Japan International Cooperation Agency

About: Japan International Cooperation Agency is a government organization based out in Tokyo, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Public health. The organization has 555 authors who have published 613 publications receiving 9536 citations.

Factors influencing the performance of community health workers in Kisumu West, Kenya.

Abstract: BACKGROUND Community Health Workers (CHWs) play a key role in the functioning of Primary Health Care. However, little research on the performance of CHWs has been conducted in Kenya. This study aims to describe their performance and to determine which factors most impacted the performance of CHWs in Kenya. METHODS A total of 750 CHWs were identified as potential subjects. However, appropriate data were submitted by 172 CHWs because of rejection and loss of their reporting status. Data on CHWs were collected through questionnaires, and information about their performance was gathered from their supervisors. RESULTS Approximately 60% of the CHWs were active. CHWs over 40 years of age were likely to display good performance in their job (P < 0.001). In addition, the performance of CHWs was influenced by training partners (P < 0.03). CONCLUSION Older CHWs were likely to perform well. Furthermore, their performance was influenced by their training partners.

Unraveling the process and meaning of problem-based learning experiences

Abstract: This paper investigates the process and meaning of problem-based learning (PBL) that students may experience. The Project Cycle Management method was taught and utilised as an instrument of PBL at a Japanese women’s college over a period of 5 years. The study closely examined what and how students learned in PBL from the perspectives of cognitive, social, and internal aspects. Despite the relative ignorance about the internal aspect of learners in previous research, the results of the study revealed that the internal aspect is inseparably linked with the other two aspects, and the three of them simultaneously undergo their own changes in the PBL process. That is, meaningful learning experiences seem to be no less importantly affected by the feelings or internal aspect of learners than by cognitive and social counterparts. Then, beyond knowledge building and skill acquirement, PBL may have contributed to broadening learners’ perspectives and promoting their personal development. In this regard, PBL can be defined anew, from an angle different from that of previous research, as learning that can generate rich and varied emotions in learners concurrently as they face problems, enable them to acquire subject matter knowledge and relational skills through dialogue, and eventually guide them to the threshold of personal transformation.

Vector control intervention towards interruption of transmission of Chagas disease by Rhodnius prolixus, main vector in Guatemala

Abstract: In Guatemala, the Ministry of Health (MoH) began a vector control project with Japanese cooperation in 2000 to reduce the risk of Chagas disease infection. Rhodnius prolixus is one of the principal vectors and is targeted for elimination. The control method consisted of extensive residual insecticide spraying campaigns, followed by community-based surveillance with selective respraying. Interventions in nine endemic departments identified 317 villages with R. prolixus of 4,417 villages surveyed. Two cycles of residual insecticide spraying covered over 98% of the houses in the identified villages. Fourteen villages reinfestated were all resprayed. Between 2000-2003 and 2008, the number of infested villages decreased from 317 to two and the house infestation rate reduced from 0.86% to 0.0036%. Seroprevalence rates in 2004-2005, when compared with an earlier study in 1998, showed a significant decline from 5.3% to 1.3% among schoolchildren in endemic areas. The total operational cost was US$ 921,815, where the cost ratio between preparatory, attack and surveillance phases was approximately 2:12:1. In 2008, Guatemala was certified for interruption of Chagas disease transmission by R. prolixus. What facilitated the process was existing knowledge in vector control and notable commitment by the MoH, as well as political, managerial and technical support by external stakeholders.

Community structure and short temporal stability of a rockpool fish assemblage at Yaku-shima Island, southern Japan, northwestern Pacific

Abstract: The present study investigated species richness, relative abundance, and short temporal variability of rockpool fish communities on the southwestern coast of Yaku-shima Island, northwestern Pacific. In total, 2,850 fish (total biomass approximately 3,400 g) representing 17 families and 54 species were collected from 16 rockpools from May 2009 to February 2010. Gobiidae (12 species), Blenniidae (10), Pomacentridae (6), and Labridae (5) were the dominant families; Blenniidae was the most abundant family (57.1 % of the total number of fish), followed by Gobiidae (30.1 %), Tripterygiidae (5.3 %), Labridae (3.2 %), and Pomacentridae (2.4 %). The Blenniidae accounted for more than 80.0 % of the community biomass. This dominance of Blenniidae and Gobiidae in the community reflects their diversity in the western Pacific and ability to adapt to rocky intertidal habitats. The mean density and species richness of rockpool fish decreased significantly in winter. This is attributed to a decrease in recruitment of transient and accidental visitor species into the rockpool environments, which in turn was due to a significant decline in water temperature in winter. However, mean diversity index (Simpson’s D) did not vary significantly across the seasons, because over 80.0 % of the total number of individuals in each season was from six common species (three blenniids, two gobiids, and a tripterygiid). It can be concluded that the community composition is generally stable over short time-scales. The biogeographic composition of this assemblage was compared with those of two other sites (cited from two past studies) in southern Japanese waters. These other sites were mostly composed of warm temperate species, with regard to the number of species and individuals, while tropical species were predominant in the assemblage at the southwestern coast of Yaku-shima Island. This result suggests that the warm Kuroshio Current has more influence on the Yaku-shima Island coastal fauna than it does on those of the other sites in southern Japanese waters.

Typical symptoms of citrus greening on mandarin trees in nepal, supported by detection and characterization of ribosomal dna of the causal organisms

Abstract: Citrus greening disease caused by greening organisms (GOs; Liberobacter spp.) is one of the most destructive diseases of citrus in Nepal and Thailand. The 16S rDNA fragments of the GOs were detected by PCR in leaves showing one of the seven typical symptoms: mottling (type I), chlorosis with green netlike veins (type II), severe chlorosis with green main veins (type III), pale green on young leaves (type IV), vein yellowing (type V), vein corking (type VI) and yellow blotching (type VII). Leaves were collected from GO-infected ‘Suntala’ mandarin trees in Nepal. Sequence analysis of the 16S rDNA fragments and the 16S/23S intergenic spacer regions of Nepalese and Thai isolates of GOs indicated that these isolates were closely related to Indian and Chinese isolates of L. asiaticum. Symptom types III, V and VI were considered to be optimum for PCR diagnosis because of the high amount of GO DNA amplified. The accuracy of diagnosis by the naked eye can be improved by observing as many leaves as possible with all seven typical symptoms of greening on the same mandarin tree. Symptom types III, V and VII may be common to mandarin and sweet orange, because these symptoms are very similar to those reported on sweet orange in South Africa.