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PurposeIntegrating research into teaching at higher education institutions (HEIs) has become a current goal of Western countries due to the reliability of this approach in promoting lifelong student learning and improving the teaching quality in higher education. However, integrating research into teaching is not as easy as “pushing a button”; instead, it requires the positive perceptions of teachers and university culture under the 21st-century higher education (HE) paradigm. With regard to HE in non-Western countries, only a small amount of literature exists.Design/methodology/approachThe present study adopted a survey design to compare teachers' perceptions towards research–teaching nexus (RTN) among Pakistan and Ethiopian faculties.FindingsThe current study demonstrated that HE should furnish academics with a research environment that stimulates the integration of research into teaching to empower students with knowledge that they can use in future professional careers.Research limitations/implicationsEven though this study examines two nations with several HEIs, it is limited to universities that could be contacted, so future qualitative studies are needed in the HE systems of both countries to obtain a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of students' and teachers' actual RTN practice.Practical implicationsAiding teachers with an intensive professional development to which illuminate teachers with research, teaching and integrating skills and reform the curriculum, which empowers teachers and students.Originality/valueThe study is conducted in Ethiopia and Pakistan public higher institutions.

Women’s universities are common in South Asian countries, such as Pakistan, where females are at a disadvantage. These universities are agencies of freedom for female academics, as they provide a favorable environment that enhances the performance of and opens doors for egalitarianism and prosperity for women. Nevertheless, research productivity among female academics remains an ongoing issue due to many factors, including multiple family and work responsibilities. An exploratory case study was conducted at one of the women’s universities in Pakistan to more closely explore this experience. In the current study, preference theory was used as a theoretical framework to explore female faculty’s research productivity while simultaneously meeting their family/work responsibilities. The study provides robust and promising observations, which have implications for academia, policy-makers, and scholars.

Purpose: The study had the fundamental purpose of investigating perceptions of justice and its impact on work motivation among university lectures in Hanoi, Vietnam. Methodology/Approach/Design: A quantitative research approach was employed with survey questionnaire as a data collection tool. To achieve the study objective, 416 lecturers who work at public and non-public universities in Hanoi were included in this study. The correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis were applied to measure the relationship between the lecturers' perceptions of justice and their work motivation. Results: Findings indicated that perceptions of justice in payment, recognition, opportunities for promotion, the attitudes, and treatments of leaders had a significant and positive correlation with lecturers' work motivation. The study also showed that Vietnamese lecturers are more concerned with non-monetary than monetary compensation, such as promotions, training, and professional development opportunities. Practical Implications: This study presents implications for Vietnam’s higher education authorities. The results might be of interest for any project aiming at motivating faculty and improving their working conditions. Originality/Value: The originality of the study is in the exploration of perception of justice and its effect of lecturers’ motivation. It is recognized that providing a justice/fairness based environment will ensure that schools can motivate their lecturers.

Purpose: The aim of the study is to review the impact of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor on the Pakistani educational sector. Furthermore, the study critically examines the present educational challenges of the Pakistan education system and CPEC logistics arrangement between China and Pakistan. Approach/Methodology/Design: We analyzed literature through SWOT analysis to review the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the context of education. Findings: The analysis indicated that CPEC not only benefits the economy and bilateral trade between the two countries but it also offers opportunity for Pakistan to adopt and access more policies to strengthen the educational sector of the country. The SWOT analysis also demonstrates that CPEC has more venues of opportunity rather than threats. Practical Implications: The study offers an overview of CPEC effect on education in Pakistan. Though it is mainly economy-driven, this study analyzes the CPEC with a focus on the effects on the educational system in Pakistan. This opens a venue for more engagement between the two countries in terms of training, academic exchange, and educational planning. Originality/value: This study examines the effects of CPEC on the education system in Pakistan. Most of the literature on CPEC is concerned about the economic effect. This study investigates how CPEC impacts the educational aspects in Pakistan.

Purpose: The main objective of this study is to investigate the perceptions of pre-service teachers regarding their tutoring program at teacher college model in Mauritania. Approach/Methodology/Design: Explanatory Sequential design was adopted. Hence, a survey questionnaire and interviews were developed to gather data from 80 pre-service teachers, 20 in-service teachers, and 2 mentors. Findings: The findings of the study revealed that internship training has a significant impact on the development of pre-service teachers, but the teacher trainees did not get enough time for internship training sessions due to the workload of the theoretical courses. Mentors and management support were found insignificant to the development of teacher college model trainees. Practical Implications: The study provides a systematic evaluation of the current in-service teacher training programs. It reflects certain aspects of the status quo, and hence it will be useful for the concerned authorities in the field of teacher education. Originality/value: Teacher College Model has to adjust the levels of its tutoring where the study found that teacher trainees suffer the short-term practicum while they are complaining about the workload of coursework. Another way of the assessment regarding the tutoring program could be including observation. It is suggested that a qualitative study where researchers can spend more time at the teacher college model and with teaching staff observing the different aspects of the tutoring program.

COVID-19 has had considerable effects on people's lives worldwide, particularly left-behind children in China as they tragically witnessed the outbreak. From the outset, millions of left-behind children in rural areas experienced extensive physical and psychological disturbances because their migrant parents who lived in the city or another province could not be with them. This study explored the psychological, academic, and physical well-being of rural left-behind children during COVID-19. We captured the experiences of 10- to 15-year-old children and adolescents who were left behind by their migrant parents before the COVID-19 outbreak. The results of the present study suggest that left-behind children have exhibited severe psychological illnesses since the pandemic has limited their social interactions with peers and increased improper caretaking from grandparents.

A large volume of empirical evidence and literature reviews on physical activity have concentrated on primary and secondary education. Thus, the primary aim of this systematic review is to synthesize empirical evidence regarding the potential impact of physical activity on academic and nonacademic performance among Chinese university students. A search and analysis of studies was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines by using an electronic database search (PubMed, Science Direct, and Scopus), and 150 studies were obtained. Subsequently, after producing rigorous inclusion and exclusion criteria, which were used to consider quality, methodology, language, geographical location, year of publication, etc., a total of 11 quantitative research articles, based on Chinese higher education institutions, were chosen for synthesis. The comprehensive analysis of the studies affirmed that physical activity dramatically benefits university students by fostering their nonacademic skills, such as social relatedness, life satisfaction, and mental health, in addition to boosting their academic achievement in terms of graduation, GPA, academic motivation, and engagement. However, the aim of this systematic review was to provide implications for future scholars to explicitly study university students’ educational level, discipline, sex, and type of physical activity.

Parental migration from rural to cities in China is causing millions of children to be left behind or to live without parental care, support, and guidance, which violates the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This national phenomenon has consequences for the household registration system, known as the hukou system, which is meant to restrain internal migration. These consequences may result in economic and social imbalances. However, a noticeable number of children have been completely or partially left behind by their parents in villages, and as a result, their relationship with their parents and their academic attainment are weak. In particular, this study examines whether migrant parents can improve the academic performance of their Left-Behind Children (LBC) by strengthening their relationship with their children or by sending adequate remittances to the village household. Astonishingly, the structural equation model (SEM) results indicate that LBCs from both parents migrating households are the more privileged groups, although the study underlines that still, all LBC are disadvantaged compared to non-LBC.

Refereed/Peer-reviewed Objective: Although typhoid fever is a major public health problem in Ethiopia, data is not available in the study area. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence, clinical presentation at the time of diagnosis and associated factors of typhoid fever among febrile patients visiting Shashemene Referral Hospital, southern Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 1, 2016, to October 30, 2016. Socio-demographic and clinical data were collected using a structured questionnaire. A blood sample was collected and inoculated into Tryptic soy broth. Results: A total of 421 adult febrile patients suspected of typhoid fever were included in the study. Of these, the overall prevalence of culture-confirmed typhoid fever was 5.0% (21/421). The prevalence of typhoid fever was significantly associated with rural residence (8.4%). As compared to the urban resident, the rural resident was 3.6 times more likely found to have culture-confirmed typhoid fever. The prevalence of typhoid fever was significantly associated with those patients whose water source was spring 7 (12.3%) and river 7 (13.2%). All of those study participants who used treated water were culture negative. Fever for ≥ 5 days, abdominal pain, and skin rash independently predicted blood culture-confirmed typhoid fever.

Techalew Shimelis,1 Yayheyirad Tassachew,1 Agete Tadewos,1 Mesfin Worku Hordofa,1 Anteneh Amsalu,2 Birkneh Tilahun Tadesse,3 Endale Tadesse1 1Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Medicine and Health Sciences Hawassa University, Hawassa, 2Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, 3Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia Introduction: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are hepatotropic viruses of public health significance worldwide. Despite their severe clinical impact in HIV-infected patients, there is inadequate information regarding the epidemiology of hepatitis/HIV coinfections in Ethiopia. Thus, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of HBV and HCV infections among HIV-infected patients at a tertiary hospital in Southern Ethiopia. Methods: Stored sera, which were originally collected for the investigation of syphilis among HIV-infected clients, were analyzed in this study. Samples were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibody to hepatitis B core antigen using rapid diagnostic tests. Those samples that tested positive for HBsAg were further analyzed for hepatitis B e antigen. All sera were tested for antibody to HCV infection using rapid diagnostic test. Results: HBsAg was positive for 6.3% of the participants; of whom, 10% were positive for hepatitis B e antigen. The exposure rates to HBV (antibody to hepatitis B core antigen) and HCV (anti-HCV) infections were 22.4 and 3.1%, respectively. The rates of coinfections with HBV-syphilis, HCV-syphilis, and HBV-HCV were found to be 3.1, 0.6, and 1.3%, respectively. HBV exposure rate was significantly higher among participants in the age range 40–49 years (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.98; 95% CI, 1.01–3.88) and those who had a CD4+ T cell count

Background Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common curable sexual transmitted bacterial infection in the world, including Sub-Saharan Africa. There is nil systematic review and meta-analysis on Chlamydia trachomatis infection in Sub-Saharan Africa among reproductive age women. Therefore, this study was carried out to determine the pooled prevalence of chlamydia trachomatis infection in Sub-Saharan Africa among reproductive age women. Methods A comprehensive literature search was conducted from biomedical data bases: Medline, PubMed, EMBASE, Google scholar, HINARI and Cochrane Library using a special index search terms (medical subject headings (MeSH), title and abstract. The Cochrane Q test and I2 statistics was used to test heterogeneity and publication bias was assessed using Begg’s and Egger’s tests. Results were presented in tables, figures and funnel plot. Data were pooled in a meta-analysis using a random effects model. Results Twenty-four studies were included in this meta–analysis. There was a high level of heterogeneity among studies. The pooled prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection in Sub-Saharan Africa among reproductive age women was 7.8% (95% CI: 5.6–10.6). Conclusion This review showed that Chlamydia trachomatis infection is high in Sub-Saharan Africa among reproductive age group women. This evidence suggests that governmental and non-governmental organization shall give attention for primary prevention of this infection. Likewise, in resource limited countries policy makers, stakeholders and health care providers’ due attention for Chlamydia trachomatis specific and rapid diagnostic test, treatment in any medical out and in patient clinics for reproductive age women.

The internationalization of Chinese higher education glimmers the hope for globalization and opened the doors for countries to exchange academics treasures and cultural exchange. The euphonious and mellifluous agenda behind the internationalization led the nations towards the silver lining of collaboration, interaction, and human resources exchange. However, a large volume of literature claimed the poor academic performance of international students and weak academic communication between international students and Chinese faculty members. So the study sought to explore the phenomena through doctoral. Student experience regarding their research self-efficacy development in a Chinese university. Thus, we took one Chinese university as a case due to its high accessibility of international students with broad and deep experience of being an international student in China. Our participants were international doctoral students from Asian and African countries with significant financial desperation. The findings shed light on the intention of international to pursue a doctoral degree in Chinese higher education and how it significantly delayed their research self-efficacy development.

The Pakistan government is exhausted with the despicable rate of return from education. Punjab province took the preponderance amount of the budget for quality education due to the large population density. Thus, this study longitudinal study embraces the distribution and effectiveness of necessary facilities that consume most educational budgets through extensive analysis. Hence, the main finding indicated that the Punjab province showed a radical improvement in resource equity and student learning outcomes. However, the study noted that a lot has to be done to evaluate resources since significant improvements are observed, but not an achievement.

Bacterial external ocular infection is a common health problem along with increase and spread of drug resistance in Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to identify potential bacterial isolate of external ocular infections and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns in patients attending eye clinic of the Hawassa University Teaching and Referral Hospital, from December 2012 to April 2013. A total of 281 consecutive, non-repetitive ocular specimens were collected among conjunctivitis cases (n=140), blepharitis cases (n=55), keratitis cases (n=31), dacryocystitis cases (n=19), and other cases (n=36). All samples were processed for culture and identification by standard methods. Susceptibility testing was done by Kirby-Bauer method as per Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guideline. Out of 281 ocular specimens submitted to culture, 137 (48.8%) specimen were positive. The most common bacterial isolates were Gram positive cocci (n=88; 61.5%). The predominant bacterial species isolated was Staphylococcus aureus (n=30; 21.0%) followed by coagulase negative Staphylococci (CoNS) (n=26; 18.2%) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (n=20; 14.0%). In vitro ciprofloxacin was effective against 86% of isolated pathogen. Multi-drug resistance was observed in 69.9% of the bacterial isolates. Our study confirmed that S. aureus was the overall predominant isolated pathogen followed by CoNS, S. pneumoniae and Klebsiella spp. Gram positive isolates were more susceptible to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and vancomycin, whereas Gram negative isolates were more susceptible to ciprofloxacin and gentamicin. Relatively, ciprofloxacin is effective against most isolated pathogen. Key words: External ocular infections, conjunctivitis, blepharitis, keratitis, dacryocystitis, susceptibility.

Background: Urogenital infection with Chlamydia trachomatis(CT) is one of the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) world-wide, especially in developing nations where routine laboratory diagnosis is unavailable. Little is known about the epidemiology of this infection in Ethiopia where other STIs are prevalent. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and associated factors of CT infection among women of reproductive age. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 322 consecutive women aged between 15–49 years at Hawassa University Referral Hospital from November 2014 to April 2015. Data on socio-demography and potential risk factors for genital infection were collected using structured questionnaires. Moreover, endocervical swabs were collected from all participants, screened for CT antigen using rapid immunochromatography assay, and cultured following the standard bacteriological method to isolate Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Result: In this study, the overall prevalence of CT antigen and N. gonorrhoeae infection was 61(18.9%) and 1(0.31%), respectively. Women aged 15–24 years had the highest prevalence of CT infection (24.2%), followed by those aged 25–34 years (16.8%) and those aged 35–49 years (9.6%). CTinfection was associated with women who had unprotected sex within the last six months (aOR = 3.459; 95% CI = 1.459–8.222) and were sexually active for 6–10 years (aOR = 3.076; 95% CI = 1.152–8.209). None of the clinical symptoms and diagnoses was significantly associated with CT antigen positivity. Conclusions: The high prevalence of genital CT infection in this study highlights the need for further large-scale studies on the general population. Thus, screening of women regardless of their symptoms should be in place. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Background Syphilis facilitates both HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) transmission and acquisition, reflecting the complex interplay between the two infections. Scarce information exists regarding syphilis epidemiology in Ethiopian context. Thus, this study determined the sero-prevalence of syphilis and associated risk factors in people with HIV infection. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at Hawassa Referral Hospital, southern Ethiopia from January to May, 2014. A consecutive 993 HIV–infected participants were studied; but individuals under 15 years of age or treated for syphilis or those with a CD4+ T–cell count below 50 cells/μl were excluded. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data on socio-demography and potential risk factors for syphilis. Moreover, blood samples were collected from all participants and screened for syphilis using rapid plasma reagin (RPR) test, and those found sero-positive were confirmed using treponema pallidum haemagglutination assay (TPHA). Results The sero-prevalence of syphilis was found to be 7.3% (95% CI 5.7– 9%). The rate of infection was significantly higher among participants who were ART (antiretroviral therapy) naive (odds ratio (OR) = 2.2; 95% CI 1.22 – 4.1), men (OR = 2.2; 95% CI 1.22 – 3.87), older than 50 years of age (OR = 3.9; 95% CI 1.45 – 6.94), had only primary school level education (OR = 7.8; 95% CI 2.63 – 23.2) and had a history of blood transfusion (OR = 3.9; 95% CI 1.5 – 10.4). Conclusion The high prevalence of syphilis among HIV-infected population warrants integrating syphilis screening with HIV care to limit the clinical consequences of untreated syphilis as well as its adverse impact on HIV transmission.

Objective To determine the diagnostic performance of the SD BIOLINE HIV/syphilis Duo rapid test. Design A hospital-based cross-sectional study. Setting This evaluation was conducted at one of the largest hospitals in southern Ethiopia. Participants Serum samples obtained from clients attending the antiretroviral therapy and voluntary counselling and testing centres were used. Sera were originally collected for the purpose of investigating syphilis epidemiology. The performance of the test to detect HIV was evaluated using 400 sera (200 HIV positives and 200 HIV negatives). Also, its performance to detect syphilis was evaluated using 85 syphilis positive and 100 syphilis negative serum samples. Individuals

Background Helicobacter pylori is the main etiology of peptic ulcers and chronic gastritis. Various studies showed that blood type ‘O’ is more common among patients with peptic ulcer. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of H. pylori antibodies and its relationship with ABO/Rhesus blood groups, age, sex and residence of symptomatic patients in southern Ethiopia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in a total of 408 consecutive patients with upper abdominal complaints at Hawassa University Hospital from October 2012 to January 2013. Data on demographic factors was collected from all participants using questionnaires. Blood samples were also collected and tested for ABO and Rh blood group phenotype using hemagglutination test and for anti-H. pylori antibody (IgG) using two different ELISAs.. Results The overall seroprevalence of H. pylori infection was 83.3% (340/408), and it was significantly higher in rural (71.2%) compared to urban residents (28.8%) (p = 0.008). Participants with blood group AB, A, O, B, and Rh positive had H. pylori prevalence of 88.9, 84.2, 83.7, 80.9, and 83.5%, respectively. H. pylori infection was not significantly influenced by age, sex, occupation, educational status and ABO/ Rh status (p >0.05). Conclusion The high seroprevalence of H. pylori infection especially among rural residents calls for immediate intervention measures so that its clinical consequences could be minimized. ABO/Rh blood group was not found to be associated with H. pylori infection.

Background HIV infection and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) can induce metabolic disturbances including lipodystrophy, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance, which are reminiscences of metabolic syndrome (MS). However, little is known regarding the magnitude of MS in Ethiopian HIV population. This study, aimed to estimate the prevalence of MS among HIV positive patients with and without HAART. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at Hawassa University Referral Hospital, southern Ethiopia between February 2012 and April 2013. Data on demographic and anthropometric characteristics were collected from a total of 374 HIV positive participants (188 on ART and 186 on Pre-ART) using WHO stepwise approach. Fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol was measured. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the National Cholesterol Education Program: Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP) Criteria were used to define MS. Result Of the 374 study participants 68% were females, and 50.3% were receiving ART. Using the IDF criteria, metabolic syndrome was diagnosed in 25% of patients receiving ART compared to 22.5% of the ART naive group (OR: 1.14 CI: 0.71–1.84). Using the ATP criteria, the prevalence of MS was 18.1% in the ART groups compared to 15.6% in ART naive group (OR: 1.20, CI: 0.69–2.06). Patients receiving ART had significantly elevated Cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose and LDL-c levels but lower CD4+ cell counts than the Pre-ART groups. Being a female, having BMI of at least 25, older age (i.e. age ≥ 45 years) and having total cholesterol of at least 200 mg/dl were significantly associated with the presence of MS. Using the ATP criteria to define MS, taking d4T-3TC-EFV regimen was significantly associated with higher odds of MS. Conclusion Almost a quarter of HIV patients on ART developed metabolic syndrome. Furthermore patients on ART had elevated lipid profile and glucose metabolism disturbance than the ART naive.

Background Toxoplasmosis in immuno-compromised hosts manifests primarily as a life threatening condition, toxoplasmic encephalitis. However, there is scarce information about the magnitude of Toxoplasma gondii infection among HIV-infected people in Ethiopia. This study was, therefore, conducted to determine the sero-prevalence of T. gondii infection among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected subjects. Findings Sera were collected from people with and without HIV infection for the purpose of studying hepatitis B virus (HBV) at St. Paul Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 24 January 2007 to 15 February 2007. Among these sera, the first 330 consecutive sera, 165 from each HIV sero-group, were selected and tested for anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay. The seroprevalence of Toxoplasma infection was assessed against socio-demographic characteristics, HIV and HBV serostatus and HBV-related risk factors. The overall sero-prevalence of latent T. gondii infection among the study subjects was 90.0%. Toxoplasma infection was observed with respective prevalence of 93.3% and 86.7% among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected people. Though Toxoplasma infection seems to be influenced by age, gender and HIV serostatus, only HBV serostatus was significantly associated (OR 2.71, CI 1.12 to 6.57) in multivariate logistic regression analysis. Conclusion The seroprevalence of latent T. gondii infection is high and similar by HIV status. Educating people to prevent acquisition of new Toxoplasma infection and minimizing the risk of disease manifestations among HIV-Toxoplasma co-infected individuals is important.

Background Untreated asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) during pregnancy may cause serious complications including pyelonephritis and delivery of premature or low-birth-weight infants. However, little is known about asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnancy in Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria, bacterial agents, and their antibiotic susceptibility pattern in pregnant women attending antenatal clinic of the Hawassa Teaching and Referral Hospital. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in a total of 244 pregnant women with no sign and symptom of urinary tract infection from March 2012 to September 2012. Clean catch mid-stream urine samples were collected from all study participants using sterile containers. Urine samples were cultured using standard bacteriological methods. Identification of suspected colonies and antibiotic sensitivity testing were done. Result Out of 244 pregnant women, 46(18.8%) were positive for asymptomatic bacteriuria (Colony Forming Unit ≥ 105/mL). There was no difference in prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria with respect to age (p = 0.07) and trimester (p = 0.27).The most frequently isolated bacteria were coagulase negative Staphylococcus (32.6%), followed by Escherichia coli (26.1%), and Staphylococcus auerus (13%). The susceptibility rate of bacterial isolate was highest for norfloxacin (64.7%) and lowest for ampicillin (17.6%). Conclusion The high prevalence of ASB in pregnant women warrant the need to screen all pregnant women and treat those infected with appropriate antimicrobial regimens in order to reduce its complications.

Background There is a severe healthcare workforce shortage in sub Saharan Africa, which threatens achieving the Millennium Development Goals and attaining an AIDS-free generation. The strength of a healthcare system depends on the skills, competencies, values and availability of its workforce. A well-trained and competent laboratory technologist ensures accurate and reliable results for use in prevention, diagnosis, care and treatment of diseases. Methods An assessment of existing preservice education of five medical laboratory schools, followed by remedial intervention and monitoring was conducted. The remedial interventions included 1) standardizing curriculum and implementation; 2) training faculty staff on pedagogical methods and quality management systems; 3) providing teaching materials; and 4) procuring equipment for teaching laboratories to provide practical skills to complement didactic education. Results A total of 2,230 undergraduate students from the five universities benefitted from the standardized curriculum. University of Gondar accounted for 252 of 2,230 (11.3%) of the students, Addis Ababa University for 663 (29.7%), Jimma University for 649 (29.1%), Haramaya University for 429 (19.2%) and Hawassa University for 237 (10.6%) of the students. Together the universities graduated 388 and 312 laboratory technologists in 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 academic year, respectively. Practical hands-on training and experience with well-equipped laboratories enhanced and ensured skilled, confident and competent laboratory technologists upon graduation. Conclusions Strengthening preservice laboratory education is feasible in resource-limited settings, and emphasizing its merits (ample local capacity, country ownership and sustainability) provides a valuable source of competent laboratory technologists to relieve an overstretched healthcare system.

SUMMARY Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) capable of detecting and differentiating Plasmodium species are needed in areas in which microscopy is unsuitable. This study was conducted to assess the diagnostic performance of the rapid test kit - SD BIOLINE Malaria Ag Pf/Pan(r) (05FK60) in an endemic area. Microscopy of Giemsa-stained blood films were performed to detect and estimate the Plasmodium density in malaria suspected patients. The performance of the SD BIOLINE Malaria Ag Pf/Pan test was evaluated using 272 Plasmodium-positive and 102 negative blood samples. The overall sensitivity of the SD BIOLINE Malaria Ag Pf/Pan test was 99.5% for P. falciparum and 92.6% for non-P. falciparum malaria infections. The respective specificity, PPV, and NPV of the test were 98.0, 98.4, and 99.0% for the diagnosis of P. falciparum, and 100.0 %, 100.0%, and 94.4% for non-P. falciparum species. The SD BIOLINE Malaria Ag Pf/Pan test showed an excellent performance in diagnosing Plasmodium infections in an endemic setting. Therefore, this point-of-care test could be used as an alternative to microscopy in places where P. falciparum is endemic and microscopy is unsuitable.