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Vaccination is considered as the main tool for the Global Control and Eradication Strategy for peste des petits ruminants (PPR) , and the efficacity of the PPR-vaccine in conferring long-life immunity has been established. Despite this, previous studies asserted that vaccination can be expensive and consequently, the effectiveness of disease control may not necessarily translate to overall profit for farmers. Also, the consequences of PPR control on socioeconomic indicators like food and nutrition security at a macro-national level have not been explored thoroughly. Therefore, this study seeks to assess ex-an te the impact of PPR control strategies on farm-level profitability and the socioeconomic consequences concerning food and nutrition security at a national level in Senegal. A bi-level system dynamics model, compartmentalised into five modules consisting of integrated production-epidemiological, economics, disease control, marketing, and policy modules, was developed with the STELLA Architect software, validated, and simulated for 30 years at a weekly timestep. The model was parameterised with data from household surveys from pastoral areas in Northern Senegal and relevant existing data. Nine vaccination scenarios were examined considering different vaccination parameters (vaccination coverage, vaccine wastage, and the provision of government subsidies). The findings indicate that compared to a no-vaccination scenario, all the vaccination scenarios for both 26.5% (actual vaccination coverage) and 70% (expected vaccination coverage) resulted in statistically significant differences in the gross margin earnings and the potential per capita consumption for the supply of mutton and goat meat. At the prevailing vaccination coverage (with or without the provision of government subsidies), farm households will earn an average gross margin of$69.43 (annually) more than without vaccination, and the average per capita consumption for mutton and goat meat will increase by 1.13kg/person/year. When the vaccination coverage is increased to the prescribed threshold for PPR eradication (i.e., 70%), with or without the provision of government subsidies, the average gross margin earnings would be $ 72.23 annually and the per capita consumption will increase by 1.23kg/person/year compared to the baseline (without vaccination). This study’s findings offer an empirical justification for a sustainable approach to PPR eradication. The information on the socioeconomic benefits of vaccination can be promoted via sensitization campaigns to stimulate farmers’ uptake of the practice. This study can inform investment in PPR control.

Every year the government organizes country-wide vaccination campaigns targeting peste des petits ruminants (PPR) for small ruminants (sheep and goats). Despite the heavy investment in vaccination, no study has either rigorously estimated or described the cost of vaccine delivery. This study aimed to fill this gap by assessing and describing the cost of delivery of vaccines against PPR using the 2020 vaccination campaign data. The microcosting approach based on the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines to construct comprehensive multiyear plans (cMYP) for human immunization programs was used. The cost data is presented for the public and private vaccine delivery channels separately and analyzed using three approaches considering activity lines, inputs, and nature of cost (fixed versus variable). Results show that the unit cost of vaccinating a sheep or goat is estimated at XOF 169 (USD 0.3) and XOF 103 (USD 0.18) through the public and private channels, respectively. Using the activity line framework, we found that the field activities including charges for vaccinator, cost of vaccination materials, and field transportation account for more than 50% of the vaccination cost. In terms of inputs, the personnel cost is the most significant contributor with 65%. Fixed costs are higher in the public sector with up to 46% compared to the private sector which is estimated to take 26% of the cost. This study informs veterinary services’ investment decision options for a better allocation of resources in implementing PPR and other small ruminant disease control efforts in Burkina Faso and the Sahel.

This is the protocol for an evidence and gap map. The objectives are as follows: this evidence and gap map (EGM) aims to identify, map, and provide an overview of the existing evidence and gaps on the impact of different types of physical infrastructure on various outcomes of low‐income consumers' nutritious diet, women's economic empowerment, and gender equality in low‐ and middle‐income countries. The specific objectives of the EGM are: (1) identify clusters of evidence that offer opportunities for evidence synthesis and (2) identify gaps in evidence where new studies, research, and evaluations are needed.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287386.].

Words have meaning, and meanings influence actions and responses. For decades, food insecurity has been increasingly connected to other concepts, primarily hunger, as if they are congruent. A challenge to the congruence of the meaning of these two concepts is the primary motivation for this research. The study hypotheses that if they are, indeed, congruent, then their antecedents would be statistically the same. Moreover, if they were different, there is a need to explain why researchers, policymakers and others have continued to use them interchangeably and what effect that “error” has had on the ability to address problems presented by food insecurity and hunger. To test the hypothesis of congruence, we conducted a systematic review of the literature focusing on the origin, etymology, and mixed-use of both concepts in the context of economic development. We found that while hunger is defined as a sensation or pain that results from the want of food especially after hours of fast, food insecurity, instead, shall be referred to as the lack of security about food. It means worrying or fearing that one may not have food or enough food to eat, which does not include necessarily hunger. We then leveraged the foundational meaning of the concepts from an applied perspective and developed a new interpretation showing that hunger and food insecurity are not synonyms. They may, however, be placed on a continuum that transforms hunger into food insecurity under certain conditions. The study provided an empirical analysis of this transformation using the Living Standards Measurement Survey dataset for Tanzania (2014-2015). For robustness check, a comparison was made with the findings from Tanzania’s previous years’ survey data, i.e., a two-years’ panel (2010-2011) and (2012-2013). The results show that, even though they are related, hunger and food insecurity are not congruent, and treating them as synonyms in policymaking creates measurement hurdles that are already evident in the results from seven decades of attempts to ameliorate food security and address hunger. First, the summary statistics indicate that more than 30% of respondents were food insecure, i.e., “worried about food” even though they were not hungry. Meanwhile, more than 90% of those who were hungry were also food insecure. Next, we reject the null hypothesis of congruence and conclude that factor explaining household food insecurity were statistically different from those anteceding hunger at a 5% significance level of the Wald test. Finally, we were also able to establish the threshold at a minimum of two days (H ≥ 2), which turned hunger into food insecurity. Beyond two days of hunger, people begin to worry and become food insecure. Based on the foregoing, we recommend, for policy discourse, to acknowledge household hunger continuum and the threshold at which it turned into food insecurity. Besides, to enhance household food security in Tanzania, we argue for the need to strengthen household resilience to shocks leading to food insecurity and hunger such as drought, a massive rise in food prices, and loss of asset ownerships like livestock due to diseases. Similarly, policies that improve their food expenditures and asset ownership, i.e., livestock, poultry, and agricultural equipment, would effectively mitigate the odds of food insecurity. The significant contribution of this research to the literature is that hunger may be a contributing factor to household food insecurity but not a sufficient condition, thereby negating the congruence under H < 2 days.

Vaccination is considered as the main tool for the Global Control and Eradication Strategy for peste des petits ruminants (PPR), and the efficacity of the PPR-vaccine in conferring long-life immunity has been established. Despite this, previous studies asserted that vaccination can be expensive and consequently, the effectiveness of disease control may not necessarily translate to overall profit for farmers. Also, the consequences of PPR control on socioeconomic indicators like food and nutrition security at a macro-national level have not been explored thoroughly. Therefore, this study seeks to assess ex-ante the impact of PPR control strategies on farm-level profitability and the socioeconomic consequences concerning food and nutrition security at a national level in Senegal. A bi-level system dynamics model, compartmentalised into five modules consisting of integrated production-epidemiological, economics, disease control, marketing, and policy modules, was developed with the STELLA Architect software, validated, and simulated for 30 years at a weekly timestep. The model was parameterised with data from household surveys from pastoral areas in Northern Senegal and relevant existing data. Nine vaccination scenarios were examined considering different vaccination parameters (vaccination coverage, vaccine wastage, and the provision of government subsidies). The findings indicate that compared to a no-vaccination scenario, all the vaccination scenarios for both 26.5% (actual vaccination coverage) and 70% (expected vaccination coverage) resulted in statistically significant differences in the gross margin earnings and the potential per capita consumption for the supply of mutton and goat meat. At the prevailing vaccination coverage (with or without the provision of government subsidies), farm households will earn an average gross margin of $69.43 (annually) more than without vaccination, and the average per capita consumption for mutton and goat meat will increase by 1.13kg/person/year. When the vaccination coverage is increased to the prescribed threshold for PPR eradication (i.e., 70%), with or without the provision of government subsidies, the average gross margin earnings would be $72.23 annually and the per capita consumption will increase by 1.23kg/person/year compared to the baseline (without vaccination). This study's findings offer an empirical justification for a sustainable approach to PPR eradication. The information on the socioeconomic benefits of vaccination can be promoted via sensitization campaigns to stimulate farmers' uptake of the practice. This study can inform investment in PPR control.

Rice (Oryza sativa, L.) is considered staple food for nearly one half of the world’s population. The consumption of rice is becoming staple in many locations like in West Africa and specially in Ghana where the majority of the urban consumers value its convenience and taste. Despite its nutritional content, convenient attribute and increasing demand, the consumption of rice in the West Africa, particularly in northern Ghana, is still very little studied. Little is known about the demand for rice in the northern Ghana though this region includes over 30 % of the whole Ghanaian population. Specifically, knowing how on average household responds to a change in price or and expenditure considering their demand for rice are still missed in the current literature. This study seeks to address this knowledge gap by estimating expenditure and prices elasticities of demand for rice in the northern Ghana region. A QUAIDS model were estimated using consumer data collected from approximately 4,600 randomly selected households. A descriptive analysis of the study data indicates that more than 50 % of the respondents did consume rice. Moreover, households allocated the most part of their foods budget share to the consumption of cereals, and also to animal protein like meat and fish instead of to vegetable protein like legumes. The QUAIDS analysis indicates that all food categories like cereals including rice, roots/tubers, animal protein (meats, fish) have a positive expenditure elasticity across all income groups which strengthen the assumption that they are all normal goods. Same findings were obtained at both compensated and uncompensated prices elasticities. All the food categories had a negative compensated and uncompensated own price elasticity except the group of legumes which has a positive compensated own price elasticity. Though, all foods categories have a negative own price elasticity, the consumption of legumes has a positive own price elasticity. Several reasons wer