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Item Anemia and its determinants among non-pregnant women of childbearing age at Tsirae Wonberta district, Tigray, Ethiopia, 2020: a community based cross sectional study(BioMed Central Ltd, 2025) Melkamu, Zuriyash Tadesse; Bereket, Tedros; Gebretsadik, Gebretsadkan Gebremedhin; Lema, Gebretsadik Kiros; Weldu, Abreham Habtemariam; Beyene, Makele Hailu; Cullen, Solange; World Agroforestry Centre; ICRAF; Irish AidBackground: Anemia affects nearly one-third of women of reproductive age worldwide, with non-pregnant women being the third most impacted demographic. Despite the increased vulnerability of non-pregnant women of childbearing age, much of the research conducted in Ethiopia has primarily focused on anemia in pregnant women. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and contributing factors of anemia among non-pregnant women of childbearing age in the Tsirae Wonbereta District of Tigray, Ethiopia, in 2020. Method: A community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted from September 24, 2020, to October 29, 2020, on a total of 251 non-pregnant women of childbearing age. Data were collected using a semi-structured, pretested questionnaire, and blood samples were collected to measure hemoglobin levels. The collected data was entered into the SPSS version 25 for analysis. Finally, an adjusted odds ratio, with a 95% confidence interval and a p-value of ≤ 0.05, was used to declare statistical significance for the factors associated with anemia. Results: The overall prevalence of anemia among non-pregnant women of childbearing age was 24.3% (95% CI: 19.1–30.1). In terms of severity, 68.9% of anemic cases are classified as mild, while 31.1% are categorized as moderate. Gender of household head (AOR: 2.307; 95% CI: 1.030–5.168), educational status of the women (AOR: 2.318; 95% CI: 1.027–5.229), ownership of poultry (AOR: 0.515; 95% CI: 0.272–0.977), the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic (AOR: 2.397; 95% CI: 1.108–5.184) and weekly consumption of pulse (AOR: 2.040; 95% CI: 1.024–4.065) were significantly associated with anemia in non-pregnant women. Conclusion: The overall prevalence of anemia among non-pregnant women of childbearing age in Tsirae Wonbereta District, Tigray, Ethiopia was 24.3%, indicating anemia as a moderate public health concern. The majority of the anemia cases were of the mild type. Making policies and programs gender-responsive to empower women in agriculture, education, income, and decision-making to improve nutrition is recommended. © The Author(s) 2025.Item What’s happening in the kitchen? The influence of nutritional knowledge, attitudes and, practices (KAP), and kitchen characteristics on women’s dietary quality in Ethiopia(BioMed Central Ltd, 2025) Yalew, Temesgen Awoke; Tessema, Masresha; Lahiff, Edward; Ethiopian Public Health Institute; International Development Research Centre; Paul Scherrer InstitutBackground: Low dietary quality significantly contributes to public health risks in low-income countries. This situation is particularly concerning for vulnerable groups, such as women and children, who are at increased risk of malnutrition due to inadequate access to proper nutrition. This study aimed to assess the influence of nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices, and kitchen characteristics on women’s dietary quality in Ethiopia. Method: A population-based cross-sectional survey was conducted from August to September 2022 in five regions and two city administrations in Ethiopia. A multistage stratified cluster sampling method was employed. From ninety-nine enumeration areas, twenty eligible households were selected. A total of 1,980 women aged 15–49 years were included in this survey. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire about socio-demographic characteristics, food frequency, 24-hour dietary recall, and nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices. The determinants of dietary quality were identified using Poisson, logistic, and ordinary least square regression analyses. Variables with a p-value less than 0.05 were considered to indicate statistical significance. Results: The results showed that the average dietary diversity score for women was 3.4 ± 0.85. Only 21.5% of the participants achieved the minimum dietary diversity for women (MDD-W), and the mean adequacy ratio for nutrients was 61.6%. The participants’ average nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices scores were 63%, 39%, and 23%, respectively. The regression analysis showed knowledge and attitude positively associated with dietary diversity and the mean nutrient adequacy ratio (P < 0.01). Cooking time and propensity to prepare new food were also positively associated with dietary diversity and with minimum dietary diversity (P < 0.01). Conclusion: Our study showed that good nutrition-related knowledge and a positive attitude toward nutrition positively and significantly influence dietary quality, along with cooking time and the propensity to prepare new foods. © The Author(s) 2025.Item How storms, cyberattacks and wars show cash is still king(Raidió Teilifís Éireann, 2025-04-15) McCarthy, OliveAnalysis: Recent events have highlighted the vulnerability of electronic transactions, leaving cash as the only reliable method of paymentItem Intra-household decision making in Eritrea: implications on market participation and choice of marketing channels in dairy production(Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), 2025) Onakuse , Stephen; Treasure, Lilian; Msghina, Okbasilassie; Negash, KahsayThis study highlights the influence of intra-household decision-making on the level of market participation and choice of marketing channels in Eritrea. Data was collected and analysed with descriptive statistics correlation, Tobit and multinomial logistic (MNL) regression. This study unveils that intra-household decisions on dairy farming were dominated by men. Tobit regression results show that farming experience, distance to the nearest processing plant, shortage of feed, number of crossbreeds, method of dairy production and choice of marketing channels had positive or negative effects on household decisionson the level of market participation. Likewise, the MNLestimation results show that household head level of education, years of dairy experience, household size, sex of household head, number of females above 14 years in a household, share of dairy income and non-farm income to total household income, frequency of extension visits, membership of cooperatives and processing milk for sale were significant variables that influenced household choice of marketing channels. It concluded that training of farmers on improved dairy practices and policies to develop infrastructures, access to formal education and effective cooperative membership by women could improve the performance of Eritrea’s dairy sector and make it attractive to the youthsItem Understanding smallholder dairy productivity and poverty reduction in Eritrea: an A-WEAI approach(Thomas A. Lyson Center for Civic Agriculture and Food Systems, 2025) Onakuse, Stephen; Treasure, Lilian; Msghina, Okbasilassie; Negash, Kahsay; European CommissionImproving the poverty status of smallholder dairy farmers in Eritrea necessitates an increase in dairy production efficiency. This study investigated the influence of empowerment programs on smallholder dairy production, specifically those aimed at fostering the development of knowledge and skills for both male- and female-headed households. The Abbreviated Women Empowerment in Agriculture Index (A-WEAI) and an instrumental variable esti-mator (IVE) were used to analyze data collected from 379 households in three Eritrean communi-ties. The findings show that male household heads are more empowered than their female counter-parts. Analysis at the Zoba (regional) level showed disempowermentsfor all households in Anseba (65.42%), followed by Debub (57.02%) and Maekel (33.11%). Empowerment had a positive effect on laborproductivity among male-and female-headed households, resulting in increases of 11.50% and 18.49%, respectively, and on poverty reduction, with empowermentincreases of 10.57% and 9.91%, respectively. In addition, the level of educa-tion,the farmers’age, and the price of milk had a negative effect on laborproductivity among male and female dairy farmers. Dairy experience, laborcost, and membership in a cooperative had a posi-tive effect on the laborproductivity of male farm-ers. Herdsize (with a positive coefficient), type of dairy production practice, and perception of gov-ernment policies on dairy farming (with negative coefficients) were essential factors that affected laborproductivity among male and female dairy farmers in Eritrea. Land rent, frequency of exten-sion visits, milk unit price, dairy experience, and number of lactating cows affected asset accumula-tion among Eritrean dairy farmers. Werecommend context-specific innovative empowerment strate-gies to boost productivity and market access and reduce poverty, particularly for female farmers. Gender disparities in Eritrean dairy farming show that women face greater disempowerment. Involv-ing more women in these strategies can reduce the gender gap, promote gender equality, and support sustainable development in Eritrea.
