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Climate change policies in countries of the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region are evolving from a top-down, government-led approach towards more pluralistic climate governance, which incorporates a local perspective and actors while strengthening the communities' resilience. Egypt, as a case study with high economic and natural vulnerability to climate change, and a significant number of vulnerable communities, is struggling to coordinate and effectively manage current sketchy climate policies. This paper examines the perception of climate change in four urban and rural communities, and their adaptation needs. Results show high local awareness and diverse ad-hoc adaptation strategies. Local communities are in need of site-specific policies and special funds that encourage capacity building and networking, as well as the making available of climate data and adaptation knowledge.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the level of sustainability reporting [environmental, social and governance (ESG)] and sectorial energy performance across both developed and emerging economies.Design/methodology/approachUsing data culled from 3,311 observations from 50 different countries over a ten-year period (2008–2017), an ESG-score-derived independent variable is regressed against dependent performance indicator variables (operation ratio, return on equity and Tobin’s Q). Two types of control variables complete the regression analysis in this study: firm-specific and macroeconomic.FindingsThe findings of this study elicited from the empirical results demonstrate that there is a significant relationship between ESG and operational performance (operation ratio). However, there is no significant relationship between ESG and financial performance (return on equity) and market performance (Tobin’s Q). However, the relationship between ESG and operation ratio is stronger in emerging than in developed economies.Originality/valueThe model in this study presents a valuable analytical framework for exploring sustainability reporting as a driver of performance across energy sectors in both developed and emerging economies. In addition, this study highlights energy-sectorial managerial implications contrasting developed, as juxtaposed with, emerging economies.

Less than 1% of biomedical research papers originate in Africa. Locally relevant mental health research, including synthesis of existing evidence, is essential for developing interventions and strengthening health systems, but institutions may lack the capacity to deliver training on systematic reviewing for publication in international journals. This paper describes the development and implementation of a training-of-trainers (ToT) course on systematic reviewing. The ToT prepared junior faculty ('trainers') from universities in Ethiopia, Malawi, and Zimbabwe to lead a five-day systematic reviewing workshop. Using an evaluation framework based on implementation science outcomes, the feasibility of the ToT was assessed by tracking the number of workshops the trainers subsequently conducted and the number of trainers and trainees who participated; acceptability was assessed through post-workshop surveys on trainee perspectives; impact was evaluated through trainee scores on a 15-item multiple choice test on systematic reviewing concepts; and sustainability was assessed based on whether the workshop was integrated into university curricula. Twelve trainers (86% of those trained) facilitated a total of seven workshops in their home countries (total 103 trainees). The first workshop run in each country was evaluated, and there was a significant improvement in mean knowledge scores between pre- and post-tests among trainees (MD= 3.07, t= 5.90, 95% CI 2.02-4.11). In two of the three countries, there are efforts to integrate the systematic review workshop into university curricula. The cost of the workshop led by the international trainer was $1480 per participant, whereas the trainer-led workshops cost approximately $240 per participant. Overall, ToT is relatively new to research capacity building, although it has been used widely in clinical settings. Our findings suggest ToT is a promising, low-cost way to develop both technical skills of individuals and the pedagogical capacity of universities, and to promote sustainability of research capacity building programs that often have time-limited grant funding.

Oman is a Middle Eastern country that has traditionally been monotonically reliant on its indigenous fossil fuel supplies. Besides, the nation has also been a surplus producer and net exporter of oil which further highlights the prolonged fossil fuel dependency of Oman. Consequently, despite flourishing economically, environmental quality in Oman has persistently aggravated. These opposing economic and environmental performances have necessitated Oman to identify the factors which can enable Oman to decarbonize its economy for tackling the environmental concerns faced by the nation. Against this backdrop, this study aims to examine the symmetric and asymmetric effects of foreign direct investments, economic growth, and capital investments on carbon dioxide emissions in Oman during 1980-2019. Using relevant econometric estimation methods for controlling structural break concerns in the data, the findings reveal evidence of asymmetric environmental impacts associated with shocks to the nation's foreign direct investment inflow, economic growth, and capital investment figures. Specifically, it is witnessed that positive shocks to the levels of foreign direct investment inflows, economic growth, and capital investments boost carbon dioxide emissions both in the short and long run. On the other hand, negative shocks to the levels of foreign direct investment inflows and economic growth are witnessed to reduce the emissions. Besides, the findings also validate the environmental Kuznets curve and pollution haven hypotheses in the context of Oman. Hence, considering these key findings, it is recommended that Oman should ideally pursues green economic growth policies by restricting inflows of unclean foreign direct investments and green its financial sector in order to collectively minimize its carbon dioxide emission figures.

Oman has traditionally relied upon natural gas and oil for meeting its domestic energy demand. As a result, despite growing economically, the level of carbon dioxide emissions in Oman has persistently surged; consequently, the nation has failed to ensure environmentally sustainable economic growth. Against this background, this current study aims to explore the impacts of energy consumption, energy efficiency, and financial development on Oman's prospects of attaining environmentally sustainable growth over the 1972-2019 period. The estimation strategy is designed to take into account the structural break issues in the data. Using the carbon productivity level as an indicator of environmentally sustainable economic growth, we find long-run associations amid the study variables. Besides, higher energy consumption and greater financial development are found to impede carbon productivity while improving energy efficiency is observed to boost carbon productivity in Oman. Therefore, it is pertinent for Oman to consume low-carbon and energy-efficient fossil fuels, improve energy efficiency levels, and green its financial sector to achieve environmentally sustainable growth.

Over the last decades, global consumption of energy and environmental resources have been rapidly increasing due to advances in the production and transportation of goods, as well as reduced barriers to global trade markets. This trend raised sustainable consumption issues because of inefficient and wasteful use of resources, especially in resource-rich countries with high purchasing power and subsidized tariffs offered to residents. It is also well-known that resources abundance tends to lower financial development and limit productivity growth and social development. On the other hand, there is a growing acceptance that supply-side policies need to be complemented by demand-side management to support sustainable cleaner production and remedy aforementioned adverse impacts. In this study, we present the results of an investigation on demand-side management (DSM) opportunities and a framework developed for Qatar as a representative of an emerging resource-rich countries and discuss implications for cleaner production. The rationale behind is that Qatar is a commodity-dependent developing country, who, during the last five years, has experienced a population growth of 35%, and an increase in electricity and water demand of 46% and 35%, respectively. Similarly, during the same period, the national vehicle fleet has grown by more than twofold. These figures have ranked Qatar at the top of the per-capita energy, carbon, and water consumption list in the world and increased environmental vulnerability and reduced climate resilience. To that end, the objectives of this study are to: (1) construct a DSM framework tailored to the needs of resource-rich country like Qatar from economic, social, environmental, and technical aspects; (2) present, analyze, and discuss the results of a survey that reveals the perceptions, attitudes, and responses of local residents towards the applicability of DSM policies; and (3) discuss methods and solutions to achieve cleaner energy consumption. The conducted survey covered electricity, water, and transportation sectors and showed that residents have low awareness about their consumption habits, but they have high willingness to reduce their consumption levels. In the last section, we present the survey results and discussions as a reference for policy-makers to promote the most promising DSM options in Qatar. To the best of authors' knowledge, this is the first survey-based study conducted in the Gulf Cooperation Council region where a significant portion of world's oil and natural gas resources are extracted. Therefore, the results could provide insights to other resource-rich countries with similar characteristics to devise more efficient policies for promoting welfare-enhancing and sustainable consumption behavior.

Agri-food markets are vital in achieving food security, especially for resource-poor, food-importing countries such as Qatar. The paper provides an overview of the evolution of agri-food markets in Qatar and explores the implications of past and ongoing changes in terms of food security and food system sustainability. In particular, the review analyzes drivers of changes, trends, and challenges as well as policy responses to address the emerging challenges while ensuring the country’s food security. It draws upon a systematic review of scholarly literature indexed in the Web of Science as well as data from gray literature (e.g., reports) and databases (e.g., FAOSTAT). Different drivers (e.g., population growth with huge expatriate inflow, urbanization, income increase) affected the functioning of agri-food markets as well as the structure of the food chain (viz. production, processing, distribution, consumption) in Qatar. In addition to drivers, the food-related trends were also shaped by numerous environmental (e.g., land/water scarcity), economic, health, and trade challenges. To ensure long-term food and nutrition security for its population, Qatar implemented various policies and strategies (e.g., National Food Security Strategy 2018–2023). In this context, agri-food markets, as functional links between production and consumption, can foster transition towards sustainable food consumption and production patterns in Qatar.

La prise en charge communautaire des cas de paludisme (CCMm) à l'aide d'agents de santé communautaires (ASC) est une approche visant à améliorer l'accès à une prise en charge rapide et efficace des cas de paludisme dans les pays où le paludisme est endémique. Jusqu'à présent, le programme s'est avéré efficace dans de nombreuses communautés d'Afrique subsaharienne. Cependant, des questions subsistent sur la durabilité de ce programme en raison des taux élevés d'abandon des ASC compte tenu de leur modeste rémunération. L'objectif de l'étude était d'identifier les défis à relever pour parvenir à des services de santé communautaires durables pour le CCMm. Une étude qualitative communautaire a été menée dans cinq districts de l'ouest du Kenya où le CCMm était en cours. Des entretiens approfondis et des discussions de groupe ont été menés avec les ASC, les mères d'enfants de moins de cinq ans et des informateurs clés tels que les agents de santé publique et les cliniciens impliqués dans le CCMm. Les entretiens ont été enregistrés et réalisés en anglais, en swahili et dans la langue locale. Les entretiens enregistrés ont été transcrits. L'analyse a été réalisée à l'aide du logiciel NVivo version 7, où les transcriptions ont été codées, après quoi les thèmes liés aux objectifs de l'étude ont été identifiés. Les membres de la communauté, les ASC et les parties prenantes ont perçu le CCMm comme une approche importante pour réduire le fardeau du paludisme. Les informateurs clés ont perçu le manque de fournitures de base (TDR, gants), de médicaments, la rémunération inadéquate des ASC et le manque d'équipement de travail de base comme des défis pour CCM. Les ASC ont souligné que le manque de médicaments et de fournitures de base telles que des gants dans les établissements de santé, une sensibilisation communautaire insuffisante de la part des agents de santé, une allocation insuffisante pour répondre aux besoins de base, étaient autant de défis à relever pour parvenir à un CCMm durable. Certains cliniciens ont estimé que les ASC ne devraient pas recevoir de polythérapie à base d'artémisinine (ACT) dans le cadre du CCMm, car ils pourraient en abuser. Cette étude montre que pour que le CCMm soit durable, des efforts concertés des parties prenantes sont nécessaires pour stimuler le programme. Les produits nécessaires à la mise en œuvre du programme doivent être facilement disponibles et le moral des ASC qui entreprennent le CCMm doit être renforcé. La Gestión Comunitaria de Casos de Malaria (CCMm, por sus siglas en inglés) utilizando Trabajadores Comunitarios de Salud (CHW, por sus siglas en inglés) es un enfoque para mejorar el acceso a la gestión oportuna y efectiva de casos de malaria en países endémicos de Hasta ahora, el programa ha demostrado ser eficaz en muchas comunidades del África subsahariana. Sin embargo, quedan dudas sobre la sostenibilidad de este programa debido a los altos casos de abandono de los TCS dada su modesta remuneración. El objetivo del estudio fue identificar los desafíos para lograr servicios de salud comunitarios sostenibles para CCMm. Se realizó un estudio cualitativo basado en la comunidad en cinco distritos del oeste de Kenia donde se estaba llevando a cabo CCMm. Se llevaron a cabo entrevistas en profundidad y discusiones de grupos focales con los TCS, las madres de niños menores de cinco años y los informantes clave, como los funcionarios de salud pública y los médicos involucrados en el CCMm. Las entrevistas fueron grabadas en audio y realizadas en inglés, swahili y el idioma local. Se transcribieron las entrevistas grabadas. El análisis se realizó utilizando el software NVivo versión 7, donde se codificaron las transcripciones, después de lo cual se identificaron los temas relacionados con los objetivos del estudio. Los miembros de la comunidad, los TCS y las partes interesadas percibieron el CCMm como un enfoque importante para reducir la carga de la malaria. Los informantes clave percibieron la falta de suministros básicos (RDT, guantes), medicamentos, remuneración inadecuada de los CHW y falta de equipo de trabajo básico como desafíos para CCM. Los TSC destacaron que la falta de medicamentos y suministros básicos, como guantes en los centros de salud, la sensibilización inadecuada de la comunidad por parte de los trabajadores de la salud, el estipendio inadecuado para satisfacer las necesidades básicas, son desafíos para lograr un CCMm sostenible. Algunos médicos percibieron que a los TCS no se les debe administrar una terapia combinada basada en artemisinina (ACT) como parte del CCMm, ya que podrían hacer un uso indebido de ellos. Este estudio muestra que para que el CCMm sea sostenible, se necesitan esfuerzos concertados de las partes interesadas para impulsar el programa. Los productos básicos necesarios para la implementación del programa deben estar fácilmente disponibles y es necesario aumentar la moral de los TCS que realizan CCMm. Community Case Management of malaria (CCMm) using Community Health Workers (CHWs) is an approach to improve access to timely and effective malaria case management in malaria endemic countries. So far the programme has been shown to be effective in many communities in sub-Saharan Africa. However, questions remain on the sustainability of this programme due to the high dropout cases of CHWs given their modest remuneration. The aim of the study was to identify challenges of achieving sustainable community health services for CCMm. A community based qualitative study was conducted in five districts in western Kenya where CCMm was being undertaken. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with the CHWs, mothers of children under-five years and key informants such as public health officers and clinicians involved in the CCMm. The interviews were audio recorded and conducted in English, Swahili and the local language. Recorded interviews were transcribed. Analysis was conducted using NVivo version 7 software, where transcripts were coded after which themes related to the objectives of the study were identified. The community members, the CHWs and stakeholders perceived CCMm as an important approach for reducing the burden of malaria. Key informants perceived lack of basic supplies (RDTs, gloves), drugs, inadequate remuneration of CHWs and lack of basic working equipment as challenges for CCM. CHWs highlighted that lack of drugs and basic supplies such as gloves at the health facilities, inadequate community sensitization by health workers, inadequate stipend to meet basic needs, as challenges of achieving sustainable CCMm. Some clinicians perceived that CHWs should not be given Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) as part of the CCMm since they might misuse them. This study shows that for CCMm to be sustainable, concerted efforts from stakeholders are needed to boost the programme. Commodities needed for implementation of the programme need to be readily available and the morale of the CHWs who undertake CCMm needs boosting. إدارة الحالات المجتمعية للملاريا (CCMm) باستخدام العاملين الصحيين المجتمعيين (CHWs) هو نهج لتحسين الوصول إلى إدارة حالات الملاريا الفعالة في الوقت المناسب في البلدان التي تتوطن فيها الملاريا. وقد ثبت حتى الآن أن البرنامج فعال في العديد من المجتمعات في أفريقيا جنوب الصحراء الكبرى. ومع ذلك، لا تزال هناك أسئلة حول استدامة هذا البرنامج بسبب ارتفاع حالات التسرب من العاملين الصحيين المجتمعيين نظرًا لأجورهم المتواضعة. كان الهدف من الدراسة هو تحديد التحديات التي تواجه تحقيق خدمات صحية مجتمعية مستدامة لـ CCMm. أُجريت دراسة نوعية مجتمعية في خمس مقاطعات في غرب كينيا حيث كان يجري تنفيذ آلية التنسيق القطرية. أجريت مقابلات متعمقة ومناقشات جماعية مركزة مع العاملين الصحيين المجتمعيين وأمهات الأطفال دون سن الخامسة والمخبرين الرئيسيين مثل مسؤولي الصحة العامة والأطباء المشاركين في آلية التنسيق المجتمعي. تم تسجيل المقابلات الصوتية وإجرائها باللغة الإنجليزية والسواحيلية واللغة المحلية. تم نسخ المقابلات المسجلة. تم إجراء التحليل باستخدام برنامج NVivo الإصدار 7، حيث تم ترميز النصوص وبعد ذلك تم تحديد الموضوعات المتعلقة بأهداف الدراسة. ينظر أفراد المجتمع والعاملون في المجال الصحي في المجتمعات المحلية وأصحاب المصلحة إلى آلية التنسيق المجتمعي كنهج مهم للحد من عبء الملاريا. اعتبر المخبرون الرئيسيون أن نقص الإمدادات الأساسية (RDTs، والقفازات)، والأدوية، والأجور غير الكافية للعاملين الصحيين المجتمعيين ونقص معدات العمل الأساسية هي تحديات تواجه CCM. وسلط العاملون الصحيون المجتمعيون الضوء على أن نقص الأدوية والإمدادات الأساسية مثل القفازات في المرافق الصحية، وعدم كفاية توعية المجتمع من قبل العاملين الصحيين، وعدم كفاية الرواتب لتلبية الاحتياجات الأساسية، هي تحديات تواجه تحقيق آلية التنسيق المجتمعية المستدامة. رأى بعض الأطباء أنه لا ينبغي إعطاء العاملين الصحيين المجتمعيين العلاج المركب القائم على الأرتيميسينين (ACT) كجزء من آلية التنسيق المجتمعي لأنهم قد يسيئون استخدامها. تُظهر هذه الدراسة أنه لكي تكون آلية التنسيق القطرية مستدامة، هناك حاجة إلى جهود متضافرة من أصحاب المصلحة لتعزيز البرنامج. يجب أن تكون السلع اللازمة لتنفيذ البرنامج متاحة بسهولة ويجب تعزيز معنويات العاملين في المجال الصحي في المجتمعات المحلية الذين يتولون إدارة وتنسيق المخيمات.