Background Less attention is given to cancer treatment and control in Ethiopia. Methods To investigate the challenges and opportunities facing cancer treatment services in Ethiopia. A purposive sampling technique was applied to recruit the study subjects from Black Lion Specialized Hospital Oncology Department. A semi-structured interview guide was used to investigate challenges and opportunities in oncology service in Ethiopia. Data was transcribed and coded by two independent coders and analyzed thematically in reference to the objectives. Results Fifteen professionals from four different disciplines were interviewed on opportunities and challenges facing cancer treatment in Ethiopia. Out of these respondents 3 were senior clinical oncologists while 4 individuals were senior oncology residents. The rest were 2 medical Physicists, 2 radiotherapy technologists and 4 oncology nurses. Majority (80%) of the respondents were males. We demonstrate that the challenges of cancer treatment service in Ethiopia emanate from the patients themselves, the administrating body, the professionals, and the technology limitations. In general, the result of this study was grouped under the following five themes: Customer-related challenges, provider-related challenges, facility-related challenges, technology-related challenges and the opportunities. Conclusions Several assignments are waiting for the policy makers, the professionals, the communities and other concerned bodies to combat the alarmingly growing burden of cancer in Ethiopia. Escalating the awareness of the general population about cancer, expanding well-developed diagnostic and treatment centers, and producing well-trained competent oncology professionals are the forefront challenges in combating cancer in Ethiopia.

Background Childhood stunting is the most widely prevalent among under-five children in Ethiopia. Despite the individual-level factors of childhood stunting are well documented, community-level factors have not been given much attention in the country. This study aimed to identify individual- and community-level factors associated with stunting among under-five children in Ethiopia. Methods Cross-sectional data from the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey was used. A total of 8855 under-five children and 640 community clusters were included in the current analysis. A multilevel logistic regression model was used at 5% level of significance to determine the individual- and community-level factors associated with childhood stunting. Results The prevalence of stunting was found to be 38.39% in Ethiopian under-five children. The study showed that the percentage change in variance of the full model accounted for about 53.6% in odds of childhood stunting across the communities. At individual-level, ages of the child above 12 months, male gender, small size of the child at birth, children from poor households, low maternal education, and being multiple birth had significantly increased the odds of childhood stunting. At community-level, children from communities of Amhara, Tigray, and Benishangul more suffer from childhood stunting as compared to Addis Ababa’s community children. Similarly, children from Muslim, Orthodox and other traditional religion followers had higher log odds of stunting relative to children of the protestant community. Conclusions This study showed individual- and community-level factors determined childhood stunting in Ethiopian children. Promotion of girl education, improving the economic status of households, improving maternal nutrition, improving age-specific child feeding practices, nutritional care of low birth weight babies, promotion of context-specific child feeding practices and narrowing rural-urban disparities are recommended.

Background: Face masks were considered as an effective method of preventing respiratory infections like coronavirus infection. Identifying knowledge, attitude, and practice of healthcare workers regarding face mask utilization is very important to identify gaps and intervene immediately to control the spread of the infection. Hence, the main aim of this study was to determine the health worker's knowledge, attitude, and practice of proper face mask utilization and associated factors at police health faculties in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2020. Methods: Across-sectional, quantitative approach study was conducted from June to July 2020. The study covered 408 health professionals of all categories working in the different police health facilities found in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during the study period. Data were collected using a pre-tested self-administered questionnaire adopted from different studies after getting consent from the study participants. After the data were collected, it was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 23 computer software. A logistic regression model was used to measure the association between the predictor and outcome variables. Statistical significance was declared at p-value<0.05. Direction and strength of association were expressed using OR and 95% CI. Results: The study showed that the overall knowledge, attitude, and practice of the healthcare provider towards proper face mask utilization were 98 (33.5%), 185 (45.3%), and 272 (33.3%) respectively. Factors associated with proper utilization of face mask were educational status (AOR = 10.4, 95% CI: 2.51, 43.32), police rank (AOR=0.2. CI: 0.05, 0.41), profession (AOR = 7.7, 95% CI: 2.63, 22.65), and knowledge about face mask use (AOR = 0.01, 95% CI: 0.003, 0.023). Conclusion: In this study, the level of knowledge and attitude towards face mask utilization was relatively low, and the level of proper face mask utilization was quite low in comparison with some studies. Comprehensive training about a face mask that focuses on its proper use should be designed and given by the authorities to healthcare workers who are on the frontline in the fight against COVID-19.

Background Irrigation schemes may result in subsequent changes in malaria disease dynamics. Understanding the mechanisms and effects of irrigation on malaria vector bionomics and transmission intensity is essential to develop new or alternative surveillance and control strategies to reduce or control malaria risk. This study was designed to assess the effect of rice irrigation on malaria vector bionomics and transmission intensity in the Gambella Region, Ethiopia. Methods Comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in Abobo District of the Gambella Region, Ethiopia. Accordingly, clusters (kebeles) were classified into nearby and faraway clusters depending on their proximity to the irrigation scheme. Adult mosquito survey was conducted in February, August and November 2018 from three nearby and three faraway clusters using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) light traps (LTs). During the November survey, human landing catch (HLC) and pyrethrum spray catch (PSC) were also conducted. The collected mosquitoes were morphologically identified to species and tested for Plasmodium infection using circumsporozoite protein enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (CSP-ELISA). Furthermore, species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to identify member species of the Anopheles gambiae complex. Chi-square and t-tests were used to analyze the data using the SPSS version 20 software package. Results A total of 4319 female anopheline mosquitoes comprising An. gambiae sensu lato, An. funestus group, An. pharoensis, An. coustani complex and An. squamosus were collected. Overall, 84.5% and 15.5% of the anopheline mosquitoes were collected from the nearby and faraway clusters, respectively. Anopheles gambiae s.l. was the predominant (56.2%) anopheline species in the area followed by An. pharoensis (15.7%). The density of anopheline mosquitoes was significantly higher in the nearby clusters in both HLCs [t(3)  =  5.14, P  =  0.0143] and CDC LT catches [t(271.97)  =  7.446, P  <  0.0001). The overall sporozoite rate of anopheline species from the nearby clusters was 10-fold higher compared to the faraway clusters. Conclusions Significantly higher mosquito population density was observed in areas close to the irrigation sites. Sporozoite infection rate in the mosquito population was also markedly higher from the nearby clusters. Therefore, the irrigation scheme could increase the risk of malaria in the area. Graphical abstract

Background Land use change has increasingly been expanding throughout the world in the past decades. It can have profound effects on the spatial and temporal distribution of vector borne diseases like malaria through ecological and habitat change. Understanding malaria disease occurrence and the impact of prevention interventions under this intense environmental modification is important for effective and efficient malaria control strategy. Methods A descriptive ecological study was conducted by reviewing health service records at Abobo district health office. The records were reviewed to extract data on malaria morbidity, mortality, and prevention and control methods. Moreover, Meteorological data were obtained from Gambella region Meteorology Service Center and National Meteorology Authority head office. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis techniques were used to analyze the data. Results For the twelve-year time period, the mean annual total malaria case count in the district was 7369.58. The peak monthly malaria incidence was about 57 cases per 1000 people. Only in 2009 and 2015 that zero death due to malaria was recorded over the past 12 years. Fluctuating pattern of impatient malaria cases occurrence was seen over the past twelve years with an average number of 225.5 inpatient cases. The data showed that there is a high burden of malaria in the district. Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) was a predominant parasite species in the district with the maximum percentage of about 90. There was no statistically significant association between season and total malaria case number (F3,8: 1.982, P:0.195). However, the inter-annual total case count difference was statistically significant (F11,132: 36.305, p < 0001). Total malaria case count had shown two months lagged carry on effect. Moreover, 3 months lagged humidity had significant positive effect on total malaria cases. Malaria prevention interventions and meteorological factors showed statistically significant association with total malaria cases. Conclusion Malaria was and will remain to be a major public health problem in the area. The social and economic impact of the disease on the local community is clearly pronounced as it is the leading cause of health facility visit and admission including the mortality associated with it. Scale up of effective interventions is quite important. Continuous monitoring of the performance of the vector control tools needs to be done.