The University of Kisangani (UNIKIS) is located in the city of Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was founded in 1963 by Protestant missionaries as the Free University of the Congo (French: Université libre du Congo, ULC); it was transformed into part of the National University of Zaire in 1971, and in 1981 was separated from that National University, along with the University of Kinshasa and the University of Lubumbashi, assuming its present identity as the University of Kisangani. Its president is Professor Dr. Toengaho Lokundo.
Cocoa agroforestry expansion is widespread in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, posing a significant threat to the integrity of protected areas. Despite this threat, the impact of this expansion on forest bird communities remains largely unexamined. This study investigated bird community composition in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (OWR) and surrounding agroforestry areas using a combination of mist netting and passive acoustic monitoring. Specifically, it examined species richness, diversity, evenness, feeding guild abundance and habitat-specific indicator species across 19 sites. A total of 95 bird species were documented, with acoustic monitoring accounting for 73% and mist netting 43% of the recorded species. Significant differences in species richness, diversity and evenness were observed across habitat types. While cocoa farms exhibited higher species richness than primary forest sites or annual cultures, primary forests had the highest diversity indices, followed by cocoa farms and annual cultures. Bird communities were most even in annual cultures, compared to primary forest sites and cocoa farms. Additionally, 18 bird species showed strong associations with specific habitat types based on combined data from both mist netting and acoustic methods. This study highlights the importance of protected areas such as the OWR for sustaining bird communities, as well as emphasising the potential value of structurally complex agroforestry landscapes for subsets of forest bird communities. Furthermore, it demonstrates the effectiveness of combining mist netting and acoustic monitoring methods in understanding avian community composition amid land use changes. L'expansion des agrofor & ecirc;ts & agrave; cacao est tr & egrave;s r & eacute;pandue dans l'est de la R & eacute;publique D & eacute;mocratique du Congo, ce qui constitue une menace importante pour l'int & eacute;grit & eacute; des zones prot & eacute;g & eacute;es. Malgr & eacute; cette menace, l'impact de cette expansion sur les communaut & eacute;s d'oiseaux forestiers reste largement m & eacute;connu. Cette & eacute;tude a examin & eacute; la composition des communaut & eacute;s d'oiseaux dans la R & eacute;serve de faune & agrave; Okapis (OWR) et les zones agroforesti & egrave;res environnantes & agrave; l'aide d'une combinaison de captures avec filets et de suivis acoustiques passifs. Elle a examin & eacute; la richesse, la diversit & eacute; et l'uniformit & eacute; des esp & egrave;ces, l'abondance des guildes alimentaires et les esp & egrave;ces indicatrices sp & eacute;cifiques & agrave; l'habitat sur 19 sites. Au total, 95 esp & egrave;ces d'oiseaux ont & eacute;t & eacute; r & eacute;pertori & eacute;es, dont 73% document & eacute;es par le suivi acoustique et 43% par captures. Des diff & eacute;rences significatives en termes de richesse, de diversit & eacute; et d'uniformit & eacute; des esp & egrave;ces ont & eacute;t & eacute; observ & eacute;es entre les diff & eacute;rents types d'habitats. Si les plantations de cacao pr & eacute;sentaient une richesse en esp & egrave;ces plus & eacute;lev & eacute;e que les sites forestiers primaires ou les cultures annuelles, les for & ecirc;ts primaires affichaient les indices de diversit & eacute; les plus & eacute;lev & eacute;s, suivies par les plantations de cacao et les cultures annuelles. Les communaut & eacute;s d'oiseaux & eacute;taient plus uniformes dans les cultures annuelles que dans les sites de for & ecirc;t primaire et les plantations de cacao. En outre, 18 esp & egrave;ces d'oiseaux ont montr & eacute; une forte association avec des types d'habitats sp & eacute;cifiques. Cette & eacute;tude souligne l'importance des zones prot & eacute;g & eacute;es, telles que l'OWR, pour la pr & eacute;servation des communaut & eacute;s d'oiseaux, tout en mettant en avant la valeur potentielle des paysages agroforestiers & agrave; structure complexe pour certaines populations d'oiseaux forestiers. Elle d & eacute;montre en outre l'efficacit & eacute; de la combinaison des m & eacute;thodes de suivis par captures (filets japonais) et enregistrements acoustiques pour comprendre la composition des communaut & eacute;s d'oiseaux dans un contexte de changements d'utilisation des sols.
The peat swamp forests of the central Congo Basin represent the largest, most carbon-rich peatland complex in the tropics. The maintenance of peat carbon stocks and accumulation relies on persistent soil saturation, yet the hydrological functions of tropical peatlands remain poorly understood, particularly in the central Congo Basin. We report the first measurements of saturated hydraulic conductivity (K sat) from Congolese peats. We used Mini Disk tension infiltrometers to estimate K sat at depths of 0 and 10 cm across three study areas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. K sat ranged from 1.55 & times; 10-5 to 5.75 & times; 10-4 m s-1, with a mean of 1.78 & times; 10-4 m s-1. A general linear model revealed significantly higher K sat at the surface than at 10 cm depth, while K sat is negatively related to degree of peat humification. However, K sat did not vary between palm, hardwood and mixed forest types, or with proximity to rivers (a proxy for flooding regime). Although our linear model is not sufficiently skilful to predict K sat reliably, our findings suggest that a generalisable model for tropical peat K sat may be attainable with larger datasets that span greater ranges of depths and levels of decomposition. Notably, our surface K sat values are lower than those from deeper layers in Southeast Asia and the Americas, implying lower depth-integrated permeability in peats of the central Congo Basin. This may reflect low rainfall and deeper water tables in the region, which would enhance decomposition and reduce pore space more rapidly.
The study investigates the role of natural resource rents in moderating the impact of infrastructure development on inclusive growth in 48 African economies from 2000 to 2020. The Generalized Method of Moment is adopted to control for error term-related problems and potential endogeneity through an instrumentation process. The findings reveal that infrastructure development has enhanced inclusive growth in Africa over the last two decades. The results remained consistent after considering the inclusive growth-specific components of shared growth and wealth distribution, showing an increase in GDP per capita and a decrease in wealth distribution inequalities measured by the Gini index. Furthermore, the results remain consistent indicating that the transport, water, energy and technology sectors contribute to promoting inclusive development. The findings further reveal that natural resource rents are detrimental to inclusive growth in Africa, except for the middle-income countries with relatively advanced knowledge and digital economies. The interactive effects results indicate that natural resource rents dedicated to promoting infrastructure development are significant in enhancing growth, evidenced by the positive interactive effects on inclusive growth. The interactive effect analysis remains robust across the various natural resource types, including oil, gas, rents, forests, and minerals. We recommend that African economies prioritize infrastructure development as a means of promoting inclusive growth, in light of the study’s findings. The revenue from natural resource rents should also be used to support the development of Africa’s infrastructure.
Background: Gastritis is a common condition in sub-Saharan Africa, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). At the community-level in Goma, eastern DRC, knowledge, attitudes, and norms related to gastritis have not previously been assessed, despite the potential for serious complications, including peptic ulcers, gastrointestinal bleeding, anemia, and an increased risk of gastric cancer. The objective was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the Goma population regarding gastritis.Method: In January 2024, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in the city of Goma using a pretested questionnaire administered via the Kobo Toolbox platform. The survey, administered in Swahili or French by a team of 10 interviewers, assessed participants’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding gastritis.Results: A total of 1019 participants completed the survey. Of those, 51% were male, with a mean age of 29 years (range, 15-78 years). Just over half of the participants (53%) resided in an urban commune. Nearly 80% reported familiarity with gastritis, with medical personnel cited as the most frequent source of information (31%). Sixty percent reported having a family member affected by gastritis. Stress was identified as a causative factor of gastritis by 80% of respondents, while 40% attributed gastritis to an infectious cause. Clinically, gastritis was most commonly described as dull upper or mid-abdomen pain (69%). Medication was considered the mainstay of treatment by 78% of participants. The female gender was associated with a higher risk of gastritis, and were more likely to take medication. (p-value < 0.01).Conclusion: Overall, knowledge regarding gastritis was relatively high in Goma, particularly among women and university-educated individuals. Given these findings, targeted educational interventions and health strategies should focus on younger populations, men, and individuals without university education, who demonstrated lower levels of knowledge. Such initiatives could enhance awareness of gastritis and improve its management.
Cholera remains a persistent public health challenge in Goma, Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. This study assessed seasonal variation, temporal trends, and factors associated with PCR-confirmed cholera in Goma city and surrounding health zones (2020–2024) using a multilevel analytical approach to support targeted public health interventions. We analysed 18,929 patients tested for cholera by PCR between 2020 and 2024. Age, sex, season, year, and health zone were examined. Environmental, WASH-related, and intervention-related variables were unavailable in the surveillance database and, therefore, could not be included. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression assessed factors associated with PCR positivity, accounting for clustering at the health zone level and seasonal effects. Overall PCR positivity rate was 32.5
