Browsing by Author "Kosia, Efraim"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

Availability and functionality of neonatal care units in healthcare facilities in Mtwara region, Tanzania: The quest for quality of in-patient care for small and sick newborns.
(PLOS ONE, 2022-11-21) Kamala, Serveus; Julius, Zamoyoni; Kosia, Efraim; Manzi, Fatuma
Background Evidence shows that delivery of prompt and appropriate in-patient newborn care (IPNC) through health facility (HF)-based neonatal care and stabilization units (NCU/NSUs) reduce preventable newborn mortalities (NMs). This study investigated the HFs for availability and performance of NCU/NSUs in providing quality IPNC, and explored factors influencing the observed performance outcomes in Mtwara region, Tanzania. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted using a follow-up explanatory mixed-methods approach. HF-based records and characteristics allowing for delivery of quality IPNC were reviewed first to establish the overall HF performance. The review findings were clarified by healthcare staff and managers through in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discus sions (FGDs). Results About 70.6% (12/17) of surveyed HFs had at least one NCU/NSU room dedicated for deliv ery of IPNC but none had a fully established NCUs/NSU, and 74.7% (3,600/4,819) of needy newborns were admitted/transferred in for management. Essential medicines such as tetra cycline eye ointment were unavailable in 75% (3/4) of the district hospitals (DHs). A disparity existed between the availability and functioning of equipment including infant radiant warm ers (92% vs 73%). Governance, support from implementing patterns (IPs), and access to healthcare commodities were identified from qualitative inquiries as factors influencing the establishment and running of NCUs/NSUs at the HFs in Mtwara region, Tanzania. Conclusion Despite the positive progress, the establishment and performance of NCUs/NSUs in provid ing quality IPNC in HFs in Mtwara region is lagging behind the Tanzania neonatal care guideline requirements, particularly after the IPs of newborn health interventions completed their terms in 2016. This study suggests additional improvement plans for Mtwara region and other comparable settings to optimize the provision of quality IPNC and lower avoidable NMs.
A Blockchain-based Conceptual Model to Address Educational Certificate Verification Challenges in Tanzania
(Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research (ETASR), 2023-08-08) Said, Said; Dida, Mussa; Kosia, Efraim; Sinde, Ramadhani
The proliferation of counterfeit educational certificates is an ongoing issue around the world, including Tanzania. The effect of this malpractice is detrimental to the credibility of education. Traditional strategies to prevent fake certificates are abortive, calling for a more sophisticated approach. Blockchain technology has recently emerged as an ideal solution to this problem due to its inherent attributes that ensure disintermediation, immutability, tamper proof, anonymity, transparency, consensus, security, and trust. However, most existing blockchain-based solutions lack crucial functionalities that are pertinent to the Tanzanian education system. This study unveiled the challenges faced by the current verification system in Tanzania and proposed a blockchain-based conceptual model to address them. The proposed model is based on blockchain, smart contracts, and the Interplanetary File System (IPFS). Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to investigate certification problems in Tanzania and modeling techniques were used to construct the conceptual model. The findings showed that the main challenges of the current verification system emanate from manual procedures, unverifiable credentials, susceptibility of centralized storage systems, disintegrated verification systems, revocation problems, difficulties in communication, and high dependency on the issuers. These challenges undermine certificate verification, impose a significant setback in the fight against forgeries, and create loopholes for forgeries to persist. It was conceptually demonstrated that these issues can be resolved through the proposed blockchain-based solution.
A Comprehensive Blockchain-Based System for Educational Qualifications Management and Verification to Counter Forgery
(IEEE Access, 2025-02-17) Said, Said; Sinde, Ramadhani; Kosia, Efraim; Dida, Mussa; Ulomi, George
The prevalence of fake educational credentials poses a threat to the meritocratic nature of the education system and job markets. Verification of certificates to combat forgery has been a challenging endeavor due to the weaknesses of the current methods. Blockchain, capitalizing on its unique attributes, can provide an optimal solution to certification and verification problems by ensuring disintermediation, immutability, tamper-proof, efficiency, and security. Efforts to explore its potential in addressing these problems continue to gain momentum. However, the existing blockchain-based initiatives do not offer a holistic solution to the forgery problem, as they solely focus on a single education level or institution. Furthermore, these initiatives lack the essential features required to fully address this problem. This paper proposes a comprehensive blockchain-enabled system for issuing certificates from different educational levels and institutions in the country, providing a one-stop center for verifiers, such as employers, to verify all certificates a candidate possesses. As a proof of concept, a decentralized application (DApp), ElimuChain, has been developed, utilizing smart contracts and the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS). The system is deployed on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) blockchain to evaluate its applicability in addressing the problem in the Tanzanian context. The results demonstrate that the proposed solution successfully manages the certification and verification process, and it is cost-effective, scalable, and efficient. Moreover, its performance was compared with the previous solutions in terms of latency and throughput. The comparison results show that it performs better than the counterpart for transactional operations.
Factors influencing the sustainability of homestead vegetable production intervention in Rufiji, Tanzania: A cross-sectional mixed methods study
(PLOS Global Public Health, 2022-09-20) Mlalama, Killian; Matemu, Athanasia; Kosia, Efraim; Canavan, Chelsey; Bellows, Alexandra; Blakstad, Mia; Noor, , Ramadhani; Kinabo, Joyce; Fawzi, Wafaie; Masanja, Honorati; Mosha, Dominic
There is growing evidence that home vegetable gardening interventions improve food security and nutrition outcomes at the family level. Sustainability of many of these community interventions remain a challenge. This study assessed factors influencing the sustainability of homestead vegetable production intervention in Rufiji district, Tanzania, one year after the cessation of external support. This was a community based cross-sectional study using both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. A total of 247 randomly selected women from households who participated in the homestead vegetable intervention were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The study held four focus group discussions with women from households that participated in the intervention, and four In-Depth interviews with two extension workers, one community health worker, and one agriculture district officer. Multiple logistic regression for quantitative data and thematic analysis for qualitative data was conducted. About 20.24% (50/247) of households sustained homestead vegetable production for one year after the intervention phased out. Shortage of seeds (adjusted odds ratio = 0.65: CI = 0.46–0.93, p-value 0.018) and either manure or fertilizers (adjusted odds ratio = 1.62: CI = 1.04–2.46, p-value 0.031) were significant factors influencing the sustainability of homesteads vegetable production. In the Focus Group discussions (FGDs) and In-Depth Interview (IDIs), all participating women and extension workers reported high cost of water, destruction from free-grazing animals, agriculture pests and diseases, poor soil fertility, shortage of seeds, and lack of capital affected homestead vegetable production sustainability. Existing individual, community, and system challenges influence the sustainability of external-funded agriculture and nutrition interventions. The study findings underscore the importance of community authorities, scientists, and policymakers in having a well-thought sustainability plan in all promising external-funded interventions.