To achieve their conservation goals individuals, communities and organizations need to acquire a diversity of skills, knowledge and information (i.e. capacity). Despite current efforts to build and maintain appropriate levels of conservation capacity, it has been recognized that there will need to be a significant scaling-up of these activities in sub-Saharan Africa. This is because of the rapid increase in the number and extent of environmental problems in the region. We present a range of socio-economic contexts relevant to four key areas of African conservation capacity building: protected area management, community engagement, effective leadership, and professional e-learning. Under these core themes, 39 specific recommendations are presented. These were derived from multi-stakeholder workshop discussions at an international conference held in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2015. At the meeting 185 delegates (practitioners, scientists, community groups and government agencies) represented 105 organizations from 24 African nations and eight non-African nations. The 39 recommendations constituted six broad types of suggested action: (1) the development of new methods, (2) the provision of capacity building resources (e.g. information or data), (3) the communication of ideas or examples of successful initiatives, (4) the implementation of new research or gap analyses, (5) the establishment of new structures within and between organizations, and (6) the development of new partnerships. A number of cross-cutting issues also emerged from the discussions: the need for a greater sense of urgency in developing capacity building activities; the need to develop novel capacity building methodologies; and the need to move away from one-size-fits-all approaches.

In a phase-IIa trial, we investigated the influence of 90 days continuous-delivery tenofovir (TFV) intravaginal rings (IVRs) with/without levonorgestrel (LNG) on the genital microbiota of Kenyan women. Eligible women (n = 27; 18–34 years; negative for HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and Amsel-bacterial vaginosis) were randomized 2:2:1 to use of IVRs containing TFV, TFV/LNG, or placebo. Using vaginal wall and IVR swabs at IVR insertion and removal, the genital microbial composition was determined using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The presence of Candida spp. was determined using qPCR. The vaginal total bacterial burden appeared to decrease with TFV and TFV/LNG IVR use (log100.57 and log100.27 decrease respectively; p > 0.05). The TFV/LNG IVR was more ‘stabilizing’: 50% of the participants’ microbiota community state types remained unchanged and 50% shifted towards higher Lactobacillus abundance. Specifically, TFV/LNG IVR use was accompanied by increased abundances of Lactobacillus gasseri/hominis/johnsonii/taiwanensis (16.3-fold) and L. fermentum/reuteri/vaginalis (7.0-fold; all p < 0.01). A significant shift in the overall microbial α-diversity or β-diversity was not observed for either IVR, and IVR use did not influence Candida spp. prevalence. TFV/LNG and TFV IVRs did not adversely affect the genital microbiota and are safe to use. Our findings support further studies assessing their efficacy in preventing HIV/HSV-2 and unintended pregnancies.

In school system, the teacher is the key input as he/she is the one to create a conducive atmosphere for learning by preparing the learning content, preparing classroom environment, ordering materials, using a variety of methods to deliver learning, and he/she also assesses the level of learners, manages time and students, and should be a good role model. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether and to the extent to which relationship exists between teacher characteristics and school performance in public secondary schools in Nyamasheke and Nyarugenge districts. Specifically, the study sought to describe teacher characteristics, determine the extent to which teacher characteristics correlate with school performance, and find out the strategies adopted to enhance school performance in public secondary schools located in the two districts. This study was guided by Education Production Function theory and it adopted a correlation research design. The target population involved 70 head teachers and 2 district education officers. 21 head teachers and 2 district education officers were surveyed. Stratified sampling, simple random sampling and purposive sampling techniques were used to select this sample and questionnaires, document review schedule, and interview schedule were used to collect data. It was found that only 61.15% of teachers have a bachelor’s degree, among them only 63.81% have undergone a pedagogical course, and only 56.05% have an experience of more than three years. It was further found that among the teacher characteristics, teacher qualification, professional training and experience highly correlate with school mean performance and as the coefficient of determination for each varies between 0.41 and 0.63. It was therefore recommended that the government and all other stakeholders should allocate more resources to train more teachers and retain experienced ones and provide more in-service training to enhance teachers’ professionalism.

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