BackgroundAdolescents in developing countries face a range of sexual and reproductive health problems. Lack of health care service for reproductive health or difficulty in accessing them are among them. In this study we aimed to examine health care workers' attitudes toward sexual and reproductive health services to unmarried adolescents in Ethiopia.MethodsWe conducted a descriptive cross-sectional survey among 423 health care service providers working in eastern Ethiopia in 2010. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests and logistic regression were performed to drive proportions and associations.ResultsThe majority of health workers had positive attitudes. However, nearly one third (30%) of health care workers had negative attitudes toward providing RH services to unmarried adolescents. Close to half (46.5%) of the respondents had unfavorable responses toward providing family planning to unmarried adolescents. About 13% of health workers agreed to setting up penal rules and regulations against adolescents that practice pre-marital sexual intercourse. The multivariate analysis indicated that being married (OR 2.15; 95% CI 1.44 - 3.06), lower education level (OR 1.45; 95% CI 1.04 - 1.99), being a health extension worker (OR 2.49; 95% CI 1.43 - 4.35), lack of training on reproductive health services (OR 5.27; 95% CI 1.51 - 5.89) to be significantly associated with negative attitudes toward provision of sexual and reproductive services to adolescents.ConclusionsThe majority of the health workers had generally positive attitudes toward sexual and reproductive health to adolescents. However, a minority has displayed negatives attitudes. Such negative attitudes will be barriers to service utilization by adolescents and hampers the efforts to reduce sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies among unmarried adolescents. We therefore call for a targeted effort toward alleviating negative attitudes toward adolescent-friendly reproductive health service and re-enforcing the positive ones.
Converting degraded grazing lands into exclosures is one option to restore soil nutrients and to sequester carbon from the atmosphere. We estimate the economic value of such a conversion and assess the perception of local communities concerning exclosures in the highlands of Tigray, Ethiopia. Our research combines a soil and vegetation study with a socio-economic survey, and a financial analysis. Over a period of 30 years, sequestered carbon dioxide was 246 Mg ha À1, total soil nitrogen increased by 7Á9 Mg ha À1 and additional available phosphorous stocks amounted to 40 kg ha À1. The Net Present Value of exclosure's ecosystem services under consideration was about 28 per cent (837 US $) higher than alternative wheat production. Carbon revenues alone added up to only about 44 per cent of the net revenues of wheat production. This indicates that (i) carbon market revenues only, would not generate sufficient incentives to establish additional exclosures, and (ii) if all benefits are taken into account and financially rewarded, exclosures are competitive to alternatives land uses. We also identified substantial opportunities to mobilize the local communities in efforts to establish exclosures, given that more than 75 per cent had a positive view on exclosures effectiveness to restore degraded soils and vegetation. We conclude that a comprehensive analysis is necessary to consider the ecological as well as economic and social impacts of exclosures. Our findings are important information for local decision makers and may provide incentives for the establishment of further exclosures in the Northern Highlands of Ethiopia, thereby contributing to a sustainable local development process.
Frankincense from Boswellia papyrifera forest (BPF) is a traded commodity used in the pharmaceutical, food, cosmetic and chemical industries. Ethiopia is an important producer of frankincense, but the resource is under continuous degradation and requires conservation. We applied a contingent valuation to assess rural households' willingness to pay and willingness to contribute labor for BPF conservation. Next to the bid, willingness to pay is influenced most by income, education, and willingness to contribute labor by family labor and gender of the household head. A household is willing to pay at least $4·86 or contribute 7·17 labor days per year, which amounts to $6·64 at per capita daily income. This suggests that using per capita daily income rather than market wage rates could result in convergence in response asymmetry of labor and cash payment vehicles. The potential local demand for conservation of BPF could be mobilized effectively with complementary policy interventions aimed at sustainable use and poverty reduction. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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