Mismedication as COVID-19 pandemic response of rural folks: Implications for national COVID-19 response policy of Lesotho.

COVID-19's super-spread nature, its adverse impacts, and the associated public fear and panic have resulted in the use of "dangerous" substances and medicinal herbs (mismedication), particularly in rural parts of Africa. Exploring the phenomenon of mismedication is crucial for promoting effective public health policies. This study adopted a qualitative study design and purposively selected and interviewed 50 rural folks cutting across the 10 districts of Lesotho in Southern Africa. The study's findings show that rural folks perceive a high vulnerability to the COVID-19 virus. They also consider COVID-19 a dangerous virus and have high fear arousal of contracting the virus. It was realized that rural folks resort to unreliable sources of information on COVID-19 pandemic, such as friends and family members, social media, village members, and grandchildren. These untrustworthy sources spread a lot of misinformation about COVID-19, causing fear and panic among rural residents. To remedy the spread of the pandemic, its impact, and the underlying public fear and panic, rural dwellers have resorted to the use of unapproved medicinal plants. Trust in unapproved medicinal plants influences rural dwellers' compliance to the standard protocols implemented to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic. The study recommends the urgent need to intensify scientific investigation into the various medicinal plants for their efficacy, side effects, preparation, and approved dosage. Again, effective public education on the efficacy and dangers associated with the use of unapproved medications must be strengthened, particularly in rural communities through the active participation of opinion, traditional, and religious leaders.

Climate change and the livelihoods of food crop farmers in Lesotho: Lessons for the implementation of the national climate change adaptation strategy.

The vast majority of Lesotho's rural population is reliant on agriculture for survival. However, Lesotho, Southern Africa is extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change, which has a negative impact on rural livelihoods. Furthermore, despite the fiscal challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Lesotho's National Climate Change Policy Implementation Strategy has been hampered by implementation issues and has yet to be implemented. This sparked the necessity for this research, which aims to inform the government of Lesotho on how farmers are combating climate change in their own tiny way. This study employs a survey to gather data from 200 farmers from farming villages across the country's 10 regions. According to the findings of this study, farmers have experienced climate change in the areas of drying rivers, delayed on-set of rainfall, and excessive frost or cold. As a result of these events, farmers have experienced poorer agricultural yields, increased insect and disease attacks, and lower-than-normal harvests. The adaptation methods the farmers are using include the employment of indigenous technology for pest and disease control, fruit tree planting, conservation agriculture (water and soil conservation), and rainwater harvest storage for use during dry seasons. Some of these adaptation strategies are feared to cause further environmental challenges for Lesotho. Therefore, in order to enhance the lives of Lesotho's farmers, the government of Lesotho should consider implementing the National Climate Change Policy Implementation Strategy.

Facilitators of tertiary students' entrepreneurial intentions: Insights for Lesotho's national entrepreneurship policy.

This study provides insightful information to guide the Lesotho government's drive to address rising youth unemployment. Through quota sampling technique, this study selected 930 students from 31 departments at National University of Lesotho. Grounded in the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), the study examined the facilitators of students' entrepreneurial intentions using mean, standard deviation, mean rank, correlation, and Mann-Whitney U test. Structural equation modelling was used to determine the relationship between the three components of TPB (attitudes, perceived behavioural control, and subjective norm), and students' entrepreneurial intention. The findings show that attitudes and perceived behavioural control were positive predictors of entrepreneurial intention while subjective norm was a negative predictor. The major findings indicate that students from Business and Management Development, Business Administration, Economics, Nutrition, and Pharmacy departments had higher entrepreneurial intentions, with postgraduate students (at master level) having higher entrepreneurial decisions than undergraduate students. Policy, practice, and research implications are teased out from the findings to improve entrepreneurial education.

Examining the level of public awareness on the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa: An empirical evidence from Ghana.

Nations which are part of the United Nations are required to institute appropriate measures to fulfil the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, for this to be possible, all stakeholders including the general public need to be fully aware of the SDGs. This research examined the level of public awareness about the SDGs among Ghanaians based on the views of 431 respondents. Means, standard deviation, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal Wallis and Pearson Product-Moment Correlations were used for data analysis. The study found that awareness level on SDG 1 (ending poverty), SDG 2 (zero hunger, food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture), SDG 3 (health and well-being), SDG 5 (gender equality), and SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation) was high among Ghanaians. However, awareness level on SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), SDG 14 (conservation of life below water), and SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) was very low among Ghanaians. No significant difference manifested in the level of awareness among male and female Ghanaians. There were statistically significant differences in educational levels of respondents and their overall level of awareness of the SDGs. Also, there was a low, negative correlation between overall level of awareness and the effectiveness of the communication strategies used in creating awareness about the SDGs. Government should re-examine its communication strategies on the SDGs and put in place a more effective communication policy framework which involves grassroots populations and local communities.