National surveys in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia continue to show rates of breastfeeding below global recommendations. Delay of timely or early initiation of breastfeeding is common in the community. Current approaches are not addressing the major constraints. Objectives of this study were to study the pattern and determinants associated with the early and delayed initiation of breastfeeding practices among infants aged less than 24 months. Also to assess regional differences to facilitate targeted actions. This cross-sectional study was conducted from May to August 2016, based on a sample of 1700 mothers of children aged less than 24 months. The sample was randomly selected from over 165 health centers distributed across the country, at least 33 centers in each of the five geographical regions. World Health Organization standardized questionnaire for infant and young child feeding indicators was used to prepare structured questionnaire (in English translated later to Arabic) to collect the information on breastfeeding along with general sociodemographic data. The breastfeeding initiation rate was 97.3% (1559/1700 mothers). Only 8.3% (141) of mothers never breastfeed their children. Early initiation of breastfeeding within 1 h of birth was 43.6% (742) among all mothers surveyed while, breastfeeding initiation rates for 1-24 h and that for more than 24 h were 27 and 21% respectively. The overall prevalence of early initiation of breastfeeding (43.6%) is considered ‘fair’. Regional variation showed poor prevalence 26% (79/300 mothers) in Northern region; fair 38.4% (192/500 mothers), 45% (135/300 mothers), 49% (148/300 mothers) in the Central, Western and Eastern regions respectively; and good 63% (188/300 mothers) in the Southern region. Significant associations were indicated between early initiation of breastfeeding and mode of delivery, knowledge of the mother about the right time for early initiation, receipt of breastfeeding information, the region of residence, and educational level of the mother. Whilst some barriers to breastfeeding initiation manifest similarity across the regions some factors were context-specific thus, tailored interventions are imperative. Appropriate behavior change interventions, are needed attain optimal breastfeeding practices.

Background and Objective: Qualitative and quantitative changes in diets represent the main characteristics of the dietary changes in Gulf countries. The objective of this paper is to describe and examine the patterns, growth rates and trends of food supply and consumption in Gulf Cooperation Council countries during the period of 1961-2013. Materials and Methods: The study depended mainly on secondary data derived from annual food balance sheets produced by the FAO. Trend analysis, annual growth rates, descriptive statistics and analysis of variance and means comparison were used to analyze the collected data. Results: A change in the consumption patterns, trends and annual growth rates in the GCC countries was noticed. These changes were manifested by the following facts: There was a low rate of increase in the cereal supply relative to other food items, The vegetable supply annual growth rate was highest in the UAE (4%) compared to the KSA (1.4%) and Kuwait (1%), The fruit supply showed an increasing trend in the KSA and a decreasing trend in Kuwait and the UAE, The shares of sugar and sweeteners in the food supply in KSA and Kuwait show increasing patterns, contrary to the situation in the UAE, Vegetable oils and animal fats supplies showed increasing patterns in both KSA and Kuwait, with contrasting trends in the UAE. Conclusion: There is a shift in dietary energy supply, protein and fat preference towards vegetal sources in the UAE and to animal products in the KSA and Kuwait. Moreover, the macronutrient contribution to caloric value showed disparity among GCC countries.

This research utilized the bagging machine learning algorithm along with the Thornthwaite moisture index (TMI) to enhance the understanding of climate variability and change, with the objective of identifying the most efficient climate service pathways in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Monthly datasets at a 0.5° resolution (1960–2020) were collected and analyzed using R 4.2.2 software and spreadsheets. The results indicate significant changes in climatic conditions in Sudan, with aridity escalation at a rate of 0.37% per year. The bagging algorithm illustrated that actual water use was mainly influenced by rainfall and runoff management, showing an inverse relationship with increasing air temperatures. Consequently, sustainable strategies focusing on runoff and temperature control, such as rainwater harvesting, agroforestry and plant breeding were identified as the most effective climate services to mitigate and adapt to climate variability in SSA. The findings suggest that runoff management (e.g., rainwater harvesting) could potentially offset up to 22% of the adverse impacts of climate variability, while temperature control strategies (e.g., agroforestry) could account for the remaining 78%. Without these interventions, climate variability will continue to pose serious challenges to food security, livelihood generations, and regional stability. The research calls for further in-depth studies on the attributions of climate variability using finer datasets.

Saudi Arabia is actively boosting women’s labor force participation, exceeding 2022 targets to enhance human capital. The purpose of this study is to examine the nexus between women’s empowerment and economic growth using secondary data from 1997 to 2022. Empowerment was proxied by Saudi women employed in government, with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and female B.Sc. holders used as explanatory variables. The result of the Johansen test depicts a long-run equilibrium relationship between these variables. The Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) revealed a significant negative short-term impact of GDP on women’s empowerment at the 5% level, while female graduates had a positive short-term effect. The model results indicated rapid adjustment, correcting about 71% of disequilibrium per period towards long-run equilibrium. Importantly, a significant positive long-run relationship exists between women’s empowerment and economic growth. Diagnostic tests confirmed the VECM’s reliability, reflected by normally distributed residuals, with no significant autocorrelation, and overall model stability. The study findings contribute valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders striving to achieve gender equity and sustainable economic development. Moreover, qualitative methods could be employed in future research to enhance the comprehensive understanding of the cultural and social barriers to maximize the long-run virtuous cycle of empowerment and economic growth.