Welcome to AfricArXiv
This initiative showcases UbuntuNet's commitment to fostering knowledge sharing, collaboration, and accessibility within the African research community. With AfricArxiv, researchers across the continent have a dedicated platform to disseminate their findings, making them accessible to a global audience. By facilitating open access to scholarly work, UbuntuNet Alliance plays a pivotal role in advancing the principles of open science, enhancing research visibility, and driving innovation across Africa.
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- The general repository is open for individual submissions by researchers, librarians and research administrators.
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- Scholarly items sorted by country > Institution > Department
- A Rapid Grant Fund to address research questions and implement science engagement activities associated with COVID-19
Recent Submissions
Climate-Induced Shocks, Food Insecurity and Strategies for Tackling Evolving Impacts within the Alliance of Sahel States
(2026-01) Joseph Amikuzuno
This study sought to analyse and quantify the impacts of floods (proxy through positive rainfall anomalies) and droughts (negative rainfall anomalies) on household food security in the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), namely Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. These countries are also designated crisis countries by the FAO. The goal of the study was to determine and recommend to the countries’ governments, the FAO and other development partners, pathways to buffering vulnerable households’ food security against climate –induced shocks. The specific objectives of the study were to:
1) Assess how positive and negative rainfall shocks affect food security in the AES, and
2) Explore and recommend available strategies needed to enhance resilience, support adaptation and reduce food insecurity in these states.
Two datasets, household survey and satellite precipitation data, were used for the analysis. The household survey data was obtained from the FAO DIEM household survey database, while the precipitation data was extracted from the ECMWF Climate Reanalysis v5 (ERA5) high, spatiotemporal resolution monthly precipitation data provided by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), Copernicus Climate Change Services. The FAO-DIEM data contains information on various food security indicators. The study however, focused on three of these food security indicators, namely the Food Consumption Score (FCS), the Reduced Coping Strategy Index (rCSI) and Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES).
The multiple linear regression model was used to estimate the effects of positive and negative rainfall anomalies on household food security.
From the analysis, the following conclusions can be drawn:
1) Both positive rainfall anomalies and droughts threaten food security within the AES. While the incidence of floods is disruptive in the short term with implications for food production, droughts cause long term food production risks and livelihood stress. Unlike droughts the incidence and effects of which unfold gradually, the incidence of floods is sudden. Thus, adjusting to the sudden shocks of flood effects is more difficult than adjusting to the gradual effects of droughts. The fast-track nature of flood incidence may imply difficulties for households to adequately ex-ante coping measures. This way, ex-post flood damages may be more deleterious that those of droughts.
2) Crop-livestock diversification is associated with reduced vulnerability and improved household resilience and food security. Thus, the adoption of livestock-crop diversification strategies could be used to spread and reduce the risks associated with floods and droughts. Moreover, crop -livestock diversification appears to be useful for sustaining and smoothening household consumption and income patterns to provide a stronger buffer against food insecurity and improve the quality of diets and nutrition among households.
Generally, food insecurity interventions, namely cash, food, and asset support, are expected to serve as swift and targeted responses to crises, while linking social protection to nutrition and overall household welfare. Addressing the bottlenecks to food security and consolidating the gains from the social protection divide could be the beginning of safeguarding food supplies, protecting rural economies and ensuring the sustainability of food systems in crisis communities.
Based on the above conclusions, the following recommendations are provided to guide the actions of governments of the AES countries, FAO and other development interest groups:
1) In the short term, there is the need for integrated support systems such as cash and asset support as well as targeted food reliefs under more severe situations. This is critical as it addresses the very immediate hunger and potential food insecurity problems while protecting livelihoods. It also, supports and builds seasonal and shock responsive programming whilst strengthening local markets, targeting and protecting the very vulnerable in the society as well as building the adaptive capacities of communities to climate shocks.
2) In the medium term, we recommend the promotion of crop-livestock diversification across the AES. The promotion of crop-livestock diversification is a sure bet to stabilising and smoothing households’ income and food supply. This intervention will help bridge seasonal food shortage gaps within households and prevent them from impulse sales of assets. Additionally, the economic viability of households would be enhanced with more market participation due to the benefits and cross-effects of integrating crops and livestock.
3) In the long, there is the need to strengthen flood preparedness and rapid response mechanisms. The importance of this cannot be overstated as this could build the long-term resilience of households and communities to reduce repeated displacements caused by floods and droughts. Also, strengthening flood preparedness and rapid response mechanisms would preserve development gains and thus ensure that resources are channelled to other equally pressing developmental needs. These would save lives in the now and protect livelihoods and developmental gains for the future.
Plateforme Bibliographique des Enseignants et Chercheurs de l’Université d’Abomey-Calavi
(IRD, 2nd Global Summit on Diamond Open Access, 2024-12) Sagbohan, Joseph
La visibilité et l'ouverture de la recherche universitaire est un enjeu important pour la transparence, la reproductibilité, et la collaboration dans le processus de recherche. La gestion et la mise en valeur de la production scientifique des enseignants et chercheurs revêtent à cet égard une importance cruciale. L’Université d’Abomey-Calavi (UAC) dans cette optique, a mis en place une plateforme bibliographique ouverte pour répondre à ce besoin mais en marge des standards des dépôts numériques universitaire, des normes et modèles des systèmes ouverts admis au plan international. La présente étude évalue l’efficacité actuelle de cette plateforme institutionnelle d’archives ouvertes, propose des normes de qualité et esquisse des pistes de refonte pour améliorer son fonctionnement. Le travail se focalise sur une analyse approfondie de la plateforme existante en s’appuyant sur les difficultés rencontrées par les utilisateurs, sur l’évaluation des fonctionnalités techniques, et en fait une comparaison avec des plateformes similaires dans d'autres universités afin d’identifier les forces et les faiblesses. La plateforme actuelle présente plusieurs lacunes, notamment en termes d'ergonomie, de convivialité et de fonctionnalités avancées en parallèle des normes admises. Les utilisateurs ont exprimé des difficultés relatives à l’intégrité et à la disponibilité pour la soumission et la recherche de publications, ainsi que la confidentialité et la traçabilité dans la gestion des profils individuels. De plus, l'absence de normes claires pour la gestion des données bibliographiques compromet l'uniformité et la qualité des informations fournies, de même que l’interopérabilité avec d’autres plateformes d’entrepôt. Ainsi, se dégage la nécessité d’une refonte de la plateforme pour répondre aux besoins des enseignants et chercheurs de l'UAC. Cela a amené à envisager une amélioration de l'interface utilisateur, l'ajout de fonctionnalités de recherche avancées, et l'implémentation de normes de qualité pour l’encodage et la gestion des données bibliographiques en utilisant les systèmes embarqués, prédéfinis open source. Une collaboration étroite avec les utilisateurs, les spécialistes de l’information et ceux des technologies de l’information tout au long du processus de refonte est essentielle pour garantir l'adoption et le succès de la nouvelle plateforme.
Open Access and Institutional Repositories
(2026-04) Sagbohan, Joseph
Community Barriers, Perceptions, and Health-Seeking Behaviors within the One Health Approach in Six Priority Districts of Rwanda: A Descriptive Qualitative Study
(Not yet published, 2026-04-20) Umulisa, Marie-Michelle; Ishema, Leandre; Rwagasore, Edson; Muhirwa, Patrick Kayinamura; Mugwaneza, Odree; Dine , Roseline Dzekem
Background: Rwanda’s health security can only be strengthened through integrated One Health approaches that link human, animal, and environmental health. Emerging health threats such as the Marburg Virus highlight the urgency, yet fragmented systems, weak coordination, and behavioral barriers continue to constrain resilience. Thus, we assessed behavioral, social, and systemic determinants influencing community resilience, outbreak preparedness, and response, using the Human Belief Model (HBM) and the Social Ecological Model (SEM) to generate actionable evidence for strengthening One Health integration, health system performance, and risk communication strategies for effective disease prevention and outbreak mitigation in Rwanda.
Methods: Our descriptive qualitative assessment included participants from Rulindo, Kayonza, Nyanza, Rusizi, Rubavu, and Nyaruguru districts of Rwanda. We had six IDIs per district and two FGDs per district. Participants were selected from all domains of life, ensuring inclusivity, while data collection was carried out in October 2025. We conducted weekly debriefing meetings, which enabled us to familiarize ourselves with the data. Using Dedoose for data coding, results were presented according to themes, while indicating areas of convergence. We received ethical approval for this study from the Rwanda National Ethics Committee (IRB00001497 of IORG0001100).
Results: A total of 143 participants took part in the FGDs; the majority were male (n = 82, 57.34%) and were aged between 31-40. Most participants were either working in the veterinary sector n=10 (7%) or simply community members n=9 (6%). In the IDIs of 36 participants, almost half of the participants were in the age group 31-40, n=15 (41.67%), and working as either Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response officers, Private Sector Federation members, or Environmental Officers with n=6 (17%) respectively. Several themes emerged; however, using the joint display method of comparing findings from IDIs and FGDs, we identified data convergent points to include access to services, economic and livelihood constraints, coordination and collaboration gaps, communication of health information, shared and collective norms, as well as practices.
Conclusion: Findings from this assessment provide a critical foundation for identifying behavioral and systemic gaps and facilitators towards the One Health approach. Bottleneck challenges on resources and limited engagement of community members continue to promote health insecurity. Therefore, district-level coordination and accountability, as well as training of community health workers to listen and engage community members, will enhance the One Health sector of Rwanda.
Keywords: One Health, Rwanda, disease prevention, outbreak preparedness, community engagement, risk communication
CIÊNCIAS HUMANAS, GLOBALIZAÇÃO E GEOPOLÍTICA: PISTAS PARA CONSTRUÇÃO DE UMA SOCIOLOGIA AFROCENTRADA EM ANGOLA
(Horizontes Sociológicos Afro-Lusófonos, 2025-07-05) EDUARDO SALA
Este artigo tem como objetivo fazer uma análise interdisciplinar sobre a dinâmica organizacional/funcional e o ensino das Ciências Humanas em Angola, com ênfase em Sociologia. É um ensaio que agrega o método de pesquisa bibliográfica, problematizando diversas questões como migração, relações África/Ocidente, colonialidade e integração africana. O artigo analisa o papel e os desafios da Educação, Ciências Humanas-Sociologia em Angola e África diante dos desafios impostos pela dinâmica geopolítica mundial em acelerada transformação, bem como as armadilhas criadas pela globalização. De tendência pan-africanista e contra-colonial, esse trabalho tem como um de seus pressupostos contribuir na criação de mecanismos epistemológicos que visam desestabilizar as cosmovisões e cosmogonias de inclinações eurocêntricas e neocoloniais, que exercem uma grande influência alienadora sobre a percepção de mundo no seio da sociedade angolana. Para isso, a (re) africanização do sistema educacional, das Ciências Humanas e suas respectivas elevações ao status de estratégicas ferramentas geopolíticas faz-se necessário.