Background: All of society is affected by mental health problems, not just a minor, isolated part. Mental health problems represent a major challenge to the global development of community health. This study examined the community health knowledge, perceived beliefs, and associated factors of mental distress (MD) in Mekelle city in Northern Ethiopia. Methods: The current study used a cross-sectional approach calculating a sample of 260 adults living in the two sub-cities of Mekelle city. To select the sample households in each sub-city, systematic random sampling was used. Self-reported questionnaire (SRQ-20 with a cutoff point of 7), and Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS) instruments were included within the structured questionnaire tool to clarify community occurrence and the level of health mental knowledge. Results: The likelihood of having MD was higher among the study participants who were female, employed, self-employed, and daily alcohol and khat users. The results also showed that the level of mental health knowledge among the participants was low. Conclusions: Factors such as being male, having a higher level of education, and having strong levels of social support were found to be the independent predictors of good mental health and community mental health knowledge.

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Micro- and small-scale enterprises (MSEs) have emerged as one of the most important tools for addressing economic and social issues and achieving development goals. In both developed and developing economies, MSEs have been acknowledged as critical components of national development. This study aimed to assess the contributions of MSEs toward sustainable community livelihood in Emba Alaje, Wereda, Ethiopia. The results revealed that MSEs contributed to economic growth, employment formation, and income generation for the local community. In addition, the study indicated that the MSEs were significantly affected by different determinant factors such as infrastructures, raw material, working premises, and human capital. The study clearly showed that there was a gender gap over participation in different MSE sectors. In addition, many sectors which can employ more people are still managed by men. This shows that the bodies involved, such as the MSE Development Offices, Bureau of Cooperatives, and Bureau of Works and Social Affairs, should join their hands and allow women to enter traditionally male-dominated sectors such as construction, manufacturing, and urban farming. Above all, greater efforts should be made to consider both female- and male-owned businesses.

This paper uses spatial economic data from the northern part of Ethiopia to investigate the cost minimizing capacity of social networking, which has not been sufficiently explored from a spatial perspective. Following identification of the domains of transaction costs that could be minimized, a propensity score matching technique is applied to estimate the effects of rural households’ participation in social networking for minimizing such costs. While framing the analysis from the perspective of rural households’ spatial proximity to a small town, the paper hypothesizes active participation in social networking as a mechanism for reducing transaction costs. It is evident from the results that active participation in social networking is a significant factor for minimizing the transaction costs incurred by households who live in relatively rural hinterlands. This confers an alternative option for rural people to improve their livelihoods in cases where geographical proximity to towns offers no advantage.