between countries during the period. Furthermore, a country’s centrality within the network was linked to economic welfare, showing that countries with higher imports of carbon and water through global food trade derive economic benefits from participating in global trade. Global efforts towards transformations of food systems should prioritize sustainable development standards to ensure continued access to healthy sustainable diets for populations worldwide. Full article

Staphylococcus aureus frequently causes intramammary infections in dairy cows (bovine mastitis), which impair animal welfare, milk yield, and food safety. This study determined the prevalence and genetic diversity of S. aureus in bulk tank milk (BTM) samples from community-based Alpine dairy pastures in Tyrol, a major milk-producing region in Austria. Throughout the 2023 Alpine season (May–September), 60.3% (94/156) of BTM samples tested positive for S. aureus at least once over the course of up to four samplings. A total of 140 isolates collected from the 94 S. aureus-positive community-based Alpine dairy pastures revealed 33 distinct spa types, with t2953 (n = 33), t529 (n = 12), t267 (n = 11), and t024 (n = 10) being the most common. Selected isolates representing the different spa types were characterised by DNA microarray-based genotyping, multi-locus sequence typing (MLST), and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Isolates with spa types associated with bovine-adapted CC8 (CC8bov/GTB) were identified as the most common subtype, being detected in BTM samples from 35.3% (55/156) of the pastures. This emphasises the high prevalence of this subtype in dairy herds across European Alpine countries. Other common bovine-associated subtypes were also detected, including CC97, CC151, and CC479. While antimicrobial resistance was rare, enterotoxin-producing genes were detected in all CC8bov-associated spa types. Overall, these findings underscore the importance of rigorous hygiene practices in dairy farming, particularly in community-based Alpine dairy pastures, where the risk of transmission is particularly high. It also emphasises the need for continued surveillance and subtyping to improve animal health, ensure food safety, and promote sustainable milk production. Full article

This article presents a new evaluation and analysis of the five censuses undertaken at the initiative of philanthropist Sir Moses Montefiore among the Jewish population of Palestine/the Land of Israel between 1839 and 1875. The main purpose of the censuses was to ascertain the composition and needs of a generally poor Jewish population in order to better provide to its welfare. The information collected concerned basic demographic characteristics, countries of origin—namely along the main divide of Ashkenazi and Sephardi/Mizrahi Jews—and periods of immigration, social composition, and religiosity. By combining the different censuses into an integrated database, the authors are able to show changes intervening over time not only regarding the aggregate population, but also concerning individual and household profiles. The data aggregation allows us to better understanding the material conditions of the Jewish population and to outline with greater accuracy the relationship between socio-cultural communities and socio-economic stratification. The analysis unveiled the patterns of Jewish immigration all along the surveyed period and its variations by size and by countries of origin. These data provide important evidence concerning the overall Jewish presence in the Land of Israel and demonstrate that immigration was a significant factor well before the formal beginning of Aliyah in the early 1880s. No such analysis of the whole set of Montefiore censuses had been performed previously. The findings will prove very useful to historians and social scientists in their further investigation of the area and its populations in the 19th century. Full article

The European Union’s (EU) Common Agricultural Policy aims to promote sustainable farming practices that ensure the responsible use of natural resources, safeguard biodiversity, and uphold higher animal welfare standards. One pathway to achieving these objectives is through the encouragement of extensive farming. However, the dairy sector in EU countries as well as in Lithuania has shown a clear trend toward intensification. The aim of this study was to assess the technical efficiency (TE) of dairy farms employing extensive and intensive technologies. TE was evaluated using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) combined with meta-frontier analysis, which accounts for technological heterogeneity. Prior to the efficiency estimation, farms were grouped into two distinct categories—intensive and extensive—using the k-means clustering algorithm. The empirical results show that extensive dairy farms in Lithuania are smaller in land area and livestock units, rely more on internal resources, and exhibit lower productivity compared to intensive farms. Intensive farms achieved higher technical efficiency, narrower technological gaps, and more optimal scale efficiency, indicating superior resource management. The weaker performance of extensive farms is attributed to both less advanced technologies and production inefficiencies. Full article

Sustainable development remains a crucial global priority. Despite significant progress at both the policy and technical levels, disparities in urban development and the absence of a comprehensive evaluation framework impede practical outcomes in China. While previous research has established the value of multidimensional frameworks and international indices for assessing urban sustainability, existing studies often lack the integration of local dynamics and rely on linear methods that cannot fully capture the complex, nonlinear changes in Chinese cities. This study proposes a four-dimensional indicator system and employs the catastrophe progression method to evaluate sustainable development levels. This study used ten years of panel data (2012–2022) from eight representative Chinese cities and normalized and analyzed 38 sub-indicators to derive membership values for each city and dimension. The findings reveal substantial disparities in sustainable development across the cities, with notable improvements in environmental indicators but persistent volatility in social welfare and resource efficiency. Technological innovation and education resource allocation emerge as management priorities for most cities. This methodological innovation fills a critical gap, offering a replicable framework for other developing countries and supporting the localization of global sustainability agendas. The study’s findings directly inform policy, advancing the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Full article

Economic growth can bring material prosperity and improvements in public services to a country yet can simultaneously lead to environmental pollution that threatens population health, which has important implications for shaping macro-level policies. Here, we investigate the relationship between economic growth and mortality attributable to air pollution in China from 2002 to 2021, using data analyzed with Stata 18 software. We identify a counterintuitive U-shaped relationship between the two, with the coefficient of the primary term for economic growth at −1.222 and the quadratic term at −0.053, both statistically significant at the 1% level. The inflection point, with accounting for control variables, is calculated to be 99,708 yuan (CNY) per person. These results withstand different empirical testing. We then perform heterogeneity analyses at the city level and find that disparities in social, economic, and physical geographical conditions lead to an unequal mortality burden that persists. Economic growth may have negative impacts on population health after crossing a certain threshold, although the effects vary across different regions. Our findings reveal that the benefits of economic growth may not “trickle down” to improve population health. Policymakers cannot take economic growth as an intrinsic good that would inevitably lead to better population health. Greater emphasis should be placed on egalitarian welfare systems, investments in environmental improvements, and other life-supporting priorities, as these measures could mitigate the negative health impacts of economic growth and promote a virtuous cycle between the economy and population health. Full article

Guide dogs are essential in supporting the autonomy of blind and visually impaired individuals. Austria is the first country to implement a legally mandated, two-stage certification protocol for the official recognition of guide dogs, assessed by an independent authority. The first stage includes two evaluation phases: the dog guides its familiar trainer (Phase 1) and then an unfamiliar blind tester (Phase 2). While Phase 2 ensures an objective assessment of guiding performance, it may also introduce stress due to the unfamiliar handler and separation from the trainer that could impact welfare and behaviour. This study aimed to evaluate whether Phase 2 of the Austrian evaluation protocol elicits higher stress than Phase 1 in guide dogs and, hence, needs to be refined in this regard by comparing physiological and behavioural responses between the two test phases. Fourteen guide dogs were assessed during real evaluations. Salivary cortisol was collected before the evaluation day and at several time points on the evaluation day (before and after each phase). Behavioural responses were coded from video recordings of the first 5 and 15 min of each phase, including stress-related behaviours, task-related performance behaviours, and handler behaviours. Cortisol levels did not differ significantly between the phases. Dogs turned around significantly more often in Phase 2, potentially seeking reassurance, but showed a non-significant trend toward fewer stress-related behaviours. Verbal praise occurred more frequently with the unfamiliar tester. These findings suggest that the current evaluation protocol does not induce substantial physiological or behavioural stress when dogs are guided by an unfamiliar tester, supporting its continued use as a welfare-conscious and objective certification approach that could also potentially serve as a model for other countries. Full article

Violence against people with albinism (PWAs) in Tanzania continues nearly two decades after mass media reported the first incidents in the mid-2000s. The violence is linked to organ trafficking for use in “magical rituals” that allegedly help politicians and businesspeople to succeed in their endeavors. Over time, as societal awareness grows, the attacks become increasingly clandestine and complex. PWAs themselves, the public, and gray literature frequently relate the violence to the increased political and economic activity and participation following Tanzania’s adoption of political and economic liberalization. However, scholarly research is either silent or mentions the occult practices only in passing. This paper, therefore, explores Tanzania’s institutional arrangements both driving the violence and crippling the efforts at promoting the rights and welfare of PWAs in the wake of increasing political and economic participation in the country. It discusses the ways in which violence against PWAs has evolved alongside political and economic dynamics from the time such incidents came to public attention until the present. I argue that the current approach, whereby advocacy about the rights of PWAs relies on appeasing the state, appears to perpetuate the very beliefs and practices driving the violence. The exploration makes use of first-hand experience through my participation in numerous formal and informal interactions with PWAs, internal and external meetings within the Tanzania Albinism Society (TAS), interviews, and gray literature on the subject. Full article

Accurate population counts and the identification of granularity within aggregated groups are essential for informing funding formulas and health policies, an issue of global significance. Relying solely on aggregated ethnicity-based population counts has limited utility for ethnic minority groups. Accurate and relevant population counts are critical for monitoring and improving outcomes related to health, social welfare, and education. This paper examines additional dimensions of identity to provide a revised estimate of the total population count for Peoples of Fiji (PF) living in Aotearoa. Customised data tables from the Census of Population and Dwellings, provided by Statistics New Zealand, were analysed using ethnicity and additional recorded characteristics, such as country of birth, and parents’ ethnicity, to obtain more accurate counts for the major ethnic groups from Fiji living in Aotearoa. Our analysis revealed that almost 50,000 Fijian Indians were misclassified. Utilizing additional variables, we estimate the revised count for the Fijian Indian ethnic group alone exceeds 70,000 and the PF total count exceeds 2% of Aotearoa’s current population. We highlight significant variations in ethnicity coding for PF and their implications for health monitoring and risk assessment, data quality, and interpretation. We make key recommendations to improve granular reporting for minority migrant groups in Aotearoa. Full article