Open research Africa最新文献

{"title":"NIGERIA'S NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY AND THE ROLE OF SECURITY AGENCIES IN COMBATTING KIDNAPPING IN THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITIORY ABUJA FROM 2021-2025.","authors":"Aisha Annie Yahaya, Dimas Garba","doi":"10.12688/openresafrica.16586.2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12688/openresafrica.16586.2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article examined the escalating threat of kidnapping within Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory (FCT) from 2021 to 2025. The objective is to critically evaluate the extent to which the 2019 National Security Strategy (NSS) has been effectively operationalized by relevant security agencies in addressing kidnapping. Mixed research methods, and the Routine Activity Theory and Institutional Capacity Theory were applied. Both theories illuminate how the convergence of motivated offenders, unsuitable guardianship, and institutional weaknesses sustains the kidnapping economy in Nigeria's capital. Drawing on an original incident-level dataset of 167 documented abduction events in the FCT spanning 2021 to 2025, qualitative expert testimony from a senior security intelligence practitioner, and a comprehensive review of the theoretical and empirical literature, the study found that kidnapping incidents increased dramatically over this period from 21 incidents and 62 victims in 2021 to a peak of 50 incidents and 247 victims in 2023 before a partial numerical decline in 2024 and early 2025 that nonetheless left total abductions at 718 across the study period, with 34 persons killed. The article concluded that the persistent of kidnapping reflects not a failure of policy design, but a profound implementation gap rooted in five interrelated structural pathologies: fragmented inter-agency coordination, inadequate community intelligence integration, equipment and technological deficits, prosecutorial inefficacy, and the siloed intelligence culture among security institutions. The article recommended for prioritization of the Multi-Agency Anti-Kidnap Fusion Cell (MAAKFC), enforcement of cashless financial policies to disrupt ransom economies, and the formulation of a standalone national anti-kidnapping policy framework.</p>","PeriodicalId":74358,"journal":{"name":"Open research Africa","volume":"9 ","pages":"40"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13562926/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148957410","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Awareness, Risk Perceptions and Acceptability of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes for Malaria Control in Mali, 2025.","authors":"Samba Diarra, Abou Sogodogo, Sarah Hartley, Seydou Doumbia","doi":"10.12688/openresafrica.16627.2","DOIUrl":"10.12688/openresafrica.16627.2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Malaria remains a major public health issue in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Mali. Despite the promising prospects of genetically modified mosquitoes (GMMs), their use raises several concerns. Community engagement is essential to the success of this tool. We assessed the Malian population's knowledge and perception of the risks associated with this technology.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The study was conducted in rural areas in the Koulikoro region and Bamako (urban). The survey included 874 heads of household. The statistical analysis was done on R 4.3.0. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression were performed to identify key factors associated with the risk perceptions of GMMs. The study was approved by the ethics committee of the University of Sciences, Techniques, and Technologies of Bamako. Written informed consent was obtained from each participant.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The median age was 42 years (IQR: 33, 54), and 20.0% had no formal education. Only 18.2% (159/874) had previously heard information about GMMs, mainly by health workers (61.6%) and radio broadcasts (20.8%). The overall rate of risk perception regarding GMMs was 47.7% (417/874), with the most cited concern being the transmission of unknown diseases (95.9%). A high level of education was positively associated with higher risk perception. As well as being unaware of GMMs, doubts about the efficacy and safety of GMMs. The acceptability rate of GMMs was 77%, conditional on assurances that technology would not cause harmful effects and would first be tested in a controlled, restricted environment before being deployed on a large scale.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Robust community engagement is essential for both research and real-world implementation of GMMs. A thorough understanding of the conditions related to acceptance of this technology offers a strategic pathway for researchers and policymakers to design GMM that is socially responsive and contextually appropriate.</p>","PeriodicalId":74358,"journal":{"name":"Open research Africa","volume":"9 ","pages":"30"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13310356/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148354888","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Influence of Environmental Practices on Sustainable Development of the Sub-Saharan African Countries.","authors":"James C N Mbugua, Ibrahim Tirimba Ondabu, Fred Ochogo Sporta","doi":"10.12688/openresafrica.16443.2","DOIUrl":"10.12688/openresafrica.16443.2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>While sustainable development has garnered widespread international support, there is a notable gap in research concerning the practical obstacles and opportunities associated with implementing sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa. This research aimed to determine the influence of environmental practices on sustainable development of the sub-Saharan African countries. The study was guided by the Ecological Modernization Theory.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The research used a longitudinal panel design, which was necessary to capture the temporal precedence and provided a stronger basis for causal inference. The study adopted a positivist research philosophy. The study examined data from 49 Sub-Saharan African countries over 24 years from 2000 to 2023. This period was effectively chosen to embrace a significant longitudinal curve to grasp the short and long-term tendencies in the sustainability-related practices and sustainable development. The study utilized a structured secondary data collection sheet for data collection, designed to explore the multifaceted dimensions of environmental practices, including GHC emissions, renewable energy and forest area cover within the Sub-Saharan African region.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>System GMM results showed that the Environmental Practices Index (EPI) had a statistically insignificant relationship with sustainable development (β = -0.0329, p = 0.624), while the lagged dependent variable demonstrated strong persistence (β = 0.8124, p < 0.001), leading to the acceptance of the null hypothesis that environmental practices do not influence sustainable development.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The study concluded that current environmental sustainability measures in Sub-Saharan Africa do not significantly influence sustainable development outcomes, implying that policy efforts must prioritize institutional capacity and enforcement mechanisms over mere regulatory adoption. The research recommended that future research should examine the implementation-effectiveness gap in environmental practices, as well as expanding the geographic scope to South Africa, which may produce relationships that differ from those in Latin America, Asia or other regions.</p>","PeriodicalId":74358,"journal":{"name":"Open research Africa","volume":"9 ","pages":"10"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13550923/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148922040","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Trauma and \"spiritual resilience\" among Internally Displaced Women (IDW) victims of violence in the commune of Dédougou, Burkina Faso.","authors":"Yacouba Tengueri","doi":"10.12688/openresafrica.16517.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12688/openresafrica.16517.1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Context: </strong>Since 2015, Burkina Faso has been ravaged by the violence of armed terrorist groups (JNIM, EIGS), resulting in over 2 million internally displaced persons. In the Boucle du Mouhoun region, 63.17% of internally displaced persons (IDPs) are women (84,649 out of 133,994 in 2023). As prime targets of armed conflict, they suffer multifaceted violence used as a weapon of psychological warfare against communities.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The study uses a convergent mixed-methods design conducted in October 2023 in the commune of Dédougou. The total sample size is 1,056 participants, including 1,015 IDPs surveyed using a digital questionnaire (KoboToolbox) and 41 individuals interviewed through semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using IBM SPSS 20, and qualitative data through thematic analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The profile of the IDF reveals a majority of female farmers (51.4%), married (74.8%) or widowed (15.2%), with 43.9% having 4 to 6 dependent children. Statistically significant correlations were established between the year of displacement and physical (r = 0.074; p = 0.019) and psychological (r = 0.072; p = 0.022) violence. Nearly 46.3% of the IDF lost a loved one in horrific circumstances (throat-slitting, immolation, mass executions), resulting in severe post-traumatic stress disorder: chronic insomnia, flashbacks, mutism, and suicidal ideation. Faced with this trauma, prayer (39.74%) and silence (23.36%) constituted the main coping strategies. Despite the free psychological support provided by NGOs, the vast majority of IDFs do not access it, hampered by a lack of awareness of the services, their geographical dispersion, and a negative perception of psychological care.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These results call for culturally grounded psychosocial interventions that integrate the spiritual dimension into therapeutic protocols and prioritize isolated widows and women with significant family responsibilities.</p>","PeriodicalId":74358,"journal":{"name":"Open research Africa","volume":"9 ","pages":"38"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13655436/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149186756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Addressing supply side constraints for digital work creation: A Concurrent Embedded Mixed Method Study in Kenya.","authors":"Kellen Kiambati, Ehud Gachugu, Anne Kariuki","doi":"10.12688/openresafrica.16307.2","DOIUrl":"10.12688/openresafrica.16307.2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>This paper addresses a pathway for addressing high unemployment among educated and skilled youth. The supply-side constraints limiting participation in dignified digital work remain underexplored. The aim was to examine how access to infrastructure, training and mentorship, and awareness creation influence engagement in digital work, and how demographic factors moderate these relationships.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A mixed-methods concurrent design was used, combining quantitative data from a cross-sectional survey with qualitative insights gathered through focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Findings indicate variations in awareness of digital work, training and mentorship access, infrastructure access, and engagement across all demographic categories. Gender showed a negative correlation with infrastructure access and awareness but did not significantly relate to training and mentorship or engagement. Region, setting, age, education, and occupation all significantly correlated with digital work engagement and access levels. Moderation analysis revealed that demographic factors except gender and occupation strengthened the relationship between infrastructure access and engagement in digital work. Only regional diversity enhanced the relationship between training/mentorship and engagement, indicating generally equitable access across other demographic groups. Awareness levels and engagement were strengthened by region, setting, age, occupation, and education, but not by gender, demonstrating balanced gender influence. Overall, training and mentorship programs exhibited the most balanced implementation across demographics, while gender mainstreaming efforts appear to be yielding positive outcomes.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The study found that work initiatives must integrate demographic considerations into the design of infrastructure, training, mentorship, and awareness programs. It make contribution by providing new evidence to guide policymakers in developing targeted interventions that expand dignified digital work opportunities as a strategy for reducing unemployment.</p>","PeriodicalId":74358,"journal":{"name":"Open research Africa","volume":"9 ","pages":"11"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13282603/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148297731","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ethnobotanical Study of Indigenous Knowledge on Medicinal Plants Used in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region of Ghana.","authors":"Emmanuel Azanlerigo, Philip T Thompson, Cephas Kanati, Mercy Badu","doi":"10.12688/openresafrica.15807.4","DOIUrl":"10.12688/openresafrica.15807.4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The Talensi and Nabdam districts of northern Ghana maintain a rich tradition of plant-based medicine integrated with ritual healing. However, this knowledge has not previously been systematically and quantitatively documented. This study aimed to record medicinal plant use and analyse patterns of therapeutic importance across major disease categories.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Between February 2023 and August 2024, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 219 informants. Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), Use Value (UV), Fidelity Level (FL), Informant Consensus Factor (ICF), and Plant Part Value (PPV) were calculated. Inferential analyses included Spearman's rank correlation and Kruskal-Wallis tests with Dunn's post-hoc comparisons. A plant-disease interaction network was visualised using a chord diagram. Analyses were performed in R and GraphPad Prism.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Forty-six medicinal plant species belonging to 46 genera and 27 families were recorded for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders, dermatological conditions, malaria, and snakebite. Roots dominated treatments for snakebite, skin and gastrointestinal disorders, while leaves were primarily used for malaria. Informant consensus was high for gastrointestinal disorders (ICF = 0.96), malaria (0.96), and skin diseases (0.93). RFC and UV were strongly correlated (ρ = 0.85, p < 0.001). Network analysis identified <i>Khaya senegalensis</i>, <i>Pseudocedrela kotschyi</i>, <i>Securidaca longepedunculata</i> and <i>Azadirachta indica</i> as the most culturally and therapeutically important species.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Talensi ethnomedicinal knowledge is structured around a small set of highly versatile plants, providing strong candidates for pharmacological and conservation prioritisation.</p>","PeriodicalId":74358,"journal":{"name":"Open research Africa","volume":"8 ","pages":"16"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13550910/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148921958","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Beyond VAR2CSA: redefining the antigenic landscape of placental malaria vaccines.","authors":"Lucy Mwai, Purity Gacheri Limbua, Jesse Gitaka, Bernard N Kanoi","doi":"10.12688/openresafrica.16523.1","DOIUrl":"10.12688/openresafrica.16523.1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Placental malaria (PM) remains a leading driver of maternal and neonatal mortality, largely attributed to the sequestration of <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i>-infected red blood cells in the placenta. For decades, PM vaccine development has singularly focused on VAR2CSA, the immunodominant variant surface antigen. However, extreme polymorphism, limited cross-strain protection, and the structural complexity of VAR2CSA have hindered the development of a highly efficacious PM vaccine, necessitating a paradigm shift.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This review examines existing literature to map potential vaccine antigens implicated in placental malaria ,and outlines a comprehensive vaccine development pipeline. It synthesizes emerging data on antigen expression profiles, immunogenicity, and mechanistic roles in placental pathogenesis. In addition, it highlights both key placental and blood-stage antigens expressed during pregnancy and reviews identification and testing strategies to guide rational PM vaccine design.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>This Review maps the expanding antigenic landscape of PM beyond VAR2CSA, identifying non-canonical surface and exported proteins, including SURFINs, PHISTs, PfRON3, and <i>Pf</i>CSA-L, as critical targets that may circumvent current bottlenecks. The findings highlight the relevance of these antigens in placental malaria pathogenesis and their potential as alternative or complementary vaccine candidates.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Furthermore, we propose an integrated framework for rational vaccine design that couples high-throughput antigen discovery and structural immunogen engineering with multivalent formulation strategies. By bridging the gap between molecular parasitology and translational immunology, this roadmap offers a strategic path toward a broadly protective placental malaria (PM) vaccine.</p>","PeriodicalId":74358,"journal":{"name":"Open research Africa","volume":"9 ","pages":"18"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13332378/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148392662","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Youth Employment Preferences in Rwanda and Sierra Leone: A Constrained Comparative Secondary Analysis.","authors":"Sixbert Sangwa, Enjamin Kagiraneza, Benilde Tieche Muberarugo, Kamuskay Kamara, Rebecca Sarah Jawara","doi":"10.12688/openresafrica.16530.1","DOIUrl":"10.12688/openresafrica.16530.1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Youth labour markets across Sub-Saharan Africa combine high aspirations for secure wage work with entrenched informality and underemployment.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>This article clarifies how structural constraints shape stated employment preferences and entrepreneurial orientation among youth in Rwanda and Sierra Leone.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>A constrained comparative secondary analysis drew on Afrobarometer Round 9 microdata for Sierra Leone and triangulated these findings with nationally reported labour-market and policy indicators for Rwanda. Public microdata for Rwanda were unavailable, so a bounded-evidence strategy transparently distinguishes verifiable survey statistics from document-based context.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Sierra Leonean youth express a cautious economic outlook-fewer than half expect improvement within a year-yet most endorse redistributive growth and demand stronger gender equity in job access. Preference for self-employment appears necessity-driven where institutional trust and public-goods provision remain moderate, rather than an indicator of opportunity entrepreneurship. Rwanda's reported labour-absorption pressure and pervasive informality reinforce this reading, suggesting that education-fuelled aspiration gaps widen when formal job creation lags.</p><p><strong>Contribution: </strong>The study advances an \"institutionally conditioned planned-behaviour\" framework that integrates the Theory of Planned Behaviour with opportunity-structure theory and human-capital expectations. Methodologically, it demonstrates how rigorous comparative inference can be maintained through explicit verification protocols when evidence access is asymmetric, and it outlines a reproducible pathway for symmetric modelling once Rwandan microdata become publicly available.</p><p><strong>Practical implications: </strong>Policies that promote youth entrepreneurship without parallel investment in inclusive growth, reliable public goods, and transparent digital governance risk shifting systemic labour-market failure onto young people rather than resolving it.</p>","PeriodicalId":74358,"journal":{"name":"Open research Africa","volume":"9 ","pages":"14"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13191316/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148019085","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From Lineage Property to Individual Property: Dynamics of Land Management in the Villages of Nasso and Dindéresso, Hauts-Bassins, Burkina Faso.","authors":"Abdoulaye Sawadogo","doi":"10.12688/openresafrica.16420.1","DOIUrl":"10.12688/openresafrica.16420.1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>This article analyses the dynamics of relations between communities and land resources in a context of scarcity resulting from land speculation. Faced with this reality, the changes brought about by social dynamics in the land sector have ultimately led to the introduction of new forms of land ownership in the villages of Nasso and Dindéresso in Burkina Faso. This issue is a corollary of spatial expansion following urban sprawl due to population growth and speculation around peri-urban land. With increased interest in peri-urban land, traditional management norms are eroding, giving way to more modern management norms that offer more power to individuals.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This research is based on a qualitative approach using data from documentary reviews, semi-structured interviews with community and administrative actors, and direct observation. This approach has made it possible to analyse land management through the prism of public policies and internal community dynamics. Property rights theory has been used to examine this issue.The combination of methodological and theoretical approaches has yielded illustrative results.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>These results reveal the nature and challenges of the fragmentation of land ownership rights within communities. To this end, it appears that land dynamics have had a significant impact on forms of intra-community land ownership, leading to the individualisation of land rights following the advent of land commodification.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In conclusion, it appears that land is a cross-cutting issue that impacts all spheres of society. Hence the multiple and multifaceted challenges in terms of land governance and the consolidation of social cohesion.</p>","PeriodicalId":74358,"journal":{"name":"Open research Africa","volume":"9 ","pages":"8"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13032100/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147576905","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Energy Use and Economic Performance Nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Multivariate Analysis.","authors":"Mfonobong Effiong, Manoj Panicker","doi":"10.12688/openresafrica.15788.2","DOIUrl":"10.12688/openresafrica.15788.2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Background Sub-Saharan Africa's energy landscape is complex, with various factors influencing economic growth and development. Understanding the interplay between energy use, economic performance, and natural resources is crucial for sustainable development. This study investigates the relationships between energy use, GDP, low-carbon energy output, natural resources, and economic performance in Sub-Saharan Africa. Methods This study employed advanced econometric techniques, including generalized linear models, generalized method of moments, and vector error correction models. Data from the Global Economy Database spanning 1990-2024 were analyzed to uncover relationships between energy use, GDP, low-carbon energy output, and natural resources. Results The analysis showed significant variations in low-carbon energy output (mean = 68.86 units), natural gas profit margin (mean = $0.10), and oil operating surplus (mean = $3.50). The GLM and GMM estimates revealed significant relationships between energy use and GDP (7.419%), low-carbon energy output (6.079%), natural gas profit margin (67.377%), and oil operating surplus (4.575%). The analysis revealed significant variability in low-carbon energy production, natural gas profitability, and oil operating surpluses. Statistical models showed strong correlations between energy consumption and GDP growth, as well as low-carbon energy output and natural resource utilization. Conclusions The study finds complex dynamics between the variables, with both short-term and long-term effects. The research contributes to existing knowledge by providing empirical evidence of the relationships between energy use, GDP, low-carbon energy output, natural resources, and economic performance, offering valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders seeking to promote sustainable energy use and economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa. This research provides novel insights into the intricate relationships governing Sub-Saharan Africa's energy sector and economic development. The findings offer valuable guidance for policymakers and stakeholders seeking to promote sustainable energy use, economic growth, and environmental stewardship in the region.</p>","PeriodicalId":74358,"journal":{"name":"Open research Africa","volume":"8 ","pages":"2"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13032103/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147576937","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}