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BackgroundLaboratory biomarkers are amongst the best imperative predictors of disease outcomes in hospital-admitted COVID-19 patients. Although data is available in this regard at a global level, there is a paucity of information in Ethiopia. Thus, this study aimed to assess the laboratory biomarkers association with death among COVID-19 patients in Ethiopia.MethodsA health facility-based longitudinal study was conducted from 2020 to 2022 among RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted and on treatment follow-up at COVID-19 treatment hospitals in Addis Ababa. A robust Poisson regression model was fitted to assess the association between demographic, clinical, and laboratory factors and death. Significance was determined at pResultsOf the 2357 COVID-19 patients, 248 (10.5%) died. The median age of participants was 59 (IQR= 45-70) years, and the majority (64.9%) of them were male. Lower median RBC was observed among those who died at 4.58 (4.06-5.07) as compared to those who survived at 4.69 (4.23-5.12) whereas high median (IQR) WBC was a predictor of mortality with 11.2 (7.7-15.9). After adjusting for confounders, death was associated with age >74 years having adjusted incidence rate ratio [aIRR (95%CI): 2.46 (1.40-4.34)], and critical clinical situations [aIRR (95% CI): 4.04 (2.18-7.52)].ConclusionOur results demonstrate that abnormal liver function tests, abnormal white blood cells, age of the patients, and clinical status of the patients during admission are associated with unfavorable outcomes of COVID-19. Hence, timely monitoring of these laboratory results at the earliest phase of the disease was highly commendable.

Background Beekeeping activity is carried out in most parts of Ethiopia. However, despite the favorable agro-ecology for beekeeping practices and the high number of bee colonies the country is endowed with, the level of beekeeping adoption is low. Methods This study was conducted to identify determinants of the decision to adopt beekeeping, and the intensity of adoption by using a cross-sectional data collected from 772 rural households in Northwest Ethiopia. Stratified random sampling method was used to select the households, and the data were collected using a questionnaire. To achieve the objectives, Heckman two-stage sample selection model was used. Results The result of the first step Heckman model revealed that age and educational level of the household head, household size, extension visits, training, incentive, home consumption of honey, major economic activities of the household, perception towards better hives, distance to the nearest marketplace, the number of years the household stayed in the village, and location were the significant variables influencing rural households’ beekeeping adoption decision. The second step Heckman model revealed that livestock holding of a household head, number of extension visits, credit use, presence of honey bee pests, whether a household is engaged in swarm catching practices, and major economic activities of a household head were the variables that influence the intensity of beekeeping adoption significantly. Conclusions The findings of the study can be used to make evidence-based policy interventions to improve beekeeping adoption and the intensity of beekeeping adoption by rural households, which could also help to improve their livelihoods.

Background: Mortality rates for children under five years of age, and stillbirth risks, remain high in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) network aims to ascertain causes of child death in high child mortality settings (>50 deaths/1000 live-births). We aimed to develop a “greenfield” site for CHAMPS, based in Harar and Kersa, in Eastern Ethiopia. This very high mortality setting (>100 deaths/1000 live-births in Kersa) had limited previous surveillance capacity, weak infrastructure and political instability. Here we describe site development, from conception in 2015 to the end of the first year of recruitment. Methods: We formed a collaboration between Haramaya University and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and engaged community, national and international partners to support a new CHAMPS programme. We developed laboratory infrastructure and recruited and trained staff. We established project specific procedures to implement CHAMPS network protocols including; death notifications, clinical and demographic data collection, post-mortem minimally invasive tissue sampling, microbiology and pathology testing, and verbal autopsy. We convened an expert local panel to determine cause-of-death. In partnership with the Ethiopian Public Health Institute we developed strategies to improve child and maternal health. Results: Despite considerable challenge, with financial support, personal commitment, and effective partnership, we successfully initiated CHAMPS. One year into recruitment (February 2020), we had received 1173 unique death notifications, investigated 59/99 MITS-eligible cases within the demographic surveillance site, and assigned an underlying and immediate cause of death to 53 children. Conclusions: The most valuable data for global health policy are from high-mortality settings, but initiating CHAMPS has required considerable resource. To further leverage this investment, we need strong, sustained, local research leadership, and to broaden the scientific remit. To support this, we have set up a new collaboration, the “Hararghe Health Research Partnership”.

In Ethiopia, evidence on the national burden of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is limited. To address this gap, this systematic analysis estimated the burden of CVDs in Ethiopia using the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 study data. The age-standardized CVD prevalence, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and mortality rates in Ethiopia were 5534 (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 5310.09 - 5774.0), 3549.6 (95% UI 3229.0 - 3911.9) and 182.63 (95% UI 165.49 - 203.9) per 100 000 population, respectively. Compared with 1990, the age-standardized CVD prevalence rate in 2017 showed no change. But significant reductions were observed in CVD mortality (54.7%), CVD DALYs (57.7%) and all-cause mortality (53.4%). The top three prevalent CVDs were ischaemic heart disease, rheumatic heart disease and stroke in descending order. The reduction in the mortality rate due to CVDs is slower than for communicable, maternal, neonatal and nutritional disease mortalities. As a result, CVDs are the leading cause of mortality in Ethiopia. These findings urge Ethiopia to consider CVDs as a priority public health problem.

Drought can be described as a temporary decrease in water availability over a significant period and affects both surface and groundwater resources. Droughts propagate through the hydrological cycle and may impact vulnerable ecosystems. This paper investigates drought propagation in the hydrological cycle, focusing on assessing its impact on a groundwater-fed wetland ecosystem. Meteorological drought indices were used to analyze meteorological drought severity. Besides, a method for assessing groundwater drought and its propagation in the aquifer was developed and applied. Groundwater drought was analyzed using the variable threshold method. Furthermore, meteorological drought and groundwater drought on recharge were compared to investigate drought propagation in the hydrological. This research is carried out in the Doode Bemde wetland in central Belgium. The results of this research show that droughts are strongly attenuated in the groundwater system. The number and severity of groundwater discharge drought events were smaller than for groundwater recharge drought. However, the onset of both drought events occurred at the same time, indicating a quick response of the groundwater system to hydrological stresses. In addition, drought propagation in the hydrological cycle indicated that not all meteorological droughts result in groundwater drought. Furthermore, this drought propagation effect was observed in the wetland.

Background Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.3, targets to eliminate HIV from being a public health threat by 2030. For better tracking of this target interim Fast Track milestones for 2020 and composite complementary measures have been indicated. This study measured the Fast Track progress in the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia across ages compared to neighboring countries. Methods The National Data Management Center for health’s research team at the Ethiopian Public Health Institute has analyzed the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 secondary data for the year 2010 to 2017 for Ethiopia and its neighbors. GBD 2017 data sources were census, demographic and a health survey, prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission, antiretroviral treatment programs, sentinel surveillance, and UNAIDS reports. Age-standardized and age-specific HIV/AIDS incidence, prevalence, mortality, Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), incidence:mortality ratio and incidence:prevalence ratio were calculated with corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Results Ethiopia and neighboring countries recorded slow progress in reducing new HIV infection since 2010. Only Uganda would achieve the 75% target by 2020. Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda already achieved the 75% mortality reduction target set for 2020. The incidence: prevalence ratio for Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Uganda were 1 due to high incidence. The HIV incidence rate in Ethiopia was dropped by 76% among under 5 children in 2017 compared to 2010 and the country would likely to attain the 2020 national target, but far behind achieving the target among the 15–49 age group. Conclusions Ethiopia and neighboring countries have made remarkable progress towards achieving the 75% HIV/AIDS mortality reduction target by 2020, although they progressed poorly in reducing HIV incidence. By recording an incidence:prevalence ratio benchmark of less than 0.03, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Uganda are well heading towards epidemic control. Nonetheless, the high HIV/AIDS mortality rate in Ethiopia for its incidence requires innovative strategies to reach out undiagnosed cases and to build institutional capacity for generating strong evidence to ensure sustainable epidemic control.

Background Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.3, targets to eliminate HIV from being a public health threat by 2030. For better tracking of this target interim Fast Track milestones for 2020 and composite complementary measures have been indicated. This study measured the Fast Track progress in the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia comparing with neighboring countries and across ages. Methods The National Data Management Center for health’s research team at the Ethiopian Public Health Institute has analyzed the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 data for the year 2010 to 2017 for Ethiopia and its neighbors. GBD 2017 data sources were census, demographic and a health survey, prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission, antiretroviral treatment programs, sentinel surveillance, and UNAIDS reports. Age-standardized and age-specific HIV/AIDS incidence, prevalence, mortality, Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), incidence:mortality ratio and incidence:prevalence ratio were calculated with corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Results Ethiopia and neighboring countries recorded slow progress in reducing new HIV infection in since 2010. Only Uganda would achieve the 75% target by 2020. Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda already achieved the 75% mortality reduction target set for 2020. The incidence: prevalence ratio for Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Uganda were < 0.03, indicating the countries were on track to end HIV by 2030. Ethiopia had an incidence: mortality ratio 1 due to high incidence. The HIV incidence rate in Ethiopia was dropped by 76% among under 5 children in 2017 compared to 2010; the country would likely to attain the 2020 national target but far behind achieving the target among the 15-49 age groups. Conclusions Ethiopia and neighboring countries have made remarkable progress towards achieving the 75% HIV/AIDS mortality reduction target by 2020, although they progress poorly in reducing HIV incidence. By having an incidence:prevalence ratio benchmark less than 0.03, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Uganda are well heading towards epidemic control. Nonetheless, the high HIV/AIDS mortality rate in Ethiopia for its incidence requires innovative strategies to reach out undiagnosed cases and to build institutional capacity for generating strong evidence to ensure sustainable epidemic control.

BackgroundSustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.3, targets to eliminate HIV from being a public health threat by 2030. For better tracking of this target interim Fast Track millstones for 2020 and composite complementary measures have been indicated. This study measured the Fast Track progress in Eastern sub-Saharan Africa (ESSA) region and in Ethiopia across ages using Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 data. Methods The National Data Management Center for health research team at Ethiopian Public Health Institute has analyzed the GBD 2017 data for the year 2010 to 2017 for Ethiopia and ESSA countries. GBD 2017 data sources were census, demographic and health surveys, prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission and anti-retroviral treatment programs, sentinel surveillances and UNAIDS spectrum modeling. Age standardized and age specific HIV/AIDS incidence, prevalence, mortality, Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), incidence:mortality ratio and incidence:prevalence ratio were calculated with corresponding 95% confidence limits. Results Slow progress has been recorded in reducing new HIV infection in ESSA since 2010; only Uganda would achieve the 75% target by 2020. Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda have already achieved 75% mortality reduction target set for 2020. With incidence: prevalence ratio of < 0.03, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda are on track to end HIV by 2030. Ethiopia has an incidence: mortality ratio 1 due to high incidence. Ethiopia has reduced the HIV incidence rate by 76% among under 5 children and seem to be on track to attain the 2020 national target but far behind achieving the target among the 15-49 age group. Conclusion The ESSA countries have made remarkable progress towards achieving the 75% HIV/AIDS mortality reduction target by 2020 since 2010, although they progress poorly in reducing HIV incidence. Having an incidence:prevalence ratio of less than 0.03, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda are well heading towards epidemic control. The high HIV/AIDS mortality rate in Ethiopia for its incidence requires innovative strategies to bring undiagnosed cases to treatment and care services across age. For sustainable epidemic control, Ethiopian needs to build strong institutional capacity to generate strong evidence to support policy decision.

Additional file 3. Number of deaths resulted from injuries stratified by injury types and age in 2007 and 2017.

Additional file 2. Age standardized DALYs and Deaths resulted from injuries stratified by injury types among east African countries in 2007 and 2017.

Background Mortality caused by injuries is increasing and becoming a significant global public health concern. Limited evidence from Ethiopia on road traffic, unintentional and intentional injuries indicate the potential public health impact of problems resulting from such injuries. However, there is a significant evidence gap about the actual national burden of all injuries in Ethiopia. This data base study aimed to reveal the national burden of different injuries in Ethiopia. Methodology Data for this study were extracted from the estimates of the Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) 2017 study. Estimates of metrics such as Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), death rates, incidence, and prevalence were extracted. The metrics were then examined at different injury types, socio-demographic categories such as age groups and sex. Trends of the metrics were also explored for these categories across years from 2007 to 2017. The DALYs and deaths due to injuries in Ethiopia were also compared with other East African countries (specifically Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia) in order to evaluate regional differences across years, by sex and by different injury types such as transport injuries, unintentional injuries, self-harm and interpersonal violence. Results The age-standardized injury death rate has decreased to 69.4; 95% UI: (63.0–76.9) from 90.11; 95% UI: (82.41–97.73) in 2017 as compared with 2007. Road injury, falls, self-harm and interpersonal violence were the leading causes of mortality from injuries occurring in 2017. The age-standardized injury DALYs rate has decreased to 3328.2; 95% UI: (2981.7-3707.8) from 4265.55; 95% UI: (3898.11–4673.64) in 2017 as compared with 2007. The number of deaths resulting from injuries in 2017 was highest for males, children under 5 years, people aged 15–24. Conclusion The current age-standardized death rate and DALYs from injuries is high and the observed annual reduction is not satisfactory. There is a difference in gender and age regarding the number of deaths resulting from injuries. The data indicates that the current national efforts to address the public health impact of injuries in Ethiopia are not sufficient enough to bring a marked reduction. As a result, a more holistic approach to address all injuries is recommended in Ethiopia.

Additional file 1. List of GBD data sources.

OBJECTIVE Immunotherapy using vitamin D (vitD3 ) and phenylbutyrate (PBA) may support standard drug regimens used to treat infectious diseases. We investigated if vitD3 + PBA enhanced clinical recovery from pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). METHODS A randomized controlled trial was conducted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Patients with smear-positive or smear-negative TB received daily oral supplementation with 5000 IU vitD3 and 2 × 500 mg PBA or placebo for 16 weeks, together with 6-month chemotherapy. Primary end-point: reduction of a clinical composite TB score at week 8 compared with baseline using modified intention-to-treat (mITT, n = 348) and per-protocol (n = 296) analyses. Secondary end-points: primary and modified TB scores (week 0, 4, 8, 16, 24), sputum conversion, radiological findings and plasma 25(OH)D3 concentrations. RESULTS Most subjects had low baseline plasma 25(OH)D3 levels that increased gradually in the vitD3 + PBA group compared with placebo (P < 0.0001) from week 0 to 16 (mean 34.7 vs. 127.4 nmol L-1 ). In the adjusted mITT analysis, the primary TB score was significantly reduced in the intervention group at week 8 (-0.52, 95% CI -0.93, -0.10; P = 0.015) while the modified TB score was reduced at week 8 (-0.58, 95% CI -1.02, -0.14; P = 0.01) and 16 (-0.34, 95% CI -0.64, -0.03; P = 0.03). VitD3 + PBA had no effect on longitudinal sputum-smear conversion (P = 0.98). Clinical adverse events were more common in the placebo group (24.3%) compared with the vitD3 + PBA group (12.6%). CONCLUSION Daily supplementation with vitD3 + PBA may ameliorate clinical TB symptoms and disease-specific complications, while the intervention had no effect on bacterial clearance in sputum.

Background: Mortality rates for children under five years of age, and stillbirth risks, remain high in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) network aims to ascertain causes of child death in high child mortality settings (>50 deaths/1000 live-births). We aimed to develop a “greenfield” site for CHAMPS, based in Harar and Kersa, in Eastern Ethiopia. This very high mortality setting (>100 deaths/1000 live-births in Kersa) had limited previous surveillance capacity, weak infrastructure and political instability. Here we describe site development, from conception in 2015 to the end of the first year of recruitment. Methods: We formed a collaboration between Haramaya University and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and engaged community, national and international partners to support a new CHAMPS programme. We developed laboratory infrastructure and recruited and trained staff. We established project specific procedures to implement CHAMPS network protocols including; death notifications, clinical and demographic data collection, post-mortem minimally invasive tissue sampling, microbiology and pathology testing, and verbal autopsy. We convened an expert local panel to determine cause-of-death. In partnership with the Ethiopian Public Health Institute we developed strategies to improve child and maternal health. Results: Despite considerable challenge, with financial support, personal commitment and effective partnership, we successfully initiated CHAMPS. One year into recruitment (February 2020), we had received 1173 unique death notifications, investigated 59/99 MITS-eligible cases within the demographic surveillance site, and assigned an underlying and immediate cause of death to 53 children. Conclusions: The most valuable data for global health policy are from high mortality settings, but initiating CHAMPS has required considerable resource. To further leverage this investment, we need strong local research capacity and to broaden the scientific remit. To support this, we have set up a new collaboration, the “Hararghe Health Research Partnership”.

The most common procedure for analyzing multi-environmental trials is based on the assumption that the residual error variance is homogenous across all locations considered. However, this may often be unrealistic, and therefore limit the accuracy of variety evaluation or the reliability of variety recommendations. The objectives of this study were to show the advantages of mixed models with spatial variance–covariance structures, and direct implications of model choice on the inference of varietal performance, ranking and testing based on two multi-environmental data sets from realistic national trials. A model comparison with a chi-square test for the trials in the two data sets (wheat data set BW00RVTI and barley data set BW01RVII) suggested that selected spatial variance-covariance structures fitted the data significantly better than the ANOVA model. The forms of optimally-fitted spatial variance-covariance, ranking and consistency ratio test were not the same from one trial (location) to the other. Linear mixed models with single stage analysis including spatial variance-covariance structure with a group factor of location on the random model also improved the real estimation of genotype effect and their ranking. The model also improved varietal performance estimation because of its capacity to handle additional sources of variation, location and genotype by location (environment) interaction variation and accommodating of local stationary trend.