Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), especially antibiotic resistance (ABR), could cause up to 10 million deaths per year by 2050. While ABR is a natural phenomenon, it is exacerbated by antibiotic misuse, poor sanitation, insufficient health infrastructure, weak biosecurity, and environmental contamination. The cross-transmission of resistant bacteria between humans, animal and the environment requires a multi-sectoral response inspired by the One Health concept. With the support of international partners and in line with global policies, Senegal has established a national One Health platform and legal measures to combat ABR. Our study proposes to examine the One Health governance capacities for managing ABR in Senegal, and to identify ways of improvement from a One Health perspective. A qualitative approach was adopted, combining the review of 64 legal instruments and 26 semi-structured interviews conducted between January and August 2023 with actors from governmental, private and non-governmental institutions. The analysis focused on governance structure, legal instrument development and implementation, and ABR surveillance programmes. The thematic analysis of the interview contents highlighted factors influencing the One Health governance capacities in Senegal. One Health governance has been institutionalized in Senegal since 2017 with the creation of the national One Health platform housed at the Prime Minister's Office. However, its effectiveness is limited by weak formalization, inadequate resources, and reliance on external funding. Outdated and poorly enforced legal frameworks hinder ABR management, while rural areas lack sufficient laboratory infrastructure, leading to inappropriate antibiotic use and weak surveillance systems. Power imbalances among stakeholders impede collective action and data-sharing. Despite progress toward international standards, systemic barriers persist. Strengthening the legal framework, improving healthcare infrastructure, and enhancing the One Health platform's status and funding are critical. Institutionalization must connect global orientations with local realities to avoid inequities. Sustainable ABR management requires inclusive, context-sensitive policies, robust domestic investment, and equitable collaboration among stakeholders across the sectors of human, animal, and environmental health.
Eco-friendly solutions using natural, biocompatible, biodegradable materials with low-cost fabrication techniques, such as solution processes, have been utilised in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). This paper evaluated the integration of mango and cactus saps as natural high-k dielectric materials in OFETs. It was observed that the thinner (170 nm) mango sap dielectric layers showed a 30
Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are widely used in applications such as environmental monitoring, smart infrastructure, and Internet of Things (IoT) systems. However, the limited energy resources of sensor nodes make efficient topology control a critical challenge for extending network lifetime. Connected Dominating Set (CDS)-based approaches have been widely adopted to construct virtual backbones that reduce redundant transmissions and improve routing efficiency. Nevertheless, most existing distributed CDS algorithms rely on static decision rules and often assume synchronous network operation, which limits their adaptability in dynamic and asynchronous environments. This paper proposes an artificial intelligence-assisted distributed CDS construction algorithm for energy-efficient asynchronous wireless sensor networks. The proposed approach integrates a lightweight reinforcement learning mechanism into the classical Single Phase Multiple Initiator (SPMI) algorithm, enabling each node to autonomously decide whether to participate in the CDS based on local observations such as residual energy, neighborhood density, and connectivity contribution. Theoretical analysis demonstrates that the proposed algorithm guarantees CDS connectivity with linear message complexity. Simulation results show that the proposed method improves energy balancing, reduces CDS size, and significantly extends network lifetime compared to classical CDS-based approaches. (Abstract)
Public external debt burdens of low- and middle-income countries have grown substantially over the past decade linked to increased borrowing. Our empirical understanding of how external official loans and their ensuing debt burden may impact government health spending at the individual country level is limited. We aimed to better understand these relationships through a case study of Senegal. We conducted a mixed-methods case study using descriptive quantitative analyses of loan, debt and health financing statistics in Senegal from 1970-2023. We also used the Framework method to thematically analyse semi-structured interview data collected between October 2019 and January 2020 from 25 key informants from government ministries, development partners, academia, civil society and hospital management in Senegal. We triangulated these data with findings from a purposive document review of reports from government websites and academic literature discussing loan and debt effects on government health expenditure in Senegal. Debt obligations resulting from external loans appear to have had a constraining effect on the government budget including for health. Development loans have however also supported the health sector directly. We found less support for an indirect benefit to the health budget through loans to other sectors, due to substantial decreases in government health expenditure out of general government expenditure from 2000-2022. Overall, our findings indicate that Senegal's debt burden has constrained government health expenditure, serving as a possible co-determinant of the regression seen on the Abuja pledge since 2000. To mitigate the negative effect of debt repayment, official external creditors should consider more flexible debt repayment timelines and exploring options for debt relief including debt-to-health swaps. Supported by debt relief, increased government priority of the health sector working toward the Abuja pledge will be necessary to make progress on universal health coverage. We encourage further country level research documenting debt impacts on health financing.
This study examines patterns of digital inclusion in Ziguinchor, Senegal, using household survey data combined with spatial indicators of infrastructure and access. We construct a Digital Inclusion Index (DII) capturing realized digital practices and a Composite Digital Access Score (CDAS) reflecting enabling conditions across six domains, including technological equipment, electricity, affordability, and spatial access. The results reveal substantial variation in digital inclusion across quartiers, with strong associations between inclusion outcomes and infrastructural and socioeconomic conditions, particularly electricity reliability, device quality, and mobility constraints. A key finding is the coexistence of near-universal smartphone ownership with relatively low levels of internet use, indicating a pronounced gap between access and effective engagement. This divergence suggests that device ownership alone is insufficient to ensure meaningful digital participation. A typology combining DII and CDAS further highlights mismatches between realized use and enabling conditions, identifying groups of “under-utilizers” and “over-achievers.” The findings are consistent with multidimensional digital divide frameworks and point to the importance of both structural conditions and user capabilities. Given the cross-sectional design, results should be interpreted as conditional associations rather than causal effects. The study contributes a place-based analytical framework for diagnosing digital inclusion gaps in secondary cities and provides evidence to inform targeted, context-specific policy interventions.
