Agroforestry, Indigenous Tree Cover and Biodiversity Conservation: A Case Study of Mount Elgon in Uganda

Addressing interconnected social and environmental issues, including poverty, food security, climate change, and biodiversity loss, requires integrated solutions. Agroforestry is a sustainable land use approach with the potential to address multiple issues. This study examined the tree cultivation behavior of smallholder farmers in the Mt. Elgon region of Uganda. We examined the proportion of indigenous tree species added to or removed from agricultural land and the reasons for farmers’ decisions in this regard. We found that farmers overwhelmingly planted exotic species, limiting the possible benefits for the conservation of biodiversity from a suggested re-greening of the region. Indigenous trees were cultivated in low numbers and dominated by a handful of species. Opportunities to help farmers increase the number and variety of indigenous trees on their land were found among smaller-scale coffee farmers and in the protection of natural forests from which indigenous trees propagate into the wider landscape.

Uganda Mountain Community Health System—Perspectives and Capacities towards Emerging Infectious Disease Surveillance

In mountain communities like Sebei, Uganda, which are highly vulnerable to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, community-based surveillance plays an important role in the monitoring of public health hazards. In this survey, we explored capacities of village health teams (VHTs) in Sebei communities of Mount Elgon in undertaking surveillance tasks for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in the context of a changing climate. We used participatory epidemiology techniques to elucidate VHTs’ perceptions on climate change and public health and assessed their capacities to conduct surveillance for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Overall, VHTs perceived climate change to be occurring with wider impacts on public health. However, they had inadequate capacities in collecting surveillance data. The VHTs lacked transport to navigate through their communities and had insufficient capacities in using mobile phones for sending alerts. They did not engage in reporting other hazards related to the environment, wildlife, and domestic livestock that would accelerate infectious disease outbreaks. Records were not maintained for disease surveillance activities and the abilities of VHTs to analyze data were also limited. However, VHTs had access to platforms that could enable them to disseminate public health information. The VHTs thus need to be retooled to conduct their work effectively and efficiently through equipping them with adequate logistics and knowledge on collecting, storing, analyzing, and relaying data, which will improve infectious disease response and mitigation efforts.

Uganda Mountain Community Health System Perspectives and Capacities Towards Emerging Infectious Disease Surveillance

In mountain communities like Sebei, Uganda, that are highly vulnerable to emerging and reemerging infectious diseases, community-based surveillance plays an important role in the monitoring of public health hazards. In this survey, we explored capacities of Village Health Teams (VHTs) in Sebei communities of Mount Elgon in undertaking surveillance tasks for emerging and reemerging infectious diseases in the context of a changing climate. We used participatory epidemiology techniques to elucidate VHTs’ perceptions on climate change and public health and assess their capacities in conducting surveillance for emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. Overall, VHTs perceived climate change to be occurring with wider impacts on public health. However, they have inadequate capacities in collecting sur-veillance data. The VHTs lack transport to navigate through their communities and have in-sufficient capacities in using mobile phones for sending alerts. They do not engage in reporting other hazards related with the environment, wildlife and domestic livestock that would ac-celerate infectious disease outbreaks. Records are not maintained for disease surveillance ac-tivities and the abilities of VHTs to analyze data are also limited. However, VHTs have access to platforms that can enable them to disseminate public health information. The VHTs thus need to be retooled to conduct their work effectively and efficiently through equipping them with adequate logistics and knowledge on collecting, storing, analyzing, and relaying data, which will improve infectious disease response and mitigation efforts.

Heat of Combustion of Coffee Pulp and Husks as Alternative Sources of Renewable Energy

The study determined the amount of heat energy (heat of combustion) produced per unit mass from coffee pulp and coffee husks to see if these can be used as alternative sources of energy. The samples were obtained from Mount Elgon areas in Eastern Uganda. The objectives determined the amount of heat produced per unit mass from coffee husk and pulp and compared the amount of heat produced per unit mass from the coffee husk and coffee pulp. The coffee husk and pulp were dried, ground and sieved using a 150 microns diameter sieve. The resultant powder was analyzed using IKA C200 bomb calorimeter. The Heat values produced per unit mass from coffee husk and pulp were 15.389KJg-1 and 13.755KJg-1 respectively. Further analysis showed that both coffee pulp and coffee husks could be used as fuels for renewable energy. However, from the findings, it is recommended that coffee husks should be preferred as a better source of fuel since it generated 1.634KJg-1 more energy than the coffee pulp. Comprehensive study should be carried out on the two samples to obtain a complete fuel description of the samples.

Counselling Services Needed By Secondary School Students in Mount Elgon District, Bungoma County, Kenya

The youth are facing many social, economic and educational problems. These problems are turning the youth into delinquents and misfits in society. This study is aimed at identifying the counselling services needed by secondary school students in Mt. Elgon District. The researchers employed closed ended questionnaire to collect data. The sample population was 58 teachers and 180 students proportionately drawn from six public secondary schools categorized as boy schools, girl schools and mixed schools. The study revealed that students needed the following counselling services: academic counselling, social, peer and spiritual counselling. However, it was noted that the students are at a variance with the teachers regarding the most important counselling service to be offered in secondary schools.