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This systematic review was conducted to identify, evaluate and characterize the overall progress of health economics research conducted for Africa. Health economics studies carried out from 1991 to 2020 for Africa were retrieved from the EconLit database using relevant searching strategies. According to the methodology of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, qualified journal papers were included. Using bibliometrics, we ran a series of analyses on authorship, studied countries, affiliations, and countries of origin, journals, and research topics. A total of 2935 studies were screened, and 178 were included in this review. We observed that the determinants of illness is the most researched topics. The United States, World Bank, University of California Berkeley, are respectively the most influential countries, world organizations, and academic institutions in the field of health economics of Africa. HIV/AIDs is still the leading health issue in highly cited health economics studies in Africa. Health Policy and Planning is the most productive and academically influential journal, and Kenya is the most studied country by health economists among all African countries. African health systems are vulnerable compared to developed countries, as many of them are underfunded. The academic strength in Africa is much weaker than that of leading health economics counties. Even within the continent, the academic development and the attention it receives are uneven. More influential health economics studies of Africa should be published in addition to the disease focus of HIV/AIDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an update on the global cancer burden using the GLOBOCAN 2020 estimates of cancer incidence and mortality produced by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Worldwide, an estimated 19.3 million new cancer cases (18.1 million excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer) and almost 10.0 million cancer deaths (9.9 million excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer) occurred in 2020. Female breast cancer has surpassed lung cancer as the most commonly diagnosed cancer, with an estimated 2.3 million new cases (11.7%), followed by lung (11.4%), colorectal (10.0 %), prostate (7.3%), and stomach (5.6%) cancers. Lung cancer remained the leading cause of cancer death, with an estimated 1.8 million deaths (18%), followed by colorectal (9.4%), liver (8.3%), stomach (7.7%), and female breast (6.9%) cancers. Overall incidence was from 2-fold to 3-fold higher in transitioned versus transitioning countries for both sexes, whereas mortality varied <2-fold for men and little for women. Death rates for female breast and cervical cancers, however, were considerably higher in transitioning versus transitioned countries (15.0 vs 12.8 per 100,000 and 12.4 vs 5.2 per 100,000, respectively). The global cancer burden is expected to be 28.4 million cases in 2040, a 47% rise from 2020, with a larger increase in transitioning (64% to 95%) versus transitioned (32% to 56%) countries due to demographic changes, although this may be further exacerbated by increasing risk factors associated with globalization and a growing economy. Efforts to build a sustainable infrastructure for the dissemination of cancer prevention measures and provision of cancer care in transitioning countries is critical for global cancer control., (© 2021 American Cancer Society.)

An extensive literature has investigated the driving forces behind high-technology exports, but most studies focus on developed countries and developing countries outside Africa. The purpose of this paper is to assess the main factors determining export-oriented technological change, using the technological content of exports (high-tech, medium-tech and low-tech exports) as a proxy. For this purpose, instrumental variable regressions are applied to a panel dataset of 33 African countries. The findings revealed that the main determinants of high-technology exports are: imports of components, rule of law, human capital, FDI inflows, GDP per capita and manufacturing. For medium-technology exports, the determinants identified are similar to high-technology exports with population included. The main determinants of low-technology manufactured exports are imports of components, rule of law, population, FDI inflows, GDP per capita and manufacturing. These give policymakers in African countries a targeted approach in formulating policies related to exports by technological category. This paper contributes to the literature in that it assesses the main factors determining export-oriented technological change, using different levels of technological content of exports (high-tech, medium-tech and low-tech exports). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most established communities aspire for growth and developments demonstrable in the degree of scientific and technological outputs. These outputs are made possible through the function of the human mind, hence, the expedience of the human person as the focus of social development. However, the sustenance of development is made possible through human policies from reformed entities, and this is where the state and its apparatus (social institutions) like the government are inevitable. Less emphasis has been laid on human reform and the role it plays in social reform in Africa through piecemeal engineering. Therefore, this paper investigates the position and primacy of human reform in social reform in Africa. Using Karl Popper’s idea of piecemeal social engineering as a theoretical framework, this paper argues that human reform remains pivotal to Africa’s social reform. This paper argues that if there is no sufficient human reform, Karl Popper’s piecemeal social engineering which has greatly impacted social reforms in some developed nations will be fruitless in Africa. The methods of argumentation will be expository, analytic as well as evaluative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is threefold; first, to show the role played by the United Nations (UN) in the fight against transnational organized crime; second, to analyze two subject areas, commercial sexual exploitation of children and mutilation of albinos, in which the Organization gives voice to the often voiceless victims; and third, to examine the role the UN may or should be called on to play in the postulated cooperation between high-level investigative means and personnel on the ground. Design/methodology/approach: The paper relies on information generated by international organizations (Red Cross and UN) and media reports. Findings: Although commercial sexual exploitation of children in many if not most advanced jurisdicitions is a crime with extraterritorial jurisdiction in the sense that perpetrator can be tried in, say, an advanced country for violations in a developing country, and considering that this crime has a strong international component, it has proved difficult to investigate. This is caused by the procedural difficulties in collecting proofs in one jurisdiction for use in another, transport of victims and witnesses, etc. Therefore, among many other measures, advanced countries should further tighten the investigation of so-called sex tourism clearly targeting children. Mutilation of persons with albinism is strongly linked to superstition and although often involving international trade, must be strongly countered by information. Again the UN plays and should play a leading role. Research limitations/implications: Research in these and similar areas is quite obvious hindered by the so-called "dark number syndrome", i.e. as the subject-matter is both illegal and the target of strong moral condemnation, it is difficult to get more than a small, hopefully representative, set of cases to examine. Practical implications: Advanced countries must assist in limiting and hopefully stopping the overseas sex tourism involving underage individuals. Also, through the UN, the only moral arbiter we have, the international community should assist in informing and teaching, in particular, in the countries around the big lakes in Africa and in Malawi to bring to an end this kind of superstition. Likewise, the UN should act as a bridge, allowing sophisticated investigative means to link up with less sophisticated ones, in particular in the area of abuse of the environment (pachyderms in Africa and protected fisheries breeding grounds). Social implications: From the previous paragraph, it is obvious, so it seems, that at least the commercial sexual exploitation of children and the mutilation of albinos can only be countered though a conscious effort at training aimed at the social layers – mostly in rural areas – where both superstition (albinos and brains of bald males) and the habitual view of children, in particular, but not only girls, as a source of income are prevalent. Originality/value: The paper does not attempt to present original material. Rather it emphasizes the role of the UN in protecting the unprotected and promotes ideas with which to commence pushing back against the serious destruction of animals, including fishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines implementation research across developed countries (North America, Europe), developing countries (Asia, Pacific) and Africa. It examines some key trends and directions of implementation research across regions. It revisits policy debate among scholars on approaches to implementation-top-down, bottom-up and mixed which characterised the developed world. Also, it adds some perspectives on the developing world including Africa. The paper has three contributions: it highlights trends in implementation research in developed and developing countries. It gives some directions on implementation research in Africa. It recommends that the policy design process should not be neglected, such neglect is inimical to implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to study the persistence of firm growth in Africa, dedicating special attention to high-growth firms. The worldwide interest in identifying high-growth firms comes from the idea that these firms will continue to outperform in the future and to create jobs. We exploit a rich dataset covering all formal firms operating in Senegal from 2006 to 2015 to scrutinize growth persistence. We document that growth rates are negatively correlated across time, especially for high-growth firms, in line with evidence from industrialized countries. A top performer is more likely to become a bad performer in the next period than to sustain its previous performance. We show that other indicators of performance (such as profitability and productivity in the first period) are unrelated to the persistence of growth. This finding challenges the possibility of policymakers and investors selecting persistent high-growth firms by scrutinizing their previous performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fundamental issues of hunger and unemployment have bedeviled many countries of the world, particularly developing countries of Africa. Governments have tried to curb the menace, but the trend has persisted. A vital way to deal with this is through the engagement of technical and vocational education and training (TVET). Defined as a type of education that equips individuals with skills and knowledge for useful living, TVET is viewed as a panacea to hunger and unemployment. However, for most developing countries of Africa, governments have been unable to provide TVET to citizens to equip them for functional living. It has therefore become necessary to partner TVET with the private sector. The public-private partnership (PPP) is discussed in this paper, with models developed and in use by certain technologically developed countries of the world. Sustainable development can be achieved through the PPP strategy employed in TVET. For TVET to thrive, however, the TVET environment must be made safe, secure, and conducive. Security problems arising from the activities of bandits, herdsmen, insurgents, and kidnappers seriously jeopardize TVET's chances of thriving and meeting the needs of citizens. Therefore, all hands must be on deck to deal with this social malaise for better partnership in TVET development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freshwater macro‐organismic environmental DNA (eDNA) is gaining increasing popularity in detecting invasive species, assessing community assemblages, and in mapping the distribution of taxa that are rare or otherwise difficult to monitor. The objectives of this article are to review the targets of published freshwater eDNA research in relation to aquatic conservation with a focus on geographic regions covered, as well as the habitats and species investigated.The analysis of 272 peer‐reviewed articles published between 2005 and 2018 revealed that 57% of the 238 primary research papers have a focus on conservation science, mostly addressing invasive and endangered species, followed by 23% papers investigating methodological developments and 11% biodiversity surveys also using eDNA metabarcoding. A strong geographical pattern emerged, with Africa, South America, and the tropics being under‐represented. Taxonomic coverage was dominated by 123 fish species, followed by 29 amphibian and 28 mollusc species. Freshwater arthropods (27 taxa) were under‐represented in relation to their estimated species richness.Taxonomic bias towards certain species such as fishes observed in freshwater eDNA research is pervasive in biodiversity research and conservation sciences, and thus is not surprising. Geographical representation was biased, with a few industrialized countries from the Northern Hemisphere contributing 72% of the studies. Both findings parallel biases known from other research areas, such as marine eDNA analysis, taxonomy, or invasion biology.The application of eDNA in freshwater conservation will benefit from the development of general standards and guidelines that are necessary to integrate freshwater macrobial eDNA techniques in existing monitoring frameworks. To aid future freshwater conservation, our suggestions are to harmonize eDNA methods for comparable and easier implementation worldwide, and to increase international cooperation and funding for under‐represented geographical regions and neglected taxa. This is especially crucial for the known biodiversity hotspots in developing countries where rapid changes occur to freshwater habitats and biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large empirical literature has debated the existence of a U-shaped happiness-age curve. This paper re-examines the relationship between various measures of well-being and age in 145 countries, including 109 developing countries, controlling for education and marital and labor force status, among others, on samples of individuals under the age of 70. The U-shape of the curve is forcefully confirmed, with an age minimum, or nadir, in midlife around age 50 in separate analyses for developing and advanced countries as well as for the continent of Africa. The happiness curve seems to be everywhere. While panel data are largely unavailable for this issue, and the findings using such data largely confirm the cross-section results, the paper discusses insights on why cohort effects do not drive the findings. I find the age of the minima has risen over time in Europe and the USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of international development initiatives increasingly give recognition and authority to city governments in sub-Saharan Africa. However, key features of urban governance in Africa vary substantively, which can affect the viability of achieving such development goals. This paper focuses on how these features vary vertically (i.e. across levels of government), horizontally (i.e. across local governments), and between local governments and societal actors. In doing so, it highlights many of the political issues that come to the fore across countries with different types of decentralization structures and party systems. While urban governance scholarship traditionally has been the domain of those focused on developed countries, the paper encourages more analysis in the African context given the range of service delivery issues likely to confront the region as it transitions to become a majority urban in the coming decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rate at which the development of librarianship is advancing in African countries compared to developed countries is agonizing, which gives rise to many questions regarding the future trend of the library profession. This paper reviews current trends and emerging issues in libraries and the librarianship education profession in African countries. Challenges in the training of librarians are described. Disparities in advancement are explained through a comparison of the development of libraries and the librarianship profession in different African zones, that is, East, South, West, and the Northern part of Africa. Challenges that face libraries and librarians' profession are summarized, and the authors offer some recommendations and practicable solutions to the emerging trends and challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the industrialization of African economies. In particular, we address the nonlinearity issue and investigate the role of the recipient countries' absorptive capacities as a catalyst of foreign investments' spillover effects. The empirical framework considers a panel of 46 countries over the 1998–2019 period. The SGMM estimates highlight a two-threshold relationship between FDI and industrial output. FDI should range between an upper and a lower bound to produce a positive effect on domestic industries. Our findings also suggest that weakly industrialized countries and countries endowed with high absorptive capacities are those taking advantage from the spillover effects generated by FDI. Finally, estimation results reveal that financial development, human capital, infrastructure and the legal framework are the main channels through which FDI contributes to promote the industrialization process in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breastfeeding provides optimal nutrition for the healthy growth of infants and is associated with reduced risks of infectious diseases, child and adult obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other chronic diseases. Migration has been shown to influence breastfeeding especially among migrants from low-and-middle-income countries. This mixed-methods systematic review aimed to identify, synthesise, and appraise the international literature on the breastfeeding knowledge and experiences of African immigrant mothers residing in high-income countries. MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, PsychINFO, Scopus, and Web of Knowledge databases were searched from their inception to February 2019. Grey literature, reference, and citation searches were carried out and relevant journals hand-searched. Data extraction and quality assessment were independently carried out by two reviewers. An integrated mixed-methods approach adopting elements of framework synthesis was used to synthesise findings. The initial searches recovered 8,841 papers, and 35 studies were included in the review. Five concepts emerged from the data: (a) breastfeeding practices, showing that 90% of African mothers initiated breastfeeding; (b) knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes, which were mostly positive but included a desire for bigger babies; (c) influence of socio-demographic, economic, and cultural factors, leading to early supplementation; (d) support system influencing breastfeeding rates and duration; and (e) perception of health professionals who struggled to offer support due to culture and language barriers. African immigrant mothers were positive about breastfeeding and willing to adopt best practice but faced challenges with cultural beliefs and lifestyle changes after migration. African mothers may benefit from more tailored support and information to improve exclusive breastfeeding rates., (© 2020 The Authors. Maternal & Child Nutrition published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Burnout and related concepts such as resilience, wellness, and taking care of healthcare professionals have become increasingly prevalent in the medical literature. Most of the work in this area comes from high‐income countries, with the remainder from upper‐middle‐income countries, and very little from lower‐middle‐income or low‐income countries. Sub‐Saharan Africa is particularly poorly represented in this body of literature. Anglo‐American concepts are often applied to different jurisdictions without consideration of cultural and societal differences. However, anesthesia providers in this region have unique challenges, with both the highest burden of "surgical" disease in the world and the least resources, both in terms of human resources for health and in terms of essential drugs and equipment. The effect of burnout on healthcare systems is also likely to be very different with the current human resources for the health crisis in East and Central Africa. According to the Joint Learning Initiative Managing for Performance framework, the three essential factors for building a workforce to effectively support a healthcare system are coverage, competence, and motivation. Current efforts to build capacity in anesthesia in East and Southern Africa focus largely on coverage and competence, but neglect motivation at the risk of failing to support a sustainable workforce. In this paper, we include a review of the relevant literature, as well as draw from personal experience living and working in East and Southern Africa, to describe the unique issues surrounding burnout, resilience, and wellness in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on a workshop at the 16th World Congress on Public Health 2020 about vaccination challenges in developed and developing countries.

In developed countries, public health engineering has been closely associated with extensions of life expectancy and declines in infant mortality well beyond the contributions of medicine. However, different approaches have had to be taken in poorer countries. This paper uses cases from South and Southern Africa to illustrate the challenges and the responses and to consider whether these reflect a formal 'development engineering' approach. While external agencies have actively promoted a variety of approaches, engineered interventions were most successful where they took account of social, economic and environmental contexts, reflected local preferences and were developed by, or in close coordination with, the operational institutions concerned. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African refugee youth and young adults live at the intersections of many structural barriers, including xenophobia, racism, and misogyny. In this conceptual paper, we present considerations for education scholars who seek to conduct research with and about African refugee postsecondary students. We start with a discussion of the discourse of Othering and racial stigma against Black-African people in high income countries. Next, we discuss the need for intersectional analysis in research by focusing on how gendered racism positions African women refugees as particularly vulnerable in higher education institutions. Then, we proceed to a discussion of how cultural heritage presents us with a counternarrative to xenophobic discourse. At each point, we present a set of critical questions that serve as a conceptual springboard for researchers that are exploring more deeply the issues that affect refugee youth and their education. Through this work, we implore researchers to engage with/in these communities in ways that are resistant to Othering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The objective of this paper is to review the literature on the incidence of cleft lip and palate (CLP) in the developing countries of Asia and Africa. The existing literature tends to focus on developed countries and there is lack of research in developing countries. Methods: The studies that met the inclusion criteria were reviewed and data extracted. There were 20 studies done in Asian and African countries which were included. Results: The incidence of CLP in Asian countries is markedly greater than in African countries. Most studies report a male predominance in CLPs and a female predominance in cleft palates. The male dominance is seen more than other developing countries which is consistent with other Asian countries and the same has been found in African countries. In the Nepalese study, females were slightly more affected than males among all clefts. The incidence or prevalence in the frequency and types of malformations of CLP in developing countries has been provided. Conclusions: The review underlines the need for an aggressive approach to prevent and control CLP in patients in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neonatal birth trauma, although it has steadily decreased in industrialized nations, constitutes a significant health burden in low-resource settings. Keeping with this, we sought to determine the pooled cumulative incidence (incidence proportion) of birth trauma and identify potential contributing factors in low and middle-income countries. Besides, we aimed to describe the temporal trend, clinical pattern, and immediate adverse neonatal outcomes of birth trauma. We searched articles published in the English language in the Excerpta Medica database, PubMed, Web of Science, Google, African Journals Online, Google Scholar, Scopus, and in the reference list of retrieved articles. Literature search strategies were developed using medical subject headings and text words related to the outcomes of the study. The Joana Briggs Institute quality assessment tool was employed and articles with appraisal scores of seven or more were deemed suitable to be included in the meta-analysis. Data were analyzed using the random-effect Dersimonian-Laird model. The full search identified a total of 827 articles about neonatal birth trauma. Of these, 37 articles involving 365,547 participants met the inclusion criteria. The weighted pooled cumulative incidence of birth trauma was estimated at 34 per 1,000 live births (95% confidence interval (CI) 30.5 to 38.5) with the highest incidence observed in Africa at 52.9 per 1,000 live births (95% CI 46.5 to 59.4). Being born to a mother from rural areas (odds ratio (OR), 1.61; 95% CI1.18 to 2.21); prolonged labor (OR, 5.45; 95% CI 2.30, 9.91); fetal malpresentation at delivery (OR, 4.70; 95% CI1.75 to 12.26); shoulder dystocia (OR, 6.11; 95% CI3.84 to 9.74); operative vaginal delivery (assisted vacuum or forceps extraction) (OR, 3.19; 95% CI 1.92 to 5.31); and macrosomia (OR, 5.06; 95% CI 2.76 to 9.29) were factors associated with neonatal birth trauma. In conclusion, we found a considerably high incidence proportion of neonatal birth trauma in low and middle-income countries. Therefore, early identification of risk factors and prompt decisions on the mode of delivery can potentially contribute to the decreased magnitude and impacts of neonatal birth trauma and promote the newborn's health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute kidney injury ( AKI) is imposing a severe burden of morbidity and mortality both in developed and developing countries. Also AKI has a major economic impact on healthcare expenditure. This is particularly so in poor countries where AKI especially impacts young productive people, imposing severe penury upon their families. The mission is to lessen the high burden in terms of death consequent to this disorder in low-resource regions, which in many cases is preventable and treatable with simple measures. The International Society of Nephrology has launched a long-term program, called '0 by 25', which advocates that zero people should die of untreated AKI in the poorest part of Africa, Asia, and Latin America by 2025. This paper illustrates how the project will be developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the incidence, drivers, and persistence of skill and educational mismatches among employed youths from 10 African countries surveyed between 2012 and 2015. Results indicate that, unlike most findings from developed countries, underskilling and undereducation are more prevalent among the youth than overskilling and overeducation. The levels of education of the youth and their parents, the field of study, the quality of job and the firm size are found to be key predictors of job mismatches. Our results also show that the perspective of unemployment has a scarring effect for underskilled youths but a stepping‐stone effect for overskilled and overeducated. Using a pseudo‐panel approach, skill and educational mismatches of youths are found to be persistent over time and the likelihood of transitioning into education matching jobs is significantly increasing with the levels of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development has been advocated by the developed world as a means to ensure that the most widely beneficial type of development occurs. This has resulted in a body of rules, which though well intended, does not adequately address the developmental needs of developing countries. It has become a source of tension between developing and developed countries. Developing countries fear that it can be used to frustrate their prospects of development. Hence the adoption of sustainable development provisions by African countries has largely been controversial. This article explores the concept of sustainable development and its level of acceptance in international economic law instruments involving African countries. This article argues that African countries should adopt a more intentional position with regards to sustainable development to ensure that each agreement creates an opportunity for economic transformation and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The production of liquid biofuel in Eastern Africa countries has the potential to play an important role on the global biofuel markets in the coming years, because transportation fuel demand is expected to grow. Despite the presence of suitable environmental conditions for bioenergy crop cultivation in Eastern Africa, liquid biofuel production has been restricted by different factors, including market situation and government policies. The objective of this review is to evaluate the potential markets, policies, strategies, and plans for liquid biofuel production in some Eastern Africa countries, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Main text: Over 64 scientific articles and reports published between 2002 and 2023 related to liquid biofuel production market and policies were collected from internet search engines and unpublished grey literatures and reviewed. Since liquid biofuel production was in early stage of investment in Eastern Africa countries by 2020, all the countries showed similar restrictions. It was found that the global market demand for liquid biofuel increased after 1980s. For example, although Ethiopia started bioethanol production in 1950s, the production was discouraged by the lack of a market. Biofuel trade is globally determined by the biofuel policies of industrialized countries, which are mainly driven by the willingness to reduce emissions and to tackle volatile fossil fuel prices. Eastern Africa liquid biofuels has a number of market openings, including rural domestic use, substituting fossil fuel imports, and supplying the European market. There are also attractive legal conditions and political willingness to invest in the production of liquid biofuels. However, institutional weaknesses hindered the possibility to coordinate liquid biofuel production. The lack of adequate domestic institutions, coordination mechanisms, and robust monitoring resulted in land-use conflicts, corruption, and technical challenges. Appropriate policy measures are required to local land use determination, selection of appropriate type of bioenergy crops, and biofuel processing types and scales. In particular, small and large-scale biofuel production projects are required to include biofuel production in the conventional agricultural farming practices. Conclusions: Good governance is highly important for bioenergy crop production, liquid biofuel processing and consumption in the whole liquid biofuel value chain. Moreover, it is important to exchange good practices through cooperation, including—but not limited to—intra-African countries, which would accelerate the learning process and the deployment of effective measures and mechanisms. There should be biofuel value chain upgrading to overcome fragmentation and inconsistency of measures; match-making between demand and supply at domestic, intra-African, and internationally with proper public awareness creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity is suffering dramatic declines across the globe, threatening the ability of ecosystems to provide the services on which humanity depends. Mainstreaming biodiversity into the plans, strategies and policies of different economic sectors is key to reversing these declines. The importance of this mainstreaming is recognized by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its Aichi targets. Individual countries can implement the goals of the CBD through their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), which aim to, inter alia, support the mainstreaming of biodiversity into the policies of key economic sectors, such as agriculture, forestry and fisheries. This paper investigates the performance of countries at incorporating biodiversity mainstreaming into their post-2010 NBSAPs. We conduct a large-scale review of 144 NBSAPs against five criteria and calculate a national-level indicator for comparing levels of mainstreaming among countries. Our results show that developing countries, particularly those in Africa, have higher scores, indicating that they have a higher awareness of the importance of biodiversity mainstreaming. Developing nations were also more likely to involve a greater range of stakeholders in the NBSAP development process, whilst developed nations were less likely to give specific details about the monetary contributions of biodiversity to their economies. Overall, our findings suggest that biodiversity mainstreaming remains a challenge across much of the world, but that progress in some areas can provide direction and momentum in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quest for urgent solution to resolve the world liquidity problem has continued to generate enthusiastic debates among political economists, policy makers and the academia. The argument has focused on whether the World Bank Group was established to enhance the stability of international financial system or meant to enrich the developed nations. This study argues that the existing political interest of the World Bank Group in Africa may serve as lesson learned to other ambitious African Monetary Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying Information and Communications Technology (ICT) development is increasingly difficult because most advanced countries converge to similar network structures. However, developing countries still manifest meaningful variance in ICT development, affording theoretical elaboration on the nature of societal ICT processes. We examine the relationships between corruption, anti-corruption, interorganizational networks, and ICT development for 48 African countries. Previous studies observed that increased ICT development is associated with lower levels of corruption, although theory to explain this has yet to develop. In the context of interorganizational networks, we theorized that the degree of centralization-decentralization is a key variable in explaining ICT development. We found support for the proposition that there is less ICT development when corruption is high and interorganizational networks are more centralized. In contrast, there is greater ICT development as decentralization increases, coupled with more anti-corruption news. Nevertheless, media freedom was inconsequential regardless of the interorganizational network structure. Lastly, corruption was negatively related to economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Metaproteomics is a subfield in meta-omics that is used to characterize the proteome of a microbial community. Despite its importance and the plethora of publications in different research area, scientists struggle to fully comprehend its functional impact on the study of microbiomes. In this study, bibliometric analyses are used to evaluate the current state of metaproteomic research globally as well as evaluate the specific contribution of Africa to this burgeoning research area. In this study, we use bibliometric analyses to evaluate the current state of metaproteomic research globally, identify research frontiers and hotspots, and further predict future trends in metaproteomics. The specific contribution of Africa to this research area was evaluated. Methods: Relevant documents from 2004 to 2022 were extracted from the Scopus database. The documents were subjected to bibliometric analyses and visualization using VOS viewer and Biblioshiny package in R. Factors such as the trends in publication, country and institutional cooperation networks, leading scientific journals, author's productivity, and keywords analyses were conducted. The African publications were ranked using Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) scores. Results: A total of 1,138 documents were included and the number of publications increased drastically from 2004 to 2022 with more publications (170) reported in 2021. In terms of publishers, Frontiers in Microbiology had the highest number of total publications (62). The United States of America (USA), Germany, China, and Canada, together with other European countries were the most productive. Institution-wise, the Helmholtz Zentrum für Umweltforschung, Germany had more publications while Max Plank Institute had the highest total collaborative link strength. Jehmlich N. was the most productive author whereas Hettich RL had the highest h-index of 63. Regarding Africa, only 2.2% of the overall publications were from the continent with more publication outputs from South Africa. More than half of the publications from the continent had an FWCI score ≥ 1. Conclusion: The scientific outputs of metaproteomics are rapidly evolving with developed countries leading the way. Although Africa showed prospects for future progress, this could only be accelerated by providing funding, increased collaborations, and mentorship programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overfishing has severe social, economic, and environmental ramifications. Eliminating global overfishing is one of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs require effective policy and progress monitoring. However, current indicators are issue-specific and cannot be utilized to measure fisheries efficacy holistically. This study develops a comprehensive index that takes into account the inputs, outputs, and ecological implications of fisheries. These components are then merged to form a single composite fishing index that evaluates both total fishing pressure on the ecosystem and historical patterns. The global fishing intensity grew by a factor of eleven between 1950 and 2017, and geographical differences emerged. The fishing intensity of developed countries peaked in 1997 and has since fallen due to management, but developing countries' fishing intensity has increased continuously over the whole research period, with quasi-linear growth after 1980. Africa has experienced the most rapid expansion in fishing activity and now has the highest fishing intensity. This index takes a more comprehensive and objective look at fisheries. Its worldwide spatial–temporal comparison enables the identification of similar temporal trends across countries or regions, as well as areas of uneven development and hotspot sites for targeted policy action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To describe the construction and testing of a portable point‐of‐care low‐field MRI system on site in Africa. Methods: All of the components to assemble a 50 mT Halbach magnet‐based system, together with the necessary tools, were air‐freighted from the Netherlands to Uganda. The construction steps included individual magnet sorting, filling of each ring of the magnet assembly, fine‐tuning the inter‐ring separations of the 23‐ring magnet assembly, gradient coil construction, integration of gradient coils and magnet assembly, construction of the portable aluminum trolley and finally testing of the entire system with an open source MR spectrometer. Results: With four instructors and six untrained personnel, the complete project from delivery to first image took approximately 11 days. Conclusions: An important step in translating scientific developments in the western world from high‐income industrialized countries to low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) is to produce technology that can be assembled and ultimately constructed locally. Local assembly and construction are associated with skill development, low costs and jobs. Point‐of‐care systems have a large potential to increase the accessibility and sustainability of MRI in LMICs, and this work demonstrates that technology and knowledge transfer can be performed relatively seamlessly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Low back pain (LBP) is a key social, economic, and public health problem in the world. The impact of LBP is given less priority and is empirically unrepresented in low- and middle-income countries as a result of the focus on more pressing and life-threatening health issues, including infectious diseases. In Africa, the prevalence of LBP is irregular and increasing among schoolteachers on account of teaching activities performed under suboptimal working conditions. Therefore, the objective of this review was to estimate the pooled prevalence and associated factors of LBP among school teachers in Africa. Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis was designed based on the PRISMA guidelines. A comprehensive systematic literature search focused on LBP in African school teachers was conducted using the PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, and CABI databases, regardless of publication timelines, from October 20 to December 3, 2022. In addition, gray literature was searched using Google Scholar and Google Search. Data were extracted in Microsoft Excel by using the JBI data extraction checklist. The overall effect of LBP was estimated using a random effect model via DerSimonian-Laird weights. The pooled prevalence and odds ratio of associated factors with 95% CI were computed using STATA 14/SE software. The I2 test and Egger's regression test were used to assess heterogeneity and publication bias, respectively. Results: A total of 585 articles were retrieved, and 11 eligible studies involving a total of 5,805 school teachers were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The overall estimated pooled prevalence of LBP in African school teachers was found to be 59.0% (95% CI: 52.0%–65.0%). Being female [POR: 1.53; 95% CI (1.19, 1.98)], being older [POR: 1.58; 95% CI (1.04, 2.40)], being physically inactive [POR: 1.92; 95% CI (1.04, 3.52)], having sleep problems [POR: 2.03; 95% CI (1.19, 3.44)] and having a history of injury [POR: 1.92; 95% CI (1.67, 2.21)] were factors significantly associated with LBP. Conclusions: The pooled prevalence of LBP was high among school teachers in Africa compared to developed nations. Sex (female), older age, physical inactivity, sleep problems, and a history of previous injury were predictors of LBP. It is suggested that policymakers and administrators ought to gain awareness of LBP and its risk factors to put existing LBP preventive and control measures into action. Prophylactic management and therapeutic strategies for people with LBP should also be endorsed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from many high- and low- or middle-income countries have linked exposures during key developmental periods (in particular pregnancy and infancy) to later health and disease. Africa faces substantial challenges with persisting infectious disease and now burgeoning non-communicable disease.This paper opens the debate to the value of strengthening the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) research focus in Africa to tackle critical public health challenges across the life-course. We argue that the application of DOHaD science in Africa to advance life-course prevention programmes can aid the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, and assist in improving health across generations. To increase DOHaD research and its application in Africa, we need to mobilise multisectoral partners, utilise existing data and expertise on the continent, and foster a new generation of young African scientists engrossed in DOHaD. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

To achieve development in a state of insecurity is a mirage. Africa is caught in this web, as every sub-region faces security challenges. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were developed as frameworks to fast track development in developing countries and sustain it in developed countries through global partnerships. This study is an advocacy to reinvent the role development partners can play to prevent and contain insecurity in the continent. It examines insecurity and development scenarios of countries in Africa, relying on the analysis of secondary data. Based on the triangulation of the Development Partnership Approach and Structural-Functional Approach as the framework for the study analysis, the findings suggest that development partners need to do more to prevent and contain insecurity in the region. The study proposes ways the development partners can achieve these. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Listeriosis is rarely reported in the Southern African Hemispheres in spite of the increasing rate of Listeria in several foodborne outbreaks reported in advanced countries. This paper reviews the emerging trends in the spread, distribution, and epidemiology of Listeria species in foods, water, human, animals, and different environments in Southern Africa based on the appraisal of scholarly articles. In this regard, information obtained from literatures from various online databases revealed that Listeria species are commonly recovered from food, water, and human samples. Fewer articles provided information on Listeria recovered from animals (ruminants) and soil samples. Generally, reports of studies were more focused on Listeria monocytogenes among other Listeria species. To this end, reports obtained from literature on the method of identification of Listeria were mostly based on serological, classical biochemical methods and the principle of aesculin hydrolysis, usually characterized by black coloration on selective media for Listeria. These methods may not be reliable, as they could sometimes give a false positive report. Therefore, molecular methods are more reliable, accurate, could show the genetic relationship between isolates, and at the same time capable of enabling tracking the source of this pathogen should be embraced as a better substitute for the identification of Listeria in Southern African sub‐region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advocacy is one of the core functions of public health and is a key tool for achieving Sustainable Development Goals. Public health associations play a key role in advocating for the development and implementation of strategies to prevent diseases and promote health and well-being. This study aims to map out the focus of public health advocacy carried out by selected national public health associations over 4 years, between 2018 and 2021, in order to identify gaps and strengths and support associations and professionals in their advocacy efforts. Twelve national public health associations participated in the study. Official policy documents produced between 2018 and 2021 were collected and analysed. The title and summary of the policy documents were examined line by line and coded into the main subject categories and themes. A qualitative thematic analysis was conducted. Policies were assessed from global and regional perspectives. A total of 220 policy documents were analysed. Overall, the largest number of policy documents came from high-income countries and dealt with environmental health and communicable diseases, including COVID-19, with, however, important differences among regions. In the African region, public health advocacy focused mainly on strengthening health systems; Europe and South America were mostly concerned with communicable diseases and pandemic management; and North America and the Western Pacific regions focused primarily on climate change. Limited attention was paid to international health and health as a human right in all regions. Our study showed that, especially in high-income countries, public health associations actively engage in advocacy; however, more effort needs to be devoted to implementing a more international and intersectoral approach at the global level, anchored in health as a human right and aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important literature examines the determinants of environmental concern within and across countries. The debate on whether affluence explains variations in environmental concern remains unsettled. An increasing number of studies acknowledge the importance of individual level characteristics as predictors of environmental concern. In this paper, we examine the relationship between perceived socioeconomic status and environmental concern among residents of less developed and developed countries. Our results show that in both less developed and developed countries, individual perceptions about their socioeconomic status are positively correlated with environmental concern. Specifically, aside from choosing environmental protection over economic growth and job creation, we find that people who perceive themselves as belonging to the working class, lower middle, upper middle and upper class are significantly more willing to make income sacrifices to prevent environmental pollution than those who believe they are in the lower class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migrant remittances to home countries have seen a significant increase over the years, especially in developing countries where due to a lack of jobs or unfavourable working conditions, citizens move to advanced countries to better their economic conditions and their dependents in home countries. This has been facilitated by globalisation in modern times. Whereas most previous studies have delved more into remittances and their impact on economic growth, less studies have examined the link between remittances and domestic investment. This study examined the impact of remittances on domestic investment in Africa using a system GMM econometric estimator. Our study departs from the few studies that examined this link by further investigating the moderating role of banking sector development and quality governance on the link between remittances and domestic investment. Using data from 41African countries from 2004 to 2018, the study discovered that migrant remittances have a direct negative impact on domestic investment in home countries. The study, however, found that both banking sector development and quality governance significantly positively impact domestic investment in Africa. Thus, when we interacted banking sector development and good governance separately with remittances, each interactive term had a significant positive impact on domestic investment. This means that for remittances to influence domestic investment, banking sector and good governance will need to be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite work's importance in people's overall sense of purpose in life, several studies measuring momentary well-being find that people are very unhappy while at work. These studies have focused on workers in industrialized countries doing paid labor in the formal sector. For a large fraction of humanity, however, "work" is smallholder farming, tending cattle and collecting water and fuelwood. We measure momentary well-being with the Experience Sampling Method in a sample of 195 subjects in rural Kenya. Subjects were the household's main water carrier; 93% were women. Each subject was asked to complete four ESM surveys per day over eight weeks. Results from 9559 ESM records show that subjects are indeed less happy "at work", whether that work is paid or unpaid casual labor, paid formal sector employment, or resource collection. They are also less energetic, less sociable and in more pain. We also find evidence that subjects perceive themselves as less safe while working or traveling away from home. We find a statistically significant, though small, relationship between the intercepts in the model (individual-level average momentary well-being) and the log of household wages earned over the past two weeks. The relationship is stronger with wages earned by the subject herself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food safety problems are a major hindrance to achieving food security, trade, and healthy living in Africa. Fungi and their secondary metabolites, known as mycotoxins, represent an important concern in this regard. Attempts such as agricultural, storage, and processing practices, and creation of awareness to tackle the menace of fungi and mycotoxins have yielded measurable outcomes especially in developed countries, where there are comprehensive mycotoxin legislations and enforcement schemes. Conversely, most African countries do not have mycotoxin regulatory limits and even when available, are only applied for international trade. Factors such as food insecurity, public ignorance, climate change, poor infrastructure, poor research funding, incorrect prioritization of resources, and nonchalant attitudes that exist among governmental organisations and other stakeholders further complicate the situation. In the present review, we discuss the status of mycotoxin regulation in Africa, with emphasis on the impact of weak mycotoxin legislations and enforcement on African trade, agriculture, and health. Furthermore, we discuss the factors limiting the establishment and control of mycotoxins in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa's human population is growing rapidly and is set to account for 40 percent of global numbers by 2100. Further development of its inland waters, to enhance water and energy security, is inevitable. Will it follow the development pathway of industrialized countries, often destructive of ecosystems, biodiversity, and river-dependent social structures, or can it chart a new way into the future based on global lessons of equity and sustainability? This essay tracks the global and African growth of the benefits and costs of water resource developments, explores the reasons for the costs, and offers insights on new scientific thinking that can help guide Africa to a more sustainable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Childhood cancers are a significant cause of child deaths worldwide. This study examines the burden of 33 childhood cancers in 183 countries. Methods: The estimates of age‐, sex‐ and country‐wise incidence and deaths due to 33 childhood cancers (below the age 15) for 183 countries were retrieved from GLOBOCAN 2018. The socioeconomic status of a country was measured by human development index (HDI). Results: Globally, an estimated 200 166 cases and 74 956 deaths were attributed to childhood cancers in 2018. The age‐standardised incidence rate (ASIR) was 103 per million, whereas the age‐standardised mortality rate (ASMR) stood at 38 per million. ASIR was highest in high‐income regions (e.g. North America: 182 per million); ASMR, however, was elevated in low‐ and medium‐income countries (e.g. south‐east Asia: 62 per million; North Africa: 51 per million). Leukaemia and brain cancers were dominant cancer groups accounting for 45% of cases and 57% of deaths. The ASIRs exhibited a positive gradient with HDI (R2=0.46). Conclusion: The high burden of childhood cancers (>80% of total incidence) in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) calls for increased cancer awareness, improvement in oncologic infrastructure, international collaborations and twinning programmes, equitable access to multi‐modal treatment and financial coverage of treatment expenses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of refugees has existed in the world since human existence. Individuals fled to seek sanctuary in another place to avoid persecution. Religious institutions have played a significant impact in the protection and care for refugees. Slavery has also contributed to the existence of refugees especially in Africa. Arabs, Europeans and Americans came to Africa and engaged in slave trade. This business has contributed to the development of economies in some developed nations. Most African countries have lost their active citizens in slavery. Many people also fled their place of origin to avoid the danger of being taken in slavery. Furthermore, colonialism has also entrenched the refugees in Africa. In order to get independence, individuals had to flee their countries and start engaging in liberation wars. Many people became refugees in their fight for independence. After the independence, the problem of refugees has continued to persist as governments of many African states do not respect nor protect human rights of their citizens. Currently, refugees continue to exist in Africa as some states persecute their citizens due to their tribe, race, religion, political opinion, sexual orientation and wars. In order to eradicate the problem of refugees, states need to create an environment that is conducive to the protection of human rights of their citizens in all their activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is age discrimination ethically objectionable? One puzzle is that we sometimes assume that the target of both age discrimination and ageism must be older people, yet in poorer nations, older people are generally shown more respect. This article explores the ethical question. It looks first at ethical arguments favoring age discrimination toward younger people in low‐income, less industrialized countries of the global South, using sub‐Saharan Africa as an illustration. It contrasts these with arguments favoring age discrimination toward older people in high‐income, more industrialized countries of the global North, particularly the United States and United Kingdom. Finally, it considers what role, if any, differences in life expectancy, infant and child mortality, and prospects for healthy lives should play in the moral embrace of a particular view by a community. It argues that there can be reasons to favor different types of discrimination in different parts of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike previous studies on electoral investment cycle—the tendency for firms to reduce investment expenditure during an election year relative to nonelection years—that have primarily focused on developed countries, this study documents cycles in private investments in relation to the timing of national elections across a broader set of African countries. The estimation results indicate that during election years, private investment decreases by an average of 16% relative to nonelection years. The results also reveal that private investment falls in the year leading up to an election and increases in the immediate year after an election, consistent with the view that electoral uncertainty deters investments. These findings suggest that electoral investment cycles apply strongly to African countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study primarily investigates if the behavior and effectiveness of CBI on fiscal policy varies between non-election and election years. It also examines whether the effectiveness of CBI in improving fiscal performance is enhanced by higher institutional quality. Using recent CBI data f on 48 African countries, 90 other developing countries and 40 developed countries over the period 1970–2012, we apply a two-stage system GMM with Windmeijer small sample robust correction estimator and find that due to the strong incentives of political authorities to influence economic outcomes in election years, CBI has stronger effects on fiscal performance in election years compared to non-election years in developed countries only. However, given higher levels of institutional quality, CBI has stronger effects on fiscal performance in election years compared to non-election years in Africa and other developing countries also. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to make a comparative study of the applicability of the purchasing power parity (PPP) in selected less developing countries (LDCs) on one hand and European countries on the other hand. Design/methodology/approach: The research design is empirical and ex post facto. This study uses an assortment of co-integration tests and error correction representation. The chosen approach allows for the consideration of long-run elasticities and the dynamics of the short-run adjustment of exchange rates to changes in domestic and foreign prices. Monthly data are used for the period 1980:1 through 2015:12 (i.e. 432 observations). Findings: Results from long-run co-integration analysis, short-run error correction models and persistence profile analysis overwhelmingly confirm the validity of PPP in these two sets of countries regardless the disparity in their relative exchange rate and price characteristics. Research limitations/implications: Curiously, several of these empirical studies and still many more, have focused their attention on the experiences of industrialized countries, with a few investigations devoted to LDCs. The evidence is even scarcer in Africa. Clearly, the acceptance of any hypothesis as a credible explanation of economic reality hinges on the robustness of the hypothesis across countries with different economic and institutional frameworks. Practical implications: Knowledge of the extent to which exchange rate and relative prices can be linked in the long run is important for the design and management of inflation and the implementation of monetary policy. For instance, policy actions aimed at stabilizing the domestic economy can obtain results that are, at best, uncertain in the absence of correct characterization of the PPP dynamics. Moreover, structural and macroeconomic adjustment programs implemented in these countries to achieve economic growth and external competitiveness could be unsuccessful if flawed estimates of PPP exchange rates are retained. Originality/value: Several empirical studies have been done to prove the validity or otherwise of the PPP. Unlike prior authors, this study makes a comparative study of the applicability of the PPP in selected LDC on one hand and European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender diversity is known to have a positive effect on innovation in developed countries. However, it is unclear whether the benefits of gender diversity for innovation also apply to the particular context of developing countries, which is characterized by diverse and lower levels of gender equality. We propose that gender diversity positively impacts innovation in the developing countries participating in our study. In addition, we expect that this effect is moderated by country-specific levels of gender equality. In a cross-country study covering 18,547 firms in 15 developing countries, we find that gender diversity among a firm’s owners and workforce as well as having a female top manager benefit innovation in developing countries. Yet, contradictory to our expectations, gender equality does not significantly moderate this relationship. As such, our results underline the importance of enabling and fostering gender diversity and have critical implications for firms and policy makers alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the high success rates of preformed metal crowns (PMCs) in children no randomized clinical trials compare methods of placement and none describe its use in Africa. Our aim was to compare survival and cost-effectiveness of PMCs placed by conventional techniques (CT) and biological Hall techniques (HT) using a prospective randomized control trial in a general dental practice from Khartoum. One hundred and nine and 103 PMCs were placed in randomly selected children (5-8years) with 1–2 carious primary molars using HT and CT respectively and followed for 2 years. Socioeconomic status, periodontal health, occlusion, anxiety, and procedure time were compared using student t-test. Kaplan–Meier survival rates and incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) were compared between CT and HT. CT and HT groups were similar for age, gender, socio-economic status. Survival rates were high (over 90%) for both study arms and not statistically different (p>0.05). Anxiety scores were significantly higher in CT arm after 12 months compared to HT (p<0.001). Clinically, gingival and plaque indices were similar between groups (p>0.05) but occlusions were raised in nearly all subjects in the HT arm (p<0.05). Periodontal health improved, and occlusions adjusted over time in both arms. There were 3 (2.7%) and 6 (5.8%) minor failures, 7 (6.4%) and 6 (5.8%) major failures in HT and CT arms respectively. Mean procedure time was lower in HT (9.1 min) than CT (33.9 min); p<0.001. Mean PMC cost was US$2.45 and US$7.81 for HT and CT respectively. The ICER was US$136.56 more for each PMC placed by CT per life year. We show that PMCs have high survival outcomes in disadvantaged populations similar to results from developed countries. As HT can be carried out by less experienced dental operators and therapists, this biological approach provides a promising cost-effective option to manage caries in developing countries with limited resources. Trial registration: The trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov. ClinicalTrial.gov Trial Registration: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide 2 antibodies (anti-CCP2) and rheumatoid factor (RF) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been extensively assessed in industrialized countries. We investigated the diagnostic and prognostic impact of anti-CCP2 and RF isotypes in a Sudanese cross-sectional RA cohort. Methods: Consecutive RA patients (n = 281) diagnosed according to the 1987 ACR criteria were included 2008–2010. Anti-CCP2 and RF isotypes (IgA, IgM, and IgG) were measured by enzyme immunoassay in 262 patients, with reference intervals aligned to the same diagnostic specificity as for anti-CCP2 (97.6%) using national controls. Results: IgA RF was the predominant RA-associated autoantibody (56%), followed by IgM RF and anti-CCP2 (both 52%) and IgG RF (49%). In receiver operator characteristic analysis, IgA RF also showed the largest area under the curve. Patients with IgG RF were younger and had 8 years lower median age of disease onset compared to antibody negative patients (p < 0.0001). IgG RF was the only marker associated with a high number of involved joints (p = 0.028), and together with anti-CCP2 were the strongest markers for finger deformities (p = 0.016 and p = 0.012), respectively. No statistical differences were found for disease duration, ESR and Hb levels, and occurrence of erosions/osteopenia for any of the investigated autoantibodies. Conclusion: Whereas IgA RF showed the best diagnostic performance, IgG RF associated with low age of RA onset, high number of involved joints, and finger deformities. These findings indicate that RA-associated antibodies other than conventional IgM RF and anti-CCP2 might be informative in non-Caucasian RA populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]