Bindura University of Science Education

Access to safe and reliable drinking water remains uneven across sub-Saharan Africa, yet existing evidence largely focuses on health outcomes and binary measures of access, overlooking how different service levels affect everyday well-being. This study examines how the water service ladder shapes the emotional and physical burdens of water poverty and whether these effects differ by household head gender in Mozambique. Using nationally representative data from the 2022–2023 Mozambique Demographic and Health Survey and a multivalued treatment effects framework, we estimate the impacts of unimproved, limited, basic, and safely managed water services on water-related worry, anger, hygiene deprivation, and insufficient drinking water. Results show that limited services, i.e., improved sources located more than 30 min away, do not significantly reduce water-related distress relative to unimproved sources. In contrast, both basic and safely managed services substantially reduce emotional and physical burdens, with no additional gains from on-premises access beyond the 30-minute accessibility threshold. Female-headed households are more likely to access improved services, but the well-being benefits of improved water access do not differ by household head gender. These findings highlight the importance of service proximity rather than source type alone and suggest that progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 6 may be overstated when measured using binary indicators of improved access. The results emphasize the need for policy strategies that prioritize reducing collection time to deliver meaningful well-being gains from water infrastructure investments.

Introduction Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) remain a critical public health issue globally hence promotion of preventive health behaviors has been strongly envisaged. Although preventive health research has been evident, present literature overlooks the role of indigenous culture in regulating health behaviors especially in native African communities.Theory This study extends the theory of planned behavior (TPB) with Ubuntu and African religiosity to predict university students’ behavioral intentions and subsequent STI-preventive behaviors.Method Employing an explanatory design and a quantitative approach, structural equation modelling (SEM) estimated the model with 274 responses obtained through a person-administered questionnaire survey at two public universities in Zimbabwe.Findings Health attitudes, peer influence, perceived behavioral control, Ubuntu orientation, and African religiosity positively and significantly predicted behavioral intentions, which subsequently positively influenced STI-preventive behaviors.Discussion This study demonstrates that health promoters need targeted culturally-responsive approaches that stimulate positive health beliefs towards STIs prevention, trigger sexual and reproductive health interests through group appeals, and improve perceived self-efficacy as young adults contemplate adopting recommended preventive health actions. More importantly, this paper pinpoints the roles of Ubuntuism and native religiosity as ingrained axioms that could foster health behavior change in sub-Saharan African communities. Incorporating these underlying cultural themes into health communication messages could be key levers for sustainable health behaviors.

This chapter covers last-mile delivery which is a key component of last-mile logistics. The chapter leverages the environmental stressor theory to explain the nature of urban transport environment in developing nations, and how the delivery crews, who are the core players in last-mile delivery, cope with the challenges. The chapter also relies on the triple bottom line perspective to understand the sustainability nature of the challenges faced by delivery crews within framework of environmental, economic, and social pillars. In order to understand these challenges the study adopted a phenomenological approach. The delivery challenges revealed in this phenomenological study will assist last-mile logistics operators to come up with well calibrated measures to overcome the impediments in their operations while ensuring that they meet their customers' requirements

Background and objectives:Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing threat to child health in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where inadequate antibiotic access frequently causes morbidity and mortality. We sought to identify effective interventions to optimize antibiotic use in children with suspected infections in LMIC ambulatory healthcare settings. Methods:MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Cochrane Infectious Disease Group Specialized Register, Web of Science, PsycInfo, WHO library database (WHOLIS) and regional databases (inception until 16 December 2024) were searched to identify studies of interventions to optimize antibiotic use in children in LMIC peripheral healthcare settings. Results:Our search identified 7154 articles post de-duplication; 23 studies met the inclusion and Integrated quality Criteria for the Review of Multiple Study designs (ICROMS) assessment criteria. Seventeen were randomized trials, conducted in five LMICs, four upper-middle income countries (UMICs) and two low-income countries (LICs). Single-intervention studies investigated electronic algorithms (n = 3) and point-of-care tests (POCTs) (n = 4). Electronic algorithms and enhanced POCTs reduced antibiotic prescriptions for children with acute illness at primary care facilities in Tanzania. C-reactive protein POCTs achieved modest reductions in antibiotic prescribing for children in Vietnam and Uganda but not for those with febrile illness in Myanmar and Thailand. A diagnostic tool algorithm showed reduction of antibiotic prescriptions in Ghana and Burkina Faso, but not in Uganda. Conclusions:Initial evidence suggests that algorithmic decision-support tools combined with point-of-care diagnostics and provider education can reduce antibiotic prescribing in children attending ambulatory healthcare settings in LMICs, with most studies demonstrating no compromise of clinical outcomes. However, few studies assessed prescription appropriateness or microbiological outcomes, limiting conclusions about long-term impact. Future interventions should prioritize context-adaptable strategies that incorporate rapid diagnostics, evaluate clinical and appropriateness outcomes, and consider implementation feasibility across diverse LMIC settings.

Zimbabwe is a remittance-dependent society and uncertainty has become a constrain driver to the inflows of remittances due to the overhanging institutional trust. Domestic inflation and natural disasters in Zimbabwe, as well as global shocks such as COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war, have escalated economic instability which adversely impact on remittance flow into Zimbabwe. The study's objective is to establish the effects of uncertainty on remittances in Zimbabwe using data for 2000–2019. The study employed the ARDL bounds and GARCH model. The ARDL results show a long-run relationship between remittances and uncertainty with high speed of adjustment 85.1