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The distinction between weak and strong islands has been extensively explored in the literature from both a descriptive and analytical perspective. In this paper, I document and analyze island constructions and constraints in Mende, an understudied Mande language spoken in Sierra Leone. Mende has both weak islands (left branch and wh-islands) and strong islands (adjunct clauses, sentential subjects, and coordinate structures). Intriguingly, it has a third class of islands, that I call mixed islands which show a subject–non-subject asymmetry in allowing for movement out of relative clauses, only when they modify the subject. As such, subject-modifying RCs cannot be classified as (strong/weak) islands in Mende. This is the first systematic work on islands and island constraints in the Mande language family, and, as such, it brings novel data from an understudied language family to bear on our understanding of A-bar dependencies and the study of island escape in African languages. It also calls into question a neat paradigm of cross-linguistic island constraints. Importantly, this work also lays down a baseline for future research on island constraints in the broader Mande language family. In order to discuss island constraints, this paper also lays out the first analysis of relative clauses in Mende, while integrating new research on the left periphery, focus constructions, and wh-constructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) provides both financial and expert support for sustainable forest management initiatives and also boosts compliance with such initiatives in Africa. Thus, there is a need to monitor the progress of implementing such initiatives. The objective of this paper is to describe the role of timber harvesting entities in environmental impact discussions, and to also identify the role of EU institutions in promoting forest sustainability in Sierra Leone. Data were collected in a controlled survey from four communities, using a questionnaire formulated according to guidelines recommended by Babbie and Mouton (2010). The reliability test shows a 0.68 internal consistency among the latent variables (Cronbach alpha test). The selected four communities were Bambawo, Dia, Basara, and Menima, with a population of 6 000, 5 400, 7 500, and 5 600 inhabitants, respectively (Stats SL 2021). A Confirmatory Factor Assessment (CFA) was used for a descriptive statistical analysis of the data. The results showed that the environmental impact has an eigenvalue of 1.08, where only variables with a factor loading exceeding 0.5 were used. The paper concludes with discussions and relevant recommendations on mitigating the impacts of timber harvesting on the environment within the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conflict-affected youth are at risk for poor psychological and social outcomes, yet few receive mental health services. Strategies to expand access and sustain evidence-based interventions (EBIs) across novel delivery platforms must be tested. The present study was a hybrid type II implementation-effectiveness trial using a cluster randomized design. The primary goal was to evaluate feasibility and impact of using the collaborative team approach to deliver the Youth Readiness Intervention (YRI), an EBI, integrated into a youth entrepreneurship program (ENTR) with quality control in post-conflict Sierra Leone. Youth were screened and randomly assigned to control, ENTR, or combined YRI and ENTR (YRI+ENTR). Implementation outcomes were dissemination and implementation indicators, competence, and fidelity. Effectiveness outcomes were emotion regulation, psychological distress, and interpersonal functioning. Secondary outcomes were third-party reporter assessments of youth functioning and behavior. Data were collected and analyzed from 1,151 youth participants and 528 third-party reporters. Scores on implementation constructs, competence, and fidelity demonstrated acceptable intervention response and quality. YRI+ENTR participants showed overall improvements in depression (β = −.081, 95% CI −0.124 to −0.038, d = −0.154) and anxiety (β = −.043, 95% CI −0.091 to −0.005, d = 0.082) symptoms compared with control participants. Community leaders indicated that YRI+ENTR participants demonstrated improvements in overall work or training performance compared with control participants (β = −.114, 95% CI 0.004 to 0.232, d = 0.374). Integration of EBIs such as the YRI into youth employment programs has the potential to address limited reach of EBIs in conflict and post-conflict settings. A collaborative team implementation approach can facilitate integration and fidelity. In a Hybrid Type-II Implementation-Effectiveness trial conducted in Sierra Leone, researchers tested a Collaborative Team Approach (CTA) for delivering an evidence-based mental health intervention, the Youth Readiness Intervention (YRI), within a youth entrepreneurship program. A total of 1,151 youth participated in the study, with outcomes measured on youth mental health indicators of emotional regulation, psychological distress, and interpersonal functioning, as well as implementation indicators, competence, and fidelity. Results demonstrated that the integrated YRI and entrepreneurship program led to significant improvements in depression and anxiety symptoms compared to the control group. Community leaders also noted enhanced overall performance in YRI participants, suggesting that integrating evidence-based interventions into youth employment programs can effectively address mental health challenges in low-resource regions. We worked to ensure sex and gender balance in the recruitment of human participants. We worked to ensure that the study questionnaires were prepared in an inclusive way. We worked to ensure race, ethnic, and/or other types of diversity in the recruitment of human participants. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented sexual and/or gender groups in science. We actively worked to promote sex and gender balance in our author group. We actively worked to promote inclusion of historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science in our author group. The author list of this paper includes contributors from the location and/or community where the research was conducted who participated in the data collection, design, analysis, and/or interpretation of the work. One or more of the authors of this paper received support from a program designed to increase minority representation in science. Youth FORWARD Phase 2 YRI and EPP Study; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ ; NCT03542500. Youth Functioning and Organizational Success for West African Regional Development (Youth FORWARD): Study Protocol; https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.202000009. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farmers’ awareness and the incidence of climate change are crucial inputs to effectively scale up interventions to mitigate the effects of climate change. This is because incidence leads to awareness due to observation of occurrences. The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of climate change awareness and incidence across farming systems and agroecological zones in Sierra Leone. An ex-post-facto research design was applied, while a multistage sampling procedure was used to select 865 smallholder farmers across agroecological zones and farming systems. Data were collected with a structured questionnaire subjected to face validity and split-half reliability tests. This data analyzed frequency counts, percentages, multiple regression, and principal component analysis. The results show that farmers in the coastal plain, savannah woodland, and transitional rainforest had greater awareness and incidence of climate change across the crop, livestock, and fishery farming systems. The significant determinants of awareness and incidence of climate change among farmers are the adoption of crop smart practices (t = 4.192; p < 0.01); information needs on water smart practices (t = –5.581; p < 0.01); adoption of nutrient smart practices (t = 10.592; p < 0.01); adoption of energy/carbon smart practices (t = 3.206 ; p < 0.01); adoption of livestock smart practices (t = 3.608; p < 0.01); information needs on weather smart practices (t = 3.505; p < 0.01); incidence of climate change (t = 16.282; p < 0.01); and constraints on nutrient smart practices (t = –2.669; p < 0.01). The Principal Component analysis identified four factors, namely Factor 1 (Impact), Factor 2 (Occurrence), Factor 3 (Evidence), and Factor 4 (Threat), and accounted for 14.96%, 8.27%, 6.41%, 3.50% of the variance, respectively, with a cumulative variance of 33.14%. The study concludes that farmers are aware of the incidence of climate change and are adopting different techniques in response to the different climate changes observed. This study also recommends the identification of specific climate change adaptations and the scaling of interventions for adaptation and mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Disasters is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Sierra Leone is an electricity-poor country with one of the lowest electricity consumption per capita rates across sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, with ambitious targets to transform and stimulate its economy in the coming decades, energy demand forecasting becomes an integral component of successful energy planning. Through applying the MAED-D (version 2.0.0) demand software, this research study aims to generate Sierra Leone's electricity demand forecasts from 2023 to 2050. Three novel scenarios (baseline-, high-, and low-demand) are developed based on socio-economic and technical parameters. The baseline scenario considers the current electricity sector as business-as-usual; the high-demand scenario examines an ambitious development future with increased economic diversification and mechanisation, and the low-demand scenario examines more reserved future development. The modelled scenario results project an increase in electricity demand ranging from 7.32 PJ and 12.23 PJ to 5.53 PJ for the baseline-, high-, and low-demand scenarios, respectively, by 2050. This paper provides a base set of best-available data needed to produce an electricity demand model for Sierra Leone which can be used as a capacity-building tool for in-country energy planning alongside further integration into data modelling pipelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A good collection of existing literature provides limited reflection on classifying post-conflict countries as being 'peaceful'. This is especially so, as the period following the end of a civil war is normally characterised, as a period of 'peace', thereby equating peace to the silence of the guns. Such an understanding of what constitutes peace in post-conflict settings is problematic. This is because, societies in transition, are usually plagued with a plethora of challenges, with the legacies of war normally shaping the resurgence of violence in other forms. Additionally, complex transitions of violence and aggression, which reflect the socio-economic and political gyrations of a society redefining itself, and reconstructing its values are seen in most post-conflict contexts. Thus, using the case of Sierra Leone, this paper argues that some post-conflict settings experience negative peace, and diverse forms of violence that usually render communities unsafe, insecure and not peaceful. Thus, boxing societies in a bracket of being peaceful, because of the end of a violent civil war, limits what peace means in a specific contextual sense. It even undermines the potential for a broader approach towards understanding how the emerging forms of violence and aggression could be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses David Graeber's work on the moral grounds of economic relations as a vantage point from which to reflect on the ethics of giving back in field research, drawing on my own fieldwork experiences in Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka as well as examples from existing literature. I argue that Graeber's exposition of different moral logics for economic relations – hierarchy, exchange and communism – provides a valuable set of conceptual distinctions for thinking through what is owed by, and to, researchers in different research interactions. In addition to a recognition of the incommensurability of what is often being exchanged, this approach responds to the danger of researchers setting the terms of ethical interaction, through distant institutional processes and practices built on logics of exchange, in ways that might constrain the ability of interlocutors to meaningfully articulate their own positions in fieldwork relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how Ebola survivors in Sierra Leone are enacting biological citizenship to effect responsive and accountable engagement with their government. Disaster survivors are often left without avenues to hold policymakers accountable, but, recently, injured or disabled people have taken legal action against their governments over issues such as negligence, delays, damaged property, and death. However, in Sierra Leone, members of the Ebola survivors' association have sued the government at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice over a less conventional issue: corruption. After audit reports uncovered instances of financial impropriety that compromised the country's response to the 2013–2016 Ebola outbreak, two plaintiffs sued the government with the argument that corruption and the failure of the government to hold the culprits accountable constitute abuses of the rights to life and health of those affected by the disaster, and the entire population. Based on this case, the paper argues that the lawsuit is an attempt to redefine corruption as a health hazard and a human rights violation. This challenges authorities to give serious attention to how financial improprieties affect the ability of state agencies to guarantee equitable, dignified healthcare, and to take the post-disaster rehabilitation of survivors as a critical component of reconstruction programmes. Ultimately, the lawsuit might set a precedent for other disaster survivors to demand equitable and dignified access to health and proper rehabilitation. This paper draws on scholarly literature, official documents, and conversations with some of the survivors and their lawyer to make this argument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper undertakes a critical analysis of a planned change, the Safe Learning Model (SLM), devised over time by Concern Worldwide, and implemented in 100 primary or elementary schools in a rural district of Sierra Leone. We situate the documentation pertaining to the SLM (micro) within its wider national (meso) and international (macro) context of influential policy texts. We undertake a mixed methods analysis of these macro, meso and micro documents, interrogated through the prism of various change paradigms (scientific management, progressivism, critical theory, teacher professionalism and social movement) and in doing establish where these various document clusters, their explicit and implicit influences, may be located along the arc of change paradigms, thus surfacing their ideological assumptions, intent and influences. The paper concludes that in seeking to improve the quality of teaching, learning, and living in this instance, scientific management casts long shadows. The power, perspectives and financial influence of international agencies dominate change discourses whereby 'learning crises' require urgent responses in the form of testing and measuring that prevail over more expansive pedagogical capacity building. Consequently, perpetuating a 'weighing the pig' mindset downplays or ignores the ecology of teaching and learning, particularly the centrality of teachers, as professionals and role models, more likely to be compliant than transformative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of timeline-bound fetal exposure to drought shocks on birth outcomes in rural Sierra Leone. We link repeated cross-section birth record data across 11 years from the Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Surveys to district-level geolocation precipitation data from the University of Delaware weather repository. The methodology uses spatial distribution of precipitation across districts to identify the impacts of extreme droughts on birth outcomes. This study reinforces both harvest and direct gestation as maternal nutrition pathways for the impact of drought shocks on birth outcomes. Results also show that adverse in utero shock impacts are concentrated among poorer households and may be mitigated by antenatal care services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a case study of Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front to help explain when and where non-state armed groups (NSAGs) use violence, and what type of violence such groups use. The first part of the paper compares 'ideological' and 'instrumental' theories and finds strong support for 'instrumental' explanations, particularly contestation theory. The second part of the paper seeks to explain the patterns of contestation, which the existing scholarship treats as an independent variable, and finds that the patterns of contestation are explained by the interaction of the state and NSAG's policy goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we studied the scandium adsorption from aqueous solutions on the surface of low-temperature-activated alumina products (GDAH). The GDAH samples are industrially manufactured, coming from the Bayer production cycle of the Sierra Leone bauxite as aluminium hydroxide, and further, by drying, milling, classifying and thermally treating up to dehydroxilated alumina products at low temperature. All experiments related to hydroxide aluminium activation were conducted at temperature values of 260, 300 and 400 °C on samples having the following particle sizes: <10 µm, 20 µm, <45 µm and <150 µm, respectively. The low-temperature-activated alumina products were characterised, and the results were published in our previous papers. In this paper, we studied the scandium adsorption process on the above materials and related thermodynamic and kinetic studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reports on a study which explored how a sense of love is experienced in diaspora tourist experiences. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with the Sierra Leonean community in London, England, accessing the feelings and meanings of the tourists. Following thematic analysis, it was revealed that the emotion of love manifested itself as a tourist motivator, as on-site experience emotion and as an outcome of the visiting experience. The paper adds to the body of knowledge on diaspora tourism and positive tourism, tourism and positive psychology. The article reveals the non-economic value of diaspora tourism with regards to developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A lingua franca is a common language used by people whose native languages are different. In Sierra Leone, Krio is the lingua franca. The Krio language embodies a lot of idiomatic expressions that do not mean exactly what the words say, but have a deeper or secret meaning. They are used to amplify a message and they add a uniqueness to the Krio language. Some of these idiomatic expressions, however, have negative connotations, such as sexism towards women. This in turn promotes discrimination, objectification, devaluation and violation of women. Attention should therefore be called to such expressions. This paper thereby calls attention to and analyses these idiomatic expressions that violates the rights and dignity of women in Sierra Leone. It further advocates for a societal rethink of such expressions and their subsequent modification or disuse. This paper takes a stance that whilst idiomatic expressions enrich the Krio language, those that promote sexism against women should be challenged. Drawing from textual sources and from the researcher's knowledge and experience, this qualitative study employs a feminist standpoint and motivates for a shift towards the use of non-sexist and gender friendly language in Sierra Leone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the health system's response to COVID-19 in Sierra Leone. It aims to explore how the pandemic affected service delivery, health workers, patient access to services, leadership, and governance. It also examines to what extent the legacy of the 2013–16 Ebola outbreak influenced the COVID-19 response and public perception. Using the WHO Health System Building Blocks Framework, we conducted a qualitative study in Sierra Leone where semi-structured interviews were conducted with health workers, policymakers, and patients between Oct-Dec 2020. We applied thematic analysis using both deductive and inductive approaches. Twelve themes emerged from the analysis: nine on the WHO building blocks, two on patients' experiences, and one on Ebola. We found that routine services were impacted by enhanced infection prevention control measures. Health workers faced additional responsibilities and training needs. Communication and decision-making within facilities were reported to be coordinated and effective, although updates cascading from the national level to facilities were lacking. In contrast with previous health emergencies which were heavily influenced by international organisations, we found that the COVID-19 response was led by the national leadership. Experiences of Ebola resulted in less fear of COVID-19 and a greater understanding of public health measures. However, these measures also negatively affected patients' livelihoods and their willingness to visit facilities. We conclude, it is important to address existing challenges in the health system such as resources that affect the capacity of health systems to respond to emergencies. Prioritising the well-being of health workers and the continued provision of essential routine health services is important. The socio-economic impact of public health measures on the population needs to be considered before measures are implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Pentecostalism is a major stream within Christianity in Sierra Leone, the first field where Protestant missionaries were active in tropical Africa, this ecclesial development remains marginally represented in research. The Pentecostalisation of Sierra Leone points to the nation's continuous recontextualization of Christianity from its inherited missionary vestiges to meet local cultural needs. In this paper, I discuss the retreat by Pentecostal clerics to nature (forests, rivers, and mountains) from where they expect to connect with the transcendent God and receive spiritual power. To do so, I first discuss Sierra Leone's traditional conceptualization of forests, rivers, and mountains as sites for the acquisition of spiritual power. Second, I briefly survey the emergence of Pentecostalism in Sierra Leone, probing the specific uses by Pentecostals of natural spaces. Finally, I conclude with an intercultural theological assessment of Sierra Leone's emerging Pentecostal uses and interpretations of natural spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In peacebuilding contexts unemployed youth are frequently perceived as a high risk for the stability of a country while employed youth are seen as carrying an enormous potential for economic growth. This paper applies a social justice framework (4Rs) in analysing a Business Development (BD) programme that was implemented as part of Sierra Leone's Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) strategy to promote entrepreneurship development and reduce unemployment among youth. Despite the BD programme's initial strengths, to recognize youth's heterogeneity with the aim to address some of the root causes of the war, we show how the programme struggled to counter social inequality, unemployment and neopatrimonialism. Sudden decreases in donor funding led to severe modifications of redistribution processes, thereby hampering youth's representation. This raises questions about the design of TVET strategies and BD programmes in post-conflict settings in general. Our paper further showcases how the resurfacing of the root causes of a conflict in the scope of small-scheme development programmes, can have far-reaching effects on young people's various relationships of trust, if not reconciliation process as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purposes of this paper are as follows: (I) to provide a historical narrative of Sierra Leone's educational system, (II) to assess the impact of war on the country's educational system and pace of development in the current digital age, and finally, (III) to offer some discourses for policy dialogue in embracing the developmental landscape of the country. Methodology. The study is based on a "narrative" approach to exploring the outcomes of the civil war that resulted in the complete disruption of the education system in Sierra Leone. Results. The outcome of the study, which utilizes a narrative methodological approach, has captured pertinent areas of concern regarding the destructive legacy that the civil war brought to the country. Notable among these is the complete collapse of standards in the education system and, even more notably, the emergence of fake educational institutions. The results also draw attention to the positives of free education in creating equality in access to education for all. Conclusions. The study outcome shows that Sierra Leone is making some steady progress in providing an inclusive education for that despite the bad memory that the civil war brought to the entire nation. Moving on, the study outcome noted that progress needs to be made in terms of embracing modern technology to address emerging developments in areas pertaining to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and many more. Also, to resurrect the country to its earlier glory of high educational standards, efforts must be made to raise the profile of those responsible for delivering the curriculum (teachers in particular), while at the same time ensuring high quality of graduates are made to enter through competitive salaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the policy and quality assurance discourse in social work undergraduate academic education ensuing at the Social Work Unit at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, following the recent reengineering approach due to the Covid-19 pandemic and technological polarisation. Regrettably, final year social work university pre-service social work student's practicum or internship evaluation could not be finalised. The practicum or internship is a critical component in social work education as it engenders professional transformation, thought and development. Unlike other academic modules, which could be downright via online and distance education, the practicum or internship, being a practical undertaking in a classroom atmosphere, accorded unique challenges. The research question that the paper addresses is: How would certification of social work students be finalised when this time-tested evaluation had not been done? The paper employs content and discourse analysis to unwrap the philosophical and professional discourses being promoted by faculty in order to appreciate how they are likely to regulate succeeding management of social work education. The discourse is that the emerging 'current normal' should not trade-off the quality assurance structures that evolved consequently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: COVID-19 vaccine coverage in low- and middle-income countries continues to be challenging. As supplies increase, coverage is increasingly becoming determined by rollout capacity. Methods: We developed a deterministic compartmental model of COVID-19 transmission to explore how age-, risk-, and dose-specific vaccine prioritisation strategies can minimise severe outcomes of COVID-19 in Sierra Leone. Results: Prioritising booster doses to older adults and adults with comorbidities could reduce the incidence of severe disease by 23% and deaths by 34% compared to the use of these doses as primary doses for all adults. Providing a booster dose to pregnant women who present to antenatal care could prevent 38% of neonatal deaths associated with COVID-19 infection during pregnancy. The vaccination of children is not justified unless there is sufficient supply to not affect doses delivered to adults. Conclusions: Our paper supports current WHO SAGE vaccine prioritisation guidelines (released January 2022). Individuals who are at the highest risk of developing severe outcomes should be prioritised, and opportunistic vaccination strategies considered in settings with limited rollout capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Act to End NTDs | West, a USAID-funded program that supports national governments to eliminate or control five neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in West Africa including trachoma, lymphatic filariasis (LF), onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis, conducted a gender and social inclusion analysis to determine how NTDs differentially impact various populations and how gender and social norms impact NTD programs to inform future programming. Methods: The study used a mixed methods approach including a literature review; primary qualitative data collection; and monitoring data in Côte d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and Ghana. Results: Women and girls face additional health risks from many NTDs compared to men and boys. In addition to differential health burden, the social and economic impacts of NTD-related disability or infertility can be particularly dire for women and girls. Men were somewhat less likely to participate in mass drug administration (MDAs) due to: lack of information about campaigns, lack of access due to work, and higher levels of mistrust of the government and concerns about side effects of the medicines. Pregnant and breastfeeding women were sometimes excluded by community drug distributors (CDDs) from certain types of MDAs for which they are eligible. Training participation rates for CDDs and supervisors were universally higher for men than women, even though feedback on the effectiveness of female CDDs was overwhelmingly positive, and female CDDs often have more access to other women in conservative households. The role of a CDD can lead to career and social opportunities for women. However, challenges faced by CDDs were seen as a greater barrier for women, including transportation, safety, household responsibilities, lower education levels, and low or lack of wages. Discussion: Programs to address NTDs can promote equity and improve programming by increasing women's participation as CDDs and providing financial compensation. Additionally, programs should prioritize inclusive training for CDDs, and inclusive messaging about MDA for communities. Author summary: The Act to End NTDs | West program supports USAID's efforts to control or eliminate trachoma, lymphatic filariasis (LF), onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis in 11 West African countries using mass drug administration.Act | West conducted a gender and social inclusion analysis to inform a strategy for the program to improve outcomes and more meaningfully engage and empower women and marginalized individuals in program implementation. Our objective was to identify how gender and social norms and stigma differentially impact men's and women's adoption of healthy practices around NTD prevention, use of NTD services, participation in programing, and opportunities to engage in identifying solutions, using an intersectional lens inclusive of disability, ethnic identity, and geographic location. Several studies have looked at gender dimensions of staffing for NTD programming, analyzed differential risk factors and prevalence of NTDs between males and females, or presented data on gender and national mass drug administration (MDA) coverage to combat NTDs. This paper aims to consolidate these findings through a literature review as well as a qualitative study conducted in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Sierra Leone, to provide a comprehensive look at gender and social inclusion within NTD programming across various contexts and diseases. This study found that women and girls face additional health risks from five NTDs compared to men and boys. In addition to the health burden, the social and economic impacts of NTD-related disability or infertility can be particularly severe for women and girls. Additionally, men were somewhat less likely to participate in mass drug administration (MDAs) and pregnant and breastfeeding women were sometimes excluded by community drug distributors (CDDs) from certain types of MDAs for which they are eligible due to misunderstanding on the part of CDDs and community members on eligibility criteria. Training participation rates for CDDs and supervisors were universally higher for men than women, even though feedback on the effectiveness of female CDDs was overwhelmingly positive, and female CDDs often have more access to other women in conservative households. Additionally, challenges faced by CDDs were seen as a greater barrier for women to serve in that capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the intricate relationship between macroeconomic indicators and imperfect competition in Sierra Leone, employing a prototype of an imperfect competition structural model within the New Keynesian framework. The model incorporates nominal and real rigidities, as well as market failures. Results indicate that Sierra Leone's imperfectly competitive market introduces inefficiencies, leading to a muted initial impact of productivity shocks on macroeconomic variables. Wages and real interest rates exhibit moderated adjustments due to deviations from perfect competition ideals, dampening the effects on investment, consumption, and output. Policy and transition functions reveal a lasting influence of past capital accumulation and external shocks on aggregate output. The analysis exposes inertia in investment decisions and strategic actions of dominant firms. Steady-state results affirm a stable equilibrium in Sierra Leone, and eigenvalues exceeding unity underscore the model's ability to capture anticipatory behavior in imperfect market competition. The correlation matrix highlights profound connections between economic activity, wages, and capital's role in growth. Theoretical moments demonstrate economic indicator variability, emphasizing dominant firms' influence on capital allocation and policy measures' role in stabilizing interest rates and labor markets. The covariance matrix of exogenous shocks underscores external influences' persistence and correlated impacts on Sierra Leone's economy. These findings stress the importance of tailored policy responses to address market imperfections, advocating for measures to promote competition, labor market flexibility, dynamic investment, and stabilization of interest rates and labor markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas) is endemic to tropical Africa and includes three recognized subspecies (pyrrhonotus, patas, villiersi). This paper presents evidence to extend the geographic range of the western or West African patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas patas) 60 km southwest to include Outamba Kilimi National Park, central north Sierra Leone, West Africa. In 2018 and 2022 we conducted interviews with photo elicitation exercises with a total of 363 adult residents of Outamba Kilimi National Park to identify reported wildlife species present and inform camera trapping locations. Since May 2018, 25 camera traps have been placed throughout the Outamba Section of Outamba Kilimi National Park. Further research using both biological and social science methods is needed to accurately assess the conservation status of patas monkeys in Sierra Leone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite being critical responders in humanitarian crises, local youths are continually left out of the humanitarian action agenda. This paper used a qualitative methodology to investigate local youths' role in humanitarian response and their impacts and assessed how humanitarian actors influence the effectiveness of youth engagement. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with local youths who participated in the Ebola response in Sierra Leone. Findings showed that young people are significantly contributing to crises response. However, they lack an enabling environment and support system to convert their skills into valuable humanitarian resources efficiently. Therefore, despite the rhetoric that many reports and policies reflect, this study establishes that the realities of youth engagement in humanitarian activities are often misunderstood and controlled for the self-interest of different actors other than youths themselves. It advocates for a renewed focus and support for young people's skills as paramount for effective humanitarian response and building back resilient communities after emergencies. Besides, engaging local youths in tackling crises empowers them with transferable skills and stimulates their passion for participating in development issues within their communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Development Research is the property of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: The manifestation and spread of neuroinvasive circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPVs) across several countries, which led to the emergency use of the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2), raised concerns about adverse events following immunization (AEFI) surveillance. We assessed the attributes of AEFI with nOPV2 and examined stakeholder experiences and challenges in AEFI surveillance in Sierra Leone. Methods: Using a mixed method approach, we retrospectively reviewed passive data collected during a 2021 immunization campaign, and conducted semi-structured, interviews with vaccinators, district AEFI focal persons, and key stakeholders at the national Expanded Program on Immunization and the National Medicines Regulatory Authority. AEFI were categorized using the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA) Preferred Terms (PTs) and System Organ Class (SOC). Outcomes were stratified as recovered or not, with preventability and causality assessed using the Schumock and Thornton and World Health Organization (WHO) algorithms, respectively. Results: A total of 528 suspected AEFI were documented, predominantly affecting children aged 28 days to 23 months (63.3%). Most reported AEFI were administration site conditions and general disorders, with pyrexia being the predominant PT. Of 80 serious cases, 78 recovered, with 74 having an inconsistent causal relationship with the vaccine. Most serious cases (78) were deemed non-preventable, with only two being probably preventable. AEFI reporting was not routinely carried out across the group of people interviewed. AEFI reporting was not consistently performed, with discrepancies in defining reportable events and confusion over responsibility. Challenges with the open data kit (ODK) platform were noted, along with perceived inadequacies in training. Conclusion: While the nOPV2 is relatively new, the majority of AEFI were not serious, and most serious cases were not causally linked to the vaccine. Participants exhibited variations in experience and awareness of AEFI reporting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 pandemic has prompted a re‐examination of public health preparedness with an emphasis on lessons learned following the West African Ebola epidemic. However, much of this work focuses on technological solutions rather than social learning. Drawing upon anthropological work, this paper examines how Sierra Leoneans prepared for COVID‐19 through a lens of "embodied epidemic memory." Findings reveal that while people felt more empowered to respond to COVID‐19 due to their past experiences, traumatic memories from the Ebola outbreak also sparked logics of fear and avoidance, driven by mistrust toward the state and its healthcare system. As a result, people avoided healthcare facilities, and rumors concerning government corruption threatened mitigation efforts. While local populations should be better leveraged for their existing epidemic expertise, greater attention is needed to the "higher hanging fruit" of preparedness: restoring trust in the government's ability to respond to epidemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children's right to participate has been one of the most challenging rights to implement due to dominant norms which position children under adults' authority. Notably, this has more negatively impacted girls than boys due to traditional gender norms and practices that often restrict girls' agency and are reproduced and unchallenged in many societies. To contest these struggles, young female activists (13–17 years) in Sierra Leone, who are the focus of this paper, engaged in direct actions to influence public decision‐making and prevent girls from being married during childhood. Drawing upon empirical evidence exploring the girls' activism experiences, this article explore, young female activists' practical work is an example of what intersectionality as praxis means by connecting social categories to inequalities and highlights that they saw themselves as social actors with the ability to negotiate power, take part in community‐based activism to end child marriage and network with others to seek justice for practices and attitudes they perceived to be abusive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substandard and falsified (SF) medical products pose a major threat to public health and socioeconomic development, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. In response, public education campaigns have been developed to alert consumers about the risks of SF medicines and provide guidance on 'safer' practices, along with other demand- and supply-side measures. However, little is currently known about the potential effectiveness of such campaigns while structural constraints to accessing quality-assured medicines persist. This paper analyses survey data on medicine purchasing practices, information and constraints from four African countries (Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Uganda; n  > 1000 per country). Using multivariate regression and structural equation modelling, we present what we believe to be the first attempt to tease apart, statistically, the effects of an information gap vs structural constraints in driving potential public exposure to SF medicines. The analysis confirms that less privileged groups (including, variously, those in rural settlements, with low levels of formal education, not in paid employment, often women and households with a disability or long-term sickness) are disproportionately potentially exposed to SF medicines; these same demographic groups also tend to have lower levels of awareness and experience greater levels of constraint. Despite the constraints, our models suggest that public health education may have an important role to play in modifying some (but not all) risky practices. Appropriately targeted public messaging can thus be a useful part of the toolbox in the fight against SF medicines, but it can only work effectively in combination with wider-reaching reforms to address higher-level vulnerabilities in pharmaceutical supply chains in Africa and expand access to quality-assured public-sector health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing the need for curbing private motorization and car dependency while reducing inequalities associated with transport requires an in-depth understanding of the individual and collective practices, attitudes, and experiences of urban accessibility and mobility of populations across diverse socio-economic backgrounds. This paper builds on qualitative research methods and a framework of transitions to sustainable mobility to examine the links between travel needs, preferences, attitudes, and structural factors such as urban form, poverty, and informality at different scales. It proposes qualitative methods and evidence for accessibility-centred analysis to enrich policy and practice in cities across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), using Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, as a case study. While the volume of literature on urban mobility, accessibility, and land-use in SSA is increasing, scholarship on cities in Western Africa remains limited. The study examines four neighborhoods with different levels of access and motorization. It interrogates participants' perceived accessibility, how they shape differentiated everyday mobility and land-use practices at the individual and collective level, and its implications for urban accessibility and sustainable mobility in the medium to long-term future. We found that perceived accessibility influences everyday mobility and land-use practices and the attitudes of individuals in diverse communities toward sustainable mobility by driving them to trade off immediate needs with long-term risks and exposures, imaginaries of motorized futures, as well as collectively transform the functional and physical configurations of the built environment to address their most critical needs in the absence of suitable top-down transport and land-use interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is critical to have land policies that facilitate access to and effective control of land and other natural resources in order to achieve inclusive growth and eradicate poverty. It is well known that discrimination in land rights occurs globally, both in formal and customary settings. The reason for this is that land rights are either strong or weak and are held by a variety of groups of people. It is the weaker variants of the inequalities that stifle tenure security, reduce land use, and threaten the food security of those who depend on the land to survive. Goal and objectives: This study looks at improved land reforms to the benefit of women´s access to land to foster and support social norm change in Sierra Leone. Methodology: A Cross-sectional research design was used for data collection. Quantitative data was analyzed descriptively; while, qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis. A household's survey across the settlements for semi-structured questionnaire administration. In-depth interview of the various category of women and household heads through a purposive sampling technique. Key informant interviews (KII) consisted of local leaders, household heads, women leaders and community land owners. An unrefined search using keywords through JSTOR, Google Scholar, Research Gate and UNILAG database yielded search results of journals, book chapters and research reports on the subject. This was restricted to the utilization of accessible resources drawing on sources from different scholastic disciplines while performing an area audit. Results: The results of the study indicated that the principle that statutory reforms automatically take precedence over other laws in cases where there is a conflict between laws seems to remain on paper here. When it comes to land, informal and customary arrangements dominate and custom is seen to be powerful, authoritative and even unshakable. Even with the current gender-equitable legal framework, proper implementation of these laws is often lacking and enforcement institutions are weak. Therefore, it is recommended that increased efforts is needed to assist women in exercising their legal rights, such as addressing norms and customs regarding the manner in which women acquire land (such as through purchase or inheritance), the quality of the land they receive, and the manner in which land is transferred upon marriage or the death of a spouse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question of dangers and safety in children's lives has become a matter of increasing concern. This paper aims to contribute to the discussion in this field and elaborate on children's experiences of risks and dangers in the context of chronic poverty. Drawing on the post‐humanism approach, we argue that children's conceptions of risks and dangers emerge through their active and mutual exchange with other human and non‐human beings such as rivers, trees, animals and insects, however, these perceptions should be carefully placed within the local socio‐economic context of poverty and social hierarchy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2021, a patient died from Marburg virus (MARV) disease in Guinea and it was the first confirmed case in West Africa. The origin of the outbreak has not been identified. It was revealed that the patient didn't travel anywhere before the illness. Prior to outbreak, MARV had been found in bats in the neighboring Sierra Leone, but never in Guinea. Therefore, the origin of infection is unclear: was it an autochthonous case with spillover from a local population of bats or an imported case with spillover from fruit bats foraging/migrating from Sierra Leone? In this paper, we studied Rousettus aegyptiacus in Guinea as the possible source of MARV infection caused the patient death in 2021 in Guinea. We caught bats in 32 sites of Guéckédou prefecture, including seven caves and 25 locations of the flight path. A total of 501 fruit bats (Pteropodidae) were captured, including 66 R. aegyptiacus. The PCR screening showed three positive MARV R. aegyptiacus, roosting in two caves discovered in Guéckédou prefecture. After Sanger sequencing and phylogenetic analyses it was shown that found MARV belongs to the Angola-like lineage but it is not identical to the isolate obtained during the outbreak of 2021. Author summary: In 2020, MARV was first detected in fruit bats in Sierra Leone (West Africa). One year later, first outbreak of MARV in West Africa was registered in the neighboring Guinea after a man's death in the Temessadou M'bokét village. The source of the outbreak has not been identified. It is known, that the reservoir animal of MARV is the cave-dwelling bat Rousettus aegyptiacus, and typically, MARV disease outbreaks emerge after a visit of the index patient to a cave or mine. In our work, we studied bats in the vicinity of this village for the presence of the MARV. A cave hosting a colony of R. aegyptiacus was found close to the Temessadou M'bokét village (~4.5 km). Sampling and PCR screening of the bats from the colony identified three MARV-positive bats. The cave is inaccessible to humans; therefore, the index patient could not have been infected upon visit. We assume that the patient was infected outside the cave after direct or indirect contact with an infected bat of the same colony. These results provide the basis for preventive measures against new MARV outbreaks in Guinea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recent years a growing number of manufacturers and medical abortion products have entered country markets and health systems, with varying degrees of quality and accessibility. An interplay of factors including pharmaceutical regulations, abortion laws, government policies and service delivery guidelines and provider's knowledge and practices influence the availability of medical abortion medicines. We assessed the availability of medical abortion in eight countries to increase understanding among policymakers of the need to improve availability and affordability of quality-assured medical abortion products at regional and national levels. Methods: Using a national assessment protocol and an availability framework, we assessed the availability of medical abortion medicines in Bangladesh, Liberia, Malawi, Nepal, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and South Africa between September 2019 and January 2020. Results: Registration of abortion medicines—misoprostol or a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol—was established in all countries assessed, except Rwanda. Mifepristone and misoprostol regimen for medical abortion was identified on the national essential medicines list/standard treatment guidelines for South Africa as well as in specific abortion care service and delivery guidelines for Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, and Rwanda. In Liberia, Malawi, and Sierra Leone—countries with highly restrictive abortion laws and no abortion service delivery guidelines or training curricula—no government-supported training on medical abortion for public sector providers had occurred. Instead, training on medical abortion was either limited in scope to select private sector providers and pharmacists or prohibited. Community awareness activities on medical abortion have been limited in scope across the countries assessed and where abortion is broadly legal, most women do not know that it is an option. Conclusion: Understanding the factors that influence the availability of medical abortion medicines is important to support policymakers improve availability of these medicines. The landscape assessments documented that medical abortion commodities can be uniquely impacted by the laws, policies, values, and degree of restrictions placed on service delivery programs. Results of the assessments can guide actions to improve access. Plain Language Summary: Unsafe abortion is a leading cause of death and disability among women of reproductive age. Medical management of abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol pills, or just misoprostol, is a safe and effective way to end a pregnancy. Owing to an increase in the number of medical abortion products that have entered country health systems, we examined access to these medicines from supply to demand in selected countries. The overarching goal of the national landscape assessments was to produce evidence to support advocacy efforts and policymaking for improved access to quality medical abortion products that is appropriate to the needs of the country. This paper aims to describe key findings across eight country settings on the availability of medical abortion medicines and identify key opportunities to improve access to them across countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Disasters is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper provides a new approach to studying the behavior of groups engaged in civil war termination bargaining by focusing on the commitment problem. Extending the basic Rubinstein bargaining model, the model presented here has the added feature of a reneging option for the stronger group after an agreement is reached. This leads to the prediction that when groups expect the absence of an enforcement mechanism, the stronger group makes a larger concession, while the weaker group makes a more demanding offer, than would be expected according to the relative power dynamic between groups. On the other hand, when groups expect that a third-party peace operator will enforce an agreement, groups' offers more closely reflect their relative power situation. To illustrate the causal process of groups' bargaining behavior, five bargaining attempts during Sierra Leone's civil wars from 1991 to 2002 are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider how references to 'development' are deployed to convince communities to lease their land to agribusiness investors in Sierra Leone. We argue that promises of development made by companies resonate with the aspirations for development that communities already have. The already existing 'imaginaries' of development, actual conditions of economic hardship and the material relations of power bound up in who does the 'asking' for land mean that communities need little convincing to give their land. Imaginaries of development are effective not only because of the promises of development themselves, but also because of how these imaginaries function through the role of coloniality – and 'whiteness' in particular. Analyses that focus only on the coercive power of elites in making land deals miss the degree to which companies' promises of development fit into already existing imaginaries of a more prosperous future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic caused worldwide educational disruption. This paper addresses a gap in the literature relating to the impact of the pandemic on learning experiences of children in rural communities in the Global South, particularly in earlier years of schooling. Children in these communities are at considerable disadvantage in comparison to their urban peers due to poor school infrastructure and challenges in recruitment and retention of teachers. Drawing on a mixed-methods study of primary school children, their teachers and families in rural Sierra Leone, both during and immediately after school closures, the paper highlights how primary schools and their communities responded to the pandemic and how this influenced children's engagement with their learning. While national planning focused on pandemic control measures and provision of some remote learning support, findings highlight challenges for poor rural communities in accessing basic learning supports and the consequent disruption to children's education.

In the years 1823, 1829–1830, and 1837, West and West Central Africa had to contend with three devastating yellow fever epidemics that affected both slave dealers who had settled along the coast and anti-slave trade officials tasked with bringing the slave trade to an end. In this paper I argue that these epidemics had a profound impact on the actions of both sets of actors, and eventually on the expansion and demise of the slave trade in the region. By focusing on the actions of a myriad of Atlantic actors, I explore the ways in which cyclical epidemics of yellow fever were dealt with, emphasizing how prophylactic measures, treatments, and more generally, medical knowledge, were challenged, affected, and changed by the arrival of each of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leadership by health professionals is key in any health system, but health leadership training programmes are varied in their conceptualisation, learning objectives, and design. This paper describes an undergraduate leadership and management module for health students at the University of Sierra Leone and provides lessons from the design process. Our methods included an initial scoping review and qualitative study, followed by a co-design process of 10 workshops and 17 consultation meetings. The result was a curriculum with learning outcomes emphasising leadership identity, proactiveness, management of people and of change, and the formation of peer relationships. Learning methods included group teaching, team quality improvement projects, mentoring, and reflective practice. Lessons from the design process included the importance of support from university leadership and extensive consultation. Virtual workshops enabled broader participation but limited relationship building. Integrating doctoral research into the process facilitated inclusion of evidence and theory but risked reducing ownership by faculty. The importance of interprofessionalism and management skills in leadership training emerged during the process, illustrating the effectiveness of a co-design approach. Our programme is broadly aligned with other health leadership frameworks and is distinctive due to its undergraduate focus, offering insights for leadership training design in other settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Despite being almost entirely preventable, globally, dental caries is extremely prevalent. Moreover, dental caries will continue to present an even larger challenge for lower income countries, particularly those in the African context, as they transition to a more Western diet. Hence, epidemiological data providing insight into disease patterns and trends is critical to inform public health action. The purpose of this study was to examine dental caries clusters by caries detection threshold among 15‐year‐old adolescents in Sierra Leone, using data from the latest national survey, and to explore associated sociodemographic factors. Methods: This paper presents a secondary analysis of oral health data on 490 15‐year‐olds from the Sierra Leone national oral health survey of schoolchildren. Hierarchical cluster analysis of dental caries experience was conducted across all surfaces at four decay detection thresholds using the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) (clinical: ICDAS 2–6, cavitated: ICDAS 3–6, obvious: ICDAS 4–6 and extensive obvious: ICDAS 5–6 decay) across the four regions of Sierra Leone. Ordered logistic regression was used to estimate the association of sociodemographic factors with generated clusters relating to clinical and obvious decay experience. These are of both clinical and epidemiological relevance. Results: A 3‐cluster decay pattern representing a 'low' to 'high' decay experience distribution was observed under each decay detection threshold across surfaces. For clinical decay (including visual enamel caries), 28.8% had low, 55.1% medium and 15.9% high caries status. In the adjusted model, the only significant risk factor across obvious and clinical decay thresholds was region, with adolescents outside the Western region more likely to experience decay. Conclusion: This study suggests that adolescents in Sierra Leone fall into three distinct caries clusters: low, medium to high decay experience distribution, regardless of decay threshold. It reinforces the importance of recognizing dental caries detection thresholds and the use of contemporary epidemiological methodology. This suggests that adolescents outside the Western region are likely to have higher caries experience. The data also provides insight to the nature of adolescents in each cluster and should help to inform policy and planning of the integration of oral health into primary care and school systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns for human health and food safety are gaining momentum in emerging and developing nations as well as in food research due to the reputations that products have established over time. Understanding cross-cultural consumers' purchasing behaviour for chicken meat (CM) could provide valuable insights into the global food sector since it is the most consumed meat worldwide. This study examines the effect of buying features (BF), culture factors, behavioural attitudes (BA), subjective norms (SN) and perceived behavioural control (BC) on CM actual purchase behaviour (APB) in China and Sierra Leone. Primary data were sourced from 588 Chinese and 410 Sierra Leonean participants. We adopt structural equation modelling (SEM) to verify the model and test the associations between the variables. The SEM results confirm that BF, BA, SN and BC stimulate customers' intent and actual purchase of CM in both nations. The findings indicate that cultural factors (CF) significantly moderates the association between the independent constructs (BF, BA, SN and BC) and APB in Sierra Leonean markets. This study provides significant insights for chicken industry stakeholders that can help them increase CM sales along the supply chain via a marketing strategy focused on cultural and psychological factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children's time allocation plays an important role in their well-being, education and future chances in life. This paper examines children's time use in rural Sierra Leone in the context of dynamics of power. It analyses the ways in which children co-construct their patterns of time use and create their own temporal spaces within the boundaries of existing expectations and norms. Drawing on rich qualitative data we argue that children's routines are shaped by an interplay of various dimensions and expressions of power that create and re-create gender, generation and other social orders in a particular society. This power interplay creates polyphonic temporal spaces where school, work and play time overlap each other.The analysis of this polyphony of time use has demonstrated that children's time allocation goes beyond simple one dimensional task distribution and includes a complex network of activities that may take place simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines health worker experiences in two areas of post-epidemic preparedness in Sierra Leone – vaccine trials and laboratory strengthening – to reflect on the place of people in current models of epidemic response. Drawing on ethnographic research and interviews with health workers in the aftermath of Ebola, it explores the hopes and expectations that interventions foster for frontline workers in under-resourced health systems, and describes the unseen work involved in sustaining robust response infrastructures. Our analysis focuses on what it means for the people who sustain health systems in an emergency to be 'prepared' for an epidemic. Human preparedness entails more than the presence of a labour force; it involves building and maintaining 'relational infrastructures', often fragile social and moral relationships between health workers, publics, governments, and international organisations. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the value of rethinking human resources from an anthropological perspective, and investing in the safety and support of people at the forefront of response. In describing the labour, personal losses, and social risks undertaken by frontline workers for protocols and practicality to meet in an emergency context, we describe the social process of preparedness; that is, the contextual engineering and investment that make response systems work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sierra Leone was highly impacted by the 2014–2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, with 3,955 recorded deaths. Already stressed maternal health services were deeply affected by the outbreak due to fears of viral transmission, reallocation of maternity staff, and broader policies to stop transmission including travel restrictions. This research sought to explore women's perspectives on delaying pregnancy during the Ebola outbreak using family planning methods. Qualitative data collection took place in Kambia District in 2018 and included 35 women participants, with women who were either family planning users or nonusers at the time of the outbreak. Women reported a variety of reasons for choosing to take or not to take family planning during the outbreak, which we categorized as proximal (directly related to the outbreak) or distal (not directly outbreak related). Proximal reasons to take family planning included to avoid interacting with health care spaces where Ebola could be transmitted, to avoid the economic burden of additional children in a time when economic activities were curtailed and to return to school when education resumed postoutbreak. Distal reasoning included gender roles affecting women's decision making to seek family planning, concerns related to the physiological side effects of family planning, and the economic burden of paying for family planning. Women's perspectives for choosing to take or not take family planning during the Sierra Leone Ebola crisis had not been explored prior to this paper. Using the lens of family planning to consider how women choose to access health care in an outbreak gives us a unique perspective into how all health care interactions are impacted by a generalized outbreak of Ebola, and how outbreak responses struggle to ensure such services remain a priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how ethnographic approaches to third sector and nonprofit studies allow for context-based understandings of the links between volunteering and development. Drawing from our ethnographies of volunteering in Sierra Leone, Burundi and the Philippines, we argue that ethnographic methods could tease out local ideologies and practices of volunteer work that can challenge knowledge monopolies over how volunteering is understood and, later, transcribed into development policy and practice at various levels. The contribution of ethnography as a methodology to third sector research lies not only in the in-depth data it generates but also in the kind of ethos and disposition it requires of scholars—providing attention to issues of power and voice and leaning into the unpredictability of the research process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the growing literature on the dynamics and governance challenges of artisanal mining in sub‐Saharan Africa. It examines the artisanal gold mining sector in Liberia and Sierra Leone, two neighboring post‐war countries with extensive informal economies in the gold mining sector. This comparative case study explores factors that help reveal governance struggles, including the informality of the sector, the multiplicity of actors, ineffective monitoring, and gold price differences. It underscores the informality of the sector as a more pronounced problem that offers opportunities for corruption, smuggling of gold, human rights abuses, and exploitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]