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Countries increasingly compete to attract and retain human capital. However, empirical studies, particularly those of migrants moving back to developing countries, have been limited due to the lack of education-specific migration flow data. Drawing on census microdata from IPUMS, we derive flow data by level of education and age group to quantify the level of return migration and examine the educational and age profile of return migrants for a global sample of 60 countries representing 70% of the world population. We show that return migrants account for a significant share of in-migration flows, particularly in Africa and Latin America, and, in all countries but six, return migrants are more educated than the population in the migrants' country of birth. Our age decomposition reveals that young adults contribute the most to the positive educational selectivity of return migrants, particularly in Africa and Asia. While this paper does not quantify the net effect of return migration on education levels, it underlines the importance of the human capital contributions of young adult returnees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Stillbirth is a public health as well as a development problem in low and middle‐income countries. The studies that found out maternal age as a factor for the risk of stillbirth reported different findings. This systematic review and meta‐analysis is believed to fill the inconclusiveness of these findings. Hence, the aim of this systematic review and meta‐analysis is to estimate the pooled effect of advanced maternal age on stillbirth in Africa. Methods: PubMed & HINARY databases and Google Scholar search engine were searched to access the primary studies. The extracted data using Microsoft excel was exported to Stata 15 software for analysis. The presence of heterogeneity was checked using Cochran's Q statistic and the I2 test. Publication bias was examined by using funnel plot and Egger's test. The pooled effect measure with DerSimonian and Laird method of random‐effect model was reported using odds ratio (OR) with respective 95% confidence interval. Results: Totally, 14 articles are included for the systematic review and meta‐analysis. The stillbirth reported by the studies ranges from 15 to 146.7 per 1000 births. The overall OR of advanced maternal age (≥35 years) on stillbirth is 1.42 (1.18, 1.71) when compared with the age group of 20–35 years. The cumulative effect of getting pregnant at advanced age on stillbirth was slightly increasing from year to year. Conclusion: Advanced maternal age is a risk factor for stillbirth. Health Information Communication on the risk of getting pregnant at the advanced ages on stillbirth should be well addressed to all women of reproductive age group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Nations' 2022 World Population Prospects suggests the global population will reach 10 billion people in 2058 and will peak in 2086. Aggregated data do not account for regional and age-group realities, which draw a more pressing picture. We analyze the World Population Prospects 2022 data according to age groups and regions and show that population peaks are going to occur sooner in some regions of the world than others, and the working-age population will peak on average 10 to 20 years before the overall population peaks. Africa is the only world region expected to continue to experience significant population growth. The population will be increasingly made up of larger proportions of older ages than younger, thereby shifting the dependency ratio. Reflections on the implications of an aging and shrinking population on policy regarding fertility, aging, migration, urban planning and economic development are needed. The challenge is not to be left for future generations to face; it is happening tomorrow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Morbidity and mortality in children due to COVID-19 remained low • Adolescents had higher reported cases than younger children • Reported cases were lower in pediatric population than adult population • Testing protocols vary between countries; reflects bias in reported cases Few data on the COVID-19 epidemiological characteristics among the pediatric population in Africa exists. This paper examines the age and sex distribution of the morbidity and mortality rate in children with COVID-19 and compares it to the adult population in 15 Sub-Saharan African countries. A merge line listing dataset shared by countries within the Regional Office for Africa was analyzed. Patients diagnosed within 1 March and 1 September 2020 with a confirmed positive RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 were analyzed. Children's data were stratified into three age groups: 0-4 years, 5-11 years, and 12-17 years, while adults were combined. The cumulative incidence of cases, its medians, and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. 9% of the total confirmed cases and 2.4% of the reported deaths were pediatric cases. The 12-17 age group in all 15 countries showed the highest cumulative incidence proportion in children. Adults had a higher case incidence per 100,000 people than children. The cases and deaths within the children's population were smaller than the adult population. These differences may reflect biases in COVID-19 testing protocols and reporting implemented by countries, highlighting the need for more extensive investigation and focus on the effects of COVID-19 in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To provide contemporary and future estimates of childhood myopia prevalence in Africa. Methods: A systematic online literature search was conducted for articles on childhood (≤18 years) myopia (spherical equivalent [SE] ≤ −0.50D; high myopia: SE ≤ −6.00D) in Africa. Population‐ or school‐based cross‐sectional studies published from 1 Jan 2000 to 30 May 2021 were included. Meta‐analysis using Freeman–Tukey double arcsine transformation was performed to estimate the prevalence of childhood myopia and high myopia. Myopia prevalence from subgroup analyses for age groups and settings were used as baseline for generating a prediction model using linear regression. Results: Forty‐two studies from 19 (of 54) African countries were included in the meta‐analysis (N = 737,859). Overall prevalence of childhood myopia and high myopia were 4.7% (95% CI: 3.3%–6.5%) and 0.6% (95% CI: 0.2%–1.1%), respectively. Estimated prevalence across the African regions was highest in the North (6.8% [95% CI: 4.0%–10.2%]), followed by Southern (6.3% [95% CI: 3.9%–9.1%]), East (4.7% [95% CI: 3.1%–6.7%]) and West (3.5% [95% CI: 1.9%–6.3%]) Africa. Prevalence from 2011 to 2021 was approximately double that from 2000 to 2010 for all studies combined, and between 1.5 and 2.5 times higher for ages 5–11 and 12–18 years, for boys and girls and for urban and rural settings, separately. Childhood myopia prevalence is projected to increase in urban settings and older children to 11.1% and 10.8% by 2030, 14.4% and 14.1% by 2040 and 17.7% and 17.4% by 2050, respectively; marginally higher than projected in the overall population (16.4% by 2050). Conclusions: Childhood myopia prevalence has approximately doubled since 2010, with a further threefold increase predicted by 2050. Given this trajectory and the specific public health challenges in Africa, it is imperative to implement basic myopia prevention programmes, enhance spectacle coverage and ophthalmic services and generate more data to understand the changing myopia epidemiology to mitigate the expanding risk of the African population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Wasting and stunting commonly coexist, supposedly due to biological and social mechanisms. In under-five children, low-ponderosity is defined as <—2SD of WHO standards for either weight for height (wasted) or body mass index for age (thin) metrics. Unlike body mass index for age, weight for height ignores physiological changes in ponderosity with age, resulting in overestimation of wasting in comparison to thinness in under-5 populations with high stunting prevalence. This suggests a plausible statistical explanation for the wasting-stunting association. Aim: To test the null hypothesis that wasting-stunting (WaSt) and thinness-stunting (ThSt) associations are similar. Methods: Demographic Health Survey datasets (2010–2020) from South and South-East Asia (7 countries) and Sub-Saharan Africa (13 countries) were evaluated. WaSt and ThSt associations were estimated as odds ratio (OR) for individual datasets, which was pooled (random-effects meta-analysis). Stratified analyses were done for sex, age and region. Results: Young infants (0–6 months) comprised 8–14% of under-five children, with equal representation of boys and girls. Participants, especially Asians, were mostly shorter with lower ponderosity than WHO standards. WaSt prevalence was higher than ThSt in the 6–59 months age group, but lower in young infants. Pooled WaSt estimates were not significant: Asia (OR 0.95; 95% CI 0.75–1.14), Africa (1.17; 0.95–1.40), and combined (1.09; 0.93–1.24). In contrast, pooled ThSt associations were significantly negative: Asia (0.63; 0.50–0.76), Africa (0.82; 0.68–0.96), and combined (0.75; 0.65–0.85). In girls, these associations were attenuated for WaSt (0.96; 0.8–1.1), but enhanced for ThSt (0.6; 0.5–0.7). Conclusion: WaSt and ThSt associations are dissimilar. This suggests a primary statistical explanation for the reported wasting-stunting association, originating from ignoring physiological changes with age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Noroviruses are the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis in all age groups globally. The problem is magnified in developing countries including Africa. These viruses are highly prevalent with high genetic diversity and fast evolution rates. With this dynamicity, there are no recent review in the past five years in Africa. Therefore, this review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the prevalence and genetic diversity of noroviruses in Africa and tried to address the change in the prevalence and genetic diverisity the virus has been observed in Africa and in the world. Methods: Twenty-one studies for the pooled prevalence, and 11 out of the 21 studies for genetic characterization of norovirus were included. Studies conducted since 2006, among symptomatic cases of all age groups in Africa, conducted with any study design, used molecular diagnostic methods and reported since 2015, were included and considered for the main meta-analysis. PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar were searched to obtain the studies. The quality the studies was assessed using the JBI assessment tool. Data from studies reporting both asymptomatic and symptomatic cases, that did not meet the inclusion criteria were reviewed and included as discussion points. Data was entered to excel and imported to STATA 2011 to compute the prevalence and genetic diversity. Heterogeneity was checked using I2 test statistics followed by subgroup and sensitivity analysis. Publication bias was assessed using a funnel plot and eggers test that was followed by trim and fill analysis. Result: The pooled prevalence of norovirus was 20.2% (95% CI: 15.91, 24.4). The highest (36.3%) prevalence was reported in Ghana. Genogroup II noroviruses were dominant and reported as 89.5% (95% CI: 87.8, 96). The highest and lowest prevalence of this genogroup were reported in Ethiopia (98.3%), and in Burkina Faso (72.4%), respectively. Diversified genotypes had been identified with an overall prevalence of GII. 4 NoV (50.8%) which was followed by GII.6, GII.17, GI.3 and GII.2 with a pooled prevalence of 7.7, 5.1, 4.6, and 4.2%, respectively. Conclusion: The overall pooled prevalence of norovirus was high in Africa with the dominance of genogroup II and GII.4 genotype. This prevalence is comparable with some reviews done in the same time frame around the world. However, in Africa, an in increasing trained of pooled prevalence had been reported through time. Likewise, a variable distribution of non-GII.4 norovirus genotypes were reported as compared to those studies done in the world of the same time frame, and those previous reviews done in Africa. Therefore, continuous surveillance is required in Africa to support future interventions and vaccine programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]