In recent years, physical activity and fitness transitions, described as declines in physical activity and aerobic fitness, coupled with increased sedentary behaviour, have been observed among school-aged children. Consequently, the prevalence of childhood overweight/obesity has also increased considerably. While there is a wealth of evidence supporting such behavioural transitions in higher income countries, there exists a paucity of data on the situation in lower income countries, such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The premise of this thesis was to investigate the robustness of these relationships in other global regions. The first objective was to investigate the evidence for an overweight/obesity, physical activity, and fitness transition among SSA’s school-aged children. Systematic review methodology was used to examine temporal trends and correlates of overweight/obesity, physical activity, fitness, and sedentary behaviour in apparently healthy or population based samples of children (5 - 17 years). The second objective of this thesis was to determine the prevalence and correlates of overweight/obesity and physical activity among Kenyan children aged 9 to 11 years, having contextualised Kenya within the broader situation in SSA. Further, the relationships between self-reported and directly assessed measures of physical activity and sedentary time by weight status in Kenyan children were investigated. The third objective was to examine moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) patterns accrued by time of day among Kenyan children using the International Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and the Environment (ISCOLE)-Kenya data. Activity patterns in the Kenyan setting were then compared to similar ISCOLE-Canada data from Canadian children, revealing differences and similarities in the accumulation of MVPA, light physical activity, and sedentary time. Systematic review data syntheses revealed a trend towards increasing proportions of overweight/obesity among Sub-Saharan Africa’s school-aged children. Further, urbanization and higher socioeconomic status (SES) were associated with decreased physical activity and aerobic fitness, and increased sedentary behaviours and body composition measures. ISCOLE-Kenya data analyses found a prevalence of childhood overweight/obesity of 20.8% in Nairobi, with few children meeting global physical activity guidelines (12.6%). Mean daily sedentary time was 398 minutes, time spent in light physical activity was 463 minutes, and time spent in MVPA was 36 minutes. Higher SES and parental education attainment were associated with a higher likelihood of children being overweight/obese and a lower likelihood of children meeting the physical activity recommendations. Data analyses also revealed considerable discrepancies in both self-report and direct measures of physical activity by weight status, and weak to moderate correlations between self-report and direct measures of physical activity. Under/healthy weight children had significantly higher directly measured mean daily minutes of MVPA compared to overweight/obese children (39 verses 20 minutes); had lower mean weekend-day minutes of sedentary time (346 verses 365 minutes); and had a higher proportion who met physical activity guidelines (15.5% versus 2.6%). Lastly, while MVPA patterns among urban Kenyan children were largely similar to those of urban Canadian children with regard to relationships by sex, BMI category, and weekday/weekend days; in the Kenyan sample, much unlike many higher income countries, lower SES was associated with higher MVPA.

En Afrique sub-saharienne (ASS), l'agriculture de conservation (AC) est diffusée afin de d'améliorer durablement la productivité de l'agriculture familiale. Cette AC est basée sur les principes de travail réduit du sol, d'une couverture permanente et de rotations introduisant des légumineuse. Parmi tous les bénéfices potentiels de l'AC, le mulch peut améliorer le bilan hydrique et tamponner le stress hydrique, et donc sécuriser les rendements, lorsque les pluies sont limitées et/ou aléatoirement distribuées. A Madagascar, la région du lac Alaotra connaît une forte expansion de la riziculture pluviale. Etant caractérisée par une distribution des pluies très erratique, la pratique de l'AC semble pertinente pour sécuriser la production pluviale. L'objectif de cette étude est donc d'évaluer dans quelle mesure cet aléa climatique est tamponné par l'AC. Tout d'abord, à travers revue de la littérature scientifique, nous avons ouvert à une problématique plus large. En effet, au regard des projections de croissance démographique et de changement climatique (CC) en ASS, l'AC est proposée comme solution ‘climate-smart' ; i.e. une agriculture capable d'augmenter la productivité et de s'adapter au CC tout en l'atténuant. Les études identifiées en ASS montrent une capacité de l'AC à augmenter les rendements sur le long-terme, et à plus court-terme dans les contextes climatiques où les pluies sont faibles et/ou mal distribuées. Cela suggère donc une capacité de l'AC à s'adapter au CC qui prévoit une augmentation de la variabilité de la distribution des pluies en ASS. La capacité de l'AC à atténuer le CC en séquestrant du carbone (C) dans les sols reste en suspens car le stockage du C se fait principalement en surface et la stabilité de ce C est questionnée. Nous nous sommes ensuite recentrés sur le sujet et la zone de cette étude afin d'évaluer le potentiel de l'AC à tamponner l'aléa pluviométrique. En se basant sur les données de suivi de parcelles en transition vers l'AC sur quatre saisons contrastées, nous avons constaté une augmentation des rendements moyens en riz pluvial dès la première année de pratique, avec une augmentation progressive des rendements et une diminution de la variabilité. Les données ont également suggéré une sécurisation des semis précoces et tardifs en AC. Nous avons constaté un poids important du climat sur la variabilité des rendements dans la zone d'étude. Cette analyse exploratoire nous a donc permis d'observer des effets positifs de l'AC dans le contexte climatique du lac Alaotra, suggérant notamment un effet potentiel sur la ressource hydrique. Mais les informations à notre disposition ne nous ont pas permis de vérifier cette hypothèse. Nous nous sommes donc intéressés à l'impact du mulch sur le bilan hydrique et les rendements en riz pluvial dans les conditions agro-climatiques de la zone d'étude. Nous avons effectué une expérimentation virtuelle, en utilisant le modèle PYE-CA. Nous avons confirmé la capacité du mulch à réduire le ruissellement. Nous avons identifié les dates de semis pour lesquelles le riz pluvial est le moins impacté par le stress hydrique dans la région. Les résultats nous ont indiqué que pour les dates de semis majoritairement pratiquées par les agriculteurs, et dans un éventail de conditions de sol, la disponibilité en eau est très peu affectée par une modification du ruissellement. Les bénéfices d'une réduction du ruissellement apparaissent dans des conditions hydriques plus stressantes telles que des dates de semis précoce ou une intensification, en diminuant la variabilité des rendements. Cette étude nous a permis de mieux appréhender les impacts de l'AC sur le bilan hydrique dans le contexte climatique de notre zone d'étude. Pour faire sens, ces résultats sont à intégrer à l'échelle exploitation, voire plus large, pour identifier les contraintes et avantages induits par les systèmes en AC dans le contexte socio-économique du lac Alaotra. / Conservation agriculture (CA) is widely disseminated at large scale in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in order to restore soil fertility and sustainably increase crop production of family farming. As defined by the FAO, CA is based on the three principles of minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover, and complex crop rotation. Among all the beneficial functions of CA, its ability to improve water balance through mulching can buffer water stress during crop cycle, and hence secure yields when rainfall are limited or poorly distributed. In the Lake Alaotra region of Madagascar, the area under rainfed upland rice has expanded lately. The region being characterized by an erratic rainfall distribution, intra- and inter-annually, CA practice seems appropriate to secure rainfed production. The main objective of this study is to evaluate to which extent this climate hazard can be buffered through the practice of CA. Firstly, we ran a review of the scientific literature to better understand the impact of CA in a wider context. Regarding the projections of population growth and climate change for SSA, CA is considered as a climate-smart option, i.e. an agriculture able to simultaneously mitigate climate change, adapt to this change, and sustainably increase productivity. The different studies illustrated the capacity of CA to maintain, or even increase production in the long-term, and in the shorter-term under limited or poorly distributed rainfall African contexts. These results suggested an ability of CA to adapt to climate change, predicting an increase in rainfall variability in SSA. However, the climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration under CA remained unclear because of a superficial storage which may be unsteady. Then, we focused on the study area to evaluate the potential of CA to buffer rainfall hazard. Using a 4-year dataset monitoring farmers' fields transitioning to CA, we observed a gradual increase in upland rice average yield with a decrease in variability over the consecutive years of CA practice. The data also suggested a capacity of CA to secure early or late sowing. But agro-environmental factors were mainly impacting yields in the region. This exploratory analysis allowed us to observe positive impacts of CA under the climate conditions of the Lake Alaotra region, suggesting an impact on water balance but no information was available to validate this hypothesis. Finally, we focused more precisely on the impact of mulch on water balance and upland rice yields under the climate conditions of the region, using a modeling approach. We ran an virtual experiment with the model PYE-CA to simulate a range of soil and climate conditions met in the region. We confirmed the ability of mulch to reduce, or even suppress, efficiently surface water runoff. We identified the sowing period within which rice growing would be the least impacted by water stress in the region. The results indicated that water availability for rice cropping was slightly impacted by a decrease in runoff for the majority of soil conditions and farmers' usual sowing dates. Beneficial effects of runoff reduction appeared under higher water stress conditions such as early sowing date or crop intensification and yield variability was decreased. This study allowed us to better apprehend the impacts of CA on water balance in the specific climate context of the study area. It would be interesting to integrate these results at the farm-level to identify the pros and cons of adopting CA under the socio-economic context of the Lake Alaotra region of Madagascar.

Trade liberalization has different impacts on groups of individuals in the society. Some of them improve their situation, the other ones get worse. Due to the existing gender inequali-ties the distribution of benefits from trade liberalization between women and men is dis-proportional. The paper indentifies main areas, in which are the gender inequalities the most significant. African women are limited in their access to education, productive resources and to technologies, but also to the means of financing. These limits prevent women from full participation in trade and therefore also in economic growth of the country. The creation of new jobs in export-oriented sectors presents the main contribution of trade liberalization for African women. The income they are getting form those jobs are usually used to finance the education and health care for children, that is why their quality of life may improve. The paper concentrates on the reciprocal relation between liberalization and gender equality, which is demonstrated on the status of women in trade and in export-oriented sectors.

En 2004, l’Organisation Mondiale de la Santé (OMS) recommandait dans les pays à ressources limitées, l’utilisation de la multithérapie antirétrovirale (MARV) chez les femmes enceintes éligibles au traitement antirétroviral pour leur propre santé. Le but visé était de réduire de manière plus significative encore le taux de transmission de la mère à l’enfant du VIH (TME) parmi les femmes à haut risque. Cependant, très peu de données étaient alors disponibles en Afrique sub-saharienne sur les bénéfices de la MARV en termes de réduction du TME, y compris pendant l’allaitement, et les risques de survenue d’effets indésirables graves (EIG) chez les femmes enceintes ainsi que sur d’éventuelles issues défavorables des grossesses (fausse couche, prématurité, mort-né et petit poids de naissance). De plus, en Afrique sub-saharienne, le régime de première ligne chez les femmes enceintes infectées par le VIH comprend presque toujours la lamivudine (3TC) et la névirapine (NVP), deux molécules antirétrovirales utilisées jusqu’à présent en régimes courts dans la PTME. La survenue de mutations de résistance à ces molécules après une telle utilisation pourrait donc compromettre le succès au traitement de première ligne dans le cadre d’une MARV. Nous avons étudié ces différentes questions à Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) pour notre thèse avec les données du programme MTCT-Plus de prise en charge familiale avec comme porte d’entrée la femme enceinte infectée par le VIH, programme mis en place en juillet 2003. Cinq études ont ainsi été réalisées pour notre thèse. La première étude a porté sur la réponse virologique et/ou immunologique à 12 mois puis à 36 mois après l'initiation d’un régime antirétroviral de première ligne chez les femmes préalablement exposées à la névirapine monodose (NVPmd) et/ou au 3TC pour la PTME. Les délais médians entre l’exposition au 3TC ou à la NVP et l’initiation du traitement étaient respectivement de 22 mois et de 15 mois. Après 12 mois de MARV, 19,2% des femmes étaient en échec virologique et 11,1% des femmes étaient en échec immunologique. La survenue de mutations de résistance au 3TC après une exposition à ces ARV administrés dans le cadre d’un régime court de PTME était associée à une mauvaise réponse virologique à 12 mois de MARV, mais pas à une mauvaise immunologique à 12 et 36 mois. La survenue de résistance à la NVP après une exposition à la NVPmd n’était pas plus associée à une mauvaise réponse virologique à 12 mois qu’à une mauvaise réponse immunologique à 12 et 36 mois. La deuxième étude a porté sur l’estimation du taux de TME en fonction du type de recommandations de l’OMS qui était en vigueur. Le taux de TME à 12 mois était de 3,3% chez les femmes éligibles qui ont reçu une MARV (1,9% pour la transmission postnatale) et de 7,5% chez les femmes non éligibles ayant reçu un régime court d’antirétroviraux pour la PTME (3,5% pour la transmission postnatale). La troisième étude a porté sur l’estimation de l’incidence des effets indésirables graves (grade ¾), spécialement de l’hépatotoxicité et/ou du rash cutané, en fonction des CD4 et de l’initiation ou non d’une MARV contenant la NVP au cours de la grossesse. Durant un suivi médian de 25 mois, l’incidence des EIG était de 19,5 pour 100 femme-années. La probabilité de survenue d’hépatotoxicité et/ou de rash cutané à 24 mois n’était pas différente entre les femmes ayant des CD4 > 250 cellules/mm3 et celles ayant des CD4 = 250 cellules/mm3 (8,3% vs 9,9%, p = 0,75). De même, la probabilité de survenue d’hépatotoxicité et/ou de rash cutané à trois mois (durée médiane de grossesse) n’était pas différente entre les femmes initiant la MARV durant la grossesse et celles l’initiant en dehors de la grossesse (5,3% vs 7,5%, p = 0,35). / In 2004, the World Health Organization (WHO) began recommending Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) for pregnant women who were eligible for antiretroviral treatment in resource-limited settings. The aim of this recommendation was to significantly reduce the rate of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT), which remained high despite the use of short-course regimens for the prevention of MTCT (PMTCT). However, very little sub-Saharan Africa data were available on the benefits in reducing MTCT, including while breastfeeding, and the risks of occurrence of severe adverse events (SAEs) and adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with HAART. Moreover, the first regimen recommended for HIV-infected pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa almost always included lamivudine (3TC) and nevirapine (NVP), two drugs used also for short-course PMTCT regimens. Thus, the relevant clinical question is whether the occurrence of viral resistance mutations, which could arise after using these drugs for PMTCT, might have an impact on the success of a future first-line regimen. We conducted five studies on pregnancy and HAART use in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, using data from the MTCT-Plus program, which was established in July 2003 as a multi-country family-centered program provides HIV care and treatment to pregnant and postpartum women and their families. The first study evaluated the 12 and 36-month virologic and/or immunologic response of NVP and 3TC-based HAART in women previously exposed to these drugs for PMTCT. The median intervals between exposure to 3TC or NVP and HAART initiation were 22 months and 15 months, respectively. After 12 months of HAART, 19.2% of women experienced virologic failure and 11.1% experienced immunologic failure. Resistance to 3TC tested at week 4 after delivery was associated with virologic failure at 12 months; but not immunologic failure at 12 and 36-month. Resistance to NVP tested at week 4 after delivery was not associated with virologic failure at 12 months or immunologic failure at 12 and 36-months. The second study assessed the efficacy of the WHO-recommended two-tiered PMTCT strategy. The MTCT rate 12 months was 3.3% among eligible women who received HAART (postnatal transmission, 1.9%) and 7.5% among non-eligible women who received short-course regimen for PMTCT (postnatal transmission, 3.5%). The third study estimated the incidence of SAEs (grade ¾), especially hepatotoxicity and/or skin rash, according to CD4 and initiation of NVP–based HAART during pregnancy. The incidence of SAEs was 19.5 per 100 woman-years after a median follow-up of 25 months. The probability of hepatotoxicity or rash 24 months after HAART initiation was similar in women with CD4 cell counts >250 cells/mm3 and =250 cells/mm3 (8.3% vs. 9.9%; log-rank test: p=0.75). Similarly, the probability of hepatotoxicity or rash 3 months after HAART initiation (median duration of pregnancy) was similar in women who initiated HAART during pregnancy and those who did not (5.3% vs. 7.5%; log-rank test, p=0.35).

Region of sub Saharan Africa receives the most resources from development aid in the long term and at the same time there is a highest number of least develop countries. Therefore thesis is dedicated to the matter of effectiveness of development aid. Introducing problems and overall characteristics of the region, development aid and its historic development is goal of the first chapter. In the second chapter effectiveness of development aid is examined through analysis of selected studies from distinguished authors within the field, moreover the scope is dedicated to issues of measurability of development aid and the question of inappropriately setting of goals. Following chapter is concentrated on dependency of sub Saharan countries to donor countries and agencies providing aid and to motives of those donors to intervene in this region. Emphasis is put on neo-colonialism as a representative form of this dependency. Ending of the thesis is dedicated to Norway that provides high amount of resources to development aid measured by share of the GDP in the long term.

The diploma thesis is focused on French neocolonialism towards its former African colonies. French neocolonialism is analysed from 1960 so called Year of Africa until nowadays. There are two case studies concerning recent French military interventions in Mali and Central Africa. The objective of this diploma thesis is to analyse French foreign approach towards the defined territory on the bases of specialized bibliography and primary resources, and to answer the question asked by the author of this diploma thesis in the Introduction of this piece and to reach the evaluation. The diploma thesis is structured into three parts. In the Introduction, there is a short summary of the topic and there is also the hypothesis stating that the French foreign policy towards its former African colonies shows characteristics of neocolonialism. The first chapter defines the basic terms such as colonialism, decolonisation and foreign policy. There is also a detailed description of terms necolonialism and postcolonialism. The second chapter analyses French actions in sub-Saharan Africa from 1960 till nowadays from the political, economic, cultural and military point of view. A special part of this chapter is a period from 1990 till our days. The third chapter is made of two case studies: military interventions in Mali and Central Africa that shows the neocolonial approach appearing in the French foreign policy towards sub-Saharan Africa. A part of this chapter is also a synthesis of both interventions. The conclusion of diploma thesis sums up all the knowledge gained thanks to the studying of specialized bibliography and it confirms the hypothesis set in the Introduction of this work.

The master's thesis 'Religious Pluralism in Sub-Saharan Africa: Political Implications' is divided into three chapters which aim at defining the region of Sub-Saharan Africa, and further introducing the concept of religious pluralism, religion and its impact on politics and security situation in general and in Nigeria, which was chosen for the case study. The aim was to find out how religion influences society, politics and conflicts in Nigeria. In a region where religion is very important, an analysis of all these factors is interesting and crucial for future developments.

The thesis concerns with appraisal of the potential of sub-Saharan Africa region as the new attractive region for international breweries, among others also for Budějovický Budvar n. c. In order to determine whether the sub-Saharan region is suitable for the expansion of this company, the initial chapters of this work deal with company Budějovický Budvar n. c., its overall strategy and marketing concept chosen for its flagship Budweiser Budvar brand. The following part of this thesis has been devoted to characterize the region of sub-Saharan Africa and using of PEST analysis method it evaluates African markets in terms of their political, economic , socio- cultural and technological environment. In the next chapter of this thesis I analyse specific environment of the African beer market. This analysis shows that the potential of this region is very significant also in this branch. In conclusion of this work, there is the comparison of selected indicators in individual African countries. On the basis of this comparisons top 10 countries from sub-Saharan region were selected, that have the greatest potential to become the new export territories of company Budějovický Budvar n. c.

The objective of this diploma thesis is to bring different views on the issue of resource dependence and the origins of conflicts connected to the diamonds from Sub-Saharan Africa; and to point out on the existence of conflict diamonds and the disinterest of international forum to solve this problem in the present and in the past. The diploma thesis consists of three chapters. First chapter analyses the resource dependence, conflict and the connection between them. Second chapter is focused on the definition of conflict diamonds, international initiatives and Kimberley Process. Third chapter represents the practical part of this diploma thesis, it analyses two conflicts connected to diamonds, the conflict in Angola and in Sierra Leone.

La migration internationale et le diagnostic d’infection au VIH sont deux ruptures biographiques pouvant affecter la trajectoire conjugale des individus. C’est en adoptant une approche matérialiste, et en abordant la conjugalité comme une forme d'« échanges économico-sexuels », que nous nous proposons d’étudier l’effet des conditions de vie sur les recompositions conjugales autour de ces deux évènements. Cette thèse s’appuie sur les données de l’enquête biographique ANRS-Parcours menée en 2012-2013 auprès de personnes immigrées d’Afrique subsaharienne âgées de 18 à 59 ans et vivant en Île-de-France. Nos résultats mettent en évidence que la migration affecte davantage les trajectoires conjugales des individus que le diagnostic d’infection au VIH. Par ailleurs, les recompositions conjugales suite à ces deux évènements dépendent des conditions de vie des personnes. Alors que les hommes ayant des situations administrative, professionnelle et résidentielle stables accèdent à l’union, les femmes ayant acquis une carte de résidente ou la nationalité française seraient davantage en mesure de retarder leur mise en couple après le diagnostic d’infection au VIH. Si la migration tend à renvoyer les femmes à la nécessité de faire couple afin d’accéder à la stabilité matérielle de leur partenaire, après le diagnostic d’infection aux VIH, elles semblent moins à même d’être en union probablement parce que le stigmate associé au VIH les affecte davantage que les hommes. / International migration and HIV diagnosis are two biographical turning points that can affect the conjugal trajectory of individuals. By adopting a materialist approach and by conceptualizing conjugal life as "economical and sexual exchanges", we propose to study the effect of living conditions on conjugal changes around these two events. This research is based on data from the ANRS-Parcours biographical survey conducted in 2012-2013 among sub-Saharan immigrants aged 18 to 59 living in the Paris area. Our results show that conjugal trajectories were more affected by migration than by HIV diagnosis. In addition, the conjugal changes following these two events are impacted differently according to the individuals’ living conditions. While men with stable administrative, occupational and residential situations are likely to get a partner, women who have acquired a resident card or French nationality are in a better position to delay entering a relationship after HIV diagnosis. While migration seems to increase women’s need to be in a relationship in order to share a partner’s material stability, they are less likely to be in a relationship after HIV diagnosis, most probably because the stigma associated with HIV infection impacts them more than men.