Makerere University

About: Makerere University is a education organization based out in Kampala, Uganda. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The organization has 7220 authors who have published 12405 publications receiving 366520 citations. The organization is also known as: Makerere University Kampala & MUK.

Indigenous climate knowledge in southern Uganda: the multiple components of a dynamic regional system

Abstract: Farmers in southern Uganda seek information to anticipate the interannual variability in the timing and amount of precipitation, a matter of great importance to them since they rely on rain-fed agriculture for food supplies and income. The four major components of their knowledge system are: (1) longstanding familiarity with the seasonal patterns of precipitation and temperature, (2) a set of local traditional climate indicators, (3) observation of meteorological events, (4) information about the progress of the seasons elsewhere in the region. We examine these components and show the connections among them. We discuss the social contexts in which this information is perceived, evaluated, discussed and applied, and we consider the cultural frameworks that support the use of this information. This system of indigenous knowledge leads farmers to participate as agents as well as consumers in programs that use modern climate science to plan for and adapt to climate variability and climate change.

Age differences in sexual partners and risk of HIV-1 infection in rural Uganda.

Abstract: Objectives: To assess whether differences in age between sexual partners affect the risk of HIV infection in female adolescents and young adults. Methods: A total of 6177 ever sexually active women aged 15 to 29 years completed a sociodemographic and sexual behavior questionnaire and provided a blood sample for HIV-1 serology. The age difference between partners was categorized as men 0 to 4 years older (referent group) 5 to 9 years older and 10 or more years older. HIV prevalence and incidence were assessed and adjusted RR was estimated by multivariate regression. Results: Prevalent HIV-1 infection in female participants increased with older male sexual partners. Among women aged 15 to 19 years the adjusted risk of HIV infection doubled (RR = 2.04; 95% CI: 1.29–3.22) among those reporting male partners 10 or more years older compared with those with male partners 0 to 4 years older; among women 20 to 24 years of age the RR was 1.24 (95% CI: 0.96–1.60). The attributable fraction (exposed) of prevalent HIV infection in women aged 15 to 24 years associated with partners 10 or more years older was 9.7% (95% CI: 5.2–14.0). HIV incidence did not increase with differences in age of partners. Conclusion: The age difference between young women and their male partners is a significant HIV risk factor suggesting that high HIV prevalence in younger women is caused in part by transmission from older male partners. (authors)

Another Continental Vulture Crisis: Africa's Vultures Collapsing toward Extinction

Abstract: Vultures provide critical ecosystem services, yet populations of many species have collapsed worldwide. We present the first estimates of a 30-year PanAfrican vulture decline, confirming that declines have occurred on a scale broadly comparable with those seen in Asia, where the ecological, economic, and human costs are already documented. Populations of eight species we assessed had declined by an average of 62%; seven had declined at a rate of 80% or more over three generations. Of these, at least six appear to qualify for uplisting to Critically Endangered. Africa’s vultures are facing a range of specific threats, the most significant of which are poisoning and trade in traditional medicines, which together accounted for 90% of reported deaths. We recommend that national governments urgently enact and enforce legislation to strictly regulate the sale and use of pesticides and poisons, to eliminate the illegal trade in vulture body parts, as food or medicine, and to minimize mortality caused by power lines and wind turbines.

Building the field of health policy and systems research: social science matters.

Abstract: The first paper in this series on building the field of Health Policy and Systems Research (HPSR) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) [1] outlined the scope and questions of the field and highlighted the key challenges and opportunities it is currently facing. This paper examines more closely one key challenge, the risk of disciplinary capture—the imposition of a particular knowledge frame on the field, privileging some questions and methodologies above others. In HPSR the risk of disciplinary capture can be seen in the current methodological critique of the field, with consequences for its status and development (especially when expressed by research leaders). The main criticisms are reported to be: that the context specificity of the research makes generalisation from its findings difficult; lack of sufficiently clear conclusions for policy makers; and questionable quality and rigour [2]. Some critique is certainly warranted and has come from HPS researchers themselves. However, this critique also reflects a clash of knowledge paradigms, between some of those with clinical, biomedical, and epidemiological backgrounds and those with social science backgrounds. Yet, as HPSR is defined by the topics and questions it considers rather than a particular disciplinary approach, it requires engagement across disciplines; indeed, understanding the complexity of health policy and systems demands multi- and inter-disciplinary inquiry [3]. To develop the science of HPSR it is, therefore, important to start by recognising the diversity of disciplinary perspectives, as well as shared concerns. Richer methodologies for addressing these concerns must then be developed. And, as health policies and systems are themselves social and political constructions, it is important to acknowledge the particular value of social science perspectives in the field. Each of these issues is addressed in the following sections, and they are considered further in paper three of the series [4].