Background Folate is essential for the synthesis and integrity of DNA, normal cell formation and body growth. Folate deficiency among women of reproductive age (WRA) increases the risk of poor birth outcomes including neural tube defect (NTD) affected pregnancies. Folate status is largely dependent on dietary intakes. Objectives To explore the spatial distribution of biomarkers of folate status and their association with farming systems among non-pregnant WRA in Ethiopia. Methods Serum and red blood cell (RBC) folate concentration data were derived from the Ethiopia National Micronutrient Survey of 2015. The spatial dependencies of folate concentration of WRA was investigated and its relationship with the dominant local farming system was explored. Results The median serum folate and RBC folate concentrations were 12.3 nmol L–1 and 567.3 nmol L–1, respectively. The national prevalence of folate deficiency using homocysteine concentration as metabolic indicator based on serum and RBC folate concentration was 11.6% and 5.7%, respectively. The majority of women (77.9%) had low RBC folate concentrations consistent with increased risk of NTD affected pregnancies. Folate nutrition was spatially dependent at distances of up to 300 km. A marked variability in folate concentration was observed between farming systems where greater RBC folate concentration (median 1,036 nmol L–1) was found among women from Lake Tana fish-based system while the lowest RBC folate concentration (median 386.7 nmol L–1) was observed in highlands or sorghum-chat mixed system. Conclusion The majority (78%) of WRA in Ethiopia had low folate status potentially increasing the risk of NTD affected pregnancies. These findings may help national and subnational nutrition intervention strategies to target the most affected areas in the country.

This study examined the African elephant's (Loxodonta africana) seasonal space use and movement using elephant telemetry data in Hwange National Park. The adaptivelocal convex hull (a-LoCoH) was adopted to understand the elephant movement metrics and home range. Paired t test was used to compare the mean seasonal speed of each group (n = 10) of elephants, while the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to determine differences in the 50% and 90% home range. Results show that mean elephant movement speed significantly differed (t = −3.07, df = , p < 0.01) for all elephant groups across seasons. Moreover, significant differences (W = 3, Z = 2.4973, p < 0.012) were observed between core a-LoCoH home-range distributions for the wet and dry seasons. However, no significant differences (W = 10, Z = 1.7838, p > 0.05) were detected between the two seasons for the total (90%) a-LoCoH ranges. NDVI, Distance to water sources and Slope were positively related with elephant movement speed while Aspect and Distance to roads were negatively related with elephant speed.These findings underscore the importance of resource variability in driving elephant movement and foraging behaviour in a semi-arid savannah ecosystem.