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Land use – the way human beings employ the land and its resources is at the centre of scientific and policy interests in rapidly evolving landscapes of sub-Saharan Africa. An example par excellence of such landscapes is the Western Highland Region of Cameroon. This paper analyses the implications of land use changes in seven communities of the Western Highland Region of Cameroon. In doing so, it specifically: (i) examines the pattern of land use/land cover change between 1984 and 2021, and (ii) analyses their environmental implications. A mixed-methods approach involving the use of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods was employed. This specifically involved the survey of 300 households using semi-structured questionnaires, the conduct of nine (9) group discussions and twenty-two (22) key informant interviews. Secondary data were obtained through Municipal Council Reports. The data were analysed descriptively (using tables and charts) and spatially using maps. The study used archived satellite images to map land use dynamics over the study area from 1970’s to present. In this light, NASA’s Landsat satellite images from USGS earth explorer was acquired for the periods of 1979, 1984, 2000, 2013 and 2021 for diachronic analysis of land cover/use in the study area. The results revealed that land use/land cover changes were rapid, involving a significant reduction in grassland (72%), forests (48%) and bare areas (19%) between 1984 and 2021. This was followed by a correspondent increase (211%) in the built-up area, and in agricultural space (22%). Additionally, land use/land cover changes have led to a change in local climatic conditions, a decline in crop and livestock output, and rising food costs. The study recommends that international NGOs operating in this area should engage with communities on aspects of sustainable land management. Relevant government ministerial departments and municipal agents should emphasise the need to respect land use plans, to limit the uncoordinated colonisation of slopes for farming and settlement. Besides establishing the pattern of land use transformation in this landscape, this paper provides new insights on the environmental effects of land use/land cover dynamics in Cameroon’s Western Highlands. The results demonstrate novelty through its further identification of food security issues linked to land use/land cover dynamics.

PurposeThis paper discusses the outcomes of an exploratory study into the innovations, adaptations, and best practices that the tourism and hospitality sector in Africa should implement in dealing with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic-induced disruptions.Design/methodology/approachThis paper was based on data collected through qualitative approaches by reviewing published academic articles and unpublished documents, including websites, media reports and global public health entities such as the World Health Organization (WHO). Because of the lack of reliable data in some cases, this study is inductive in nature.FindingsThe main finding of this research suggests that Africa which is seemingly the least affected in infection and casualty rates has conversely borne the brunt of the negative responses from the global community in travel restrictions and mobility curtailment. Overwhelming trends suggest the domestic tourism market does not have the spending capacity of international visitors who arrive with foreign currency, inevitably main-stream in the form of USD, EURO and GBP, with their spending power estimated at between 1:18 and 1:22. The fragmented, cascaded and sometimes disorganised approach in dealing with policy adoptions and implementation in managing developments around the pandemic further inhibits a compelling approach to continent-wide tourism and hospitality revival.Originality/valueThis paper highlights trends, innovations, and adaptations to COVID-19-related revival strategies for Africa and contributes to academic debates on the topic which, in the Global South context is currently under-researched.

The challenge of incorporating men in HIV prevention from mother to child transmission (PMTCT) activities has remained a major barrier to women’s adoption of basic PMTCT activities. Available research that has been done to incorporate men in PMTCT activities used women as the sample. PMTCT was introduced in Cameroon in 2000 and in the Fundong Health District in 2002. This study was aimed at determining factors that influence men’s participation and involvement in PMTCT programs. A descriptive cross-sectional correlation design was used with 384 participants ranging in age from 24 to 77 years. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed. Structured questionnaires were given to 384 men in six randomly selected health areas. A focus group discussion was held with randomly selected key PMTCT service providers in the district. Stata version 10 was used to do univariable and multivariable analyses on the data. Respondents had a mean age of 42.83 and a standard deviation of 10.41. The level of involvement was above average. There was a positive correlation between the age and level of men’s involvement in PMTCT. Knowledge and awareness had an adjusted OR (95%CI) of 5.24(2.78, 9.85) with a P-value of 0.01. Socio-cultural factors had an adjusted OR (95%CI) of 2.98(1.73, 5.11) with a P-value of 0.01. Hospital-based factors had an adjusted OR (95%CI) of 1.53(0.93, 2.53) and a P-value of 0.09. In conclusion, even though socio-cultural factors were seen as deterrents, men’s role and participation increased with more knowledge, awareness, and understanding of the PMTCT programme and the manner in which nurses offer PMTCT services.

This study seeks to explore the early considerations that COVID-19 induced mobility restrictions placed on study-abroad programmes at universities in South Africa. The study considers how, given the negative impacts that were felt with international travel being largely restricted, universities in the Western Cape province approached study-abroad programmes during the restrictions and post restriction considerations. Data for this pilot study were collected via a mixed-method approach targeting international students and key resource persons through the international offices at four universities in the Western Cape. Twenty-three international students and two key resource persons responded to the pilot. Key indications highlight a European dominance in the demographic distribution of participants while illustrating a steady interest in the study-abroad programmes irrespective of the challenges induced by the pandemic. While the anxieties and uncertainties induced by the evolving nature of the pandemic were noted, emerging trends from the data highlighted areas of focus for future resilience strategies to shore up the sector from future crises, the scale and nature of COVID-19. As a pilot to a broader empirical study, it is hoped that the outcomes will contribute towards the development of conceptual tenets for the sustainable development of the study-abroad programme segment within the international higher education nexus while providing context for proposing mitigating actions and strategies which would help higher education institutions move from a crisis management situation to more long-term resilience planning.

BackgroundDespite a scale up of control interventions over the years, malaria remains a major public health and economic concern in Cameroon, contributing considerably to hospitalization and deaths. The effectiveness of control strategies depends on the extent of adherence by the population to national guidelines. This study assessed the influence of human knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to malaria and its control on the prevalence of malaria parasite infection, with implications for the elimination of the disease.MethodologyThis is a cross-sectional community and hospital-based study, covering the five ecological and three malaria transmission zones in Cameroon. A pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire was used to document socio-demographic and clinical parameters as well as knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward malaria control and management. Consenting participants were screened for malaria parasite with rapid diagnostic test (mRDT) of the peripheral blood. Association between qualitative variables was determined using the chi-square test and logistic regression analysis.ResultsA total of 3,360 participants were enrolled, 45.0% (1,513) of whom were mRDT positive, with 14.0% (451/3,216) and 29.6% (951/3,216) having asymptomatic parasitaemia and malaria, respectively. Although most participants knew the cause, symptoms, and control strategies, with 53.6% (1,000/1,867) expertly knowledgeable about malaria overall, only 0.1% (2/1,763) individuals were fully adherent to malaria control measures.ConclusionThe risk of malaria in Cameroon remains high, with the population considerably knowledgeable about the disease but poorly adherent to national malaria control guidelines. Concerted and more effective strategies aimed at improving knowledge about malaria and adherences to control interventions are necessary to ultimately eliminate the disease.

Background: Politically motivated violence and insecurity continue to be a major threat to HIV progress and a significant contributor to health inequality. Despite a decreasing HIV/AIDS disease burden, the Republic of Cameroon in West Africa is experiencing ongoing political instability in her North and South West Regions. Our study used qualitative methods to better understand key frontline health care providers' (fHCP) perceptions of the effects of political instability on HIV/AIDS response gains in Cameroon since 2018, as well as lessons learned for overcoming them.Methods: Between July and August 2022, semi-structured, in-depth key informant interviews involving 10 purposively selected participants were conducted in the two regions. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim, coded thematically, and analyzed manually.Results: Six overarching themes emerged from the transcribed key informant interviews. They were as follows: (1) Challenge with access to and availability of health care services (HIV care, commodity supply chain) in the smaller communities; (2) Impact on continuity of treatment; (3) Increased risk of new HIV infections. (4) The socioeconomic impact of the crisis on the quality of life; (5) The impact of the crisis on fHCPs' physical and mental health and the health system'; and (6) Coping mechanismsConclusions: Frontline healthcare workers have acknowledged the significant impact the current political instability has had in hindering the development and advancement of a successful local response to HIV/AIDS in the two impacted regions of Cameroon. Coordinated efforts must be made to strengthen the health sector in areas such as HIV healthcare decentralization, supply chain, and protecting frontline healthcare workers from political quagmires in order to lessen the impact of the nation's socio-political crisis on the HIV/AIDS response and, more generally, on the entire health sector.

Background and purpose:We determined the prevalence of physician-diagnosed sleep disorder and its association with tobacco smoke exposure and vitamin D deficiency.MethodsThe National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) of 2011–2012 data base was used for the study. Subjects were asked two questions: “Ever told your doctor you had trouble sleeping?” and “Ever told by doctor have sleep disorder?” The answer “yes” to the second question indicated presence of a doctor-diagnosed sleep disorder (DSD) and “no” indicated its absence. Tobacco smoke exposure was defined by serum cotinine levels while vitamin D levels were measured by serum 25(OH) D. Eight selected variables included in the analyses were BMI, age, gender, smoking exposure, vitamin D levels, income, insurance, and race. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to determine if tobacco smoke exposure and Vitamin D were each predictive of DSD.ResultsOf 5,470 subjected aged 16 to 80+ years about 9% had doctor-diagnosed sleep disorder (DSD). In a multiple regression analysis, active tobacco smoking was predictive of DSD (OR 1.92; 95% CI = 1.38–2.69), while passive smoke exposure was not, even after controlling for all the other significant variables (OR 0.93; 95% CI = 0.57–1.52). The other variables significantly associated with DSD were by order of importance BMI (P < 0.001), Age (P < 0.001) and race (P ≤ 0.001). Vitamin D deficiency was not predictive of DSD.ConclusionThe prevalence of physician-diagnosed DSD was about 9%. Active smoking but not passive smoking as defined by cotinine levels was significantly associated with DSD. Vitamin D was not predictive of DSD. Future studies are therefore needed to demonstrate whether smoking cessation could help reduce DSD.

In this study, a mechanical and microstructural constituent of welded joints of dissimilar high-strength and ultra-high-strength steels (S700MC/S960QC) using overmatched filler wire was evaluated. Three different heat inputs (18 kJ/cm, 8 kJ/cm, and 10 kJ/cm) and overmatched filler wire were applied using the GMAW process. Micro-hardness measurement was conducted using Vickers hardness test, tensile test, and microstructural constituents by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were performed in this analysis. A dissimilar welded sample with a cooling time of 51s (18 kJ/cm) showed a substantial hardness reduction in the fine grain heat-affected zone (HAZ) of the S700MC steel side, which was between 220-240 HV5. The cause could be the increase of heat input but also the use of overmatched filler wire, which can be the result of an increase of ferrite to austenite formation in the HAZ. SEM/EDS results confirmed the increase of carbide clusters, and tempered Martensite in the CGHAZ of the S960QC side, and ferrite-bainite on the S700MC side. An increase in the presence of high carbide content and the formation of Ni, Mo, and Mn were observed on the S960QC side. The increase of carbide formation in the CGHAZ of both sides reduced the hardness and strength of the welded joints. The tensile test confirms the softening observed in the FGHAZ of the S700MC side, which caused the joint fracture on this side during the test. Â

Urban water resources have been under increasing threat of pollution in recent years due to increasing population growth and improper management of vast amounts of waste generated by various human activities. Water resources in the Fako Division which are major sources of drinking and domestic water are now major receptacles of untreated and partially treated industrial wastes. The study aims at investigating the physico-chemical contamination of water resources in the municipalities of Buea, Tiko and Limbe within the Fako Division. To understand and interpret the nexus, twenty water samples were collected from different sources as follows: three (3) streams, one (1) community water, five (5) springs, four (4) boreholes and seven (7) wells and were analyzed. The Water quality parameters examined were physical parameters: Water Temperature (Tᵒ), Electrical Conductivity (EC), Potential Hydrogen (pH), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and Salinity, Chemical parameters; major cations included sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+) and major anions included chloride (Cl-), bicarbonate (HCO3-), sulphate (SO42-), nitrate (NO3- ) and fluoride (F-). Major ions were determined using ion chromatography and alkalinity by titration. Results revealed that fifteen (15) of the water samples recorded high levels of Nitrate concentrations during the rainy season while in the dry season twelve (12) samples registered high levels above WHO standards. Results revealed that the levels of nitrates in the rainy season were higher than in the dry season. High concentrations of nitrates in water samples are a result of agricultural practices with the intensive use of fertilizers and pesticides. Some of the wastes are washed off by runoff during the rainy season into surface water bodies while some infiltrate through the porous scoriaceous sub-soils into the water table polluting groundwater resources with excess nitrates. The study, therefore, recommends systematic waste management strategies, proper town planning measures. There should be operational monitoring of the domestic water system and the implementation of systematic water quality management and integrated water strategies.